Looking for info on Big River Grille

[vanillarum]

Hey gang. Can you tell me something about this place ? Do they accept ADRs ? How is the food and how are the crowds ? We will be at the world from Dec 3 - 10 and are thinking of trying this out. Thanx for your help.

 

[krb2g]

We often stay at the Boardwalk and enjoy eating at the Big River Grille. They don't take ADRs (don't know about the dining plan since we don't use it). Last time I got the flight of their in-house beers and enjoyed it.

 

[natfrac]

We find the food to be okay, but it can be really noisy. If it's warm enough, it's nice to sit outside.

 

[OKW Lover]

Haven't been impressed with the food at this place and our experience with the service there has been absolutely horrible.

 

[Sweet Melissa]

I don't think it will be too crowded the time of year you're considering going. They don't take ADRs but you can call the restaurant directly for a reservation. We've never had a problem walking up to the place. The food and beer are decent, though I wouldn't go too far out of my way to eat there. It's fine for a casual lunch. I think another place to consider in the same area is the Cabana Bar at the Dolphin.

 

[bumbershoot]

It's a weird, barren, stark space where sounds echo like you wouldn't believe. I was really surpassed at how ugly the place was.

The service wasn't the best, the server made assumptions about the groupings at the table based on what the kids looked like, and let that interfere with how she served us. She totally mixed up my husband and cousin's salads and when informed (same salads, different dressings and both had already put dressings on, not realizing the ranch vs blue cheese problem) she did not run to get new salads but let people try to doctor their salads to make them merely OK. My husband was fine, my cousin was NOT, but refused to complain more than telling the server about the problem.

We were two groups with two checks and two TIW cards, but my cousin's card was printed on regular ticket stock. In almost a year this has not been a problem, as you can turn it over and see the TIW info. This server didn't even look. Returned my receipts and card just fine, but told my cousin that they don't take AP discounts. Then didn't even apologize when she realized her error, despite us having told her that we had TIW cards...

My cousin wanted to erase the auto-tip and I left at that point, but ultimately she tipped and didn't talk to the server or manager about anything. Oh, and once outside she realized her son had left his Lego catalog at the table...she ran in, maybe a minute after leaving, and they'd already thrown it in the trash. Ugh.




The cheese they put on their nachos is tasty, but I doubt I'd go there again. And, sadly, the beer I had wasn't even very good!

 

[bound2travel]

I've gone there 2 or 3 times as a solo. I've enjoyed it every time. I had a steak both times and found it good. I really liked the veggie served with the steak and I don't like many veggies. I had a dessert once and it was ok - don't remember what it was though.

I've only ever walked up so I don't know about getting reservations. I don't think I've had to wait more than a few minutes but I've only gone at lunch.

I'd go again on my next trip, but don't think I have the time.

 

[Jestocost]

Big River Grill does accept reservations, but you can't make them through the Disney ADR system and have to call the restaurant directly. BRG is owned and operated by CraftWorks Restaurants and Breweries, the same company that runs a number of chains, most notably Rock Bottom, Gordon Biersch and Old Chicago. If you are familiar with any of those, you can get some idea of what to expect at BRG.

 

[nicki.momof3]

We often stay at the Boardwalk and enjoy eating at the Big River Grille. They don't take ADRs (don't know about the dining plan since we don't use it). Last time I got the flight of their in-house beers and enjoyed it.

Big River Grill DOES take reservations. All you have to do is call them directly. I am not sure you will need them. We were there on 12/23/10 at noon and we had a reservation for 5 but it was not busy and there were a ton of tables available.

 

[nilseks]

The two times we've been there, it has been absolutely dead. In fact one of the times it was about 2:30 p.m. and we were the only ones in there for the ENTIRE time we were dining. This may be due to the not-so-great food and the poor service. DH and brother went there and NEVER got a bill. Their server just disappeared after he dropped off their food, no other servers to be found, it was a ghost town. They eventually just guestimated their bill (with NO tip!), left money on the table and walked out.

As you can probably tell, not a big fan of that place. If you're a microbrew fan you may not find it impressive either. DH is a huge beer snob and brews his own beer--he was not thrilled.

 

[vanillarum]

Thanx for the info every1. Don't know if we'll try it or not.

 

[sharadoc]

Burgers and Beer sitting outside at twilight is beautiful and tasty. Inside or anything else on the menu, not so great. Kids loved chocolate cake too.

 

[ScoJo15]

It's on the very short list of places that we'll never return to. We didn't think it was clean, the service was very lacking...definitley not worth it, especially with so many awesome restaurants right there in the immediate area (Bluezoo, Shula's, Kimonos, Il Mulino, Kouzzina)