Have you ever just wandered around your Disney World hotel and thought “Gosh, this weather is just PERFECT for a meal outside!”? We certainly have!
We had a few good meals at pool bars around other Disney World hotels like Banana Cabana and PB&G, so when we started getting hungry, we figured a pool bar was a great place to stop again and see if we could continue that lucky streak even further!
While out for an adventurous day taking in the spring offerings at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa, we found ourselves ready to stop for a quick bite.
We’re already big fans of Gasparilla Island Grill the resident quick service of the hotel, but since the weather was so beautiful on this day, we decided to try out Beaches Pool Bar & Grill instead! Here’s how this visit went.
Atmosphere
This restaurant is set very close to the main feature pool at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa. This probably means that at certain times of the day, depending on how busy the pool is, you could encounter more people which would make it a more lively, loud, and vibrant atmosphere.
All of the seating is outdoors, with patio-like furniture and large umbrellas covering a few of the tables and chairs.
Self-service beverage stations are open until the pool closes for the night making it convenient to refill that resort mug…
… and you’ll find the condiments station with napkins and utensils nearby, as well.
As you can see, everything is outdoors, making it a prime place to take a break during your pool day or just hang out and relax when you’re spending some time around the hotel.
Menu
The menu here is pretty basic since the restaurant is smaller. Here they serve a few basic entrees and sides like tots and fries, drinks, sodas, beverages, cocktails, and drinks…
… as well as a few light dessert options. One thing you’ll want to remember here is that the food will close earlier than the bar will for the day so if you’re looking to order food, you’ll want to check when the restaurant’s cut-off for the day is in advance.
Drinks
After browsing the menu options, we made our selections and ordered. Our drinks obviously were the first to be ready and we were asked to find a seat and our food would be brought out to us. We opted for two different drinks for this visit — the St. Augustine and the Lava Smoothie.
St. Augustine is an alcoholic drink made of St. Augustine Florida Cane Vodka and Bols Blue Curacao, with flavors of Orange, Coconut, and Pineapple. It cost us $16.
This blue concoction is citrusy! It’s got a slight tanginess to it like a lemonade but you have the low undertone taste of the cane vodka, which is on the sweeter side. The curacao is great, but we tasted more of the bitter fruits than the orange that’s a bit more subtle.
The Lava Smoothie is a non-alcoholic drink made of raspberry puree blended with flavors of coconut and pineapple and cost us $6.29.
This was such a good value for the price! The portion was large and it was so good! It’s a soft pineapple and coconut blend that would make for a great mocktail option or kid’s drink.
Eats
Our food was brought out to us shortly after being seated and we ordered everything all at once since we knew they would be closing the food portion soon. For the rest of our meal, we opted for the Artisanal Burger with a side of tots, Shrimp Sliders with a side of Cucumber Salad, and a Mickey Brownie for dessert.
Let’s start our food off with the Artisanal Burger. This is a 7-ounce signature burger topped with bacon, cheddar, tomato, and onion all on a brioche bun and served with a side of tots which cost us $14.49.
The best features of this burger are that it’s very large, and the seasoning of the meat really helps it stand out from a regular theme park burger. The bun was soft and the toppings were crisp, crunchy, juicy, and melty where they were expected.
Without the signature blend of seasoning added to the burger meat, this very well could have fallen into the category of just another Disney World burger and could have been easily passed up. We have to admit though, this was a little drier than we would have liked it to be.
The side of tots wasn’t anything special because they were fried potato barrels and there were plenty served with the meal.
They’re not very salty but they also don’t leave your fingers feeling greasy either.
Overall, they were a solid choice for a side but not anything super special to us.
Shrimp Sliders were up next in our lineup! These babies were made of 3 total sliders and we opted for ours to be served to us with a side of cucumber salad which cost us $14.29.
The bread for the sliders was toasted together so they were easy to pull apart and make individual sliders. They’re crispy on the outside and buttery like Texas toast without garlic. Inside the sliders is chopped onion and lettuce with the shrimp and almost tastes like a beefed up cole slaw blend.
They’re a bit messy because the shrimp was juicy against the mayonnaise and Dijon mustard sauce. The sauce was good but sometimes got lost with so much bread surrounding it.
For the side, we opted for the cucumber salad, which was served in its own cup. This was made of cucumbers and onions.
The salad is sweet, tangy, and a tad citrusy, too! It also tastes like it’s got a bit of lime, but the sweetness we detected came from the red onions. The cucumbers taste like dill pickles but it all works together really well, and we were very pleased with our side choice to accompany the shrimp sliders.
Then we finally made it to dessert with a Mickey Brownie! This dessert is a Mickey-shaped brownie topped with multicolored sprinkles which cost us $4.99.
The brownie was soft and not terribly deep, but it was chocolatey and more true of a brownie than most places at Disney World with brownie options which are typically hard to chew and tasteless.
This one was topped with sprinkles that were brittle to bite into and while they added a nice decorative feel, the brownie by itself would have done just as well without them.
Overall
Overall, while it might not be a meal that’s going to be completely at the forefront of your mind every time you think of Disney World’s food options, it’s a solid choice for a day at the hotel and hanging out by the pool.
We weren’t disappointed by anything that we ordered, and it served its purpose for a quick meal in a pinch with a few cocktails and blended drinks.
Nosh or Not?
We’d recommend breezing by if…
- You’re already at the pool anyway! The closest quick service at the hotel is still going to be a bit of a trek away. If your plan is a quick, light bite and back to more pool time, this is a perfect solution.
- You’re just after the basics. You’re only looking for classic Disney food like burgers, chicken tenders, fries, or tots, and maybe a drink to go with it. If you’re not looking for anything off the wall, this will serve you well.
- You’re looking for a cocktail or mixed drink with your food. The quick-service restaurant just won’t be able to whip you up a cool mixed drink like the bar will so if you’re looking to cover two bases in one stop, look no further!
We’d recommend dining somewhere else if…
- You’re looking for more sophisticated options. The menu here will have a few options that aren’t pool bar food but for the most part, the menu here is pretty limited.
- You really want to dine indoors. All of the seating here is outdoors with giant patio-style umbrellas covering a few of the tables.
- You’re looking for a quieter atmosphere. Beaches Pool Bar is going to be right beside the pool so if you’re a fan of having a quieter meal that’s in a more relaxed atmosphere, we’d recommend somewhere other than here (but you can always take this food to go)!
We’ve eaten everywhere at Disney World and have reviewed thousands of meals, snacks, drinks, and treats. Check out more of our reviews below and stay tuned with us for the latest!
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Have you ever eaten at Beaches Pool Bar at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa? Tell us all about your experience in the comments below!
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