The Disney Parks Blog has long been a fan of bright, airy Captain’s Grille, a getaway of sorts where you can often grab a table in a quiet corner for breakfast, lunch or dinner and enjoy some of the best seafood-centric food at Walt Disney World Resort.
Now this classic American grill just off the lobby at Disney’s Yacht Club Resort has a new look, says area leader Ashley Call – with new tables and chairs, wallpaper and paint, and a redesigned menu that still features longtime favorites but adds more than three dozen new dishes to the breakfast, lunch and dinner menus.
“Guests tell us we’re a hidden gem,” says Ashley. For years, we’ve headed to Captain’s Grille for lunch, and recently tried the new hand-cut salt and vinegars fries with roasted shallot mayo – good enough for a stand-alone treat, though delicious paired with the recently added lump crab cake with fire-roasted corn succotash and lemon emulsion. The kitchen, under Chef David Hutnick, turns out solid fare with a sophisticated touch, like house-made potato-cheese gnocchi with toasted walnuts, julienne pears and truffle butter, or rosemary-brined pork tenderloin with braised pork belly, pears and apples. And you’ll find one of the best sandwiches at Walt Disney World Resort here: the simple New England-style lobster roll on a butter-toasted Parker House roll.
One of the most-requested breakfast dishes is the butter-poached lobster omelet with asparagus, chive cream and hash browns. At dinner, the hottest sellers are the classic New York strip steak and snow crab legs with new potatoes and corn on the cob, but Chef David says the cabernet-braised short ribs are tops (braised for six hours to buttery perfection).
And guests love their sweets, like the hazelnut gianduja chocolate cake with salted caramel sauce and chocolate crispies or the gluten-free angel food cake with berry compote and almond croutons, served with lavender-infused panna cotta.
Other standouts added to the menu over the last several months:
For breakfast:
- Citrus-scented French toast made with challah bread with lavender-infused strawberry compote and white chocolate ganache
- Dark chocolate waffles with dried cherry compote, espresso-mascarpone cream and chocolate shavings
- Lemon-ricotta hotcakes with blueberry compote, lemon curd and hash browns
For lunch:
- New England clam chowder served with bacon and chive biscuits
- Salad of arugula and frisée with celery-almond purée, roasted grapes, crumbled chèvre, endive, and shallot vinaigrette
- Seared tuna salad with cucumber, tomato, haricots verts, pickled watermelon, greens, red pepper coulis, and verde sauce
- Fresh mozzarella and tomato sandwich with chopped arugula vinaigrette on toasted sea salt focaccia
For dinner:
- Buttermilk-fried rock shrimp with chipotle rémoulade, citrus cream, and chilled cucumber salad
- Chef’s “vegetarian inspiration” – right now its sweet potato tortellini with cranberry relish, spice almonds and brown butter rosemary beurre blanc
- Desserts such as no sugar added and gluten-free angel food cake and s’mores tart with graham cracker crust and chocolate sauce
Wine flights are now offered with lunch and dinners, says Ashley, and guests say they enjoy sampling new tastes like a sparkling wine and a merlot both from North Fork of Long Island. And the Captain’s Grille teams says to watch for even more changes in 2014.