Steakhouse 71 is a new restaurant opening at Disney’s Contemporary Resort on October 1st.

We’ve taken a look at the menu, prices, and even seen some of the food that will be served there. Now, as part of a special media event, we’re finally going in to see the lounge and dining room and try out the food! Come along with us, and check out the new Steakhouse 71.

When you enter the restaurant, you’ll find the modern-looking check-in desk right at the front. There’s a large glass wall behind it, with a wavy pattern etched in the glass. Maybe a nod to The Wave…of American Flavors restaurant that used to be in this space?

There’s a waiting area next to the check-in desk, with comfortable-looking couches and chairs.

Once you’ve checked in, you can wait to be called back either here or in the lounge area behind the glass.

The light fixtures in this restaurant definitely give us 70s vibes (since the restaurant is inspired by Disney World’s opening year), but they have a very elegant design.

The lounge area is behind the check-in desk.

You don’t need reservations to come here, and you can even enjoy a cocktail or some bites while you wait for your table to be ready inside the restaurant.

The Lounge is a three-sided bar with TVs overhead and comfy chairs all around.

We passed through it into the dining room, which has more of the 70s style design.

There are options for round tables…

…square tables…

…or booths in the dining room.

The tables are set simply with black folded napkins, forks, knives, and votive candles. The carpet has a modern (and slightly dizzying if you look at it too long) geometric pattern with teals and whites.

On the walls, you can see modern-style art with a Disney World theme, including paintings inspired by EPCOT…

…and the Magic Kingdom.

The geometric shapes form iconic Disney landmarks, like the Cinderella Castle and the Walt Disney World train. Look closely at the train…

…and you can spot a hidden Mickey design on it!

Other artwork included paintings that depicted Tomorrowland attractions from the Magic Kingdom.

There was art with a Space Mountain theme…

…and some depicting the PeopleMover and Tomorrowland Speedway cars.

We headed through the dining room to our table…

…and took a look at the menu.

The media event was for lunch at Steakhouse 71. On the menu, we found non-alcoholic specialty drinks, specialty cocktails, and draft beer options.

For lunch, there were several appetizers and entrées to choose from.

We started out with some drinks, including the Vodka Gimlet, which is Tito’s Vodka, green chartreuse, seedlip garden, lime juice, simple syrup, and Minute Maid Premium lemonade.

Trying the Vodka Gimlet🍸(media event) pic.twitter.com/BrAcKcDsBJ

— Disney Food Blog (@DisneyFoodBlog) September 30, 2021

We also tried the Raspberry Gin Sour, which is made from Tanqueray No Ten Gin, lemon juice, and raspberry sage syrup.

Raspberry Gin Sour🍹(Tanqueray, lemon juice, raspberry, and sage syrup)

📍Media Event pic.twitter.com/RBzXOiyZ83

— Disney Food Blog (@DisneyFoodBlog) September 30, 2021

We also grabbed the Tequila Sunrise Shared Cocktail, which is Herradura Reposado Tequila, POG juice, rosemary simple syrup, and house-made grenadine. 

Finally, we tried the Fig Manhattan, which has Monkey Shoulder Blended Scotch, Cointreau Noir, fig simple syrup, and orange bitters.

Off the non-alcoholic specialty drinks menu, we tried the Cold Brew & Tonic, which is Joffrey’s coffee cold brew, maple, vanilla syrup, and tonic water.

Before our appetizers, we got a breadboard with two huge rolls…

Oh. We’re ready. 🤤 (media event) pic.twitter.com/c8MqtIoHqO

— Disney Food Blog (@DisneyFoodBlog) September 30, 2021

…and some amazing themed butter!

Off the appetizers menu, we tried the French Onion Soup.

The soup was rich beef broth, croutons, and Gratinée Cheese.

Cheeeeeseeee 🧀 (#Steakhouse71 media event) pic.twitter.com/NLPiVTJEUA

— Disney Food Blog (@DisneyFoodBlog) September 30, 2021

We also tried the Bacon and Eggs, which was a classic from the Wave restaurant that used to be here as well.

The dish has maple-lacquered pork belly, smoked cheese grits, and a perfect egg.

Bacon & Eggs 🥓 at Steakhouse 71 (media event) pic.twitter.com/f8mSjWShMY

— Disney Food Blog (@DisneyFoodBlog) September 30, 2021

We needed a little something healthy too, so we tried the Fork and Knife Caesar Salad, which has Caesar dressing, croutons, and shaved Parmesan cheese.

Finally, we got the Steakhouse 71 Onion Rings, which are hand-breaded with a spicy Ranch dipping sauce.

Think we’ve had enough food yet? We haven’t even looked at the entrées yet!

Appetizers at Steakhouse 71! (media event) pic.twitter.com/0SV1Ht61dj

— Disney Food Blog (@DisneyFoodBlog) September 30, 2021

For our entrées, we tried the Gourmet Grilled Cheese, which is toasted Brioche bread, Gruyère cheese, smoked Gouda, shredded pork belly, caramelized onion jam, and arugula.

It’s served with your choice of a petite wedge salad, Parmesan fries, or pasta salad.

Next up was the Steakhouse 71 Stack Burger, which is a signature blend of beef, American cheese, lemon aïoli, red onion, and house-made pickles on a brioche bun. It’s served with a choice of a petite wedge salad, Parmesan fries, or pasta salad.

We also tried the Steak “Frites,” which is Hangar steak, garlic-Parmesan waffle fries, with chimichurri and truffle aïoli sauces.

We checked out the Crab Cake Sliders next, which have lump crab cakes, Old Bay Rémoulade, tomato, and pickled slaw on a brioche bun.

These are also served with a choice of a petite wedge salad, Parmesan fries, or a pasta salad.

Up next was the Prime Rib Sandwich, which is shaved prime rib, caramelized onions, herb aïoli, Provolone cheese, arugula, and horseradish cream. These are also served with a choice of a petite wedge salad, Parmesan fries, or pasta salad.

The last entree we tried was the Vegetable “Wellington.”

Plant-Based Wellington 🌱 (media event) pic.twitter.com/ZRm6Qk7VSK

— Disney Food Blog (@DisneyFoodBlog) September 30, 2021

 

This dish has mushroom duxelles and fire-roasted artichokes wrapped in puff pastry, with Romesco and brussels sprouts.

What a lunch!!

Lunch! Gourmet Grilled Cheese, Steak Frites, Crab Cake Sliders, and the Prime Rib Sandwich. (#DisneyWorld media event) pic.twitter.com/LiRTg9JKAp

— Disney Food Blog (@DisneyFoodBlog) September 30, 2021

Of course, we couldn’t leave without dessert, though! Here’s a look at the menu.

We tried one of each! The Steakhouse 71 Chocolate Cake is fifteen layers of whiskey-infused chocolate cake and chocolate mousse, garnished with raspberries.

It’s a massive slice of cake, and you can definitely share it around the table.

Steakhouse 71 Chocolate Cake.✨ Whiskey infused Chocolate Cake, Chocolate Mousse, Raspberries, and edible gold (#DisneyWorld media event) pic.twitter.com/oHbpkDj3g1

— Disney Food Blog (@DisneyFoodBlog) September 30, 2021

Next, we tried the Crème Brûlée, which is vanilla- and chocolate-layered crème brûlée topped with fresh berries and chantilly cream.

The Ambrosia dessert is a coconut chiffon cake, topped with mandarin curd and compressed pineapple.

And last but not least is the Apple Tart Tatin, which is caramelized Granny Smith apples on top of puff pastry, served with blackberry gelato.

And that wraps up our meal at Steakhouse 71! You can make reservations now, and the restaurant officially opens on October 1st at Disney’s Contemporary Resort. We will be back with a full lunch review today!!! So stay tuned. Keep following DFB, because we’ll let you know about all the Disney World updates throughout the 50th Anniversary celebrations.

Click Here to Check Out the Menu at the Steakhouse 71 Lounge

Which item would you try first at Steakhouse 71? Let us know in the comments!

Disclosure: In nearly all circumstances, Disney Food Blog writers and photographers pay full price for their own travel, hotel, food, beverage, and event tickets. We do this because it’s important to us as journalists to ensure not only that we give you unbiased opinions, but also that you can trust us to do so since we’re paying our own way. On rare occasions, when we are invited by a company to attend a preview as media, and when we choose to accept that invitation, we will always make you, our readers, aware of that situation. Today, we were invited by Disney World to attend their media preview of Steakhouse 71. Note that when we attend events as media we are 1) Not required to review that event/food on any of our channels, and 2) Not required to review that event/food favorably. You can always count on DFB to give you a 100% unbiased and honest review of any event that we attend, food that we eat, or beverage that we drink. You can see more in our Disclosure Policy. Thank you for reading. — AJ