REVIEW: Truffle. Butter. Grilled. Cheese. We’re SO Happy You’re Back at This Disney World Restaurant
Feeling hungry? Well, get ready to drool. We’ve seen many things return to Disney World in recent months, like certain restaurants, nightlife, and even spas reopening.
Flying Fish has reopened at Disney’s BoardWalk!
And, the returns won’t be slowing down any time soon — the parade and stage show are coming back to Magic Kingdom, Fantasmic! will be reopening in Hollywood Studios, and popular restaurants like Jiko at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge are scheduled to reopen soon. At Disney’s Yacht Club, we just saw the breakfast buffet return to Ale & Compass Restaurant, but that’s not all — LUNCH is also back at Ale & Compass and we went over to check it out so we could give you a full review. So, come along with us to see if this returned lunch service is worth leaving the Disney parks!
Atmosphere
Ale & Compass is located in Disney’s Yacht Club Resort, which is over on Crescent Lake near EPCOT.
Ale & Compass!
The restaurant serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner in a coastal-inspired restaurant that is meant to feel like a cozy lighthouse in New England.
It’s a relaxing setting!
At night, it can get kind of dark in here with the mood lighting, but during the day, there is a ton of bright, natural light that we love!
More seating
There are standard tables and chairs in here along with some booths. There are also big, round tables for larger parties.
Room for the whole family
We were sat at one of the half-booths for our meal with some silverware in a navy blue cloth napkin. Ah — looks like you’re getting a sneak peek at our drink!
Table setting
Let’s look at all the menu has to offer here at Ale & Compass!
Menu
Ale & Compass has New England comfort food and classic seafood dishes on their lunch menu (which is served from 11:30AM to 2PM right now). For starters, you can get things like a Jumbo Lump Crab Cake, Lobster and Corn Chowder, or their famous Parker House Rolls and Spreads. There are also salads and flatbreads on the menu, like the Wedged Romaine Salad and the Chipotle-Barbecue Chicken Flatbread.
©Disney
As for main plates, there is a good variety here for lunch, like the Bacon and Vermont Cheddar Burger, Blackened Sustainable Fish Tacos, or the Pesto Chicken Salad Sandwich.
©Disney
For the kiddos, there are some appetizers available, like Chicken Noodle Soup or a Garden Salad, and then they can create their own entrees. They can pick between Grilled Chicken, Baked Sustainable Fish, Pasta Bolognese, or a Cheeseburger. Each comes with 2 sides and their choice of milk, water, or apple juice.
©Disney
The sides kids can choose from include things like Red Potatoes, Macaroni & Cheese, or Mini Ice Cream Sandwiches. There is also the Specialty Character Drink available for kids, which is Minute Maid Zero Sugar Lemonade served in a souvenir Character Cup with a glowing Character Clip-on Light.
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As for adult beverages, there are several cocktails available, like the Seaworthy Breeze or the Spicy Pomegranate Margarita, as well as 2 signature cocktails — the Maple Old Fashioned and the Purple Mariner.
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There are also some beers and hard ciders on draft, like Blue Moon Belgian White or Woodchuck Amber Hard Cider.
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And, if they don’t have what you’re looking for on draft, there are also bottled and canned beers available, like Sierra Nevada Pale Ale and Schofferhofer Grapefruit Hefeweizen.
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If you would rather have some adult grape juice, uh…we mean…wine, there are a ton of choices! Go for a nice Merlot from Napa Valley, a Pinot Gris from Monterey, or even some Prosecco from Italy.
©Disney
At the restaurant, we were given paper menus with all of these selections with the food and a few cocktails on one side…
Lunch Menu
…and the rest of the alcoholic offerings on the other side.
Alcohol Options
They also had a special drink menu that included “Morning Libations” like a Mimosa, a Bloody Mary, and a Blue Hawaiian.
Morning Libations, anyone?
QR menus are also at the tables.
Okay, have you worked up an appetite yet? Because we know we have, so let’s EAT already!
Food
To start, we got the Agua Fresca, a drink from the Morning Libations menu. This has Paul Cheneau Lady of Space Cava with Strawberry Hibiscus for $12.
What a pretty color!
This was basically a glass of strawberry-flavored champagne (or sparkling wine, for the champagne purists out there). We didn’t really get the hibiscus flavor, but the strawberry came through a lot! Overall, it was a very refreshing drink.
It looks like a Jolly Rancher!
We ordered several menu items so we could get a good feel of how lunch is overall now that it’s back. Here’s a look at our full spread before we break it down for you:
Can’t wait to dig in!
We started with the Lobster and Corn Chowder with Herbs and House-Made Oyster Crackers for $12.
That color though!
You can definitely taste both the corn and the lobster in the chowder! And, with the potatoes and creamy base, it’s super thick and filling.
Warming us up in the winter
The House-Made Crackers were awesome — very buttery and they had a great crunch. Dipping them in the chowder was a match made in heaven!
Perfect
This chowder is perfect for a chilly day and it could easily be a meal if you’re looking for something smaller or don’t have a huge appetite.
This could fill you up!
Next, we tried the Chipotle-Barbecue Chicken Flatbread for $18. This has White Cheddar, Pickled Peppers, and Onions.
Flatbreads are underrated, honestly
If you get a bite with the peppers, this flatbread has a bit of a kick, which works really well with the flavor of the pickled onions. The pieces of chicken were really big, too!
Great to share!
The crust on this flatbread was lightly seasoned which was great. And, the barbecue taste is more sweet then tangy, but it was a little spicy as well, which was nice. We would order this one again!
Watch out for the heat!
Moving on to the Grilled Cheese, which is Artisanal Country Bread, Aged White Cheddar, Gruyère, and Fontina Cheese with Truffle Butter for $13. You can also add Applewood-smoked Bacon or Country Ham, which would make it $17, but we just stuck with the cheese (because you can’t go wrong with cheese in our book).
Name a better duo, we’ll wait
This is an absolute favorite of ours and we’re SO happy it’s back! You can really taste the truffle butter and the sandwich is LOADED with cheese.
Cheesy goodness
The bread is soft and soaks up that delicious truffle flavor amazingly. Just look at the cheese pull!!
Just LOOK at that cheese pull
The tomato soup that comes with the sandwich is your basic tomato soup in the best way! It complements the grilled cheese nicely by not having any competing flavors, which is exactly how grilled cheese and tomato soup should be.
Just the right amount of soup
Finally, we got the Pesto Chicken Salad Sandwich with Roasted Tomatoes, Watercress, and House-made Focaccia for $16. If you’re a fan of pesto, this is a winner! The chicken salad has a lot going on but it has a great flavor and is very fresh.
Well this is a pretty plate!
There was plenty of feta cheese and roasted tomatoes inside, which we appreciated, and there was no shortage of chicken either!
This all works together!
The sandwich is pretty bread-heavy due to the thick focaccia, so we actually took the top piece off and at it more as an open-faced sandwich, but it was still tasty.
If you’re looking for carbs, this bread is IT, folks
This sandwich also usually comes with chips, but you can upgrade to truffle fries, so we did, of course! For $2 more we were able to enjoy that delicious truffle flavor with our sammie.
Truffle fries > regular fries
We really enjoyed all of these items and would order each of them again! But, if you’re trying to decide on one thing over the other, we would suggest the Pesto Chicken Salad Sandwich or the Grilled Cheese Sandwich over the Chipotle-Barbecue Chicken Flatbread (even though it was still really good!).
Nosh or Not
Row on over for lunch at Ale & Compass if:
- You want a cozy, comforting lunch that will fuel the rest of your day
- You need a break from EPCOT and want some New England-style food
- You want a place with a lot of variety (and a lot of seafood and truffles!)
Dock your boat somewhere else if:
- You want food that’s a bit more adventurous and that you can’t get at home
- You want a quick, light lunch that won’t make you feel sluggish
- You want a place with more touches of Disney because it’s not themed that way here
Overall
Overall, we’re so excited that lunch is back at Ale & Compass! It’s a great option if you’re staying at the EPCOT resorts or if you want to take a mid-day break from EPCOT and grab some grub. If you’re into the New England food and vibes, you should enjoy this cozy spot. It doesn’t feel stuffy, either, but rather has more of a relaxing vibe to it. This could also be a good place to eat if you’re just getting into town and need a real meal, or want one last bite to eat before leaving Disney World! Stay tuned to DFB for more Disney food news and reviews.
Click here to check out our review of the returning breakfast items at Ale & Compass!
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Will you be planning to dine at Ale & Compass on your next Disney World trip? Let us know in the comments!
The post REVIEW: Truffle. Butter. Grilled. Cheese. We’re SO Happy You’re Back at This Disney World Restaurant first appeared on the disney food blog.
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