The Smokehouse at House of Blues Orlando Opens – Photos and Quick Review

Hi everyone!

We stopped by The Smokehouse at the House of Blues at Downtown Disney’s West End (soon to be Disney Springs) last week before seeing a movie, planning to split one meal for our review before the film, and one meal afterwards. In the end, we stuck with the one meal.

First, we were really looking forward to The Smokehouse. We have had great experiences at the House of Blues itself with both food and service, and enjoyed the Gospel Brunch last year. The Smokehouse is located in the former ticket booth (the new ticket booth is nearby).

We went on the opening day, and it wasn’t busy when we stopped by.

The menu isn’t inexpensive, but it’s not unreasonable for being on Walt Disney World property. We were told there were no discounts (Passholder, etc.)

We ordered the beef brisket sandwich, which came with a side of cole slaw. I added an order of a brownie – I didn’t need one, but I wanted to show what guests can get for $1.25.

I mentioned that Jeff and I were splitting the meal. We usually split meals on Walt Disney World property, unless it’s somewhere inexpensive like Earl of Sandwich (where we both want something different from each othe as well). This brisket sandwich with cole slaw at The Smokehouse cost $11.99 plus tax. Unfortunately, once all the fat was removed, it was like eating bread with a tiny bit of meat. The cole slaw was the best part of the meal. We did have friends who received a good sandwich that day, but $11.99 is a lot of money to spend on a meal that might turn out this poorly. I have never had a brisket sandwich that was mostly fat.

The brownie? I wasn’t expecting much, but I wasn’t expecting Sara Lee. The Earl of Sandwich charges a little more, but the desserts are fresh baked.

At least the barbecue sauce covered up the fat, but I couldn’t eat much of my half. I felt like I spent $13.00 to not have dinner.

The seating area is nice, and our table was a little off the beaten path.

We had originally planned to try the Pulled Chicken Sandwich ($9.99) after the movie, but I didn’t want to spend more money there. We bought popcorn at the movie and I enjoyed some Cheerios at home instead. This was a very disappointing experience, I expected a lot more from the House of Blues than a $12 sandwich with very little edible meat. I do recommend the Earl of Sandwich, which is in the Marketplace, and offers sandwiches for nearly half the price (and offers discounts, including AAA). We also enjoy Wolfgang Puck Express in the Marketplace.