REVIEW: Why You'll Want To Leave EPCOT For This Disney World Hotel Lounge

We’re just going to say it: Disney’s Yacht Club Resort is an underrated Disney World hotel.

The New England yacht club theming is on point, the location can’t be beat (within steps of EPCOT), and you have a lot of dining available thanks to all the other resorts that are within walking distance. However, if you’re staying at the Yacht Club, you might want to dine at Ale & Compass Lounge inside the resort. We recently visited the lounge and now we’re giving you our honest review.

Background

You’ll find the Ale & Compass Lounge right next to Ale & Compass restaurant in the lobby of Yacht Club Resort. The lounge itself is a “nautical nook” with a variety of drinks and snacks.

Here’s what you need to know about dining at this restaurant.

Atmosphere

Like the rest of Yacht Club Resort, the Ale & Compass Lounge has a lot of wood tones with contrasting deep and dark blue, keeping with that whole nautical vibe.

You’ll also find nautical details like porthole mirrors and a collection of cool bottles. There’s even a fireplace.

Plenty of seating is also available, including tables and chairs, booths, and high top tables.

Food & Drinks

First up, we grabbed some drinks, including the No-Jito for $5.99 made with Mint, Lime Juice, and Soda Water. This is the perfect cocktail to order if you’re not a drinker but don’t want to drink a lemonade on a girl’s night out. It’s not too sweet and the mint flavor is subtle. It almost has a botanical flavor to it.

We also ordered the Just Peachy made with Cîroc Peach Vodka, Aperol, Peychaud’s Bitters, Peach, and Blood Orange for $15.50. This drink is dangerous because it tastes like a tropical punch you would enjoy as a kid, but in an adult form. It is very sweet, but you don’t taste the alcohol at all. This one goes down easy…maybe a little too easy.

The Pineapple Mule is made with Uncle Nearest 1884 Small Batch Whiskey, Hella Cocktail Co. Ginger Bitters, Pineapple Juice, Ginger Beer, and Mint for $17.50. This drink is so light and refreshing. The pineapple juice isn’t too sweet and goes well with the ginger beer. The ginger flavor isn’t too overpowering either. As far as the mint goes, it’s a subtle aftertaste that just addes to the other refreshing elements.

The Maple Old-Fashioned is a dad’s drink, as in our dads would love it. It’s $15.50 and made with Old Forester Bourbon, Maple Syrup, Orange Juice, and Angostura Bitters. Although our dads might love it, we weren’t big fans. We thought it tastes less like maple and more like banana Laffy Taffy — sort of artificial. The bourbon is the strongest flavor, although the orange juice does come through a little.

Okay, let’s eat! The Truffle Fries are $8 and served with Roasted Shallot Mayonnaise. First, you get a nice mix of crispy and floppy fries. The cheese on top is also the perfect amount so you get a bite of it with each fry. The truffle flavor is present, but not overpowering. However, that roasted shallot mayonnaise is the star of the show. It has a nice caramelized onion flavor that added a nice sweetness to the truffle flavor. (They also come with ketchup, if that’s more your style.)

A Seasonal Market Flatbread is also available for $17. This reminded us of a Philly cheesesteak pizza, and also had a lovely caramelized onion flavor going. The cheese was a little funky but it’s not quite the level of blue cheese. It plays well with the sweet onions, though. The beef is tender. The crust wasn’t very crispy, but did have a nice char on the bottom. Instead, it was soft and pillowy.

One of the STARS on the menu here are the Parker House Rolls and Spreads for $14. You get Parker House rolls with Bacon Jam, Pub Cheese, and Citrus Butter. The rolls had a nice crust on top and were sprinkled with flaky sea salt. By themselves, they were tasty. But we had to try the spreads, too.

The citrus butter had a nice orange flavor, but wasn’t very tangy — with the salt on the rolls, you got a solid sweet and salty bite. The pub cheese was fluffy and cheesy, but tasted like something we could get at the grocery store (we’re not complaining, though. The bacon jam was the star of the spreads. It’s sweet, with that caramelized onion flavor we love — we could’ve eaten it with a spoon.

The Clams Casino comes with Bacon, Peppers, White Wine Herbed Butter, Brioche for $16. These are delicious. They don’t have a prominent seafood flavor — most of what we tasted was the red bell pepper. The saltiness of the bacon really adds to the overall bite, though. This is the perfect snack to have with drinks. The brioche was light and fluffy.

The Crispy Wings are served with House-made Buffalo Sauce, Blue Cheese Crumbles, Garlic-Peppercorn Sauce for $15. This is a new menu item and we thought a worthy addition to the Ale & Compass Lounge menu. The wings are indeed crispy. We also appreciated that the buffalo sauce leaned more to the mild side.

The garlic peppercorn sauce added a nice kick, though. The blue cheese and garlic sauces are on the wings and not on the side, as we had expected.

Magic or Tragic?

This Disney World restaurant is a must-visit if…

You’re looking for a quick bite and drinks without needing a reservation. You can pretty much grab a seat here and get to ordering quickly.
You’re having a girl’s night out. This is a nice lounge with a classy feel to it that’s perfect for a night out in Disney World.
You’re staying at an EPCOT-area resort. This is a handy location if you’re staying at a hotel in the area.

You should skip this Disney World spot if…

You’re not staying at an Epcot-area resort. Although we enjoyed our food and drinks here, we probably wouldn’t travel to Yacht Club Resort just to dine here.
You want a full table service meal. This is a lounge, meaning you won’t get that table service meal experience you might get at Ale & Compass Restaurant next door.

In the meantime, we’ll be on the lookout for more restaurant updates from Disney World and beyond. Make sure you stay tuned to AllEars for the latest Disney news and more!