Normally I would recommend making advanced dining reservations if you are dining anywhere on Walt Disney World premises, but Downtown Disney has always confused me about this. I wasn't sure if any of the Downtown Disney restaurants even took the dining plan (which I later found out from someone that some of them do, other won't), and so I had planned on playing it by ear on November the 15th, the night that we arrived to Orlando.
We were tired, cranky and unsure of where to grab some grub. We were not in the mood to sample the resort food court. We were in the mood for something much more substantial. After taking a small boat from our resort down to Downtown Disney, we were bombarded with choices. There was the Rainforest Cafe, which after enduring a head-throbbing flight from Canada, we decided this that probably wasn't going to be a wise choice.
We ended up at Portobello Yacht Club on accident after taking a glimpse at the menu for less than three seconds. My husband and I only had two requirements if we were going to be eating there that night, and those were whether or not they had vegetarian options (which they did) and if the food was affordable (which it was).
We stepped inside and were greeted by a very upbeat host who promptly gave us a pager and assured us the wait for our table would not be too long. I wasn't getting my hopes up.
I had read about the horrors of Walt Disney World restaurants and waiting to get a table without an advanced dining reservation, so imagine my surprise when our pager went off nearly two minutes after we sat down in the waiting area. We were taken to our small, dimly lit table in the middle of the chaotic dining room.
The tables were so close to our neighbors that I could literally hear every single word that was being said in their conversation, and it was actually amazing that I didn't accidentally bump someone with my elbows. Despite the fact that I could hear their conversation, for some reason I barely could hear my own. It was loud in there.
The entire place was dark, despite the restaurant website pictures suggesting otherwise. Despite the fact that my husband and I had to shout across the table, we had a pretty pleasant meal and I attribute this to the excellent appetizer and service. Our waiter was very affable and informative, always taking care to refill our water glasses before even getting close to empty. He was really busy, too, running from table to table without breaking a sweat.
He brought out the bread and placed a large plate down next to the basket. He then went on to explain that he had brought out a roasted garlic bulb in place of butter. The garlic bulb was extremely large, and I would say it was about the size of my husbands fist. It was smooth and buttery in texture, and it spread across the pieces of bread just as easily as butter, too. It was absolutely delicious. Our waiter also poured some olive oil onto the plate, and though I love high quality olive oil I was too enthralled with my roasted garlic bulb to notice.
After our waiter departed, my husband and I struggled to carry on a conversation with each other and instead ended up listening to our table mates complain about the service. Apparently they weren't having such a good time, despite the fact that our waiter was taking care of their table too and seemed to be treating them about the same as my husband and I.
We ordered the portobello mushroom appetizer, which was wood-roasted. It had gorgonzola cheese crumbled on top and rested gently on a fluffy, savory bed of polenta and tangy rosemary sauce.
If you are ever at the Portobello Yacht Club, ordering this is an asbolute must. The only minor complaint I had was that it could have been a little warmer. I could have made an entire meal out of this, and it definitely was the highlight.
Our entrees, which consisted of tiger shrimp for my husband (who is a pescetarian) and bland black linguini for me didn't quite hit the spot. While the cherry tomatoes bursted in my mouth with acidic, robust flavor, the rest of the dish was tasted as though it was missing something vital. The dish was filling, but forgettable. The cherry tomatoes were probably the best tomatoes I have ever eaten, though. When I asked my husband if he liked his shrimp, he nodded but didn't seem overly impressed either. The tiger shrimp were extremely large and he got quite a few of them for $30, so overall I would say that he got what he paid for. The shrimp were also over a bed of polenta, which by this point he was more or less tired of since he had it with his appetizer.
The Portobello Yacht Club has a few really great things going for it, and we would eat here again, but not for dinner. In the evenings, the dining room gets extremely noisy and not a place where you would want to take a date. Lunch may be a different story, but I unfortunately cannot comment on that.
Restaurant Rating
Ratings are out of 5 stars in total, 1 being worst and 5 being best.
Atmosphere: **
Dimly lit and seemingly romantic at first glance, the restaurant gets very loud as the place fills up, which can ruin business dinners, dates and family dinners.
Food: *** 1/2
The garlic bulb was a real treat at the start of the meal, and completely unexpected. Their portobello mushroom appetizer was absolutely delicious with just the right amount of gorgonzola cheese on top - not too much, not too little. The main entrees tasted as though they were missing key ingredients, but otherwise were filling and good.
Service: *****
We never had to ask our waiter for a thing, as he was always on top of his game and very friendly. The bartender pleased his guests by tossing bottles in the air and getting their drinks promptly.
Since this restaurant is located on Walt Disney World property, it is very child-friendly and in fact you will see many families dining here.
Type of food: Italian
Serves lunch from 11:30 to 4:00 pm
Serves dinner from 4:00 pm to 11:00 pm
Reservations are accepted, and you can call up to 30 days in advance:
407-934-8888
www.portobellorestaurant.com
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