REVIEW and FOOD PHOTOS: New Menu Items at Disney World’s Port Orleans Resort

Disney’s Port Orleans — Riverside offers some truly delicious and underrated dining.

Boatwright’s is the resort’s table service dining option, and it’s a terrific under-the-radar spot that’s pretty much always a sure thing, even when other restaurants are packed to the gills. Muddy Rivers is a great pool bar, and River Roost is a charming place to relax with a drink.

When it comes to quick service dining at the resort, Riverside Mill is where it’s at. We’ve eaten here many times before, and the variety and quality have typically been pretty top-notch for a hotel food court. The atmosphere of Riverside is another winning attribute, helping diners to relax and refuel in a space that’s rustic and comfortable.

When we discovered the menus here had changed, we were eager to try the new items.

Port Orleans — Riverside

Atmosphere

The Riverside Mill has great curb appeal with its blue exterior and long front porch. (Sadly no rocking chairs out there, but that would be nice, right?)

Outside at Port Orleans Resort — Riverside

Inside continues the rustic charm of the outside with mis-matched wooded chairs and the remnants of the ‘mill’ for which the restaurant is named.

Riverside Mill

This includes industrial lighting, wood pillars and beams, and even some old mill equipment. Large windows let in a good amount of light during daylight hours, but even still the dining space is pretty dark in places.

Seating at Riverside Mill

The food court itself is a standard design, with stations for certain categories of food: Salads and Sandwiches Shop, Grill Shop, Pizza Shop, and Bakery.

Riverside Mill Cashiers and Layout

Menu screens above each station rotate the options, with pictures of some items to give diners a clear idea of what they’ll be getting. Notice

Salads and Sandwiches in Riverside Mill

The theming of these stations is in keeping with the spirit of the resort, with awnings, wood details, and some New Orleans charm.

Grill Station in Riverside Mill

Diners will also find Grab-and-Go options that include candy, snacks, and drinks.

Grab and Go Snacks

Grab and Go

Eats

When entering Riverside Mill, diners can browse these static menus. It gives you an idea of which station you’ll want to prioritize. It’s a little more efficient than staring up at the rotating screens at each station while you try to recall what you just saw that piqued your interest.

Riverside Mill Entrance Menu

Note that occasionally the items that appear on the static entrance menus aren’t on the rotating menus. That’s the case at Riverside’s Create Your Own Salad, which is on the entrance menu but not actually available at present.

The electric menu boards over each station feature a few pictures to give you an idea of what to expect. As a general rule, these are some nicely staged food photos that are a little tidier than the actual product. But it’s still helpful! At the Salads and Sandwiches Shop diners find a Hoagie, Pimento BLT, Barbecue Pork Sandwich, and Caprese Sandwich. Kid sandwiches are available here, too.

Sandwich Screen

As mentioned, Create Your Own Salad is not currently an option. Diners are limited to Caesar, Greek, and House Salads. (We heard several people lamenting the loss of the Create Your Own option, so we’ll watch to see if it returns.)

Salad Screen

At the Pizza Shop, diners can choose from pizza, flatbreads, breadsticks, and pasta. Kids’ pasta dishes and pizza are also available.

Pizza and Pasta Screens

Pizza and Pasta Menus

At the Grill Shop, find hot sandwiches, burgers, and more (including a Fish Sandwich and Corn Dog Nuggets for the kiddos and Chicken Nuggets, a Hot Dog, and vegan burger for grown ups).

Grill Menu

Any time there are menu additions, we start looking for the deletions, too. At Riverside, the following items have been removed from the menu: Southern Fried Shrimp Platter, Classic Burger, Double Classic Burger, Bayou Burger, Prime Rib Melt, Carved Cajun Turkey Leg Sandwich, and Chicken Salad Sandwich.

In their places: the Pimento BLT, a Prime Rib Dip, and a Classic Bacon Burger! Naturally we tried ’em all!

New Menu Items at Riverside Mill

The Prime Rib Dip from the Grill Shop is a tasty, filling sandwich (you could share this, particularly if you plan on getting dessert!) that comes topped with caramelized onions and melted provolone cheese. (Really melted — not just put on top of a warm sandwich!)

Prime Rib Dip

It’s served with warm au jus (not too salty, which is often our complaint) and loads of steak fries.

Prime Rib Dip

The bun is soft and perfect for soaking up the au jus. And the meat was flavorful and thinly sliced. Overall, this was an impressive sandwich for a quick service/food court location!

Prime Rib Dip

The Pimento BLT is found at the Salads and Sandwiches Shop, and this one is a winner! You know we love Pimento Cheese, but overall it’s still a great option. Plus it’s huge, full of bacon (just wait!), and packed with flavor!

Pimento BLT

It features standard BLT ingredients: bacon, lettuce (just a thin layer), and tomato. But that slathering of pimento cheese in place of mayo was divine. Why aren’t all BLTs made with pimento cheese?!

Pimento BLT

And hello, bacon! There were no fewer than six slices of bacon on the sandwich, which is pretty insane. And delicious.

Pimento BLT

A couple notes about this sandwich: they were already premade behind the counter on our visit, so if you need to make any substitutions or changes, you’ll need to ask if it’s possible. Also, the BLT comes with house-made chips, but the cast member mentioned we could sub in fries; we’d just have to go over to the Grill Shop to get them. Vice versa, if you prefer chips to fries but you’re at the Grill Shop, request to pick up some chips next door at the Sandwich Shop.

The Classic Bacon Burger is a new option. This is a pre-made burger (at least on our visit) that was wrapped and sitting in a warmer. Not ideal. The bun and burger ended up being dry (no big surprise there…).

Classic Bacon Burger

There’s plenty of bacon on this burger, as one would expect, but note that there’s also cheddar cheese (it’s not mentioned anywhere). I picked up toppings like lettuce, tomato, onion, and pickles from the self-serve toppings area at the Grill Shop, so be sure not to miss those.

Classic Bacon Burger

The star of the burger was, oddly enough, the garlic ranch sauce! So flavorful and made a HUGE difference in the texture and taste.

Classic Bacon Burger

My favorite part of this entree was actually the Creole Cole Slaw on the side! This was an oil-based slaw that was more sweet than salty or spicy. With a name like Creole Cole Slaw we were expecting a bigger hit from the spice, but honestly it was delicious so we didn’t mind.

Creole Coleslaw

You can finish your meal with a dessert from the Bakery case. There are loads of awesome options, including the newest specialty cupcake and classics like Red Velvet Cupcakes, Chocolate Chip Cookies, and Cheesecake.

Riverside Mill Food Court Cupcakes

Bo Peep Cupcake

But don’t forget the Magic Cookie Bar which is, as the name suggests, pure sugary magic.

Magic Cookie Bar at Riverside Mill

So 2/3 big hits with Riverside Mill’s new menu items, and we’re happy to say this relaxing spot is still a really good food court option!

Nosh or Not?

Paddle into Riverside Mill if:

You’re staying at Port Orleans — Riverside or French Quarter and need a bite to eat!
You love the architecture of Port Orleans — Riverside and want to visit even if you’re not staying there.
You love a Disney food court and want to try a good one.

Head downstream if:

You aren’t staying at Port Orleans — Riverside and don’t want to travel there for a food court.
You just don’t care for food court food.
Hello! Disney Springs is a Sassagoula River Cruise away, and you want to try a restaurant there.

Overall

We enjoy the food courts of the Port Orleans Resorts, and Riverside offers lots of atmospheric charm in addition to a pretty tasty menu! Like most food courts, it’s not a destination, per se, but if you’re staying in the French Quarter or visiting the resorts from nearby Disney Springs, Riverside is worth a stop for a quick bite to eat!

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Have you enjoyed Riverside Mill? Let us know in the comments!

from the disney food blog http://bit.ly/2Ky8flO

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