Steakhouse 71 just opened at Disney’s Contemporary Resort just in time for Disney World’s 50th anniversary!

The restaurant replaced The Wave that used to be in the hotel’s lobby, and the 71 refers to the opening year of Disney World (and the Contemporary). If you’ve been keeping up with us, you know that we’ve really enjoyed the food at this new spot — we’ve tried breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and had positive experiences overall. But, there’s one more experience to be had at the restaurant — eating in the lounge! So, come along with us as we check out if the lounge is up to par with the rest of Steakhouse 71.

Atmosphere

Who is ready to check out the lounge?! Let’s go inside!

As the restaurant’s name honors the year Disney World and the Contemporary opened, so does the decor! Steakhouse 71 features retro-inspired 70s decor and includes many photos featuring important moments in Disney World history as you enter.

After entering the restaurant, you’ll come up to the check-in area for the dining room. This is where you would tell Cast Members you were there for your reservation or if you would like to grab a table in the lounge! The bar and lounge take walkups throughout the day, so you don’t need a reservation.

Behind the check-in area is where you’ll find the bar and lounge. The large, rectangular bar has plenty of seating, as well as a few TVs you can watch. This is going to be a great spot to pop over to from Magic Kingdom to catch a football game!

The bar also features under lighting at the bar, which helps brighten up the space. And YES, there are bag hooks under the bar too for all those gift shop bags, purses, and more.

The lounge area has several small tables and comfy chairs that are straight out of the 70s with their fun colors. And, there’s a TV in here TOO! So, don’t worry if your game isn’t playing up at the bar.

The patterned carpet along with the patterned walls work together to add some more pizzaz.

And, those gold retro starburst light fixtures are giving us allll the mid-century modern vibes!

The bar and lounge are separated from the dining area by a wall of glass and large, beautiful sprigs of plants in gold fixtures.

And can we talk about these barstools? That shade of green is adding a lovely pop of color to the bar!

Okay, now that we’ve seen this awesome space, let’s get some food!

Eats

The lounge at Steakhouse 71 has a separate menu from the restaurant that features small plates like Lump Crab Cakes, Loaded Macaroni & Cheese, and Shrimp Cocktail.

There are also drinks here, of course! The drink menu is the same at the lounge as it is in the restaurant.

Since we’ve already tried many drinks from the menu in our breakfast, lunch, and dinner reviews, we decided on the Magical Beacon Cocktail for $17 — which we haven’t had here yet! This has Gin, Blue Curaçao, Minute Maid Premium Lemonade, Orgeat (Almond) Syrup, Lemon, Hibiscus Grenadine, and (of course) a Souvenir Glow Cube.

You can actually find this drink at many table-service restaurants, lounges, and pool bars throughout Disney World for the 50th anniversary! The Magical Beacon is not too sweet (even with that Blue Curaçao!), and the main flavor we got was gin — so don’t get this if you’re not a gin fan. Even though there are a lot of flavorful components in here with the Orgeat, lemon, and Hibiscus Grenadine, it was a pretty simple flavor of mostly lemonade and gin.

Now, for some snacks! First up, we got the Loaded Macaroni & Cheese for $12. This mac has corkscrew noodles and is topped with applewood smoked bacon, jalapeños, and breadcrumbs — are your mouths watering too?!

We were really impressed with the creaminess of this mac & cheese! It also had great flavor from the bacon and jalapeño, but it wasn’t spicy like you would think it would be from the jalapeño — it really just added a lot of good flavor to the mac. So, if you’re concerned that this will be too spicy for you, don’t be! Overall, it was very flavorful, those corkscrew noodles are great for hanging onto the cheese, and we recommend getting it! Just note the serving is a bit small for $12! It’s definitely more of a side-sized portion here.

Next, we got the PB&J Chicken Wings for $14. These are chicken wings with a sweet peanut glaze and jelly powder — and no, we still don’t really know what jelly powder is either! Seems like a bit of an oxymoron🤔. TBH it sounds almost like it should be jelly glaze and peanut powder, right?

OK, guys. Sorry, but we were not a fan of these wings! They sounded interesting, but didn’t deliver on flavor. There was a tiny bit of sweetness, but it tasted more like we were eating Thai peanut sauce wings than peanut butter and jelly wings. And, there was no spice at all — these would’ve been better if they were spicy. Thai peanut sauce is generally good, but not necessarily the flavor we were expecting with these.

Also, our wings were really overdone. They dredge the wing in potato starch and then fry them, which makes them really crispy, but unfortunately, our wings were also very dry. This could’ve just been our experience and maybe your wings won’t be dry, so we’ll have to try them out again later on and see if it was a fluke.

Finally, we got the Stack Burger for $20. We already tried this same burger for our lunch review, but we had to get it at the lounge too just to see if anything was different! This is a signature blend of beef, pork belly, American cheese, lemon aioli, red onion, and house-made pickles all on a brioche bun. It also comes with French fries. It also apparently comes with all the cheese in North America melted on it! 😮

This burger is super SUPER delicious! It’s basically like a diner burger that is smashed on the griddle (you know the ones!). You get a ton of salt and a little bit of grease, but in the best way possible. And, the cheese was all drippy and melty and amazing, seriously — look at that waterfall of cheese!

The lemon aioli is really yummy and the red onion packs a punch of flavor that we loved (just watch out for that onion breath, cause this flavor is STRONG!). And, there’s pork belly on this burger, which is not listed on the menu! We’re thinking this was a last-minute addition and that’s why it’s not listed. But we sure are glad it was added, because it was awesome. It made this like a bacon cheeseburger, but better!

This definitely doesn’t feel like a burger you would get at a high-end steakhouse, it feels like a diner burger — which are the BEST burgers anyway! So, we love it, and we recommend it to any burger fans that are hanging out in the lounge. It may not be the most “pinkies out” kind of fare but it’s straight-up delicious so we’re happy it’s here!

The French fries on the other hand were…not great. (Don’t they at least LOOK really good though?) They’re waffle fries and ours were sadly overcooked, both at the lounge and during our lunch here. We really did give them a shot, but they were hard and almost crunchy, and not in a good way.

We’re really not picky when it comes to fries — if they’re palatable then we’re going to eat them — but we could only handle a few of these. Maybe how the fries are prepared or the fry type will change in the future though if this continues to be an issue for guests, so we’ll be on the lookout for that!

Nosh or Not

Hang out at Steakhouse 71’s Lounge if:

• You want a cool, retro-theme lounge to relax in and have a few cocktails or snacks.
• You can’t get a reservation for the dining room but still want to try a few things on the menu (like that amazing burger).
• You’re in Magic Kingdom and want a break from the crowds, or your team is playing a big game that you HAVE to see.

Save your appetite for somewhere else if:

• You’re looking for somewhere with quick service that will have you in and out in a jiffy — it’s not very fast-paced here!
• You have small children and want a full-service meal at an actual table with more food options for your group.
• You don’t like potentially crowded bar settings or to be taken out of the Disney magic by seeing regular things on the TVs in the lounge (hey, it’s a thing!).

Overall

Overall, this is a great spot to hang out and get a few snacks! The atmosphere is a beautiful interpretation of the 70s style and the big bar and comfy chairs are very inviting. As far as food goes, we would say the burger and the macaroni & cheese were winners for us, we would happily get them again. But, the wings and the French fries were BIG disappointments and we can’t really recommend them unless they improve down the road.

As for the service, we didn’t have the best, unfortunately. We waited quite a while for our food here. It’s not as fast-paced in the lounge, so don’t expect to be in and out of here for a quick bite if you’re on a tight schedule. Also, the experience in the lounge isn’t as comprehensive as the restaurant, so if you’re looking for that, make a reservation for a meal in the dining room. We will keep an eye on the service in the lounge to see if it improves in the future and will keep you updated.

So, if you’re looking for a place to get a little bit to eat and have some cocktails that doesn’t require a reservation, you should check out the lounge at Steakhouse 71! It’s a nice atmosphere to relax in and is in a prime location. Stay tuned to DFB for more Disney dining reviews, news, and updates.

Click here to see our dinner review for Steakhouse 71!

Have you checked out the Lounge at Steakhouse 71 yet? If so, let us know your thoughts in the comments!