Tried a restaurant I hadn't been to in 6 years: Boatright's

[zackiedawg]

Since I've been DVC, I rarely stay at moderate resorts, but I still occasionally search out restaurants to try - some new, or some that may have changed since I last went. I take trips to Disney every 3 months or so, and it gives me plenty of nights to hit my favorites and mix in a few different spots.

I had tried Boatright's about 6 years ago - and it wasn't bad, but it wasn't stand-out in any way that made me want to go back...and I realized it had been quite a while when I was looking for some 'close to Saratoga Springs' dining options for my trip last week. I kept my meals as much as possible to the Disney Springs area so I could walk back to my villa in Saratoga at the end of dinner - I'd do park days, then back to Saratoga or walk to a nearby connected resort and then bus to Disney Springs. I had an Art Smith's, a T-Rex, and a Frontera Cocina booked for various nights, but to try something a little different, Boatright's caught my eye. It was a nice boat ride over and back from Disney Springs, so still counted in the 'close to Saratoga' category, plus I do often spend time at River Roost at Christmas time to see Yehaa Bob.

I will say I was pleasantly surprised with the meal in a good way - it was better than I remembered the previous visit, and everything was good enough to merit going back again on future trips. The corn bread was tasty, the sweet tea was perfect, french onion soup was actually pretty good, and the prime rib which I ordered blackened was delicious with a respectable blackened spice. Stopped by River Roost for a blood orange margarita afterwards, then a lovely long boat ride back to Disney Springs.

I rarely see anyone mention it in these forums, don't see many reviews online, and like myself, many people might have gone once or twice in the past and forgot it, or didn't find it too memorable. Knowing how much restaurants can change at Disney from visit to visit, I don't take it for granted that it will be as good in the future - but for now, I'd definitely be happy to dine there again. I just hope it's not a one-off, where my return visit to a restaurant was so much better than expected and prompted me to go back again, only for the subsequent visit to be bad enough to put me off for another decade (Sebastian's, Tony's Town Square).

 

[Simba's Mom]

Thanks for the review! I'm another one who hasn't been to Boatrights in years, may have to try it again.

 

[RuntheMouse]

Although we don’t venture over there often, we do enjoy Boatwrights and have never had a bad meal there!

 

[hhisc16]

Since I've been DVC, I rarely stay at moderate resorts, but I still occasionally search out restaurants to try - some new, or some that may have changed since I last went. I take trips to Disney every 3 months or so, and it gives me plenty of nights to hit my favorites and mix in a few different spots.

I had tried Boatright's about 6 years ago - and it wasn't bad, but it wasn't stand-out in any way that made me want to go back...and I realized it had been quite a while when I was looking for some 'close to Saratoga Springs' dining options for my trip last week. I kept my meals as much as possible to the Disney Springs area so I could walk back to my villa in Saratoga at the end of dinner - I'd do park days, then back to Saratoga or walk to a nearby connected resort and then bus to Disney Springs. I had an Art Smith's, a T-Rex, and a Frontera Cocina booked for various nights, but to try something a little different, Boatright's caught my eye. It was a nice boat ride over and back from Disney Springs, so still counted in the 'close to Saratoga' category, plus I do often spend time at River Roost at Christmas time to see Yehaa Bob.

I will say I was pleasantly surprised with the meal in a good way - it was better than I remembered the previous visit, and everything was good enough to merit going back again on future trips. The corn bread was tasty, the sweet tea was perfect, french onion soup was actually pretty good, and the prime rib which I ordered blackened was delicious with a respectable blackened spice. Stopped by River Roost for a blood orange margarita afterwards, then a lovely long boat ride back to Disney Springs.

I rarely see anyone mention it in these forums, don't see many reviews online, and like myself, many people might have gone once or twice in the past and forgot it, or didn't find it too memorable. Knowing how much restaurants can change at Disney from visit to visit, I don't take it for granted that it will be as good in the future - but for now, I'd definitely be happy to dine there again. I just hope it's not a one-off, where my return visit to a restaurant was so much better than expected and prompted me to go back again, only for the subsequent visit to be bad enough to put me off for another decade (Sebastian's, Tony's Town Square).

We plan on trying this in our June trip.
What you ordered is exactly what I want! haha

 

[disneyseniors]

Since I've been DVC, I rarely stay at moderate resorts, but I still occasionally search out restaurants to try - some new, or some that may have changed since I last went. I take trips to Disney every 3 months or so, and it gives me plenty of nights to hit my favorites and mix in a few different spots.

I had tried Boatright's about 6 years ago - and it wasn't bad, but it wasn't stand-out in any way that made me want to go back...and I realized it had been quite a while when I was looking for some 'close to Saratoga Springs' dining options for my trip last week. I kept my meals as much as possible to the Disney Springs area so I could walk back to my villa in Saratoga at the end of dinner - I'd do park days, then back to Saratoga or walk to a nearby connected resort and then bus to Disney Springs. I had an Art Smith's, a T-Rex, and a Frontera Cocina booked for various nights, but to try something a little different, Boatright's caught my eye. It was a nice boat ride over and back from Disney Springs, so still counted in the 'close to Saratoga' category, plus I do often spend time at River Roost at Christmas time to see Yehaa Bob.

I will say I was pleasantly surprised with the meal in a good way - it was better than I remembered the previous visit, and everything was good enough to merit going back again on future trips. The corn bread was tasty, the sweet tea was perfect, french onion soup was actually pretty good, and the prime rib which I ordered blackened was delicious with a respectable blackened spice. Stopped by River Roost for a blood orange margarita afterwards, then a lovely long boat ride back to Disney Springs.

I rarely see anyone mention it in these forums, don't see many reviews online, and like myself, many people might have gone once or twice in the past and forgot it, or didn't find it too memorable. Knowing how much restaurants can change at Disney from visit to visit, I don't take it for granted that it will be as good in the future - but for now, I'd definitely be happy to dine there again. I just hope it's not a one-off, where my return visit to a restaurant was so much better than expected and prompted me to go back again, only for the subsequent visit to be bad enough to put me off for another decade (Sebastian's, Tony's Town Square).

We always went to Boatwrights every trip for a delicious meal. We were never disappointed.

 

[mom2missmous]

We always went to Boatwrights every trip for a delicious meal. We were never disappointed.

We haven't gone there in a while because we don't like spicy food and it sounds like it might be a bit "hot' now ( and I also don't eat any seafood lol). Am I mistaken and the food isn't really spicy? We would LOVE to try this place again as Riverside (then Dixie Landings) was the first hotel we stayed on at Disney ( and always was our go-to UNTIL we bought DVC lol!)

 

[PetePanMan]

The shrimp and grits at boatwrights is excellent

 

[disneyseniors]

We haven't gone there in a while because we don't like spicy food and it sounds like it might be a bit "hot' now ( and I also don't eat any seafood lol). Am I mistaken and the food isn't really spicy? We would LOVE to try this place again as Riverside (then Dixie Landings) was the first hotel we stayed on at Disney ( and always was our go-to UNTIL we bought DVC lol!)

We haven't been to there for a long while, so they might have changed to spicy food? But I hate spicy food and we never encountered it when we were there, or I wouldn't have gone back.

 

[zackiedawg]

The spicy foods are only certain dishes, and options. For example, the prime rib is served with a very lightly spiced (not hot) butter. But they include the option to order it 'blackened', which adds much more of a cajun spice which has a nice kick. I would expect the Jambalaya to have a little spice to it since that dish traditionally does. But the all you can eat meat sampler shouldn't be very hot, nor the seafood boil, salmon, or fried chicken. I don't eat shrimp so I can't say whether the shrimp and grits has a spicy sauce or not - the andouille sausages usually have a little kick, so you could avoid those in that dish. And the french onion soup, salad, and pimiento fritters all don't have any hot spices in them (the fritter dip has some pepper).

 

[Simba's Mom]

The shrimp and grits at boatwrights is excellent

Thanks for the recommendation. I LOVE Shrimp and Grits, and I saw on the menu that that's one of the very few places at WDW where I can get them.

 

[Harmacist]

Shhhh. What I like most about Boatwrights is one restaurant I really don't need to worry about getting an ADR for, it's almost always available for walk up waitlist for a reasonable time. When we star at POR it's nice to be able to just hop in when convenient for us and not have to plan around a reservation. Last time we went early, had a nice meal and hopped over to grab a table to see Bob. We may do that again next summer.

Boatwrights I think will always go under the radar since, unless you are staying at one of the PO resorts, most won't go to th effort of getting there. Why go the there, when it's easier to get Springs if staying onsite and the selection is much broader there. It works out for us.

 

[OKW Lover]

I'm interested to hear that Boatwrights is getting good reviews now. There was a long stretch where in was in decline and a lot of people stopped eating there.

I'm wondering how easy it is to get into PO parking lot these days if you don't have an ADR or are staying there. We are local and occasionally like to go to eat on the spur of the moment. Will the gate guard let us in?

 

[zackiedawg]

I'm one who had avoided Boatright's as mentioned in my original thread - I was not impressed the last time I ate there.

I wouldn't suspect that they'd be too aggressive at turning people away there - usually it's the resorts that are connected to theme parks that are much more restrictive about parking, but it could still depend on the guard you get that day. I've been able to drive over to see Yehaa Bob and gotten in many times, so it should be easy. Worst-case is you could park at Disney Springs and hop the boat over to Riverside. It adds 20-30 minutes to your commute - but it wouldn't bother me as I really enjoy the calm boat ride.