REVIEW: Yachtsman Steakhouse
SUMMARY: Well above average, but who really does have the best steak at WDW?
This also was a mid-week dinner ADR for a party of 7 (5 adults, 2 children) at the ridiculously early hour of 5:40 p.m. The rainy weather this week had started to break, and it was a nice, albeit windy, day. The reason for the early ADR was:
a – that was all they had available for a party of 7 that was before 8:30 p.m., and
b – we had an Illuminations Cruise that night, celebrating a birthday in the group
We got there so early it felt like we were in the early-bird episode of Seinfeld.
We checked in at the podium at 5:35, and were told it would be just a few minutes. As we had walked by, I could see that the restaurant was less than ¼ full. I continue to find it strange that even with an ADR, and a literally empty restaurant, that we usually wait to be seated. Anyway, we dawdled around for maybe 2 minutes, and were seated by a hostess. We were placed at a large round table, near the windows. (I firmly believe that round tables, especially after this trip, are far superior to rectangular tables, when dining with a large group.)
Our waiter was John, and his partner for the evening was possibly named Samir (?), and both of them would be taking care of us. John and Samir (forgive me if that isn’t correct), were excellent. We mostly dealt with John, as I would say he was the one at our table 90% of the time. I slyly confirmed with John that we had a cake ordered for tonight, and he already had it noted on our ticket. He obviously had experience with this sort of thing, and quietly had me designate who the cake was for. It was like being a spy on Get Smart, talking in hushed tones, lips not moving much, resembling a ventriloquist. I kept waiting for the dome of silence to be lowered, but we easily covered all of the birthday details before that was needed.
I was the only one of the group to get an appetizer, and only because they had an artisan cheese assortment on the menu. This began the only service flaw of the evening. If you’ll notice, I am not listing the various cheeses. That’s partially because they change occasionally, and aren’t on any menu that I can find. But it’s mainly because once I received the cheese plate, nobody told me what these were, or brought me a list to read for myself.
I tried them, and I do fondly recall a beautiful 2-year-old Vermont white cheddar from Shelburne Farms, but beyond that, I was not sure what I was eating. The 4 different 1 oz. portions weren’t huge, but several of us tried a few. Anyway, it would have been helpful to have gotten at least a brief run-down of the names when the plate was presented, or better yet, gotten the cheese list back itself, which I had been handed to make the decision initially. The cheeses were excellent, whatever they were.
The adults ordered 3 different items:
Rib-Eye – a nice cut, though I believe it was 12 ounces this night (I could be wrong), cooked perfectly as ordered. The horseradish mashed potatoes were good, and powerfully pungent. It took me a minute to figure out what else was covering the steak, but it turned out it was their red wine butter. It was tasty, but the presentation was on top of the steak, and it looked like a pink foam, or even a purple ricotta. It looked funny, but tasted great.
Filet Mignon – an absolutely delicious filet, cooked as ordered. The plain mashed potatoes were perfect, and I think that pairing the horseradish mashed potatoes would have taken some attention away from an excellent cut of meat.
Prime Rib – served as ordered. The flavor was consistent throughout, which is unusual (some places use a spice rub, so the flavor changes as you approach the center of the cut). The savory garlic bread pudding looked almost like a giant muffin. The garlic was strong enough to notice from across the table, but hey, it said ‘savory’ in the description.
As a side dish for the table, we ordered the creamed spinach, which was good. The bread served with the meal was rather simple, when compared to the cost of the menu items, but it was fresh and tasty. It also came with roasted garlic cloves, aside from the usual butter.
I don’t have notes on what the kids had, but they were quite happy as well.
For dessert, John brought out the cake, without any cues from me, at just the right time. After we were done with the blowing out of the candle, he then took it to the back, and had it cut and plated (a very nice service touch).
Again, I don’t have the total for the bill. But, they do take the DDE discount card, and I know that was a 20% savings.
Summary: We have been trying to dine at the Yachtsman for many years, and now we have. The beef was perfect, the service very good, and everyone enjoyed their meal. We felt that the Yachtsman was much more open and welcoming than the dark wood surroundings at Shula’s (especially for children), but both places have excellent beef, and the service is, as it should be, above average. Can I say which place has the best steaks? Well I have my own opinion on that, but as far as a nicer dining experience, I don’t think you can go wrong with either one. When we have it in the vacation budget for a nice dinner out, and we decide on steak, it’s going to be a tough decision to make next time. That DDE discount might be the deciding factor in our future steak decisions.
FOOTNOTE: Our entire party had steak leftover, and 2 slices of the cake, so all of that went back to our room with us. On our last day, when our party size had dropped and we changed hotels, I ended up having some of the rib-eye, prime rib, filet mignon, and leftover birthday cake for breakfast. I can only offer this disclaimer –
The stunts you read about here were performed by, or under the supervision of, professionals. Do not try this at home.
To quote Captain McAllister - "Tis no man, Tis a remorseless eating machine. Arghh."
NEXT UP: Cape May Character Breakfast
I savored the title all week, during any quiet moments at WDW.
While not the official title of the Brenda thread (which is delightful by the way), I still felt that I could be perceived as being unoriginal if I used it. So, not wanting to seem unoriginal, I am not titling this list of reviews. On to business.
We have a ressie for X-mas day. He is a total traditionalist where ham and x-mas are concerned. I guess I need to start looking for another option, although this late in the game may be difficult. Any suggestions?
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