REVIEW: We Have Three Words About This Disney World Restaurant - Parker House Rolls

If you had a chance to leave EPCOT and eat somewhere else, would you?

Well, that’s sort of what we decided to do when we recently dined at Ale & Compass Restaurant at Disney’s Yacht Club. Was it worth leaving EPCOT for? And if we had a choice, would we do it again? Keep reading to find out!

Background

Unlike some Disney World restaurants, there isn’t a whole story at Ale & Compass, but the concept of the restaurant is a coastal-inspired gastropub that reminds you of a cozy lighthouse, just like the one right outside the hotel it’s located in.

Atmosphere

You’ll find the restaurant just off the main lobby of the Yacht Club Resort. The restaurant’s theme keeps with the theme of the hotel as a whole. The idea is that the resort is a grand New England-style yacht club where you might find yourself hanging out with the type of people who vacation in Cape Cod for the entire summer. You’ll check in just outside the restaurant in the Yacht Club lobby.

The restaurant is just one open dining room, and as we mentioned, the theme here is nautical and very lighthouse-like. The color scheme is very nautical, too, with loads of blues. There are both booth seats and chairs at each table.

It’s a nice dining area that feels a little fancy, but not so fancy that we felt we needed to change out of our casual clothes. It was also nice and quiet, but still lively enough that it wasn’t uncomfortable. There is a candle on each table and you’ll find a place seating with utensils and a cloth napkin. Warning, though: the lighting in here can be a little dim.

There’s also a bar right next to the restaurant, the Ale & Compass Lounge.

You’ll find beers, wines, and cocktails here, but there’s also a limited menu. Plus if you get a craving for those Parker House Rolls, they’re available in the lounge.

Food & Drinks

Like its theme, the food here is inspired by New England. Think Fish & Chips, burgers, some specialties, and more. Signature cocktails are also available, along with standard beverages.

You can also order cocktails, beers, ciders, and wine.

We ordered the Spicy Pomegranate Margarita, made with El Mayor Blanco Tequila, Ancho Reyes Chili Liqueur, Pomegranate Juice, Simple Syrup, and Lime Juice for $16. Although this says it’s spicy, we didn’t get any spicy flavor from it at all.

We also couldn’t taste the pomegranate, so this ended up tasting like a regular margarita. We’ll admit we were disappointed by the lack of flavor and we wouldn’t order it again.

However, the Maple Old Fashioned was a hit. It’s made with Old Forester Bourbon, Maple Syrup, Orange Juice, and Angostura Bitters for $15. This was a solid old fashioned. It had just the right amount of sweetness, but you could still taste the liquor, but with just a hint of maple as you sip on it.

We’ll admit that we drank this one faster than we do most drinks like this, so we think that’s proof we really liked it. We would recommend this drink.

But let’s get to the food! We started with some appetizers, including the Parker House Rolls and Spreads for $14. You get those delicious rolls with Bacon Jam, Pub Cheese, and Citrus Butter Spreads. These are a staple here for a reason. The bread is light and fluffy — it was like biting into a cloud.

The spreads are SO good, too. The pub cheese was a favorite and it reminded us of a port wine cheese.

The bacon jam is nicer and fatty with a hint of sweetness.

The citrus butter is interesting because it’s so silky, but there’s a nice acidic citrus taste to it with a generous amount of salt.

We also ordered the Roasted ‘Buffalo-style’ Cauliflower, which is served with Hearts of Romaine and Herb Ranch for $10. We loved this. The cauliflower is nice and soft and you get a nice buffalo flavor with each bite. It’s also not super hot (as in spicy).

The Hearts of Romaine reminded us of the celery you get with buffalo wings at the bar. So you get a nice crunchy side to munch on.

We had to try the Short Rib “French Dip” Flatbread made with Braised Short Rib, Marinara, Sweet Peppers, Cheddar, Herb Ranch, Arugula, Grilled Lemon Juice, Chili Flake, and Au Jus for $20. The meat on this was delicious: it was super fatty and juicy and melted in your mouth.

The flatbread was also very cheesy, which we have no complaints about. The crust was perfect with a nice char, thanks to it being made in a wood fire oven. It reminded us of elevated bar food.

For one of our main plates, we got one of the signature dishes here, the New England Seafood Pot Pie for $31. It’s made with Shrimp, Scallops, Jumbo Lump Crab, and Sustainable Catch of the Day with Baby Carrots, Pearl Onions, Peas, Potatoes, and Crustacean Cream with a Flaky Crust. This is a popular menu item, but for us, something seemed off.

It did have a lot of amazing seafood in it and the vegetables were cooked perfectly, but it was severely over-salted, making it almost inedible. The pastry was also a bit chewy. It’s like it wasn’t cooked correctly.

Our other main was the Bacon and Vermont Cheddar Burger with Caramelized Onion on a Parker House Bun with Applewood-smoked Bacon, Lettuce, Tomato, and Herbed Mayonnaise for $23. We’re going to be honest. This is just a normal cheeseburger, the kind you can get at almost any Disney restaurant.

Sure, there was a nice char on the meat and it was flavorful. We didn’t notice the caramelized onions or herb mayonnaise, though. The bun was delicious, but there’s nothing super special about this burger.

Now on to dessert! The Twelve-Layer Chocolate Cake is a pretty popular item — and for good reason. It’s a Flourless Chocolate Cake and Ganache served with Milk-Coffee Chantilly for $9.50. It’s SO decadent and sweet and we liked the raspberries served with it (although we wanted more).

It was very tasty, but, again, it was still just a good normal chocolate cake. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, though.

Finally, we ended with the Warm Apple Cobbler made with Spiced Granny Smith Apples, Butter Streusel, and Frozen Vanilla Custard for $7.50.

The apples are fresh and perfectly cooked, so they’re soft but still have that little bit of snap when you bite into them. You also get a nice cinnamon flavor with each bite. The crumble on top was crunchy, which worked with the soft dessert.

Our only complaint is we wished it had come with more of that frozen custard, given its size.

Should You Go?

Although we enjoyed much of our meal here, we don’t think you would want to leave EPCOT to have lunch or dinner here. If you were staying at the Yacht Club Resort, maybe. We were disappointed with the New England Seafood Pie because we’d heard so much about it, and the burger was just…well…a burger.

The prices at Ale & Compass are moderate — by Disney standards, and we think the vibe and food could be worth it, depending on what you order. If we had a choice, though, we’d go here for breakfast over lunch and dinner. Our readers rate it at about a 7, and we’d probably agree with that.