We’ve paid yet ANOTHER visit to one of Disney World’s newest restaurants!

Steakhouse 71 opened on Disney World’s 50th Anniversary earlier this year and WOWED us with a classy new look in what used to be The Wave….of American Flavors Restaurant. The spot really reinvented itself with AMAZING food. We had a particular goal with our recent stop though, to see how a few off-menu options held up!

Atmosphere

We’ve stopped by Steakhouse 71 several times by now, and the retro theme has delighted us each time.

As we mentioned, this new restaurant sits in the recently renovated space that used to house The Wave…of Contemporary Flavors.

Now, it features some wonderful touches like photos of Walt Disney and Imagineers…

…and an awesome bar. The backlit quartz bar gives this modern lounge and neat glow and definitely gives it bonus cool points.

The seating is all in one large dining room and the bar area acts as a walk-up lounge.

You’ll find standard tables and chairs… 

…booths, and bar seating as seating options.

At your table, you’ll find a cloth napkin with utensils and a QR Code menu.

But enough about the atmosphere, let’s talk about the eats! We’ve eaten here for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and spent some time in the lounge. We’ve tried nearly everything Steakhouse 71 has to offer, and now we’re back to explore some more unique offerings.

Click here to see more photos of Steakhouse 71!

Eats

This time, we stopped in for lunch to try a few off-menu options! Did you know that some dinner menu options are available when you dine at lunch? This is per request only and isn’t necessarily guaranteed, but if something from the dinner menu catches your eye — we recommend asking! Either way here’s the official lunch menu…

…while the dinner menu at Steakhouse 71 has a heavy steak focus. As you can see, the 6-oz Filet Mignon is listed as a Steakhouse Cut on the dinner menu but it isn’t listed at all on the lunch menu.

Still, we asked our server and we were able to get the 6-oz Filet Mignon at lunch for the regular dinner price of $36.

This option comes with a choice of one side and one sauce. As a note, not all dinner sides and sauces were available at lunchtime. For example, the Potato au Gratin and Red Wine Sauce were unavailable during our visit.

We chose the Steakhouse 71 Signature Sauce which is kind of like a zippy A1 sauce. We did wish we could’ve had the DELICIOUS red wine sauce, but that was actually our ONLY complaint about this dish (so, you know, not really a complaint!).

Our steak was perfectly medium-rare, as requested, and had a beautiful char on the outside. The seasonings gave the filet a flavorful crust that enhanced the beef without overpowering it. Overall, the cut was PHENOMENAL — especially when you consider the reasonable cost!

As a side, we chose the Macaroni & Cheese which is now the lounge version which comes with Applewood-smoked Bacon and Jalapeño.

Hearty, swirly cavatappi pasta, coated with rich creamy cheese, speckled with little bits of smokey, salty bacon, zesty jalapeños, and topped with toasted, buttery bread crumbs.  It’s SO tasty. If you’re a mac & cheese fan, you’ll be pleased with this version.

Next up, we decided to conduct a little experiment. We’ve tried the Steakhouse 71 Stack Burger already and were TOTALLY WOWED. This time though, we ordered the Steakhouse 71 Impossible Stack Burger, an off-menu option for plant-based eaters. To make sure we could get the best sense of how the vegan option compared, we also snagged the standard Stack Burger.

Each option is $20. The Steakhouse 71 Stack Burger is a Signature Blend of Beef with American Cheese, Lemon Aïoli, Red Onion, and House-made Pickles on a Brioche Bun. The Impossible Stack Burger is similar with all of the same toppings except the American Cheese is a Vegan Cheese instead (and the meat is, obviously, not real meat!).

For a side, you can opt for the Petite Wedge Salad, Parmesan Fries, or Pasta Salad. Our Impossible Stack Burger came with Vegan Fries. Note that you can opt to have the regular cheese and parmesan fries if you are vegetarian and not vegan.

For reference, we consider the Stack Burger to be one of the best burgers on property. It’s INSANELY good and has been perfect each time we tried it. So, we were super curious to see if plant-based eaters can snag a similar quality eat.

It was clear that a meat-eater would prefer the standard Stack Burger to the Impossible one, but the Steakhouse 71 Impossible Stack Burger is still a GREAT vegan burger. The big caveat here is that you need to like Impossible meat.

There wasn’t a ton of Vegan Cheese on our burger, so we might ask for extra next time, considering the SEA of melty cheese is a huge appeal of the original burger!). The flavor of the cheese was also relatively mild. Still, paired with the pickles, onion, and sauce; this burger is still a winner.

If you don’t like Impossible meat, the toppings aren’t enough to mask the textures and flavors. BUT, this burger is still a great recommendation for a vegan or vegetarian who DOES like Impossible meat.

So, are we still feeling wowed by Steakhouse 71? Is lunch at Steakhouse 71 worth the trip over to the Contemporary Resort?

Click here to see our first review of the Steakhouse 71 Stack Burger!

Nosh or Not?

Grab lunch at Steakhouse 71 if…

• You want some really quality dishes without signature prices — We got to explore some uncommon lunch options, from a vegan burger to a dinner-quality filet, and we enjoyed those choices as much as the standard menu options.
• You’re looking for a quieter lunch away from the parks — Though it does have a large common dining room, which could lend itself to some noise and echoes, it still has a sophisticated twist and calmer energy than many theme park restaurants.
• You’re looking for something different than the “standard” theme park food — The options here are hearty American classics. So, though the menu won’t challenge your palette, it will offer you a bit of a more upscale variety than your theme park chicken nuggets and pizza.

Grab lunch somewhere else if…

• You’re dining on a budget — While lunch at Steakhouse 71 isn’t as expensive as other options on property, it also isn’t cheap. Paying $20 for a meatless burger may be a little much for your budget.
• You’re looking for something quick — This is a table-service option, so this is the spot to sit down and catch your breath, not a spot to dine and dash off to your next attraction.
• You want super unique food — As mentioned, this is a spot for hearty American classics. If you’re looking for a unique culinary adventure, then you might want to head to EPCOT’s World Showcase, Sanaa at Animal Kingdom Lodge, or Tiffins over at Disney’s Animal Kingdom

Overall

So, was our recent lunch adventure to Steakhouse 71 as memorable as our first? Yes! We are absolutely still feeling wowed by Steakhouse 71! The food has been phenomenal at each visit and the flexibility of being able to request options from the dinner menu at lunch (and vice versa) makes for a versatile and pleasant experience. We were especially happy to note that there’s a solid plant-based option too.

As a note for plant-based guests, the Steakhouse 71 Impossible Stack Burger is NOT your only option. You can also snag the Vegetable “Wellington” at lunch. We reviewed this option during our first visit and were WOWED — yes, even those of us who eat meat!

Overall, we just keep wanting to come back to Steakhouse 71. We had high hopes for this little spot and were beyond pleasantly surprised when it lived up to expectations. As always, keep an eye on DFB for the latest Disney World food reviews and more.

Click here to see our DINNER review of Steakhouse 71!

Would you like to visit Steakhouse 71? Tell us in the comments!