7 Best Lake Buena Vista Restaurants | Lake Buena Vista, FL

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Lake Buena Vista, Florida, perhaps best known as the gateway to Walt Disney World, contains many restaurants, stores, hotels, and vacation club lodgings to support the throngs of tourists that visit each year. Its official population, if correct at 24 (2021 census) makes it eligible for Newsweek’s Top 10 Smallest Cities in the United States.

Here are some of our favorite places to eat in town.

7 Must-Try Lake Buena Vista Restaurants

Amare Mediterranean Restaurant

1255 Epcot Resorts Blvd, Lake Buena Vista, FL 32830 //+14079341609

Everything is so comfortable at Walt Disney World’s Swan Reserve, including its restaurant, the Amare. That doesn’t mean it’s not upscale, just that it’s even easier than being at home. You need only dress for a casual chic dinner, and you’ll fit right in one of the best lake buena vista restaurants.

Head to the third floor, the opposite direction from the lobby, where, greeted by a large wall of wine bottles, You know you’re in the right place. Turn to the left and the hostess at Amare will greet and seat you.

Amare, Italian for “to love,” takes its inspiration from the Mediterranean, but more south than the traditional areas covered. As discussed with Chef Maurizio, a hardworking New Yorker, who grew up on Long Island, but started working as a line cook at age 16, before graduating from high school and then enrolling in the French Culinary Academy and subsequently ALMA, the Italy Culinary Academy.

Chef Maurizio spoke to us about the differences between his classical training and what they’re doing here at the Swan Reserve.

“Chef Dan, the Executive Chef of the entire place, a brilliant chef, really steered me towards this area I’d never really explored, which is like Morocco, Turkey, Greece, these areas. You get the feel for it here.” 

Trained to use fresh ingredients, Chef allows diners to enjoy premium ingredients popular to the area, from seafood and beef to olive oils and pasta. Our group enjoyed items from each.

While most of my readers know that I am a “dessert-first” diner, the appetizer, The Niçoise Salad which was shared at the table. The only adjustment recommended, that Chef said he’d take under consideration, was to add even more potatoes. They were just so delicious.

Other appetizers include hearth fired prawns, Polpetti, chargrilled pepper crostino, charred octopus, and fried calamari. Additional salads on offer include the Tarpon Springs “Greek Salad,” Taverna Salad, and the Amare Salad.

Entrees covered the seafood and steak so popular in the area. Historic Florida had a thriving horse and cattle industry. 

Paula, our Visit Orlando host, ordered the Seabass. Highly recommended by our server, Niki, she tells us she may open 35 of the parchment stuffed pockets nightly. Two filets of sustainable striped seafood steamed to perfection with a concoction of wilted greens, thyme, garlic, tomatoes, and heirloom potatoes, it’s easy to see why it’s such a popular dish.

Stacey, the other travel journalist with me on this journey, ordered the Tonnarelli Alle Vongole. She laughingly tells us how her husband can’t appreciate the glory of six steamed baby clams and a roasted tomato sauce. Lucky for her, she certainly does. To accompany it, she ordered the Mediterranean White Wine Excursion. One thing she would have changed, had she realized it was a red sauce, was that she’d have ordered the red wine flight instead. 

The first wine, a Pighin Pinot Grigio from Fruili, Italy (2020) retained floral and fruity notes that was a refreshing accompaniment to the Niçoise Salad. The second wine, one of her lifelong favorites, Fleurs de Prairie Rose from Cotes de Provence, France (2020), is always delicious, she tells me, but a little light for this pasta dish. The final white wine, Pieropan Soave Classico (2019), was a nice accompaniment with the depth of fruit balancing the food’s acidity.

My choice came down to the two steak choices: the Rosemary Grilled Beef Tenderloin or the Bistecca All Fiorentina. I’d been leaning towards the Bistecca, but Niki shared that it was 20 oz, compared to the filet’s 10 oz, and she was easily able to add more potatoes to the beef tenderloin. Sold. Rosemary Grilled Beef Tenderloin it was. Served with root vegetables and a white bean puree that tasted suspiciously like a fine mashed potato, the asparagus added both texture and depth of flavor for a marvelous meal. With just a touch of added salt, it was too much food to allow for dessert later.

Reviewing the dessert menu, though, the one gluten-free option, the Amaro Flavored Sokolatina is a dark chocolate flourless sponge with chocolate mousse and chocolate sauce. With Paula’s encouragement, I accepted one to go. With Chef’s permission, I was able to see the serving line and witnessed the presentation of this dish plated. (insert kissing fingertips emoji).

Additional dessert options for subsequent visits include cannoli, Pistachio Caragli, a Calabrian Walnut Cake, and a Greek Yogurt Cheesecake.

Orlando region residents are fortunate to have such an excellent restaurant within our midst. It’s easy to see how it will become a local favorite.

Morimoto Asia

Disney Springs, 1600 E Buena Vista Dr, Lake Buena Vista, FL 32830 //+14079396686

You may be familiar with the name “Morimoto” from Iron Chef but recognizing the name and experiencing the food are two entirely different sensory experiences. Once you’ve been to Master Chef Masaharu Morimoto’s restaurant, though, you may find all your senses are instantly standing at attention. That’s now our experience when hearing the name and reliving our visit to his Disney Springs restaurant. His ability to interpret Japanese, Chinese, and Korean dishes is matched by the restaurant’s award-winning architecture and now MICHELIN Recommended restaurant. If you start your feast with your eyes, you’ll be enchanted the moment you walk in the door.

Welcomed quickly by fast-working, smooth-talking maître ds, we were promptly whisked back to our booth table by a lovely young woman wearing a kimono-style uniform. Drink orders taken, we had time to sit back and gaze around us.

Seated near the kitchen, the glass-lined area revealed a rack of Peking Ducks, ready to be delivered upon request. One duck serves two. Their roasted skins shone in the gentle spotlight, somehow away from the bright lights a busy kitchen requires to move smoothly.

Without a voice raised in the kitchen, the primary sounds you’ll hear are murmurs of contented diners enjoying their meals. See the other people that, like you, are gazing up to the ceiling, with its tiered strand chandeliers reaching a full story of the building. Upstairs, beneath a gently curving wave, spot the shogi-like doors, open in welcome.

Pictures of Asian faces alight the walls and add to the ambiance as do the Asian characters, painted in the most fortunate red against the dark wood beams.

Our smiling server, Emma, delivers water and asks what else we’d like to drink. She’s happy to assist with wine pairings and paring down meal decisions. With her guidance, the wine connoisseur of our group was able to choose between a light, crisp, refreshing white wine or a lively, vibrant, “fruit-forward” white wine. She also requested allergy information so she could assist with our choices and confirm we’d have no issue, which was incredibly helpful.

White wine and mocktail accompanied edamame served with thick sea salt. And another wonderful meal begins.

My colleagues chose sushi rolls, ordering the salmon and eel. The eel paired with avocado, they told me, is “fresh and delightful,” and, when accompanied by the thinly sliced ginger, “Just delicious.” We accidentally received this spider at first instead of the eel, so that was promptly replaced and appreciated by my sushi-loving friends.

They told me it’s very important to make sure you put the entire bite in your mouth to receive the full effect. Please note, even the delivery server made a point of identifying the food allergy of my colleague when the spider sushi was placed, so we were never in danger. 

As much for the photo opportunity as an anticipation of the enjoyment of the meal, we chose a buri-bop which was prepared tableside. His Korean-style yellowtail rice bowl is served in a hot clay pot, 450 degrees, our tableside chef told us, finished with an egg yolk and white rice.

The yellowtail is presented in the hot pot, promptly sliced into thinner sections, and pushed to the edges of the bowl to cook. He told us that only one side is cooked to leave the texture of sashimi. My colleagues tell me that it tasted as though it had cooked through. The bowl was so hot, the egg yolk cooked quickly. My colleagues felt it was as delicious as it looked entertaining.

With my celiac disease and challenges with Japanese sauces, my order was a simple orange chicken, but they had to hold the sauce and grill the chicken independently. This simple white rice and chicken dish was one of the best I had during this visit to Orlando.

What they say on those chef shows is correct: When it’s something simple, it must be perfect. Mine was. While they did have some dessert offerings, none of us had room to have anything else while at the restaurant, and we knew that walking around Disney Springs would give us plenty of opportunity to not only work off some of the calories but allow ourselves to digest and have another treat elsewhere. It’s easy to see that it would be quite possible to have your dessert here and complete your night at Disney Springs without visiting any other establishment.

On the second level, you’ll not only have an excellent view of the restaurant below but access to the sushi bar and chefs actively preparing sushi rolls for the guests on bar stools in front of them as well as other patrons. Over to the right, you’ll find the bar, another space to sit and enjoy a cocktail each night. 

Centrally located in Disney Springs, it’s important to have a reservation if you’d like lunch or dinner during traditional meal hours. There’s a companion bathroom upstairs with the restrooms on the main level at the back of the restaurant behind the staircase. Oh, and don’t be put off by the line up the side of the building… that’s for Gideon’s Bakery. With a reservation, the wait at Morimoto Asia is minimal. The staff is that good. 

And, on a personal note, it was my first ever TikTok. Our Orlando representative taught us how to upload them and we completed it before we ever left the building. You can see it gailclifford330. Follow me and I’ll follow you back!

Whispering Canyon Café

901 Timberline Dr, Orlando, FL 32830 //+14079395277

Walking into the Whispering Canyon Café at the Wilderness Lodge after so many years away is like returning to a much-beloved cabin home. Whether greeted by holiday decorations or the wide-open spaces with welcoming chandeliers that leave dim like your favorite camp experience, with rich colors and plenty of seating, many people pause to savor the space before heading over to the left to enter the Café.

Before you go, be sure to have your sense of fun, your sense of adventure, and a very sturdy appetite as they do sincerely like to horse around here as you eat “all you care to enjoy.” They welcome you to “tether your trusty steed and mosey into this log cabin lodge.” the fine frontier fare features a brunch barbecue or, as they like to call it, the brunch – B – Q.

If it’s easier to corral your crew later in the day, the country-style dinner may be the better option to sink your teeth into you, with so many signature skillets with cowboy sides (plant-based options available).

Don’t be surprised if your preference goes right to dessert, the most popular dessert has stood the test of time with the Granny Smith apple pie.

Reservations are required at this restaurant, and you cannot enter the Wilderness Lodge at the time this was written without confirmed reservations either for the hotel or restaurant.

Once inside, you may want to take a deep breath before perusing the menu. It’s filled with so many great options, you may be easily overwhelmed.

The brunch menu includes shareable favorites like jacked-up avocado toast or burnt ends nachos.

All you care to enjoy signature skillets include the heritage with buttermilk cheddar biscuits and sausage gravy with scrambled eggs, country potatoes, hickory smoked bacon, pork sausage links, and a Mickey waffle. For the lighter side, try some muesli, fresh fruit, and yogurt with egg whites’ spinach frittata, turkey bacon, turkey sausage, country potatoes, and of course the Mickey waffles.

The “carnivore” includes housemade corn bread with honey butter (which is delicious), maple chipotle barbecued slow-smoked pork ribs, oak-smoked beef brisket, barbecue pulled pork, citrus herb chicken, served with country potatoes, buttered corn, and charred carrots. If you eat meat, you’re likely to love the carnivore. 

But wait, there’s more… The main claim includes entrées like the pepper jack cheese frittata, ham and cheese omelette, Belgian style waffle, steel-cut oatmeal, fresh fruit plate, chopped salad, western style Benedict, seared impossible burger, slow smoked pulled pork sandwich, chopped bison burger, and side orders of the biscuits, toast, blueberry muffin, bacon or sausage links, and sausage gravy available.

Your server, who may surprise you by wearing a very large red cowboy hat, similar to what you would see in the cartoons, can make cocktail pairing recommendations for you with mimosa flights, bloody Marys, Bourbon sweet tea, or mimosas available to those 21 and over. For others, they offer Minute Maid juices, simply smoothie Orchard Barry, Joffrey’s coffee, Press Pot Peru Alto protected forest coffee roasted by Joffrey’s coffee, and “all you can enjoy” chocolate, vanilla, or strawberry shakes. 

I decided against the shake because I didn’t want to fill up on that with so many wonderful foods to enjoy.

I like the dinner menu even better, with the burnt ends nachos, salad and jackfruit dip leading the way or ordering Trail Blazers as a starter. Their evening skillets include the traditional, the pig, the land and the sea, and plant-based options. Their main claim entrées include the char-crested New York strip, pan-fired red quinoa cakes, and cod dish.

No surprise here, the choice had to be the New York strip. It was broiled exactly to my specifications, the honey-roasted carrots were well seasoned and not at all oily, the crispy fried red potatoes were delicious, and I asked them to hold the whiskey onion butter which they did without complaint which I always appreciate.

Even though this is a reminder of the restaurants of yore with their all-you-can-eat style, it’s good to chat with friends and visitors from neighboring tables to make sure you don’t overdo it. There are so many options for your next meal at the Whispering Canyon Café with its mighty fine food. And, if you’d like to visit “off hours” from dining hall times, ask about their stories, games, and songs. Every once in a while, these happen outside of meal time. 

Grand Floridian Resort and Spa

4401 Floridian Way, Lake Buena Vista, FL 32830 //+14079391936

For our family, the earliest Disney memory is a three-day Walt Disney World park stay at Grand Floridian combined with a four-day Disney Wonder cruise. My little girl’s favorite memory was her character breakfast with Mary Poppins and Alice in Wonderland. Available again, consider this or the Disney Girls’ “Perfectly Princess Tea Party” if your girls are ready for the perfect photo opportunity and great memory-making experience. 

Victoria and Albert’s

4401 Floridian Way, Orlando, FL 32830 //+14079393862

Perhaps the most expensive restaurant in Disney World, Victoria and Albert’s focus on the ultimate in fine dining. With a set menu, their modern American cuisine with the most imaginative products sourced from around the world, combined with exquisite table service take dining to a true art form. Central Florida’s only recipient of AAA’s Five Diamond Award, their awards list continues to grow. With reservations required well in advance, it’s an ideal place for a very special occasion.

Gasparilla Island Grill

4401 Floridian Way, Orlando, FL 32836 //+14079395277

The Grand Floridian’s Gasparilla Island Grill’s 24-hour quick service restaurant offers some great food and a fun, relaxed atmosphere. Menu items include eight sandwiches, salads, pizza, burgers, yogurt, specialty coffee, sodas, and the best afternoon tea at the Garden View tearoom where you can enjoy traditional English scones, cheese, sandwiches, and delectable pastries.

Citrico‘s

4401 Disney’s Grand Floridian, Orlando, FL 32830 //+14079395277

For warm and stylish dining, with American and Mediterranean flavors, you’ll enjoy steaks fresh from the oak fire grill, risotto, pasta, and seasonal seafood. Your server can assist in matching your protein choice with award-winning wines from France, Italy, and Spain. 

Salad options include a strawberry salad with an unusual chamomile-infused goat cheese and bacon vinaigrette, the Citrico’s House Salad with fresh oregano and picholine olives, with first course options rounded out with a sweet corn bisque, wild mushroom arancini, smoked duck breast, citrus cured Hamachi, Caviar, and Berkshire pork belly.

Entrees vary from a domestic golden tilefish, guava barbecue short ribs, butter poached Florida mahi-mahi, house-made rigatoni, roulade of chicken, and oak-grilled 12-ounce prime New York strip, or oak-grilled filet mignon. I, of course, had to try the filet and really enjoyed the potato purée and broccolini. If you’re a steak person, I think you’ll savor it.

They do offer enhancements: a truffle mac & cheese, grilled marble potatoes, or smoked cauliflower that we may have to try on another visit.

It’s the second restaurant where the steak meal made me too full to have dessert, but they do offer an orange blossom flan, blackberry tartelette, apple rose, and chocolate torte with port, Madeira, and dessert wines to complement.

Narcoossee

On the shore of the Seven Seas Lagoon, the waterfront restaurant offers upscale sustainable sea and farm menu items. Guests enjoy creative selections as they savor the beautiful sunsets and spectacular views of nightly fireworks.

Nine Dragons Restaurant

1510 Epcot Resorts Blvd, Orlando, FL 32830 //+14079395277

I felt very fortunate that they had space on a rainy day, even with the crowded  park to allow a walk-in diner at the Nine Dragons Restaurant in China at EPCOT. It’s been a family favorite every time we visit over the years.

My very attentive server, Daniel, explained that they like to bring the drinks out first and then explain the menu and “make sure to look at the comment at the bottom of the menu,” which states “most orders are served with steamed rice. Should you wish to upgrade this to vegetable egg, fried rice, or lo mein noodles there will be an additional charge of three dollars.”

Have your annual pass holder identification ready to receive a discount, they can accept the app on your phone but not your wristbands. Recommended highly on the appetizers list are the Sichuan chicken dumplings which continue to be made fresh in-house. They’re recommended even more highly than the chicken potstickers. 

The crispy duck Bao Buns, house hot and sour soup, or a side of vegetable egg fried rice are also available. I chose the vegetable spring rolls, served with sweet and sour sauce which were delicious.

Entrees include crispy duck fried rice, Canton pepper beef, honey sesame chicken, spicy honey crispy chicken, Kung pao duck, spicy happy family, salt and pepper shrimp, Kowloon spareribs, and vegetable tofu stir-fry. 

Kids’ menu offerings include honey chicken nuggets and sweet-and-sour shrimp with lo mein noodles or kids’ chicken, carrots, broccoli, and vegetable egg fried rice. 

The celebration Walt Disney World 50 dessert specialty, Boba Blue Magic, described as house-made butterfly pea flower ice cream and blue lychee jelly topped with creamy milk cap, blueberry popping Boba pearls, and crunchy toffee, comes with a fortune cookie. They also offer strawberry-red bean ice cream or Caramel-Ginger ice cream. 

Soft drinks include assorted Coca-Cola Products, sweet raspberry iced tea, blackberry jasmine iced tea, fruit juices, low-fat milk, chocolate milk, hot chocolate, hot coffee, jasmine tea, Dasani water, (non-alcohol) special strawberry slushy, mango slushy or Shangri-La. They have an entire page specially dedicated to cocktails and beer as well as full bar service. 

I appreciated that my raspberry iced tea was refilled without my having to ask and I was offered one “to go” for the park.

For any dietary restrictions, this is one of the lake Buena vista restaurants which attempt to accommodate any special request. 

Capa

10100 Dream Tree Blvd, Lake Buena Vista, FL 32836 //+14073137777

Have your government ID ready to enter the Four Seasons complex as well as lodging or dining reservations, follow the directions from the guard station up and around to the primary hotel and be prepared for valet parking. There are several restaurants at the Four Seasons, including one grill poolside (PB&G), Plancha, Ravello, The Lobby Bar, and the quick food option Lickety Split, but the one not to miss is Capa.

Located upstairs on the 17th-floor rooftop, you’ll need to make reservations well in advance of your visit. Known for their steaks, their Spanish-influenced cuisine routinely rates as one of the best in the area, not surprising in this now Michelin-starred and one of the best lake Buena vista restaurants. Chef Gabriel Massip, French, born just outside Paris, started his path to greatness under his mother’s tutelage, appears quite young, but brought more than 11 years of experience to this location.

If you’re a fan of raw bars, you’ll enjoy their Mariscada, Ostras, Atun Crudo a la Plancha, and Por Pieza or any of their three Petrossian Royal Caviars.

In true Spanish style, their tapas include Aceitunas (traditional Basque marinated olives), Datiles (Medjool Dates, Almond, Bacon, Tamarind), Ham Croquetas, Almendras Saladas, Pan con Tomate, Gambas (shrimp, egg yolk, chili, celery root chips), or Cerdo (beer brined pork belly). The Spanish guitarist plays every Wednesday and Saturday evening.

Get small plates to enjoy their Pulpo, patatas brava, coliflor, or pimentos, or enjoy the Spanish Charcuterie and Cheeses, or three salad options. If you like hazelnuts, you’ll enjoy the Ensalada de Verduras, Florida Seasonal shaved raw vegetables and toasted hazelnuts in a lemon thyme vinaigrette.

This first visit, the grill menu had our full attention. New York Strip, Filet, Porterhouse, Delmonico, Short Ribs, Wagyu Beef, Iberico Pluma, Lamb Rack each have the place of origin identified. Their Langosta comes from Maine. Each can be combined with a sauce and vegetable. 

Sauces available include Bernesa, Verde, Peppercorn, Capa Steak Sauce, or a sampler of all four sauces (enough for two people to share).

Vegetable options include corn, eggplant, broccolini, mushrooms, and potatoes. Amongst all lake Buena Vista restaurants here you will definitely find the best vegetable menu.

The filet (I chose mine without the bone), perfectly prepared as expected, is a dish I could enjoy every visit. It didn’t require any additions. The Yukon Gold Potatoes were unusually seasoned with what I learned was brown butter, a technique I’m more familiar with using in cakes. Utterly delicious. Having both the potatoes and the broccolini made me too full for dessert, so keep that in mind if you choose both side dishes.

Other entrees include shellfish, sofrito, and chicken. For any of the meals, you can add shrimp, foie gras, cilantro horseradish, melted blue cheese, or beef bone marrow. 

Desserts alternate seasonally. This time, they offered Churros de Madrid, Pastel de Almendras y Aceite de Oliva (olive oil cake), Valor Chocolate (mousse with coffee ice cream), Fuego (Lava Cake with Banana Ice Cream to offset the Cajeta center), Crema Catalana, or a cheese board. As much as I would have liked the mousse, the potatoes were too good for me to resist. 

It all depends on what’s your preference, sweet or savory, to be completely full.

The open kitchen allows you to observe the action from inside but it’s outside on the patio where you can have a bird’s eye view of the nightly fireworks. 

 To accompany your meal, Capa has a full bar and tasting flights of brandy, cognac, or tequila which makes it one of the best Lake Buena Vista restaurants.

Disney’s Contemporary Resort

4600 World Dr, Lake Buena Vista, FL 32830 //+14079391936

Dining at the Contemporary Resort, you’ll have your choice of staying along the Grand Canyon Concourse in the main towers, atrium or their lounge, Steakhouse 71, the California grill for dinner, or Chef Mickey’s for breakfast and dinner, or Contempo café for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. The entrance for Chef Mickey’s and the Contempo Café, are very close to each other in the lobby, not far from the monorail. 

On my first visit, the thing I liked most about the Contempo Café was the trays of sweets. Choose between a large cinnamon bun, assortment of muffins, chocolate cake, chocolate mousse, and an entire cake.

But in addition to these sweets, it’s possible to choose kid’s meals, plant-based meals, and specialty cakes for special occasions.

The kid’s meal menu includes a small Mickey-shaped waffle. Most kids probably appreciate the breakfast platter which includes waffles with scrambled eggs, grapes, yogurt, smoothie, and milk, water, or apple juice. Disney strives to watch nutrition guidelines.

If you’re accustomed to a breakfast sandwich, their iteration includes eggs and turkey served on a honey wheat bread with crêpes and the same yogurt, smoothie, and choice of beverage.

While I lean towards the breakfast potatoes, many in my group are fans of their bacon, adding that or sausage and eggs to the small Mickey-shaped waffles. Favorite daughter says the breakfast tofu bowl is yummy with its “sausage” crumbles and grilled tofu.

Peppa Pig each morning might have you enjoy the county planner platter with scrambled eggs, bacon pork sausage, and the mini Mickey Mouse-shaped waffles

Their gluten-free menu contains options from breakfast sandwiches to pancakes, double chocolate chip cookies, snickerdoodles, or chocolate brownies in addition to oatmeal and fruit options. They do a great job offering alternatives to the menu for those customers with a specific diet.

Starting at lunch, the chef’s special today is lemongrass chicken banh mi.

It’s a very tasty iteration of her Vietnamese roots as she brings toasted bread with lemon grass roasted chicken, Sriracha mayonnaise, pickled carrots, and Daikon, with jalapeños and served with pickled cucumber and very pretty, edible flowers.

Every day, they offer Caesar salad or kale “power” green salad with chicken noodle soup, as a hearty side, or a plant-based grilled tofu bowl.

For typical fare, try a burger, a hot turkey sandwich, or a spicy chicken sandwich. 

Desserts include a 50th-anniversary German chocolate cupcake topped with buttercream and a chocolate Contemporary Resort 50th Anniversary logo with a white chocolate curl. It’s a very attractive cupcake. Or choose a little princess, maybe a Cinderella cupcake would work better for you with its yellow cake with vanilla custard cup of buttercream and a white chocolate Cinderella slipper atop a fondant pumpkin that little girls around me exclaimed over.

Teens and adults seem to really enjoy the Mickey ears cupcake, but I saw people of all ages eating the worms in dirt cups. For me, the highlight was the 50th-anniversary peanut butter banana pie. I’m not usually a fan of banana sauce, but the combination of the sweet tart shell filled with this peanut butter mousse was a nice flavor profile with the banana sauce topped with chocolate glaze and then, of course, the chocolate decor. It reminded me of the frozen chocolate-covered bananas I’ve loved in the park since I was a little girl. 

Any Disney-shaped chocolate feels like a bonus at this point and amongst all lake Buena Vista restaurants here you will find the best one!

The most obvious dessert for celiacs to enjoy, though, is the flourless chocolate cake. A dark chocolate cake, topped with a luscious raspberry brings out layers of flavor in the dark chocolate.

Steakhouse 71 Lounge currently offers crabcakes, loaded macaroni and cheese, onion rings, PB&J chicken wings (which I’ve never seen before, but are sweet peanut glaze and chili powder jam), steak, burgers, shrimp cocktail, or bacon and eggs, which are especially made with “maple lacquered pork belly,” smoked cheese, grits, and the perfect egg. 

You can find something here for a snack or a meal, and combine it with specialty cocktails, beer, wine, or specialty hot beverages, and make an evening of it. 

California Grill

4600 World Dr, Lake Buena Vista, FL 32830 //+14079347639

The California Grill 50th anniversary celebration menu pricing is currently $89 per adult and $39 per child plus tax and gratuity. You get to choose from their side menu which currently includes California Girls sushi, Classic trio of key west rock shrimp, cascade roll, housemade artisanal duck a l’Orange pizza, braised beef short rib, or pumpkin and squash bisque. 

Along the Chef’s Journey, you get to choose between beef, grouper, chicken and pork. For a real splurge with a hungry loved one, try the 35-ounce beef ribeye tomahawk steak meant for two. 

Conclusion: Lake Buena Vista Restaurants

Your sweet creations to choose from include five magical bites “50 years in the making,” one of our favorite choices, the honey, lemon, carrots, strawberry, and chocolate choices are each tasty. They offer an EARidescent Grand Marnier crème brûlée, lavender sugar donuts, selection of California cheeses, or a cherry pistachio Verona chocolate torte. This last includes candied pistachios in a Kirsch cherry sauce, Cassia nougat with cherry, vanilla, and pistachio snow. Since this dessert is made with alcohol, it’s off my list, but I really enjoyed the options offered. 

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