What is special about Brown Derby?

[A_NY_Outlaw]

Hey everyone, I always hear favorable reviews of this Brown Derby Restaurant....I was just wondering what makes this place so special? What type of food do they serve? Is it upscale? I'm trying to gather a few places we might like to try on our next trip.

 

[suzimar57]

for me, it's the cobb salad and grapefruit cake, and sitting in an old "hollywood" style restaurant!

 

[Kae]

for me, it's the cobb salad and grapefruit cake, and sitting in an old "hollywood" style restaurant!

I agree & the white lines table cloths. It is like an Ah, when you walk in. They also have some wonderful servers & great Martini's

Kae

 

[jimmiej]

I agree & the white lines table cloths. It is like an Ah, when you walk in. They also have some wonderful servers & great Martini's

Kae

IA. A little taste of elegance in a theme park setting.

Menus:

http://www.allearsnet.com/menu/menu_bdl.htm

http://www.allearsnet.com/menu/menu_bd.htm

http://www.allearsnet.com/menu/menu_bdk.htm

 

[KatMark]

Okay...I may get bashed here...but we did not like Hollywood Brown Derby when we tried it in 2003 I think it was. The service was terrible, the waiter could not answer any questions and our meal was awful (my husband did not like the grapefruit cake at all...and he loves ALL desserts). But we always like to give a place a second change, and have decided to give it another chance next September.

 

[antmaril]

for me, it's the cobb salad and grapefruit cake, and sitting in an old "hollywood" style restaurant!

This is what I like about the Brown Derby, as well. I think the atmosphere is more adult and I like that too.

 

[jmkrat]

I would go for the Cobb salad alone. It is a little fancy, but not so fancy you feel like you have to be dressed up. Nice for older kids and adults. I thought the steak was great as well, double vanilla creme brulee, yum.

 

[MadamMim]

I have to admit that the food isn't the main appeal for me with Brown Derby. I probably wouldn't go there if I wasn't on the DDP, but once inside it's just so pretty and relaxing (and fairly empty if you go at the right time). The food was good, just nothing spectacular. I didn't particularly like the grapefruit cake either, my slice was dry and tasted like a freezer. Possibly a bad batch. But yeah, I'd totally go back just to sit and soak up the elegance of old Hollywood. Maybe order one 'a them martinis.

 

[Pakey]

The appeal to me is what you have as other options at the park for sit down meals is not very good. It's not the best of the signature type restuarants but it's the best in that part of WDW for an adult oriented meal. And one of the few adult oriented places to get lunch. Don't get me wrong, I love the cheesy sci-fi for it's setting but HBD offers a break from the Disney-theme while at the park.

I am not a fan of the cobb salad there (taste is okay but I hate the texture) and I really disliked the grapefruit cake but the martini's are excellent.

 

[Crazy Mother of Two]

The Brown Derby is wonderful IMO.

This was our 2nd nights dinner - our first night was CRT and it was HORRIBLE so this place had to redeem Disney Food and it did!!

My picky DH had the mushroom tortelloni appy and the filet mignon entree with white chocolate cheesecake. Everything was YUM!
I had the crabcake appy with the filet mignon and banana white chocolate toffee tower YUM YUM!!
The kids had grilled cheese on whole wheat (they like it!)

The restaurant has a nice quiet atmosphere with an upscale feel. The waiter was super nice and I would recommend you try it!

 

[wdwpixie]

We weren't great fans of the Brown Derby either....my steak tasted "gamey" and I wasn't a big fan of the grapefruit cake....and I had been SO looking forward to it, too....we're thinking of giving it another try, but there are so many other places we just love.

 

[Scornelius]

Add me to the 'didn't like it' list. I was there for a lunch with an imagineer, and I was pretty dissapointed with the meal. The lobster bisque was ok and the cobb salad was not bad, but the steak was definitely sub-par and I didn't like the grapefruite cake at all. My DH and I had at least one order of steak at each meal, and this one was my least favourite of the whole trip. I will say they have the best french fries on the face of the planet!! Obviously those are my own personal tastes, but I would have been kinda irked if I'd used DDP credits for it.

 

[Cinderella]

I loved the Brown Derby - the steak was great and I also loved the grapefruit cake. But, I really loved the atmosphere in the restaurant. It's very classy for a themepark dining place and a nice place to eat before Fantasmic.

 

[ibouncetoo]

for me, it's the cobb salad and grapefruit cake,

Yep, and that's why I go there for lunch and eat it on the patio...very nice experience.

 

[kribit]

I was actually going to post a question about this as well. We're thinking of doing this restaurant for the Fantasmic show. Curious to see everyones reviews.

 

[Uncleromulus]

Well-it WAS special before Fantasmic came along. Used to be quiet, not very full, few kids, a piano player playing at dinner (and once in awhile his girlfriend would be there and sing some songs), the Catwalk Bar was open-and even once in awhile a "street" character" or two would come in and make the rounds.
NOw--it's almost always always full of families waiting to see Fantasmic. Noisy and rushed. All those other things are "gone".
It is of course a pretty restaurant and those pics on the walls are interesting. The Cobb salad is good, as is the Grapefruit cake.

 

[kribit]

Well-it WAS special before Fantasmic came along. Used to be quiet, not very full, few kids, a piano player playing at dinner (and once in awhile his girlfriend would be there and sing some songs), the Catwalk Bar was open-and even once in awhile a "street" character" or two would come in and make the rounds.
NOw--it's almost always always full of families waiting to see Fantasmic. Noisy and rushed. All those other things are "gone".
It is of course a pretty restaurant and those pics on the walls are interesting. The Cobb salad is good, as is the Grapefruit cake.

It's good to know it's child friendly. I was always under the impression it was an adult restaurant.

 

[DVC Sadie]

We love the BD and have been enjoying this restaurant for many, many years. The Cobb salad is great but we also enjoy the filet mignon, baked potato and basically all of the sides.

Now that the BD is so crowded and noisy we usually just order TG and have the meal delivered to our room.

 

[Crazy Mother of Two]

We love the BD and have been enjoying this restaurant for many, many years. The Cobb salad is great but we also enjoy the filet mignon, baked potato and basically all of the sides.

Now that the BD is so crowded and noisy we usually just order TG and have the meal delivered to our room.

I feel lucky that we must have gone on a quiet day! The restaurant was very packed but the kids all seemed to be behaving. Actually, kindof peaceful. I definately noticed a difference from other TS restaurants (for example CRT was a mad house!)
Like I said in an earlier post - I loved the food (steaks were juicy & tender!) the only thing was I ordered the crabcake as an appy. It was good but I thought it had more potato than crab. (the crabcake was surrounded in a potato crust)

BTW - we did the Fantasmic package with it and it was great!! We got our Fantasmic passes at the Brown Derby and had good seats for it. (just a tip I read somewhere- don't sit in the front right few rows (I think that's the Witch Section)- apparently you get wet!! We did see a family move after getting sprayed!

 

[Uncleromulus]

Kribit: The Derby seems now as much of a "staging area" for Fantasmic as it is a restaurant. At our last meal there (a few years ago), there must have been 20 kids at the tables immediately around ours. At the table just next to ours was a family of 6 people--4 kids and the parents. They were in such a hurry to eat and see Fantasmic that they actually asked for the check BEFORE they even got their food. And the meal before that when we were checking in at the podium, a family of four was told they had to wait about 1/2 hour to be seated for their ADR (the place was packed). The lady became absolutely infuriated, claiming they were there to "see Fantasmic" and if the meal caused them to miss Fantasmic, she was going to sue the Restaurant manager and the podium staff!!!
The only way I'f go back to the BD now is if I got a table after the Fantasmic crowd left. And unfortunately, we don't like to eat that late. But fortunately, we did eat at the BD 6 or 7 times before the change, so those memories are good!!!