Roundup: All the new places to eat at Disney Springs

Disney Springs A bite from the new Mexican restaurant, Frontera Cocina.

Disney World hardly needs the Food & Wine Festival this year — after all, it has a veritable festival of new dining and drinking establishments at Disney Springs.

Although the first new restaurants opened more than a year ago, the additions have come fast and furious in recent months, so this seemed like a good time to revisit all the new offerings that have opened recently.

The expansion isn’t quite done yet. Still to come: The 1920s-themed Edison and the reimagined Planet Hollywood Observatory, both of which are expected to open next spring.

Here’s what you’ll find in the meantime:

Kiosks

If you like to eat and run, stop by a kiosk between stops on your shopping tour. The downside: Not all the food is really made for eating while you walk, and you may find it hard to find a place to stand out of the way of the crowds.


Aristocrepes: Sweet and savory crepes, served in cones that make them easy to eat while you wander around Disney Springs. Options include s’mores and key
lime cheesecake on the sweet end of the spectrum and beef with horseradish cream and turkey with
brie on the savory end.

Disney Springs

B.B. Wolf’s Sausage Co.: Poor little piggies. Apparently even the brick house wasn’t safe. This kiosk serves up artisan sausages. Its signature dish (pictured, right) seems to be the trio of tiny sausages served three ways: Reuben, Bacon-wrapped with Black Bean Salsa, and Chili Cheese. Never fear, pig fans: There are also vegetarian options.

The Daily Poutine: Anyone who has visited Canada knows about poutine — French fries topped with cheddar cheese curds and beef gravy. You can find that variety here, but you’ll also find Latin, Italian and French variations. 

Food trucks: Four food trucks bring the tastes of each of the four theme parks to Disney Springs: Fantasy Fare (corn dogs, buffalo chicken and waffles), Namaste Cafe (Indian flavors such as butter chicken and tandoori shrimp), Superstar Catering (flatbreads, shrimp and lobster mac and cheese) and World Showcase of Flavors (bites from the Food & Wine Festival).

Morimoto Asia Street Food: Outside the Morimoto Asia restaurant is a walk-up window where you can order basic sushi, a chilled noodle dish, bao tacos and other snacks that will give you a taste of the mother restaurant. Here you may even find a tables … if you’re lucky.

YeSake: The name sounds Japanese — as does the liquor menu — but the food menu here is more globally inspired, with tastes of Japan, Mexico and India, among others. Like Aristocrepes, the food is designed for walking-around.

Sit-down restaurants

There are so many sit-down restaurants now at Disney Springs, it should no longer be difficult to find table without a reservation. On the other hand, it will be very difficult to pick just one for dinner.


Blaze Fast-Fire’d Pizza: Blaze is a counter-service restaurant where guests design their own pizza pie and then have it “fast-fire’d” for their enjoyment. Pick from among 40 toppings. It’s a good budget option, and no reservations are necessary. 

The Boathouse: By now The Boathouse is a grizzled veteran of Disney Springs. The first of the new restaurants to open its doors more than a year ago, it is an upscale waterfront destination that specializes in seafood and steak. It also has two beautiful bars — one perched over the water.

Disney Springs

Chef Art Smith’s Homecoming: Part farm-to-table, part comfort food, Chef Art Smith’s menu includes deviled eggs, fried chicken and pork barbecue. Plus: the restaurant’s signature Shine Cake (pictured, right) — so called because it is soaked in Florida moonshine. The restaurant also offers a few grab-and-go sandwiches.

D-Luxe Burger: You can get some good hamburgers at Disney World, but this is the only place you can find a chorizo-blend patty with a friend banana pepper on top. Whether your taste runs to tradition or more gourmet, D-Luxe Burger is there for you. The menu of artisanal gelato shakes is even longer than the burger menu.

Frontera Cocina: A new Mmmmmexican offering joins the lineup at Disney Springs. The menu, from celebrity chef Rick Bayless, includes bacon guacamole, red chili chicken enchiladas and the coconut lime quattro leches cake.

Jock Lindsey’s Hangar Bar: It’s not exactly a sit-down restaurant, but you can take a seat and order drinks and snacks here. With appetizers like Tanis Tuna Tacos, Rolling Boulder Sliders and Templeton Tenderloin, you could easily make dinner out of the bar bites here. The joint is modeled after a 1940s airplane hangar, the one-time home of Indiana Jones’ sidekick and pilot.

Disney Springs

Morimoto Asia: Morimoto is another veteran of Disney Springs by now. Chef Morimoto of Iron Chef America brings a “Pan-Asian” menu, including dim sum, sushi (pictured), noodle dishes, and meats including Peking Duck and three types of ribs. It all comes together in a very chic, modern setting.

STK Orlando: The already-deep lineup of steak restaurant at Disney World gets another member. Part of a chain, STK has a pretty typical steakhouse menu. The prices are not for the faint of heart: Salads are about $15, appetizers closer to $20. And the steaks themselves range from $28 (for an 8-ounce skirt steak) to $92 (for a 32-ounce Porterhouse). One thing STK has that none of the other steakhouses has: a stunning outdoor patio.

Sweets

Disney Springs

Amorette’s Patisserie: If your taste runs more to sophisticated pastry rather than homey cupcakes, Amorette’s may be your jam (although there probably isn’t any actual jam here). The menu includes éclairs, New York-style cheesecake, cookies, gluten-free macarons and signature cakes (like the one pictured), which you can watch chefs decorate.

Erin McKenna’s Bakery NYC: It’s the dessert shop gluten-sensitive people have been waiting for. The founder of renowned bakery BabyCakes NYC brings her award-winning donuts, cupcakes, cookies, bagels and savory specials to Disney Springs.

Disney Springs

Sprinkles: Cupcakes still rule the dessert scene. You can choose from more than a dozen cupcakes here, including some that are gluten-free, or fresh-baked cookies. There are also quite a few ice cream options, from scoops and shakes to ice-cream cookie sandwiches. Another option: You can stop at the pink “Cupcake ATM” outside the store and avoid the line.

Vivoli il Gelato: Vivoli brings a whole new texture to an ice cream scene dominated by Ghirardelli. A family-run gelato shop that dates back 85 years in Florence, Italy, it features Italian gelati, sorbetti, espresso drinks and more.