Review: We Bet You’ve Never Eaten at This Disney World Steakhouse

You’ve got $100 or maybe even $150 to spend on a meal anywhere in Disney World — where do you go? You’ve got a LOT of choices. Maybe you use the money to fill up on all the quick service chicken tenders and fries your stomach can handle (no judgment here!) or you opt for a signature dining experience and go BIG. Either way, you’d want your meal to be seriously awesome if you’re dropping that kind of cash on it, right?

Walt Disney World Dolphin Resort

Disney World’s Resort hotels are filled with excellent dining options that often rival (or even exceed) the food you’ll find in the theme parks! And while the Disney owned- and operated- resort hotels have no shortage of dining options, recently we actually made our way over to the Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Resorts, located right in between EPCOT and Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Over at the Dolphin, you’ll find Shula’s Steak House, a signature dining spot that’ll cost you a pretty penny. But is the food and experience worth the cost?

Atmosphere

Shula’s Steak House is named after the location’s founder and American football icon, the late Don Shula, who (if you’re unfamiliar with football trivia) was the head coach of the Miami Dolphins for much of his career. He was also the head coach in 1972, when the team accomplished what is known as their “Perfect Season.”

Welcome to Shula’s!

Throughout the restaurant, you’ll see nods to both Shula and the Miami Dolphins, with memorabilia from their 1972 “Perfect Season” decorating the walls.

Sports memorabilia can be found all around the restaurant!

But don’t let the sports theming fool you! Shula’s is one swanky restaurant, complete with dim lighting, dark wood, white table cloths, and all of the other fixings you would expect to see at one of Disney World’s signature dining locations.

Shula’s Steak House

Another cool feature of this signature dining restaurant? How about a giant wine case in the middle of the restaurant? FANCY!

That’s a lot of wine!

Shula’s also features a bar (as well as an adjoining Shula’s Lounge) where you can watch whatever sports game is airing at the time and enjoy a beverage. At the Lounge, you can also enjoy the FULL menu shared with Shula’s Steakhouse. So if you’re looking for a more abbreviated Shula’s experience, consider visiting the Lounge instead.

Shula’s Steak House

Once our reservation time arrived for Shula’s Steakhouse, were brought to our table…

Seating at Shula’s Steakhouse

…which was set up with a butcher block stocked with various steak knives that you get to choose from! Now that’s not something you see at your table every day! A butter knife? Sure. A single steak knife? Totally. A BUTCHER BLOCK of KNIVES?! Unusual, but we’ll allow it. You can absolutely tell that this dining experience was designed with steak at the center of everything.

Which steak knife would you choose to dine with?

We were handed a physical menu to review our selections. Potions of their menu used to be printed on an official NFL game football which is a pretty unique way to pick your meal! This time, however, we just got a regular ole menu.

Shula’s Menu

Speaking of the menu, let’s take a look at what Shula’s has to offer!

Menu

Shula’s only offers dinner service, with a menu that includes both classic steakhouse as well as seafood options. To start off your evening, you can choose from their selection of Starters, like New Orleans-style Shrimp or a Maryland-style Crab Cake. Or, you can opt for a soup or salad, like their French Onion Soup or Shula’s House Salad.

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When you’re ready to move on to the main course, there are several options “From the Grill” you can order (and since this is a steakhouse there are plenty of selections to satisfy your beefy cravings). Options include various sizes of Filet, New York Strip, Ribeye, and Porterhouse, as well as their signature 42-oz Prime Tomahawk for $155!

If you aren’t feeling the steak options, there are additional Entrees to choose from, including Roasted Brick Chicken and Norwegian Salmon.

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To enhance your entree, a variety of Side dishes are available, like Mashed Potatoes, Caramelized Brussels Sprouts, and Sautéed Mushrooms.

If you manage to still have room for dessert after all of your other items, you can order from a variety of cakes, get some ice cream, or chow down on a Crème Brûlée.

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Disney’s menu only shows a limited number of desserts, but if you visit the Dolphin’s website, you can see a more complete list of dessert options.

©Shula’s

While kids are welcome to dine at Shula’s, their menu options are very limited so that is something to keep in mind. There’s only one option for an appetizer (Chicken Noodle Soup), and your little ones are left with only two entrees: French-cut Chicken Breast or a Cheeseburger.

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Looking for an adult beverage to pair with your meal? There are a number of Handcrafted Cocktails to try, including a Dark Cherry Smoked Manhattan, a “New” Fashioned, and a French 75.

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If you prefer wine (remember that giant wine case we talked about earlier?!), there’s a wide selection of Sparkling and White Wine…

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…as well as Red Wine.

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There is also a selection of Beer and Ciders to choose from if that’s more up your alley! If you head to the Dolphin’s website and look at the menu for Shula’s there, you can see a more extensive list of alcoholic beverages included single malt scotches, Champagne, and more.

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Alright, our stomachs are growling — let’s eat!

Food

Our meal started off with a serving of fresh sourdough bread with salted butter.

Fresh Sourdough Bread with Salted Butter

We were off to a good start right out of the gate — this was some tasty bread! This is definitely one of those bread baskets you have to be careful with, otherwise, you’ll eat the whole thing before your main course arrives! If only we could pack a separate stomach just for bread. AH, the carbs.

Very tasty, fresh bread!

For our beverage, we ordered the Blueberry Martini for $14, which is a mixture of Pearl Blueberry Vodka, Cranberry Juice, House Sour, and Sweet Blueberries.

Blueberry Martini

While the cocktail was sweeter than how our reporter typically likes their drinks, it wasn’t to the level of being sickly sweet. It reminded us of a Cosmo, but without that tartness of lime that a Cosmo features. We will say that we liked the real blueberries in the drink — that was a nice touch. Overall, it was a fine cocktail, but not one that our reporter who tried it would order again on our next visit to Shula’s. If you prefer your cocktails to be on the sweet side, however, you may enjoy this!

Blueberry Martini

For our appetizer, we chose the Thick Cut Nueske’s Bacon for $19. This starter dish includes Bacon with a Bourbon-Honey Glaze, Tomato Jam, Cheddar Grits, White Cabbage, and Fennel Slaw. HOLY MOLY, LOOK AT THAT BACON.

Thick Cut Nueske’s Bacon

Out of ALL of the items, we tried this evening (seriously, out of ALLLLLLL of the items we had), this appetizer was hands-down our favorite! The bacon had an excellent smokey quality to it, and while it was on the thicker side in terms of the slices of bacon themselves, it was still tender and easy to cut!

The grits that came with it were cooked perfectly and all of the elements paired nicely with the crunch from the fennel slaw.

SO GOOD.

The sweetness from the bourbon-honey glaze combined with all of the other ingredients made for a very interesting bite, but everything worked so well together. It was like they were all singing their own little harmonies to one beautifully bacon-filled tune.

Tasty!

But alas, the bacon did not last forever on our plates (though it will last forever in our hearts). Once we had our fill of the bacon, it was time for our entree. The featured dish in our main course was the 10 oz Filet for $65, with a side of Béarnaise Sauce for $4.

10 oz Filet with Bernaise Sauce

Shula’s is certainly a no-frills kind of steakhouse. No super fancy plate, no super fancy display, no fireworks shooting out of the steak or shiny, bright colors. It was a steak — just a nice cut of meat, cooked just the way we ordered — nothing fancy about it whatsoever.

The Béarnaise Sauce was a welcome addition and gave the steam a nice creamy, sort-of eggy accompaniment.

10 oz Filet

Now, this is where personal choice comes into play. Personally, we would have rather gotten more than just a hunk of meat, no matter how perfect it’s cooked! Throw us a good wine sauce or a truffle butter any day and we’ll be happy campers.

But, if you’re point of view is “all I need to be happy is a nice hunk of meat cooked just how I asked, and I don’t need any frills,” then this could be a perfect pick for you.

10 oz Filet

Along with our filet, we ordered two side dishes. The first was the Fresh Jumbo Asparagus Spears for $13. These come either Grilled with Meyer Lemon or Steamed with Hollandaise Sauce — we chose grilled. Just like the steak, there was nothing extra fancy or special about this side dish, but it was tasty! This was another example of excellent execution without any frills. And we have to admit that they were a nice pairing with our filet.

Fresh Jumbo Asparagus Spears

Our second side was the Macaroni & Cheese for $13. This dish includes Cavatappi Pasta, a Gouda and Cheddar Cheese Sauce, and Bread Crumbs. Cavatappi is THE elite noodle for mac and cheese in our opinion, and it made for a very good side! The sauce was oh-so creamy and gooey with a great rich and smokey taste coming through! And you can’t go wrong with throwing some bread crumbs on top for that nice crunch.

You just can’t go wrong with mac and cheese.

All three components of our main course were good, but we would have also enjoyed a little more creativity with the ingredients, especially with the filet. But if you just want your perfectly cooked meat on a plate, then this no-frills presentation will suit you well.

Our entree

For dessert, we ordered the Molten Chocolate Lava Cake, priced at $12. Quick note here — if you want the Chocolate Lava Cake, the Chocolate Soufflé, or the Apple Tart, you must order it with your dinner, as they are made-to-order!

Molten Chocolate Lava Cake

The presentation of this dessert was really fun because our server made a small tunnel when it was served to us, and they then poured the Vanilla Creme Sauce through the hole in the top at the table! It made this dessert much more “showy” and fun. That showiness was matched with a simply delicious finale to our dinner.

Dessert with a show!

This was a super rich, chocolatey dessert, and the vanilla added a nice touch of creaminess. There was nothing shocking here flavor-wise, but if you’re ordering a Molten Chocolate Lava Cake, it’s probably because you know exactly what you want — and this one delivered!

Molten Chocolate Lava Cake

We personally would have loved some sort of fruit component, like raspberry, to balance out the richness of the chocolate. But if you prefer simple, elegant desserts, this one is a solid choice. And with that, our meal at Shula’s has come to a close. So…is this spot worth the cash?

Nosh or Not

Make the trip over to the Dolphin Resort and have dinner at Shula’s Steak House if…

• You love steak with a capital “S.” This is a true meat-lover’s paradise, filled with butcher blocks where you can choose which steak knife you want to use, nice cuts of meat, and your traditional steakhouse sides. The no-frills steak was cooked to perfection, but there wasn’t much in terms of uniqueness.
• You want to escape the Disney World bubble without actually leaving Disney World property. Shula’s is over at the Dolphin (which is not owned by Disney) and not in a park. That gives it a bit of a different feeling than some spots you would find in the theme parks. But it’s also conveniently located just steps away from EPCOT and a short walk from Disney’s Hollywood Studios. So it has the convenience factor + a little “outside-the-Disney-bubble” feel.
• You’re a big fan of football but want something a little more upscale than your typical sports bar. There are football touches and details everywhere here, so we have a feeling those are things sports fans will really enjoy. But, it’s still an upscale dining location — so you get a unique mix.

Skip out on Shula’s Steak House if…

• You’re dining with kids. While there is a kids menu here, it’s very thinned out, plus the upscale ambiance likely won’t make for as fun of an experience.
• You’re vegetarian or vegan. There isn’t much here in terms of plant-based items except for potentially some salads and a side dish or two, so this probably wouldn’t be the best choice for those who are staying away from meat.
• You want a little more “magic” with your meal. You might almost forget you’re in Disney World when you’re dining here because it really doesn’t have any of that Disney “feeling.” At least to us, it feels like the kind of steakhouse you could find in your own hometown.

Overall

Overall, Shula’s Steak House reminded us of any other steakhouse we would find in any major city. It lacks that Disney “oomph” that you can find at other steakhouses around property. That said, our food was delicious, our waiter was wonderful (seriously some of the best service we’ve had in Disney World), and you won’t be disappointed with the quality of your food should you choose to dine here.

We’ve called it “incredible” when it comes to food before, and we do think that the food we had was really tasty. The cowboy steak here has even made our list of top 5 steaks in all of Disney World. Again, all this is to say, the food here is top notch in terms of quality. But if you’re looking for something showy, flavors that are more unique, or something that’ll really make you go “WOW” — this might not be it.

If you’re looking for a good and reliable steakhouse on Disney World property that has a bit more of a special Disney touch, we would suggest you also consider places like Steakhouse 71, Le Cellier, or even California Grill as these all offer something a bit more special and uniquely Disney World.

Shula’s

Another point we have to make is that this meal wasn’t cheap! Our already pricey steak did not come with either side dish that we ordered, making our entree + side dishes + sauce alone over $90.

A couple of important notes: parking is not free at the Dolphin Resort, but Shula’s will validate your parking, so be sure to bring your parking ticket with you when you dine! In addition, this location does not accept forms of Disney payments, such as MagicBands or Disney gift cards. Keep that in mind before you book!

Shula’s

That’s a wrap from Shula’s Steak House at the Walt Disney World Dolphin Resort! Be sure to follow along for more of the latest reviews from around the parks, resorts, and Disney Springs.

Click here to read about why one of Disney World’s CHEAPEST table service restaurants may be one of the BEST.

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Have you ever eaten at Shula’s Steak House? Let us know in the comments!

The post Review: We Bet You’ve Never Eaten at This Disney World Steakhouse first appeared on the disney food blog.

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