Should You Spend Over $100 For Dinner at This Restaurant in Disney World?

It’s no secret that when it comes to dining in Disney World, it’s hard to beat Disney Springs.

You’ve got restaurants owned by celebrity chefs, restaurants that have won major awards, and restaurants that people wait in long lines for. We decided to visit Disney Springs recently and thought we’d stop into Paddlefish, which is a restaurant that boasts a great view and good food, two of our favorite combinations. But does it live up to its promises? Let’s find out.

Background

Paddlefish has been designed to look like a modern luxury steamboat that sits on Lake Buena Vista with 360-degree waterfront views. The food here has been designed by Executive Chef Steve Richard and boasts a menu rich with seafood.

Of course, you’ll also find chicken, a pork chop, and filet mignon on the menu here if seafood isn’t really your thing.

Atmosphere

When you go to check-in at Paddlefish, you’ll find a small seated patio area where you can wait to be called for your table. There’s also an area inside where you can wait if the weather isn’t to your liking.

The restaurant boasts multiple stories, so there are plenty of tables and seating. The vibe inside continues with that luxury modern steamboat feel with modern decor, tables, and chairs.

This nautical theme carries over to the wall decor, too.

It’s all got a very upscale feel, though.

There are a variety of rooms to dine in, each with its own vibe.

Food & Drinks

You’ll find a variety of seafood specialties here, like Starters that include calamari, crab cakes, and more. There are also soups and salads to choose from, as well as chilled and raw seafood. Mains include catfish, shrimp, scallops, a catch of the day, and more. However, the “From the Land” section of the menu includes chicken, beef, and vegetarian options.

A variety of drinks are also available, including mocktails, cocktails, beer, wine, and flights.

Speaking of wine, you’ll find an extensive wine list.

You’ll start with a pretty standard bread service with pull-apart rolls. We would have preferred the rolls to have had some kind of glaze on top, like the bread you get at The BOATHOUSE, but overall it was good. The sea salt butter is creamy and light.

For a starter, we ordered the New England Clam Chowder with bacon, potatoes, and cream for $8 a cup (you can also get a bowl for $10). It was delicious, but we thought the price was a little steep for just a cup. However, this IS a higher-end dining experience.

The chowder is thick and creamy. It’s also very rich. We appreciated that it was served warm and the steam was still rising from the cup when it arrived at our table.

The Crab-topped Fries are skin-on fries with Blue Crab and Louie dressing. This crab is a little clumpy and chewy, but it had a nice seafood brine taste to it. The fries, though, were just okay — ours were soggy. We did like the sauce, though. The green onions added a little more flavor, but overall, we’re not sure we would order this again for $19.

For our main entree, we ordered the Salmon, which is served with a miso vinaigrette, vegetable stir fry, wasabi mash, and crimini bacon for $35. It was okay, but we found it a bit dry, although it was covered in that kind of gravy.

The vegetables were the best part of the dish, which were rich. The wasabi mashed potatoes surprised us because there’s actual wasabi in it (like the wasabi legumes). This gave the mashed potatoes an almost chemical kind of taste. Our server noticed our distaste and offered to bring us some regular mashed potatoes instead. So it’s good to know that’s an option.

The Seafood Boil Peel & Eat Key West Pink Shrimp is served with served with sweet corn on the cob, red potatoes, and cornbread for $39. You also get a little tub of butter on the side. The shrimp are kind of small, and yes, you have to peel and eat them. Our biggest issue is that there’s no seasoning to the shrimp at all, which made it pretty bland.

The sides were also pretty standard. We just wanted more flavor from this dish, maybe because we expected a Cajun-type flavor, but this wasn’t like that.

Our favorite part of the meal, though, was the Flan with rum-infused caramel custard for $12. We’re picky about flan, but this one tasted much like what we’d make at home. The back end is very creamy and you can tell a lot of care was put into this dessert.

Here’s the thing: a lot of flan in Disney World is made with a mix — we spoke with a Paddlefish server who told us this one was not. It was creamy and rich.

We did question the sugar on top and might have preferred it sitting in more of a bed of caramel, but those are just small complaints.

Magic or Tragic?

A meal at Paddlefish could be magic if…

• You want somewhere to celebrate a special occasion. This is more of a luxury dining experience, and it’s perfect for things like anniversaries and birthdays.
• You like seafood. If you’re looking for seafood, the menu here has a lot of different options.
• You’re not on a budget. This is a pricey restaurant, so if you have money to blow, you’ll not cringe when you see the menu.

A meal at Paddlefish could be tragic if…

• You’re on a budget. As we mentioned, this restaurant is pricey, and if you’re on a tight budget, you should probably skip it.
• You have picky eaters in your group. Although there are options to seafood on the menu, there isn’t a lot here for super picky eaters.
• You want more vegetarian options. There isn’t a lot here for vegetarians, and most of the options don’t seem very well thought out.

Check back with AllEars again soon for more.

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What do you think? Have you dined at Paddlefish? What did you think? Let us know in the comments!

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