11/12/12 – Be Our Guest Lunch – A Disappointing Follow-Up to a Wonderful Be Our Guest Dinner

Last week, we had a wonderful dinner at Be Our Guest Restaurant – we found it a terrific value for the money, with good food in a unique atmosphere. Lunch for us was a totally different experience.

 

There was a little confusion at the time we arrived whether Be Our Guest was even open for lunch – but we were eventually able to get in. This is still the preview phase, but not for much longer. I don’t expect food choices to change much in the next week.

If you’d like to see more photos of the restaurant, you can check out our dinner review.

Upon arrival to Be Our Guest, we walked down the hallway to the counter service ordering area. We were asked if we were paying by credit card or cash, since it makes a difference with ordering. We were given a rose, with RFID which allows the food to be delivered to the correct table.

 

 

 

The ordering screens are pretty similar to other ordering screens around Walt Disney World property, but I find the ordering location a little confusing – I think there could eventually be huge backups in the line due to this.

Once we ordered and paid, we sat down in the main ballroom. I had heard previously that the ballroom wouldn't be included as a sit-down area for lunch, but that could be incorrect (then again, the Rose Gallery appeared to be closed). Lunch is brought out on the same moving carts that dessert is served in for dinner. Our friends said that it got crazy in the Rose Gallery with all the carts during their lunch – and while enjoying our dinner experience, we noticed two tiled roses on the floor of the Rose Gallery were already damaged. But our lunch wasn't busy, and there weren't many carts out and about. I thought the cart seemed a nice way to deliver food, but I'm not sure how practical it will be when the restaurant is busy.

I ordered the Carved Turkey Sandwich, which comes on a baguette. I chose green beans instead of french fries, which are just the normal Disney fries. Jeff ordered the Grilled Steak Sandwich, which also was on a baguette, with a side of french fries (pommes frites). Prices jumped over a week ago from the original posted prices, and each of these sandwiches are now $10.99 – in my opinion, the original prices of $8.79 each were more along the lines of their true value. We didn't order the soup, but we did split a Triple Chocolate Cupcake.

Lunch was delivered very quickly by cart, on real dishes. The presentation on the plates is more upscale than at other counter service locations.

The Carved Turkey Sandwich was not bad – the turkey itself was tasty, as was the Dijon mayonnaise, but the baguette overpowered the meat – mostly I just tasted the bread. The beans that came with it were excellent with a little kick to them, and one of my favorite parts of the meal. I do not like standard Disney french fries, and the beans were a nice option. But $10.99 for a turkey sandwich is a lot of money, and I'd not order it again at this price.

The Grilled Steak Sandwich suffered from a lack of flavor and a rubbery consistency. We split the sandwiches so we could both try them – and I eventually gave up on the steak, handing it to Jeff while I kept the baguette. I really think a French Dip sandwich would be a better option, tender meat with au jus to dip the baguette in – and some spice.

The other positive part of our meal was the Triple Chocolate Cupcake. The desserts are the same as at dinner, and every dessert we've tried at Be Our Guest has been delicious. We split one cupcake, and the cake was moist and the frosting not overpowering. I find that a lot of Disney cupcakes are too heavy for me, but that wasn't the case here. The desserts are all reasonably priced.

We were glad to have a chance to dine in the ballroom, though we had a few odd experiences there. Several of the Cast Members came up to talk with us while we were eating – which was fine for a minute, but one Cast Member talked with us for a pretty solid 10 minutes – and we couldn't seem to close the conversation. I don't like to eat while talking, and by the time we had the table to ourselves again, the ballroom was being set up quickly for dinner. We rushed through dessert so the server could set our table.

We might go back to Be Our Guest lunch for soup or a dessert to enjoy the atmosphere, but the two entrees I most looked forward to were too disappointing (and too expensive) to eat here for lunch again right now. For two entrees and one cupcake (no drinks), our meal was nearly $30.00. That is just a lot of money for lunch. In comparison, we went to Earl of Sandwich and had a sandwich, entree salad, turkey chili, and dessert for half of that. My choice in the Magic Kingdom for lunch is Sleepy Hollow Refreshments, where we can split a yummy Sweet and Spicy Chicken Waffle Sandwich for just $6.99.

I've been asked whether I'd recommend dinner or lunch at Be Our Guest – and by far, I recommend dinner. We enjoyed 2 appetizers, 2 entrees, 3 beers, 1 iced tea and a dessert for about $90 with Tables in Wonderland discount plus tip. It was still an expensive meal out, but we felt the value was reasonable for the meal we had – and we enjoyed every part of that meal, which also included bread and a dollop of The Grey Stuff for our table.

We'll be discussing our Be Our Guest lunch experience on our next Mousesteps Weekly show.