With its menu of consistently popular choices — lots of healthier, lighter, vegetarian choices along with some hearty fish and chips — and its impeccable theming, Columbia Harbour House is a great place to cool down and fuel up when you’re touring the Magic Kingdom.

And its location is ideal. It’s a short walk from Frontierland, a stone’s throw from the Haunted Mansion, and holds court in Liberty Square (just before it morphs into Fantasyland around the corner).

This place is Americana architecture at its finest.

Atmosphere

The interior of Columbia Harbour House reinforces the exterior theming (at least that part of the facade that faces Liberty Square). It heavily features wood, from the furniture to the walls.

Eats

In the past, we’ve reviewed some of the most popular dishes (I’m looking at you, Lobster Roll!), and we are happy to see that crowd favorites like the Anchors Aweigh Sandwich and the Lighthouse Sandwich remain among the tasty sandwich options here.

This is also a great place to pick up unique options from the kids’ menu and to sample yummy frozen beverages. Remember that you can now add flavored syrups to your drinks and slushes!

On this visit, I really wanted to try something new, so I tackled all of the new-ish shrimp dishes on the menu! (I’ve really been into shrimp lately…weird.) We started with the Baked Chicken Breast and Shrimp.

OK, let me start by saying that this is just about the healthiest counter service meal I’ve ever. seen. EVER.

If your goal is to stick to your diet and stock up on protein, this is IT, my friends. And, unfortunately, it was super boring, too. The chicken and shrimp were pretty bland. Like…BLAND.

But here’s the silver living: I think the blandness might work for babies who are new to solid foods, kids who hate flavoring of any kind, and people getting over a stomach virus.

The couscous was the only winner here. It had great chicken flavor, and there was lots of it. And the broccoli was fine.

After that ho-hum plate of food, I was really hoping for a dynamite shrimp dish — and I found it. Unsurprisingly, perhaps, it was deep fried.

The Fried Shrimp Platter was just what I hoped it would be. The shrimp were plump, and the breading added texture, flavor, and crunch.

With just the right amount of seasoning (really, just salt), these guys were so satisfying. They had a great shrimp-to-breading ratio, too, so you didn’t lose the taste of the seafood under a ridiculous amount of coating.

Since this is a platter, the shrimp come with a massive side of fries.

Ours were fresh and delicious. We also received a decent sized container of Cocktail Sauce. It had just the right amount of zing to off-set the richness of the fried shrimp.

And in case you were missing your veggies, it comes with a side of Cole Slaw too.

Despite the success of the Fried Shrimp Platter, I wasn’t done yet. I had to order the Shrimp Macaroni and Cheese. You’re welcome.

We’ve seen lots of Mac and Cheese incarnations around the Disney Parks (most recently on top of the Mac and Cheese Hot Dog at Casey’s Corner), but I was excited to give this one a try. It’s a pretty hefty serving of Macaroni and Cheese, and there was a lot of shrimp piled on top as well.

This was surprisingly good! The Macaroni and Cheese was creamy and super cheesy (not bland as is sometimes the case). It was rich and savory. The breadcrumbs on top added a little texture, but I was really hoping for some fried shrimp to bring even more crunch to the dish. But luckily, the shrimp weren’t too “watery” on the top as I’d feared.

As it is, the shrimp is not incorporated into the Macaroni and Cheese (it’s just kind of placed on top), so if you’re traveling with folks who don’t like shrimp, you could easily share this. And I do recommend sharing. It’s huge, and it’s rich.

Columbia Harbour House offers some unique dessert options, and typically, folks love them! Sadly, that was not the case on my visit. I tried the Seasonal Cobbler, expecting a bubbling combination of fruit and topping. And it certainly looked the part.

There was the crumbly topping, the cinnamon-sugar bits, and a dollop of vanilla sauce. But upon dipping in with a spoon, I found this to be a little tough. I didn’t feel like I was “dipping in” so much as “chipping away.”

The Cobbler was not tender at all and tasted kind of stale. The fruit flavor (predominantly blueberry) was present and palatable, but it otherwise seemed like it had been sitting around for a while. I know — it looks really good, right? Bummer.

I’m hoping mine was just a bad batch or maybe accidentally left-over from another era. Blergh.

Overall

Columbia Harbour House has a siren call that sounds something like “fried fish and chicken and french fries and YUM,” and it’s always worth a visit. And some of these dishes are among the best uses of a Disney Dining Quick Service meal credit. We’ll check in on the Cobbler again to see if we just got unlucky, and – as always – we’ll let you know what we find.