There’s a new restaurant in town, and it’s called Steakhouse 71. We use the phrase “new” somewhat loosely since Steakhouse 71 is located in the former location of The Wave at Disney’s Contemporary Resort, which closed earlier this year to make way for a new dining experience as part of Disney World’s 50th Anniversary Celebration.

Steakhouse 71, which is named after the opening year of Disney World, is open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. There is also a lounge! Yesterday, we shared our full lunch review. And today, we were up bright and early to check out its breakfast service! Let’s get into the foodie details! 

Atmosphere

One of the biggest questions we had entering Steakhouse 71 is just how different it would look from The Wave! Walking in, we immediately noticed that the whole restaurant got a major overhaul!

As you enter the hallway leading to the main dining room, you’ll find a wall full of photos from Disney World’s early days. It made us feel so nostalgic!

Before you make it to the dining room, there’s another check-in desk…

…and a lovely lounge seating area! Some guests had parked their strollers here, but it’s the perfect place to sit while you wait to be called to your table.

Behind the check-in desk is a full bar. The bar/lounge wasn’t yet open during breakfast, but you can stop by during lunch and dinner hours — just speak to the Cast Member at the check-in counter to get details on availability.

Once you get into the main dining area, you’ll notice that the whole space has been transformed! We’ve got new tables, chairs, carpet, and artwork.

The banquettes have been completely redone, and we have to say, we’re really digging the new vibe!

Just look how sleek and modern it is! So much better than the “old 1970s car dealership” look.

Alright, we suppose that’s enough fawning over the makeover. It’s time to eat some FOOD!

Menu

If you choose to book an Advance Dining Reservation for breakfast at Steakhouse 71, you’ll be able to choose from a small selection of Appetizers…

…before moving on to a wider variety of breakfast Entrees.

If you’re particularly hungry, you can add some Sides to your meal.

Adults can sip on a “Wake Up Call” like a Steakhouse Bloody Mary or the Refillable Mimosas fans of The Wave may remember…

…or, you can order from their menu of Non-Alcoholic Specialties.

You’ll be given a QR code to scan at the table, which directs you to the website. However, our server did offer the option of paper menus as well.

What to order? It’s such a difficult decision!

Eats & Drinks

First up, we ordered the Fresh-baked Breakfast Pastries for $10. Our plate came with a croissant, a cinnamon roll, a cheese danish, a chocolate muffin (with chocolate chips!), and what our server called a “lemonade-flavored” muffin.

All in all, it’s a pretty traditional pastry selection. The croissant was buttery, flaky, and soft, while the cinnamon roll was a little chewier and had a strong cinnamon flavor. The lemonade muffin was a little sweeter than its chocolate counterpart, likely because of the crunchy sugar on top. They were both the tiniest bit dry in a few spots.

However, our favorite from the tray was the cheese danish! It was buttery and a little sticky from the icing and honey on top and the pastry was just the perfect amount of flaky, not overbaked. Honestly, we could’ve had another one or two more!

And the pastry selection was also served with butter and some jelly on its own plate so that you can customize your baked goods to your liking. With those condiments, our server also brought us some ketchup and hot sauce for the next course.

For the main course, we ordered three different dishes: Walt’s Prime Rib Hash, the Steakhouse 71 Seasonal Pancakes, and the Steakhouse 71 Feast. That’s a LOT of food, y’all.

Walt’s Prime Rib Hash is made with seared prime rib, fried potatoes, caramelized onions and peppers, and topped with a fried egg. Isn’t it a beaut?

We were definitely ready to dig into this one. Since it’s hash-style, the meat was cooked fairly well done. However, even the reporter who prefers things medium-rare really enjoyed it! The true hit here is the seasoning — it really ties everything together into one cohesive meal.

The potatoes were nice bite-sized chunks and it was easy to get a scoop of everything together on our forks. (That’s the best kind of bite…when you eat it all together!) The fried egg on top was a good addition to the other flavors, although the yolk wasn’t as runny as we would’ve preferred.

The Steakhouse 71 Seasonal Pancakes will offer rotating flavors of pancakes, and on opening day, the flavor of the season was pumpkin. We were excited to try the pumpkin option, but we have to say that we really miss the old sweet potato pancakes that The Wave served!

The pumpkin pancakes are topped with a cream cheese drizzle, pecan praline butter, and come with a side of espresso-infused syrup! (If you’re not a coffee drinker, you can ask for some regular syrup as well.) All in all, they’re a real pretty sight.

As far as the taste goes, they were fairly dry. However, pouring the syrup on top helped solve that problem real quick. Once the syrup was added, these tasted just like a delightful fall morning with the pumpkin spice and the crunch from the pecans. It’s definitely one of the sweeter options, but you get a choice of bacon, pork sausage, or chicken sausage to help balance it out and add some savory.

Finally, let’s discuss the Steakhouse 71 Feast, which comes with basically every breakfast food known to man. On this heaping platter for $20, you’ve got eggs benedict, scrambled egg, bacon, sausage, a Mickey waffle, bacon-cheddar grits, breakfast potatoes, and seasonal fruit! WOW.

Seriously, this thing is ginormous. But hey, we’re definitely not complaining!

The eggs benedict was seasoned well and the hollandaise sauce was very traditional (which is different than the key lime hollandaise that they used to have at The Wave). Our egg yolk was perfectly runny (more so than the other one we had), but we do wish that the English muffin had been toasted just an itsy bitsy bit more. 

The cheese and bacon grits were a highlight of this platter. There was a good balance between the amount of bacon and the cheese, and the cheddar was mild, but still flavorful enough to make us want to eat several bites. Definitely make sure to eat these while they’re still warm!

The other items on the plate were pretty traditional Disney breakfast foods. The Mickey Waffle was delicious as always, and we really enjoyed the sausage links and bacon. (The bacon was thin and chewy, for those wondering.) The scrambled eggs were cooked really well (they weren’t that gross rubbery texture) and not heavily seasoned, but you’re given a variety of condiments and seasonings to dress them how you’d like.

The breakfast potatoes were a pleasant surprise — they were fairly large and just the right amount of salty, plus a little crispy on the edges and soft in the middle. We hadn’t expected to be impressed by them, but whaddya know?!

That’s everything we ate, but we also picked up two specialty beverages! First, there’s the Specialty Character Drink, which just so happens to be the EARidescent Sip-a-Bration beverage for the 50th Anniversary. It’s a Minute Maid Zero Sugar Lemonade served in a plastic souvenir cup with a fun surprise.

Each lemonade comes with a little Disney character in a bag. You can place the character on the edge of the glass, but when you drop it into the drink, it diffuses and changes the color! Kiddos would probably love this experiment.

Bye, Mickey! pic.twitter.com/UfoOgUcYgZ

— Disney Food Blog (@DisneyFoodBlog) October 1, 2021

We had been told previously that this drink was supposed to have a fruit punch flavor, although that wasn’t really present in our version…it was really just lemonade. Make sure to stir your drink a few times if you don’t drink it quickly, though, or that mix-in will settle and it won’t be as sweet.

We also ordered the Sherbet Punch, made with orange sherbet, Sprite, and house-made grenadine. This was really fun to watch, as it quickly began to foam up when it arrived at the table and nearly spilled over the top of the glass!

The foam decreased slowly as our food arrived, but the drink itself had much more of a fruit punch flavor than the other one. We could definitely get the tangy citrus from the orange and Sprite, but it was just sweet enough to not be off-putting. Another one that your kids will probably enjoy!

And that’s everything we tried this morning. So what were our final thoughts?

Nosh or Not?

Start your day at Steakhouse 71 if…

• You’re looking for an affordable sit-down meal. The prices here are very reasonable for breakfast, with entrees not exceeding $21. It won’t break the bank like a breakfast buffet or character meal, and you’ll still have some delicious choices.
• You want to be close to Magic Kingdom. This is a great choice if you’re planning to go to Magic Kingdom afterward, considering the park is just a short walk away from the Contemporary Resort. It’s also on the monorail loop, so if you’re staying at one of those resorts it’s easy to get to.
• You’re a fan of classic breakfast food. The menu here is filled with traditional staples and some fun out-of-the-box items mixed in. Your picky eaters should be able to find something that they like here.

Stay on the Monorail and skip Steakhouse 71 if…

• You want a bigger breakfast experience. Hoping for unusual dishes, characters, or an all-you-care-to-eat option? This may not be the choice for you. It’s very traditional with menu options and the style of restaurant, and if you want something over-the-top, you may want to head upstairs to Chef Mickey’s instead.
• You want to save time in the morning. If you’re hoping to get to the park in a rush, you may want to skip breakfast here and grab something on-the-go. It’s likely not enough of a unique offering to take away your valuable park time, so either plan to stop here on an “off” day or early in the morning.

Overall

Overall, Steakhouse 71 is a great choice for a traditional, straightforward breakfast experience. The food we ate was good and some of the more unique dishes are destination-worthy, like Walt’s Hash (and if they never bring back the sweet potato pancakes!). The atmosphere was relaxed and it didn’t get busy until after 10AM, so the first part of our meal was easygoing and leisurely.

We’ve also already stopped by here for lunch and had a delicious meal as well, so you can’t really go wrong with choosing either. It may not be the most spectacular, knock-your-socks-off amazing meal you eat during your trip, but you’re likely to find something that you enjoy and kick off your day with a good start. We’d recommend it, especially if you don’t want to spend an arm and a leg on breakfast food.

We’re definitely interested to try out dinner later and let you know our thoughts, so stay tuned to DFB!

Click here to read our lunch review from Space 220!

Would you stop and eat breakfast at Steakhouse 71 before heading to Magic Kingdom? Let us know in the comments!