Review: New Lunch Menu at Be Our Guest Restaurant
Be Our Guest Restaurant in Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World has a new lunch menu! In this WDW dining review, we’ll take a look at all of the new items via food photos, compare them to their predecessors, and share thoughts on how this counter service restaurant stacks up to the competition in light of the changes.
For starters, some quick basics. Be Our Guest Restaurant is the hot ticket in Magic Kingdom and has been since it opened several years ago. Guests step inside Beast’s Castle in a setting themed to Beauty and the Beast. The restaurant is a Disney Dining Plan participant as a one-credit counter service restaurant at lunch. It also makes our list of the best counter service values when on the Disney Dining Plan (again, for lunch).
Note that this is an update, rather than a comprehensive review of the full menu. For that, see our newly-updated Lunch Review of Be Our Guest Restaurant. In addition to that, we also have a New Prix Fixe Dinner Review and Breakfast Review of Be Our Guest Restaurant. Soon, we’ll also have an updated breakfast review…
This Be Our Guest Restaurant menu update could be viewed as a way for Walt Disney World to effectively increase prices without being overly blatant about it. Previously, the cheapest menu items were a pair of $13 items (Quinoa Salad and Vegetable Quiche), both of which have been removed with this overhaul.
In their place, a pair of $15 items have been added to the menu. Those are now the cheapest entrees (unless you count the soups–and I don’t). Existing items have also increased in price, with all of the sandwiches now priced at $16 and up (for sandwiches!). Be Our Guest Restaurant has always been higher quality than other Magic Kingdom offerings, but at these price-points, it’s difficult to justify unless you’re on the Disney Dining Plan.
We consider this noteworthy because last year’s Prix Fixe Dinner change was made along these same lines, upping the average cost as a way to reduce demand (and increase revenue) at this massively popular location. The big difference here is that the lunch changes disadvantage those paying out of pocket, rather than those on the Disney Dining Plan.
Conversely, thanks to a new entree, Be Our Guest Restaurant at lunch is now the best way to maximize your counter service credit value on the Disney Dining Plan in Magic Kingdom–and one of the best options in all of Walt Disney World. As you can see below, there are actually several good ‘bang for buck’ options for those on the Disney Dining Plan…
The previous Be Our Guest Restaurant menu ushered in a new era of counter service quality, and didn’t really need updating. There were (and are) a lot of fan favorites on the lunch menu at Be Our Guest Restaurant.
Fortunately, that still remains the case. Most of the tried and true favorites are still present at Be Our Guest, and several of the changes are lateral moves that will be at least vaguely familiar to Be Our Guest regulars. To us, this seems like a sensible approach and good compromise–freshen things up a bit while not trying to fix what isn’t broken.
The first new item is the Corn Bisque Soup: “Garnished with Corn, Bacon, Cilantro, and Chili Oil.”
Rich, creamy, and with a nice texture thanks to the corn and bacon, this is a solid starter…albeit maybe not on a hot summer day.
Still, it’s tough to compete with the tried and true French Onion Soup.
I’m not huge on soups so perhaps I’m rating this on that layer of cheese as much as anything else, but this is one of my favorite soups at Walt Disney World.
For entrees, our first new option is the Spring Chicken Salad: “Sliced Golden Beets, Roasted Peppers, Chilled Green Beans, Pickled Shallots, Carrots, and Herb Vinaigrette served with Thyme-Scented Chicken.”
This is pretty similar to its predecessor, but with chicken instead of quinoa. This is a huge upgrade in my estimation, and is probably being made as the quinoa ‘trend’ is mercifully beginning to end (there ought to be a law against quinoa…so I don’t have to eat it every other night). It’s a refreshing and interesting salad, but with so many good salads at Walt Disney World now, it’s not the ‘revolutionary’ entree it once might’ve been.
Next is the Spring Shrimp Salad: “Sliced Golden Beets, Roasted Peppers, Chilled Green Beans, Pickled Shallots, Carrots, and Herb Vinaigrette served with Citrus-Poached Shrimp.”
Basically, the same thing but with shrimp. It’s also $2 more expensive than the chicken version. Even if these were the same price, I’d opt for and recommend the chicken version. The shrimp is not particularly noteworthy, and isn’t as filling as the chicken. Still, if you prefer shrimp and want a salad, it’s a suitable option.
Sarah ordered the Cannellini Bean Cassoulet: “White Cannellini Beans with Onions, Red Peppers, Zucchini, Eggplant, Tomatoes, Garlic, and Fresh Herbs served with Broccolini and Crostini.”
Despite cassoulet being France’s take on casserole, we all expected this to be a cold dish. Probably based simply on the presentation (and the fact that it’s currently ridiculously hot in Florida); it just looks refreshing, doesn’t it?
In any case, the hearty dish was a nice medley of fresh vegetables. It wasn’t really like a traditional casserole or stew; the vegetables were crisp and largely presented their natural flavor with a mix of herbs. Sarah loved this–it’s her new favorite lunch entree at Be Our Guest. I liked it but wasn’t as enthusiastic; still, I’d choose this over any of the salads (including the Tuna Niçoise Salad).
For my entree, I ordered the Braised Chicken (Coq Au Vin Style): “Coq Au Vin Braised Chicken in Red Wine with Bacon, Mushrooms, Roasted Asparagus, Blistered Heirloom Tomatoes, and Braised Leeks served with Mashed Potatoes.”
This replaces the braised pork. It’s been a while since I’ve had that, but I generally favor pork over chicken (and assume that would hold true here). Nevertheless, the red wine braise gave this dish a sense of sophistication I’d never expect from a counter service dish, and the chicken was incredibly tender.
Paying out of pocket (as we were), I have a really tough time justifying a $19 entree at a counter service restaurant. However, the quality of the entire dish is on par with a lower end table service restaurant, and I guess that’s “close enough” to what Be Our Guest Restaurant is at lunch.
If you were paying out of pocket at an actual Walt Disney World table service restaurant, this dish would be more like $25, so there’s also that. Moreover, it makes an exceptional use of a Disney Dining Plan counter service credit.
In any case, the Braised Chicken is now the best item on the lunch menu. It’s obviously totally different, but I’d choose this over any of the sandwiches. Those are now overpriced for what they are (especially the French Dip), in my opinion; this is a better value for what it is.
Finally, we have the new vanilla Crème Brulée topped with fresh berries for dessert.
This was the lone disappointment. The consistency and texture were both off, making it feel more like a cheap crème brulée imitator than the real thing. I’ve never been overly impressed by any of Be Our Guest Restaurant’s desserts (yes, even the famed “Grey Stuff”) and that trend continues. Skipping dessert at Be Our Guest and opting for some of the Best Snacks & Desserts in Magic Kingdom is recommended.
Overall, Be Our Guest Restaurant replaced about half of its lunch menu and the results are about the same…but more expensive. These are some pretty conservative beat-for-beat changes, and the new items are not markedly better or worse than what came before. That’s probably a good thing in this case (save for the price increases), as lunch at Be Our Guest Restaurant has been solid since it debuted–one of the few bright spots of the Magic Kingdom counter service dining scene. We’re hopeful that the upcoming changes at breakfast are more ambitious, as that menu has always been a bit “meh” and there’s definite room for improvement.
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Your Thoughts
What do you think of lunch at Be Our Guest Restaurant? Looking forward to trying any of these items? Do you wish there would be a more ambitious overhaul of the menu, or do you take a ‘don’t fix what isn’t broken’ perspective? Do you agree or disagree with our review? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
On the menu, it’s indicating that the vanilla Crème Brûlée is plant-based. Could this be why you found it off (if you were expecting the traditionally rich and creamy nature of Crème Brûlée)?
I got excited when I read it because my son is allergic to dairy and has never had a chance to have Crème Brûlée, but now I’m no so sure. (We’re planning a trip next fall and I’m doing some research on good restaurant choices for picky kids with allergies)
I think that’s exactly what he’s reacting to. I was about to order this when we visited and the cast member taking our order pointed out it was plant based and so the texture might not be quite what you expected. I’m guessing she had heard more than one complaint about it from people expecting the dairy version.
$8 for a drink. Nothing but a rip off.
I also will not be eating there since removing the braised pork. It was a generous helping and very delicious.
We did BOG for lunch last week. They still had the pork which is our favorite! This is one of my favorite places to eat. The hostess use to take you to your table. They now have open seating which annoyed both me and my 15 year old son. There would be 2 people at a table that could hold 5 or 6 people. They need to go back to seating people so others may get a chance to dine here
I *knew* something was different on our visit two weeks ago! Yes, this completely. There were people stalking for tables in the West Wing. We grabbed a table for 6 even though there were only 3 in our group because after two laps in all 3 dining rooms, the table of 6 was the only one that we saw open. Having an attendant seat us would have allowed for a less chaotic dining room and perhaps more throughput.
I’ve been going to BOG for lunch every year since it opened, and I don’t ever remember them seating us! We always just grabbed a table on our own! I was really surprised they did that in the past !
Is the chicken on the bone? White or dark meat? So sad about pork and trying to pick my lunch!
I can’t ever figure out how to get in. Tried numerous times. to no avail
Don’t understand.
I can’t wait for your breakfast review! We have breakfast adrs on our upcoming August trip! We are always on the dining plan so the higher prices don’t bother me. I really enjoy their turkey sandwich there for lunch. I’m so confused on why their desserts suck, just bring over the giant raspberry macarons, napoleons, and one of the chocolate options from Les Halles over in Epcot. A French restaurant should have awesome deserts.
Why would you replace the very lunch item that draws most people to BOG, the Braised Pork. We look forward to that every year. What a disappointment. We will be @WDW 2dt week in Dec with 2 separate lunch reservations, seriously considering switching 1 for Liberty Tree. This wasn’t broken,
I know. My husband was just checking the menu & said nothing looked good besides French dip. I said I’m getting the braised pork from many reviews for the past year and now they don’t have it. I’m thinking of canceling honestly. Is it worth a strawberry cupcake!?!?
Oh now & I now I just saw they removed the strawberry cupcake too. 🙁
Sorry to see the vegetable quiche go. As a vegetarian, this was always a reliable go to for me. At least its nice to see the Cannellini Bean Cassoulet is a reasonable replacement.
So upset that the potato leek soup is gone.
R.I.P. Braised pork. Sad to see one of our favorite is gone!
Agree. It was my fave on the menu. We have a reservation for Aug 1, because I wanted the pork again. But now may cancel and choose somewhere else to eat.
I’m glad I had it one final time on my May trip. I already switched my November reservation to Liberty Tree Tavern!
we were underwhelmed by lunch at BoG, even after snagging a table in the West Wing room. the creme brulee was my main point of interest here, but non-torched-to-order creme brulee is not great. it sounds like that’s what’s happening here; what a disappointment! i will be sure to find lunch reservations elsewhere on our future MK days.
Ate there today for lunch. We have been fans for awhile and noticed the price/menu changes.
The French dip, while a bit overpriced, had a solid portion of med-rare beef and the au jus was flavorful and not a cup of overly salty broth. My son, a rather picky eater, gobbled the chicken right up. My husband tasted it too and declared it shockingly good. We also had the yummy French onion soup and skipped the creme brûlée in favor of the grey stuff, which we do find “delicious”. Side note-phone auto corrected to crime brûlée. Maybe a better name? The atmosphere in the Rose room, always feels like a respite, which is welcome at the MK.
Sorry we missed you Brickers, yesterday was Animal Kingdom for us. We snacked our way around the park, with a nod to your posts for all the good ideas.
We ate there last week right after the new menu rollout. The biggest difference we noticed is that the coq au vin chicken dish is a lot smaller than the braised pork was. It’s good, but not as good as the braised pork was, and the value is all but gone when comparing worse quality, smaller portions, and higher prices.
The food looks absolutely divine! I never comment on enterier design, because the food is the main goal here, and this is a home strike!