Review: City Works Eatery and Pour House at Disney Springs
Hi everyone!
We had covered the grand opening ceremony of City Works Eatery and Pour House in Disney Springs on February 6th and then were invited back to review a meal. We joined friends from Attractions Magazine in part so we could photograph a few more items as well.
City Works is a restaurant with many food items made from scratch but it is as much a sports bar that offers over 70 beers on tap with 17 flatscreen HDTVs. The website for City Works promotes it as “Disney Springs’ Biggest & Best Beer Bar”. City Works is attached to the NBA Experience and is also next to Cirque du Soleil, which will start showing “Drawn to Life” next month (the official premiere is on April 17, 2020). For those of us who don’t drink beer, there are wines on tap, ciders and cocktails in addition to non-alchoholic drinks. City Works was bustling by the time we left the restaurant, but once Cirque opens, I expect it to be even busier. The restaurant accepts the 2020 Disney Deluxe Dining Plan and the 2020 Disney Dining Plan.
Here is a look at our experience.
City Works has signage outside letting guests know it is open.
There are “Happier Hours” at City Works that includes drink specials.
In this photo, you can see the top of Cirque to the right hand side. City Works is also across the way from House of Blues and a couple of minute walk from AMC Theaters and Splitsville on the Disney Springs West Side.
I took a few photos of the restaurant in the evening – but you can see many more during the day in my opening day article.
Beers on tap include standards Bud Light, Coors Light and others but also include local favorites like Jai Alai from Cigar City Brewing. Most beers are domestic with quite a few local – 30% or so of the taps are local beers.
I would have chosen a white or rosé wine with the meal, but they weren’t available during this evening so I ordered the Bacardi Limón, cranberry juice, fresh lime juice, mint, dried cranberries, simple syrup and soda. This is a refreshing, light drink but the alcohol was barely noticeable, so it’s something you have to be careful with. I may not have tasted the alcohol but I could feel it.
Jeff tried a number of beers with the Build-Your-Own Flights – but the beer he has likes best so far at City Works is light bodied pale ale showcases the unique Huell Melon hops that give this beer a sweet melon aroma. Again, there are over 70 different beers – a lot to choose from.
There is merchandise for sale including cups and shirts.
I ordered the House Salad – it consists of red leaf lettuce, romaine, iceberg, cucumbers, tomatoes, radish, bell peppers, kalamata olives, red onion, garlic croutons and red wine vinaigrette. ($9.00). It is a basic salad, not out of the ordinary. The vinaigrette was a nice dressing for it.
Jeff ordered a cup of chili as the “Soup of the Day”. He really liked the taste – spicy and thick ($6.00 cup, $8.00 bowl).
The marinated spicy Cajun chicken, vegetable medley, avocado cream. I took a bite and was pleasantly surprised because the combination wouldn’t normally be something I would order.
crispy jumbo shrimp, bleu cheese crumbles, bleu cheese dressing and buffalo sauce. I do not eat shrimp, but Jeff liked this one quite a lot because he is a huge fan of both shrimp and of buffalo sauce.
When we covered the grand opening event, I asked a server what her favorite food item was. She mentioned a couple of items, including the City Works Burger ($18.00) – so I decided to order it. Burgers here are made with prime beef on a brioche bun. The side is either olive oil parsley fries or a side salad and a gluten-free/vegan bun is available. You can substitute an Impossible Burger for $2 more or a cup of soup for the fees for $1.50. I did not take the cheddar cheese, tomato or pickle but added some extra onion.
The burger was a decent size, but even though I ordered it medium, the burger was a little dry. I would guess the outside was medium well and the inside closer to medium. The fries are good, a little bit of a unique flavor. I will give the burger another try on my own sometime.
bleu cheese mashed potatoes, sauteed baby arugula, and with a red wine demi-glace. I probably would have gotten that myself if the mashed potatoes were plain or garlic flavored.
The most impressive looking item was hardwood-smoked baby back ribs, half chicken, pulled pork, Louisiana hot link, lime queso butter grilled corn, and spicy maple bacon baked beans. It is a lot of food, and he ended up with several meals out of it. I tried some of the chicken and it was juicy, and the corn also is delicious.
It includes chocolate cake, chocolate pudding, raspberry coulis and whipped cream. My favorite chocolate cake is from the Cheesecake Factory (Linda’s Fudge Cake) and this is not on that level, but it has a similar taste and density to it. This was possibly the favorite dessert at the table.
Hershey’s chocolate, marshmallows and graham crackers. This is a great choice as well, like having s’mores without a campfire.
I didn’t try the ($10.00) with chocolate chip cookie dough, caramel, chocolate sauce, vanilla bean ice cream and whipped cream – but the owner of it did and finished all of it.
key lime custard, granola cracker crust, almonds and whipped cream. I didn’t try this one either, but it looked like a lighter dessert than what everyone else had.
City Works is a nice space, and the televisions were not loud at all when we were there.
Here is a look at the televisions above the bar.
City Works has already made itself known at Disney Springs as the place to go for a beer on tap, with the addition of a decent food menu as well. There is a Rock ‘n’ Roll Brunch on weekends that I’d like to try sometime, and there are also a few items as an all-day breakfast. With so many fantastic dining choices at Disney Springs, City Works really shines for its beer menu that will make it a very popular location. You can find out more about City Works here.
Thank you to City Works for having us out. All views are ours.