Big River Grille - Boardwalk Hotel

[TravelinSouth]

Has anyone eaten here? I know you can't make an ADR, but my husband is interested in going here for dinner. I have made an ADR for the night we would be able to go to the Big River Grille, but I'm wondering how easy it is to get a reservation 24 hours in advance there (that's all that is accepted) and if the food is good.

This is our first time to DW and I'd love to see the Boardwalk hotel as well as allow my husband to visit yet another Brew Pub.

 

[CAJUNWDWFAN]

My father and I ate there last October and we really enjoyed it. We both got the grilled meatloaf. Very good! And if you like beer get one of the samplers. You get to try a little of each of there signature brews. My girlfriend and I are eating there in June.

 

[GoldieSaysMeep]

Big river does not take ADRs. Never had any problem just walking in there, but then again, I have never really had a problem walking in many non character meal places that others on the board seem to have trouble with so I don't know. I'm usually just a party of 2 or solo though.

As for the food at BR, I always thought the burgers were good. I might eat here in Sept. because I think my boyfriend will like checking out their beers.

 

[bwg1969]

We ate there 4/26, without any reservation. They were giving larger parties a 2 hour wait time, but we (party of 2) were seated within 20 mins or so.

The food and service was good. I would definitely eat there again. We used DDP and felt we definitely got a great value.

If you do have to wait, it's very nice to just walk around on the Boardwalk. There were lots of activities going on when we were there. The pagers basically work on that side of the Boardwalk (or so we were told).

Hope this helps.

 

[wood145]

We ate there on 4/23. We arrived around 6:50pm and was told there was a 45 minute wait (family of 5). We put our name in and DH went to see how long the wait was for Spoodles - 2 hours! We knew we'd have to wait, arriving at that hour and we could have been seated sooner if we wanted to sit outside. Food was good, better then expected and the beer was delicious!
We'll go there again.

Karen

 

[TravelinSouth]

After everyone's response so far, I'm sure this will be a better option for my family. We'll probably arrive there early that night as we'll be at Animal Kingdom and will probably leave there right after the Jungle Parade at 4pm. How long do you think it would take me to get from AK to the Boardwalk?

 

[OKW Lover]

If you like beer this place is good. If you like good food and good service, then you may want to think again. We've not been impressed with this place and after several tries we've just given up on it - too many other good choices to waste time there.

 

[Greg K.]

After everyone's response so far, I'm sure this will be a better option for my family. We'll probably arrive there early that night as we'll be at Animal Kingdom and will probably leave there right after the Jungle Parade at 4pm. How long do you think it would take me to get from AK to the Boardwalk?

If memory serves, buses go directly to and from AK and the BW.

Figure on a 10 minute bus ride, and a 10 minute walk from the bus stop to the restaurant (though if you're hungry and feel like sprinting, you can do it in less...).

 

[madalex]

We go to Big River at least once every trip. The food is pretty good, the beers are very good and we have never had a problem with the service. Strolling around the Boardwalk (and the entire Epcot resort area) after dinner is great fun.

 

[sunny04]

Unless this has changed, you can call the restaurant and make reservations about a month out. I haven't called in about a year to check on that, but last year I called the restaurant itself and was told this. It might be worth a try if you know you want to try it. But, I have heard from most people that it's one that you can walk up to and get into normally as well.

 

[Greg K.]

Unless this has changed, you can call the restaurant and make reservations about a month out. I haven't called in about a year to check on that, but last year I called the restaurant itself and was told this. It might be worth a try if you know you want to try it. But, I have heard from most people that it's one that you can walk up to and get into normally as well.

It tends to be busier at night -- when the B'walk is busy. In the afternoons, we've walked in for lunch and the place is nearly deserted. (Perhaps even moreso now, since they moved the DVC sales center from the BW. It used to be right next door to the restaurant, and I imagine they'd get a lot of foot traffic...)

 

[acourtwdw]

I would plan on more than 20 minutes for travel time. The bus that goes to Ak also stops at BB and sometimes does the loop of the hotels in that area.

We ate there a long time ago, so I can't help on the food or service. Sorry.

 

[Deb & Bill]

You either like it or hate it. We had a decent meal for lunch one time, so we decided to eat dinner there on a later trip. Imagine meat, burned on the outside, yet frozen on the inside. Rude servers, rude manager, rude hostess. Dirty table that we finally had to clear ourselves because the server never did. A dinner from HECK. We won't go back.

 

[Belle72]

We ate there 4/25- an early dinner. Had no trouble getting a table at 5 pm. We were a party of 4. We were asked if we'd like to be seated inside or out and we chose outside. The atmosphere is pleasant and relaxing. The service we had was very good. We all LOVED the fresh squeezed lemonade. My dinner salad was OK and dh's pasta dish just ok, too. I still would probably be likely to return if I stayed in that area. I'd try something different off the menu. Just an FYI- we also ate at Spoodles later in our trip and it was very good. We have very young children so again it was at 5 pm. They got us in within 10-15 minutes. If you have the choice I'd go with Spoodles. There isn't any outdoor dining for Spoodles unless your grabbing pizza at the outdoor window.

 

[jennib5426]

I was there ove spring break in April, got a table for 2 immediatly around 6pm.
You can call 30 days in advance for a reservation. I saw alot of business people form confrences at this place with large parties.
They had a great pomagranite margarita and my food was good.
I would return again.

 

[xipetotec]

Has anyone eaten here? I know you can't make an ADR, but my husband is interested in going here for dinner. I have made an ADR for the night we would be able to go to the Big River Grille, but I'm wondering how easy it is to get a reservation 24 hours in advance there (that's all that is accepted) and if the food is good.

This is our first time to DW and I'd love to see the Boardwalk hotel as well as allow my husband to visit yet another Brew Pub.

Our whole family ( and we go down 14-16 people, grand parents, aunt, cousins, us, kids ) loves this place. The food is good pub grub, and the hand crafted beers are very good. What's even better is if the weather is nice, you cna sit right on the boardwalk overlooking the lake. We always eat here at least once, and sometimes hang out in the evening for a couple of beers too.

 

[disnut8]

This is our first time to DW and I'd love to see the Boardwalk hotel as well as allow my husband to visit yet another Brew Pub.

To quote Bill Engvall but in a good way - "There's your sign!"

Have your husband get the beer sampler. Really good deal.