Boatwrights Dining Hall in POR?????

[anorman]

Has anybody dined here recently? I just made reservations for Boatwrights. Since we are staying at POR, I thought we might as well try out their table service on site. The reviews that I am reading are a mixed bag and leaning toward the negative.....but these seem to be a couple of years old. I may go ahead and dine here anyway; we are not picky eaters and pretty much enjoy anywhere we have eaten (except Coral Reef - yuck!).

 

[MickeyNicki]

It was amazing! We ate there last month, tons of pics and full review in my May 11 thread, we scored a walk in (stayed at POFQ) and it was not busy and the food was just excellent....we enjoyed it so much we going back there in Oct

 

[anorman]

It was amazing! We ate there last month, tons of pics and full review in my May 11 thread, we scored a walk in (stayed at POFQ) and it was not busy and the food was just excellent....we enjoyed it so much we going back there in Oct

Thanks! That makes me feel a little better. I'm looking forward to it.

 

[OhThePain]

It's not the best restaurant on property but it is not the worst either. It's not usually very busy and the food is alright. Since you are staying at POR, it is a good meal if you plan on spending the night at the resort or plan on heading to DTD that night (I'm not overly thrilled with most of the DTD restaurants). I would suggest it to anyone staying at POR or POFQ looking for a lazy night, but it is not the type of restaurant I would go out of my way to eat at.

 

[supersuperwendy]

It was amazing! We ate there last month, tons of pics and full review in my May 11 thread, we scored a walk in (stayed at POFQ) and it was not busy and the food was just excellent....we enjoyed it so much we going back there in Oct

After reading your dining report the other day my tummy was growling!!! I hadn't given Boatwrights a second thought until I read your report. It looked great!

 

[summerlady]

Has anybody dined here recently? I just made reservations for Boatwrights. Since we are staying at POR, I thought we might as well try out their table service on site. The reviews that I am reading are a mixed bag and leaning toward the negative.....but these seem to be a couple of years old. I may go ahead and dine here anyway; we are not picky eaters and pretty much enjoy anywhere we have eaten (except Coral Reef - yuck!).

Our party of 4 had dinner at Boatwright's last November and loved it...service and food were excellent and the martinis were yummy too. Two of us had the beef medallions, one had the pork chop, and one ordered the prime rib, we all just couldn't resist the pecan pie for dessert. We hadn't eaten there since '08 and were not completely impressed then but thought we'd give it a try last year...glad we did. I've made ADR's again for Boatwright's this October.

Can you tell me what you didn't like about Coral Reef? I booked an ADR for lunch and am still deciding whether to keep it or not. We had dinner there in '08 and we thought the food was good although the service was very slow and the restaurant is extremely loud.

 

[bmac71]

Has anybody dined here recently? I just made reservations for Boatwrights. Since we are staying at POR, I thought we might as well try out their table service on site. The reviews that I am reading are a mixed bag and leaning toward the negative.....but these seem to be a couple of years old. I may go ahead and dine here anyway; we are not picky eaters and pretty much enjoy anywhere we have eaten (except Coral Reef - yuck!).

My family and I dined at BW last July and it was one of our favorite places we’ve eaten. Our host was prompt and courteous and the food was good. We had a party of 6 and three of us had prime rib. YUMMY! We’re going back this August and I’m looking forward to eating at BW again. We also enjoyed the boat ride from DD to POR.

 

[anorman]

Can you tell me what you didn't like about Coral Reef? I booked an ADR for lunch and am still deciding whether to keep it or not. We had dinner there in '08 and we thought the food was good although the service was very slow and the restaurant is extremely loud.

I loved the aquarium and the theming; we even had a turtle settle down right next to us and watched us eat. We had no trouble with the service at all. But for a seafood place, I really thought that their seafood would be exceptional but it wasn't at all. I can't remember exactly what we ordered, (I know we stuck with the seafood) but I do remember that most of the food was either tasteless, overcooked, or just plain unremarkable. Given the overall atmosphere I expected better; I can get better seafood here at home from a corner take-out. As I said, we are not at all picky but it just didn't come close to expectations. That being said, the theming makes it almost acceptable....almost.

 

[MaggieBailey]

DH and I ate there in November, I do remember a long wait, even with our ADR- and it wasn't my favorite..... We had the crawfish bites as an app. and they were chewy... Never had crawfish before, so maybe they are supposed to be that way - DH loved them - I did love the sauce that came with them, lol. DH had the tenderloin medallions as an entree, and I had the prime rib. I love prime rib - but am really particular as to how it's done, and I thought "It's Disney it'll be gooood". It wasn't really. Very chewy. DH thought his was "okay" but loved the sides. I truly hated dessert, the bananas foster th'ing, and it was just gross. Can't remember what DH had, but know he didn't care for it either, lol.

 

[Zeppelin]

It's not the best restaurant on property but it is not the worst either. It's not usually very busy and the food is alright. Since you are staying at POR, it is a good meal if you plan on spending the night at the resort or plan on heading to DTD that night (I'm not overly thrilled with most of the DTD restaurants). I would suggest it to anyone staying at POR or POFQ looking for a lazy night, but it is not the type of restaurant I would go out of my way to eat at.

can i ask what you ate while you were there? I've eaten at House of Blues a couple of times and really like the jumbalaya and saw some tasty looking jumbalaya on Boatwright's menu....

(and before and of you southerners kill me about the jumbalaya; i'm an italian from NY that cooks well- so there's no way i'm eating at any Italian place in Florida :wink)

 

[runner_princess]

We love Boatwright! In three trips to WDW together, and several signature dinners, Boatwright's is still DH's favorite: the service is great, we have always enjoyed the food, and they have real, brewed sweet tea!

 

[Turk February]

Wife and I ate there last year and really enjoyed it. We both had the jumbalaya and the service and food were really good. Have I had better meals? Sure. But it's nowhere near the worst meal and I would absolutely eat there again.

 

[Rekenna]

Just an FYI, Boatwright's no longer serves breakfast, only dinner. So many on this thread were stating what a great breakfast they had there, bummer, it sounded really good!

 

[akhenaten]

Just an FYI, Boatwright's no longer serves breakfast, only dinner. So many on this thread were stating what a great breakfast they had there, bummer, it sounded really good!

aww.. that is what I thought... what a shame...

 

[Quin]

That's what happens when somebody resurrects a 2008 thread......

We had dinner at BW earlier this year. We had never eaten there before; I picked it mostly because we wanted to see Bob Jackson's show that evening in the lounge. DH likes spicy food so I knew he'd be OK with Cajun choices, and I figured it was Disney so there would have to be something more "bland" for me.

I think BW wins the award for "restaurant that most exceeded my expectations". It was not our best meal by any means, but my expectations going in were so low that I was quite pleaseantly surprised. DH had the andouille-crusted catfish with cayenne butter (made my mouth burn just typing that; did I mention that I DON'T like spicy foods?). The piece of fish was enormous and he swore that it was not too heavily spiced at all. The catfish itself was well-cooked and did not have a heavy or oily taste to it, as catfish sometimes can. It came over a mountain of dirty rice iirc.

I had the beef medallions. Very tender, very flavorful. The "mac n cheese" is grown-up mac & cheese: shells with a nice white cheddar sauce, and I believe there were some asparagus spears on the plate as well. I took a corner of the crawfish beignet and thought it was nasty, but they had lovely cornbread for the table and we did get a refill on that basket. Desserts were just OK; a little dry. But after an 'Ohana dinner I don't think I would have appreciated anybody else's bread pudding.

Service was fine too. We had an ADR and waited no more than 10 minutes on a weeknight in May. Overall I would recommend BW, especially if it is convenient to your resort or if, like us, you want dinner before a raucous night down the hall with Bob Jackson.

 

[akhenaten]

That's what happens when somebody resurrects a 2008 thread......

We had dinner at BW earlier this year. We had never eaten there before; I picked it mostly because we wanted to see Bob Jackson's show that evening in the lounge. DH likes spicy food so I knew he'd be OK with Cajun choices, and I figured it was Disney so there would have to be something more "bland" for me.

I think BW wins the award for "restaurant that most exceeded my expectations". It was not our best meal by any means, but my expectations going in were so low that I was quite pleaseantly surprised. DH had the andouille-crusted catfish with cayenne butter (made my mouth burn just typing that; did I mention that I DON'T like spicy foods?). The piece of fish was enormous and he swore that it was not too heavily spiced at all. The catfish itself was well-cooked and did not have a heavy or oily taste to it, as catfish sometimes can. It came over a mountain of dirty rice iirc.

I had the beef medallions. Very tender, very flavorful. The "mac n cheese" is grown-up mac & cheese: shells with a nice white cheddar sauce, and I believe there were some asparagus spears on the plate as well. I took a corner of the crawfish beignet and thought it was nasty, but they had lovely cornbread for the table and we did get a refill on that basket. Desserts were just OK; a little dry. But after an 'Ohana dinner I don't think I would have appreciated anybody else's bread pudding.

Service was fine too. We had an ADR and waited no more than 10 minutes on a weeknight in May. Overall I would recommend BW, especially if it is convenient to your resort or if, like us, you want dinner before a raucous night down the hall with Bob Jackson.

Thanks for the review!

 

[klo1335]

Question...has anyone dined at Boatwright's recently? We are going in August and trying to decide if we want to eat here? Do you think I will need an ADR? Or can we just walk up? I have one more table credit to make an ADR at and I want to use it at a resort restaurant and can't decide what to do. We will be at Universal for the majority of the day but will be coming back to POR for dinner so I can't decide what to do.

 

[andrewilley]

You might be able to walk up (especially outside of peak hours) but in August I wouldn't really risk it.

Andre

 

[JCMHutch]

DH & I love dinner here and we go almost every trip. We've had great food (cornbread..yum) & excellent service every time we've gone. Its also been very busy each time and our servers have always been very attentive and on top of things.