The Plaza Restaurant has one of the most iconic locations at Walt Disney World – located in the Magic Kingdom, at the very end of Main Street, U.S.A., facing Cinderella Castle. The restaurant is also right beside the Plaza Ice Cream Parlor and the restaurant serves many of the same milkshakes and sundaes.
Open for lunch and dinner, the Plaza Restaurant serves burgers, sandwiches, and salads all priced under $25. The DIS Unlimited Team was overdue for a review of this classic restaurant and we were in luck because there are special Halloween menu items… and of course we had to try them all!
We started our meal with the Plaza Restaurant Fries – crispy fries topped with melted cheddar, bacon, green onions, and spicy sour cream for $15. The description sounding so promising and the execution was so very sad. Not only was the portion size pretty pitiful for $15, the presentation was a literal mess. We could have looked past this if they were delicious… alas they were not. The fries were way over-salted and there were not enough toppings to make up for it.
We were originally only going to get the fries but they were so sad and small, we decided to try one more appetizer – Onion Rings served with horseradish dipping sauce for $10. In comparison, the onion rings were a much better value. The batter was a little sweet and the onion rings were a little too greasy but otherwise fried perfectly. The horseradish sauce was INCREDIBLE. It offered the perfect amount of spice and should be served with every dish at the Plaza.
I was very excited I got to order the Halloween Turkey Club! A turkey club on a hot day sounded perfect plus it has a Halloween theme – YES PLEASE! This seasonal club is made with candied bacon and truffle-buffalo aioli on black sandwich bread for $19. With any of the sandwiches or burgers, you can choose either a side of fries, mashed potatoes, or grapes and apple slices. I decided to give the fries one more chance (still wayyyyy too salty) and asked for an extra side of the aioli to dip them in…. this was the right move! The best part of the sandwich was the sweet and spicy flavors from the candied bacon and aioli. The turkey is cold but more Thanksgiving-style than deli turkey.
For an entrée, Cloe went with the Impossible Chili Burger – Impossible patty topped with pinto bean chili, pico de gallo, on a potato roll for $25. You can order the burger with plant-based or cow’s milk cheese. This one did not look very appetizing when it came to the table and unfortunately, didn’t taste much better. The biggest issue was the menu describe the chili as Impossible Chili when in reality it was just pinto beans. We have to believe the addition of actual Impossible chili would have been an improvement over these sad pinto beans.
Teresa chose the other seasonal entrée item! The Ghoulishly Gourmet Burger – two all-beef patties with pepper jack and swiss cheese, candied bacon, balsamic-glazed mushrooms, onion ring, and truffle-buffalo aioli on a black bun for $25. This both looked and tasted delicious. Our server described the patties like a “smash burger” but were cooked medium-rare. We also missed the taste of balsamic-glazed mushrooms but overall a great burger with a lot going on!
Ryno decided to go with one of the few non-sandwich options. The Pot Roast Stack – slow-roasted beef on thick-cut toast with mashed potatoes, caramelized onion gravy, and onion rings for $24. The portion size definitely didn’t match the menu description and nothing about it felt “piled high”. The pot roast was very flavorful and the mashed potatoes were much better than our salty fries. This would be our recommended side at the Plaza!
Time for dessert and more seasonal goodies! The Graveyard Milk Shake – chocolate milk shake topped with a dipped graveyard jelly doughnut, white chocolate tombstone, gummy candy, and a Haunted Mansion Straw for $8.50.
The presentation of this one was a little bit of a miss and yet again the menu description was missing some details. The milk shake came to our table already melted and, to our surprise, was filled with a lot of M&M’s. We cracked up over the fact that the gummy worm was for some reason cut in half and the Haunted Mansion straw was paper…. but still cute! The jelly filled donut was a little on the stale side and made us wish we had just gotten a standard milk shake. The things we do for seasonal treats!
The other seasonal dessert is the Seasonal Layered Pumpkin Cake with cream cheese mousse for $10. This cake was the star of the meal! The pumpkin cake had the perfect amount of spice and the cream cheese mousse was divine. The slice was a little smaller than we expected but the cake flavor was enough to make it worth ordering again.
We also chose a cake that is on the menu year-round. The Chocolate Layer Cake with caramel popcorn mousse and served with caramel popcorn for $10. This was a standard chocolate cake that was basic and good, it just didn’t taste like caramel popcorn mousse. And while we do appreciate a fun garnish, the stale caramel popcorn didn’t add much to the overall taste.
Our scores weren’t so pretty for the Plaza Restaurant! I scored ambiance a 2 for the cramped tables and lack of a view, food preparation/ presentation a 3 for our sloppy fries and desserts that looked better on the menu, quality of taste a 5, service an 8, and cost a 6 for a total score of 2.4 out of 5.
Chloe scored ambiance a 1 since the Plaza use to showcase views of the castle, food preparation/ presentation a 3 since her Impossible burger did not look appetizing, quality of taste a 5, service a 9 for our server who was very helpful with menu-related questions, and cost a 5 for a total score of 2.3 out of 5.
Teresa scored ambiance a 5, food preparation/ presentation an 8 for her pretty burger and desserts, quality of taste a 6 which would have been higher if she was only basing it on what she ordered, service an 8, and cost a 6 for a total score of 3.3 out of 5. Teresa is the only one in our group who said she would definitely come back to the Plaza!
Ryno scored ambiance a 2, food preparation/ presentation a 6, quality of taste a 6 for his pot roast and well-made The Last Word cocktail but not the sloppy Plaza fries, service a 9 for our thorough service, and cost a 6 since we’re used to theme park pricing for a total score of 2.9 out of 5.
To learn more about the Plaza Restaurant and a fun lunch with the team, be sure to watch our full review here!
Hannah Anderson is a Dreams Unlimited Travel Agent, DIS Contributor, former Disney Cast Member, and Orlando local. Mostly importantly, she is a mom and loves spending time in the Disney Parks each week with her family.
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