REVIEW: I Tried 4 New Menu Items at a Disney World Hotel Restaurant, and One Was the Clear Winner

Disney World has changed up some of its menus AGAIN, and we’re out to investigate the latest changes to a popular Disney World hotel’s restaurant.

Here at AllEars, we know all the ins and outs of Disney World restaurants — including where you should definitely eat, and where you should skip. We recently stopped by Sassagoula Floatworks & Food Factory at Disney’s Port Orleans Resort – French Quarter and are bringing you our FULL review!

Background

Mardi Gras spirit is at the heart of this food-court style restaurant.

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

Atmosphere

The dining room is surrounded by Mardi Gras parade props in a warehouse setting. In fact, one of the first props to greet you at the entrance is a Mardi Gras mask fixed to what looks like a wooden warehouse door. As you make your way through the restaurant, you’ll marvel at the props hung high above you on shelves like oversized playing cards, jesters, and things you might find to decorate a parade float.

The food court will be just inside the entrance, where colorful glass bottles hung from the ceiling serve as your center chandelier. There are several food stations to choose your next meal from, and stopping by each one can help you determine what is served where.

Additionally, there are several registers as you turn heel back towards the dining room to help you get to scarfing that warm food down faster.

The dining room is divided about midway by a drink station. This is also where you’ll pick up utensils and condiments made available.

Above each of the dining rooms, you’ll find signature Mardi Gras beads hung overhead, giving your dining experience a more festive feel.

In each of the dining areas, you’ll find a wide variety of table and chair combos built to suit all kinds of party sizes…

…including bar-type seating for solo travelers or those who may prefer its views over a standalone table.

But enough about that, what are we eating?!

Food & Drinks

First up, we grabbed the Bayou Hot Dog for $11.99. This is made of andouille sausage with peppers, onions, and rémoulade sauce served with fries.

If this one didn’t strike you as tasty at first glance, don’t be deceived so easily! This was a fantastic Cajun twist on a hot dog. The sausage was split right down the center to contain the toppings from slipping up and over the sides of the bun, and wow, could it bring the heat.

The spices in the andouille sausage and rémoulade sauce mixed with the peppers and onions on top really brought to life something special. It had a strong spicy flavor that tapered like a flame when it was first lit, but it didn’t linger as a strong heat for long. It was well complemented by the buttery, toasted sides of the hot dog bun that brought an extra texture to the meal that otherwise could have easily fallen flat.

If you’re looking to try one of the best hidden food gems across Disney World, this is one we would highly recommend you go out of your way to track down.

Then, we picked up the Mediterranean Meatball Bowl for $12.79. This is made of harissa-spiced Impossible® meatballs, couscous salad, tzatziki sauce, pickled onions, and cauliflower pita crisps.

This one, at first glance, looks inviting enough, but we were already concerned about the amount of tzatziki sauce we spotted for such a large bowl. The portion size was spot on the price, but that’s about where our agreement with this bowl ends.

Our bowl came with three meatballs that, while they tasted just like a true, regular meatball despite being an Impossible meatball, their flavor fell flat. As a regular meatball, it served on all cylinders, but we really craved more of the harissa-spice to pair with the rest of the couscous salad, which was made of couscous, cucumbers, red peppers, and chickpeas, which felt a bit lackluster in flavor compared to its counterparts in the bowl.

The tzatziki sauce and pickled onions were this bowl’s saving grace when it came to flavor, and despite how good it was, there simply wasn’t enough of it to go around to last through the entire bowl. Additionally, cauliflower pita crisps were a nice touch, but we only got two of them for a larger bowl, and they were a bit hard to bite off and gave more of a chew than we anticipated for a pita crisp.

Afterwards, it was time to turn our attention to the Fish and Chips we picked as well for $12.99. This dish is your basic beer-battered Cod fillets served with tartar sauce and fries.

This is one dish we WILL tell you to judge by its cover, because it leaves nothing to the imagination. While we can’t say the dish was terrible, it certainly wasn’t the quality that we’re used to with other Fish & Chips dishes around Disney World.

We were served three battered Cod fillet strips that looked (and tasted) more like chicken tenders than fresh fish. We enjoyed what fish taste we could make out of them, but they weren’t completely bursting with fish inside of each of them. We could see folks comparing this version to other places you can get a similar dish for around the same price (looking at you, Yorkshire County Fish Shop), where fish and chips are their specialty, and the bar for quality and taste is already set pretty high.

All things considered, we see that the chefs may be looking to make a version accessible to those who aren’t visiting EPCOT that particular day and have a specific craving for such a classic dish. However, if you’re really wanting Fish and Chips in the best light Disney World has to offer, we would recommend making the trip into EPCOT before resorting to this version if you can.

To round out our meal, we had to end with something sweet! We picked up the Banana Bread with Praline Topping for $5.49.

Did you hear that? That was us audibly gasping at the sight of this beautiful dessert again. This is another item whose billing was fairly straightforward because it’s truly a portioned banana bread mini loaf with sweet praline toppings. Where this one’s magic lies is hard to pin down! The banana bread was so sweet and moist, but not too much to keep it from holding itself together.

But the real showstopper here might just have been that crunchy praline topping overhead that also contained a drizzle of caramel sauce — just enough to hold it all together.

We can’t say we recommend sharing this one with someone else, but it’s possible if you’ve had a full meal. If you’re looking for a solid dessert option that splits the center between sweet and savory without leaving a lingering sweet ache to the back of your teeth, this is the dessert you’re looking for!

Magic or Tragic?

This Disney World restaurant is a must-visit if…

• You’re looking for some of the best spicier eats Disney World has to offer.
• You’re grabbing a full meal before stopping by the nearby Scat Cat Club for some beignets on your way out.
• Comfort food is what you’re craving. This restaurant doesn’t just serve spicy, hot items. They’ve got a whole array of comfort foods to choose from.

You should skip this Disney World spot if…

• You’re not into lots of spices or heat to your food dishes.
• You’re not willing to leave Disney World’s parks in search of food only to make the trek back into the park so soon.
• You’re looking for a meal where you can order from a table service menu or enjoy a full buffet.

Overall, we can say with confidence that we would highly recommend the Bayou Hot Dog and Banana Bread with Praline Topping over and over again; however, we can’t say the same for the other food items we tried here during this review. However, every dog has its day, and since these are all new menu items to the restaurant, we’re not too quick to discount that there’s room for improvement and chalk up our mid-level experience with those items to working out the kinks of a new dish.

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!

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Have you eaten at this Disney World restaurant before? Tell us in the comments.

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