Big River Grill & Brewing Works

[travelin' tigger]

OK everyone -

I have a reservation for here for my DBF's birthday dinner. Reasons for choosing here are:

1) He wants steak, but need a variety as my 2 DB & SILs are eating with us

2) Must be fairly INEXPENSIVE, which means most "steak places" are out (ie Yachtman's, Shula's, etc. are out)

3) DB & SILs don't have park passes

and most important
4) We have an Illuminations cruise right after dinner so it has to be in the Boardwalk area.

So, my questions are "Has anyone eaten there recently? Was it good? Or would I be better off just going to ESPN and cancelling my ressies at BRG&BW?" There aren't many reviews for this place, especially dinner and I'd heard some not-so-good reviews in the past.

Need to know soon as we're heading down in ten days. Thanks in advance!!!!

 

[Emme]

OK, Ours was probably an isolated incident but we never even made it through dinner!

To start the waitress was visibly annoyed that we were not ordering alcoholic drinks (it was lunch), had grease all over her hands and touched our soda glasses and then when we complained she said it was the restaurants fault because they didn't wash the dishes well and used her fingernail to scratch the now congealed grease (melted butter) off our glasses!!!! I SWARE I am telling the truth! Needless to say we were appalled and asked for new beverages in clean glasses and that sent her over the edge! She huffed and stormed off! At this point my DH said that's it we are out of here, so when she returned we told her we were leaving and she handed us a bill for the drinks we had refused!!!

NOW WE ARE FUMING! We called the manager and explained everything to him and he really was extremely upset with this woman and we even overheard him tell the hostess to not sit anyone else in her area...


Again, this probably was an isolated incident but it turned us off completely!
Sorry I couldn't be more positive!

Emmy

 

[tzvdmd]

We were not happy eating here either. We ate there this past summer and we wont go back. The food was just OK and I didnt care much for the beer the server recommended. On the other hand we eat at the ESPN Club every time were at the BW and always had a good experience.

 

[Bgonzalez]

We ate there last summer and, honestly, it is one of the worst restaurants in the world. In my opinion, the food is overpriced and the service is horrendous. Barring all that, the food is quite honestly substandard. Reservations anywhere else would be quite preferable.

 

[allicat]

I've been visiting these boards for years now, and I dont ever recall a good review for this place!
It never seems to be crowded either, I think that says something right there!
If I had to choose between the two, I'd go for ESPN.
What about Beaches and Cream at Beach Club for a quick burger or hot dog? They have the best burgers anywhere! Its quick, cheap and delicious!

Oops! Had to come vback and add to my post, I see someone that you are dining with wants steak. Beaches and Cream doesnt have that.
Dont know that I would order steak at ESPN, though.

 

[slimplaw]

We did not enjoy Big River either. We did like ESPN. Also, check the menu and prices at Spoodles. The food here was excellent last March. I think my chicken pasta was $16 and friend's veal cutlet was about $21. Honestly, I could have shared my pasta dish with someone. Their flatbreads are very good too.

 

[Uncleromulus]

Actually, BRG isn't bad if you stick to burgers, meatloaf, and the beer. But steak--no.
ESPN is hardly the place for steak either, and their beer offerings are at best, standard. Plus you can't hear yourself think due to all the noise.
So if steak is a must, I'm not sure there is a really good spot in the Boardwalk area that isn't $$$

 

[travelin' tigger]

I think we'll stay away from Big River. I'll look into Spoodles and ESPN, and get DBF a steak later in the trip when it's just the two of us!!!!

 

[Grumpy92]

I would not consider BRG a steak place it is brewary restaurant. The food is mostly pub food. Though we have always enjoyed it, it's not a Disney owned restaurant.
Have you thought about Concourse Steakhouse the price are not too bad for Disney. Another option might be Boatwrights they have an excellent steak there and it is a reasonable restaurant for Disney.

 

[travelin' tigger]

Grumpy92

I was originally going to the Concourse, but too many variables (mainly time) between dinner and the cruise involved - need to stay in the Boardwalk area.

Thanks anyway!!!

 

[CRSNDSNY]

I've been to Big River on two separate occasions for lunch and thoroughly enjoyed it each time. The food was great -- I had a salad each time (a salad with many many fresh veggies and a caesar salad), DH had a salad the first time with some sort of seafood on it, Mom had a hamburger. Everyone enjoyed their food. I also like their beers. Service each time was extremely good, servers were very nice and attentive.

I have no complaints about this place. In fact, we look forward to eating here each visit!

 

[Cinderella37]

We often grab a quick lunch here and have always enjoyed great service. The food is good - nothing special but typical pub fare as mentioned above. I wouldn't order anything too complex, but their apps, sandwiches, and salads are good.