Skipper Canteen
Skipper Canteen has been our long-time favorite for a sit-down meal at Magic Kingdom. The food can be hit or miss but is good more often than not, the servers are usually fun, and we love the theming and all the things to look at in the restaurant. My parents had never been before, so I was excited to see what they thought. We arrived at 6:26pm, a minute late for our 6:25pm reservation. We didn’t have to wait very long to be sat.
We’ve been sat in the main dining room (the Mess Hall) and the S.E.A. room a couple of times, but this was the first time we were sat in the Jungle Room. Our skipper was light on the jokes this time, but he was attentive and helpful. We started with our drink order. I have always leaned toward the wine in the past and then wished I ordered the Kungaloosh beer after tasting Pat’s. So, this time I went with a Kungaloosh too.
This is an African-inspired deep amber ale brewed exclusively for Walt Disney World, $11. I really like the spices in this.
When we mentioned a few of us were vegetarian, our server shared that the Pao de Queijo (cheese bread served with cream cheese and chimichurri sauce) on the secret menu were vegetarian. I had already read/heard about these and was planning to order them anyway, but it was nice he shared about them. I didn’t know about these on previous trips! So of course, we placed an order.
My dad doesn’t like much cheese or dairy, so he skipped these, but the rest of us loved them. The girls said they tasted like goldfish. We almost placed a second order of them, but knew we had a lot more food still coming. In hindsight, we probably should have placed a second order, because we ended up waiting another 25 minutes before our main entrees came out. We received our entrees nearly an hour after we were seated, which I think is unusual at most table service restaurants where they’re trying to turn the tables over quickly.
I ordered my usual, the Curried Vegetable Crew Stew (a favorite of the crew stew crew, especially Stu, seasoned vegetables and pineapple tofu in a house-made curry sauce served with coconut rice, $23). The quality of this dish has varied over the years but this was a very good version. My only complaint was that it was very light on the protein (tofu), I think there were literally only 6 bites of tofu. Even with food prices today where they are, compare that to the portions of meat below; I think Disney can do better. That said, the tofu and rice were both flavored nicely and I ate almost everything on my plate.
The girls ordered their typical mac n’ cheese, both with fruit on the side. This came with 2 sides, for the 2nd side they each chose a dessert; DD7 picked the Volcano cake and DD9 picked the chocolate-covered banana pieces.
My MIL ordered the “Tastes like Chicken” Because it is! This was crispy-fried chicken with chili-soy glaze, Jasmine rice, and pickled vegetable slaw, $28.
Pat ordered the Sustainable Fish, listed as “Not Pirahnha” served over bok choy, lotus root, bell peppers, and shiitake mushrooms in a light ginger-lemon grass broth, $32. He thinks it might have been mahi but doesn’t remember for sure. We’re pretty sure my dad ordered the same thing (I’m missing a picture).
My mom (or my dad? We can’t remember) ordered what we think is the Dr. Falls Signature Grilled Steak (marinated hanger steak lomo saltado-style with roasted peppers, onions, tomatoes and aji Amarillo aioli, $38), though from the picture I think it might be the “Hardy Har Char” Siu Pork tenderloins, which says it’s served with house-pickled vegetables and Jasmine Rice, $29.
No one remembers ordering the steak or pork or whatever that mystery meat is, but some of them remember “tasting” it. I clearly should have taken better notes or pictures, but the fact that the adults could not remember who ordered what tells me that these entrees were not especially memorable, though everyone thought they had a good meal. So, take that as you will.
For this meal, Pat and the girls were on the dining plan, and I was not, having used my table service credit for my more expensive meal at Rose and Crown instead. Therefore, Pat had dessert included and ordered the Coconut Bar with Pineapple-Basil Compote and Vanilla Cream (Vanilla chiffon cake and coconut and lime-white chocolate ganache, $9).
Dessert came out 30 minutes after our main entrees, just before 8:00pm. We were running low on time for our upcoming LLs (Big Thunder Mountain and Peter Pan), so we asked for the check while we ate quickly. I love the coconut bar dessert! Overall, it was another great meal at Skipper Canteen, and this will continue to be a must-do on future trips.
The total for 1 adult TS (4 of 16 credits used) and the 2 kid TS (4 of 16 credits used) came to $79.88 with tax. This brought our running total value on the dining plan to $748.86 of the $1,746 we paid for it.
