Boatwright’s Dining Hall Review
Boatwright’s Dining Hall is the table service restaurant at Port Orleans Riverside in Walt Disney World, serving southern cooking. This review details our meal here, with food photos, thoughts on ambiance, and other details about Boatwright’s. In terms of basic info for vacation planners, this is a 1-credit table service restaurant on the Disney Dining Plan, and accepts Tables in Wonderland for a 20% discount.
For most of the year, Boatwright’s is the only on-site table service restaurant serving both Port Orleans Resorts. When Dixie Landings and Port Orleans Resorts were consolidated in the early 2000s, the table service restaurant at French Quarter was closed. Prior to that, Bonfamille’s Cafe was its table service restaurant, and has opened intermittently in recent years for dinner during busier seasons (as Scat Cat’s Cafe).
Despite that, we’ve never seen Boatwright’s more than two-thirds full. Most of the time, it’s maybe half-full, at best. This probably at least partly explains why Bonfamille’s has not reopened much since the resorts were consolidated. (It’s likely that Boatwright’s is busier during Free Dining season–so don’t expect an empty restaurant if you’re visiting then.)
Alright, let’s step inside the rustic shipyard warehouse to savor Boatwright’s down home, New Orleans cooking…
In terms of ambiance, Boatwright’s is interesting. The main dining hall (top photo) is a large space with the skeletal hull of a lugger fishing boat suspended above the tables as its centerpiece. This is pretty cool, and accomplishes the shipyard vibe nicely.
Beyond that, there are a series of smaller, more intimate rooms that feel like a mashup of a southern home and the backrooms of a shipyard. One has a fireplace with antique shipbuilding tools on the walls (just how gramma used to decorate!) and others have framed prints of boat blueprints.
Throughout the restaurant, the lighting is warm and moderately low, creating a pleasant ambiance overall. I wouldn’t say Boatwright’s is downright cozy, but it’s not loud and chaotic, either. Tables are space sufficiently far apart, and there’s a decent chance no one will be seated adjacent to you, anyway. The theme is nice and quaint, but beyond that boat skeleton, it’s nothing that’ll blow you away.
All meals at Boatwright’s start with the sweet cornbread. If there’s one thing you’ve heard about Boatwright’s before, it’s probably that they have excellent cornbread. This is partly because it’s the only thing everyone who dines here eats, but also because it’s a standout item.
Warm, sweet, and melt-in-your-mouth delicious, this is a must-try. In fact, if Boatwright’s served <$10 “bottom-less” cornbread, I’d be tempted to spend the better part of the afternoon hanging out here.
For entrees, Sarah ordered the Boatwright’s Jambalaya, which is described on the menu as “a New Orleans dinnertime favorite! Slow-cooked shrimp, andouille sausage, and chicken in a spicy sauce served over rice.”
Sarah was warned that it was a bit spicy when she ordered it, and it did have a bit of kick, but nothing that would be overwhelming to most palates. We both thought this was a pretty standard jambalaya–not bad, but nothing remarkable, either.
On the other hand, my Deep South Shrimp and Grits were fantastic. This dish consists of sustainable rock shrimp in a traditional style (also available in New Orleans Barbecue-style) over our creamy Charleston-style grits.
There was a lot going on in this dish, but the flavors came together in a complementary fashion. Nothing, not even the creamy grits, overpowered the flavor. The shrimp here were hearty and tasted great–none of that rubby or frozen taste–and the grits were rich. I’d highly recommend this if you’re dining at Boatwright’s.
For dessert, we elected to split the Doubloon Bread Pudding, which was highly recommended by our server. Consisting of house-made bread pudding with ice cream, seasonal accompaniments (whatever those are), and a chocolate doubloon, this was a huge disappointment.
The bread pudding had the density of a hockey puck, and seeming about as “house-made” as a Little Debbie treat. Perhaps we got a bad sample, but this goes down as one of the worst desserts we’ve ever had at Walt Disney World. It also goes down as one of the rare times we haven’t finished our dessert, as we both made the wise decision of forgoing finishing in favor of more cornbread.
Overall, we mostly liked our experience at Boatwright’s, but are in no hurry to head back. You could probably have a fairly enjoyable meal there if you played your cards right with the menu. We suspect that Boatwright’s is not on most guests’ radars, and that’s understandable (aside from Port Orleans fans who make it family tradition to dine here, and probably love it for reasons rooted more in nostalgia than cuisine-quality). There’s no reason to go out of your way to eat at Boatwright’s, but there’s no reason to go out of your way to avoid it, either. If you’re staying at Port Orleans Riverside or French Quarter and want a convenient table service meal, this will do the trick. I know that makes for a pretty dull review and conclusion, but they can’t all be “ZOMG, BEST/WORSTEST RESTAURANT EVAR AT WALT DISNEY WORLD!!!1!!”
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Your Thoughts…
What do you think of Boatwright’s Dining Hall? Do you think it’s fairly average as far as Walt Disney World restaurants go? Have any of your own experiences dining here to share? If you don’t like Boatwright’s, why not? Share your thoughts or questions in the comments!
Has anyone dined here recently? We are visiting WDW next month and always like to do a dinner at resort (and we would like to check out this property). Thanks.
Great food! Boring atmosphere!
My daughter, granddaughters (7, 10), and I will head to POR for our second stay, October of this year. I really enjoyed your review of the Alligator Bayou refurbishments; we booked a preferred room, so I hope to benefit. Given the up and down reviews, here, about Boatwright’s, I am not even tempted to try it. My granddaughters LOVE the ability to choose what they want, stand in line for it, and “pay” with their Magic Bands! Then they get to self-serve their beverages and be “waitresses” for my daughter and me. I consider it an excellent use of our DDP QS credits with some POR magic thrown in.
Does Boatwrights no longer serve breakfast? That used to be quite yummy.
Our dinning experience last evening was terrible. Our server was very cordial but we had to wait over an hour for our entres to be served, other guests around us that arrived after us were served and having dessert and we were still waiting for our entres. When the food finally arrived, it was below par, shrimp & Grits were good but the chicken & waffles were terrible, the chicken was overly salted and the waffles were cold, over cooked & tough. The manager was not interested in hearing our complaints . Very disappointed in this Disney restaurant and would not recommend it.
We ate here on September 18th and the food was delicious and the atmosphere was wonderful after be at Disney World for 9 days and trying later and later hours to eat to avoid screaming children this was the only restaurant that sat adults with adults with no kids it makes a difference.
I agree completely with this review. We ate at Boatwrights several year ago when we stayed at Port Orleans. We were there during free dining and the restaurant was still only half full at most. The food was fine but not memorable. I definitely wouldn’t go out of my way to eat there again when there are better options at WDW, but I wouldn’t advise people to avoid it either.
We really enjoyed eating at Boatwright’s. It was so nice to sit down in the quiet, relaxing atmosphere after a busy park day. Unlike most TS at WDW we did not feel rushed here. Loved that the tables are decently spaced! The prime rib, red velvet cheesecake and mega-berry smoothie were all terrific. We would go back again and order the same thing.
We always stay at POR when we’re at Disney, but have never felt the urge to eat here. It’s interesting to hear that they don’t normally fill up, because there have been many nights where the crowd waiting to get into the restaurant pretty much took up the whole hallway.
It seems like most of the moderate TS restaurants are a solid “eh, fine.” However, I much much prefer the moderate food courts over the the deluxe food courts. While I LOVED WL overall as a resort, I missed all of the options of the POR food court from my stay the year prior.
I agree. We have not been happy with QS offerings at Yacht Club or Wilderness Lodge when compared to the moderate resorts
I actually really enjoy your conclusion- I think a lot of reviews at Disney would be better served if they didn’t have to fall into either extreme. A lot of places are going to fall in that “not going to ruin your vacation/not going to be the highlight of the vacation” realm. I mean, that means that you’re being rational on the internet, which is never advisable, but appreciated.
It’s a perfectly cromulent review.
We ate here in 2014 when we stayed at PO-R, and I would completely agree with your review. Perfectly lovely place to eat when you need the convenience. The day we went was my daughter’s birthday, and we were headed out to MNSSHP so we arrive just as they opened. The hostess let my daughter ring the bell and open the restaurant which I thought was really sweet…extra magic 🙂
My wife and I stay at Riverside all the time and have yet to eat here. I appreciate this review because I have wondered about the food. The prices have just kept us from dining here. Although, I will add that we usually eat off property anyway.
Thanks for the review- Staying at POR FQ in Nov. -will probably spare ourselves the walk over. Unfortunately the QS sassagoula whatever is closed while we are there so our Garden Grocer order and ADRs will need to be carefully crafted…
The QS at Riverside is really good – at least it was when we stayed there a few years back – and may be worth a trip over from FQ if you are in need of some food!
I think the best dish in the place was skipped. The crawfish mac and cheese.
Thanks for writing such a well thought out review. I really enjoyed reading all of the helpful and interesting details that you included. It’s nice to read an honest assessment of this restaurant.
Agree 100% with the review. Nothing to rave about. Plus, the night we were there the service was below par as well. My grandson ordered the Chicken and Waffles. The waffles were served cold. The chicken was over cooked, cold and tough. The appetizer we ordered was spicy and interesting but the rest of dinner was left on the table.
But did you have a sazerac? After that, it really only matters if your server is nice.
Otherwise, I agree completely. It’s a perfectly fine place to have a sit-down meal when you’re staying at POR. Meh.
The best dish at Boatwright’s hands down is the Chicken & Waffles. My mom got the gluten free version last time we were there and I wanted to trade in my Sweet Tea Pork Chops (they were not good at all).