Thanks to reader Sarah McGovern for this review of lunch at the Captain’s Grille in Disney’s Yacht Club Resort!
On the second day of the Destination D event, I wanted to get away from the crowds and have a nice quiet lunch with my husband Barry. I’ve heard many positive things about Captain’s Grille and how quiet it can be, so we took a drive over to the Yacht Club.
Atmosphere and Eats
We were seated right away without a reservation, as the restaurant was quiet with only about a third of the tables filled.
We reviewed our menus, which consisted of a combination of nautical fare such as crab cakes, clam chowder, and a lobster roll, and the typical Walt Disney World lunch selections of salads, burgers, and sandwiches. “The Captain’s Burger” sounded interesting, consisting of the Angus Chuck Burger topped with Lump Crab meat and Choron Sauce, which is a variation of Bearnaise sauce with tomato puree. But this seemed a bit heavy for lunch to the both of us.
We ordered the Green Goddess Salad and the New England Clam Chowder for appetizers; and I chose the Tomato & Mozzarella Sandwich, while Barry ordered the Angus Chuck Burger, sans crab and choron.
Interestingly, when Barry asked what kind of cheese they had available for his burger, our waiter seemed taken aback by the question and offered American, Swiss, and Parmesan as the options. Strange, I’ve never heard of Parmesan as an option for a cheeseburger before.
Dining Room
Our appetizers arrived quickly. Being from New England, Barry’s New England Clam Chowder was not quite up to par. While the flavor was good and it had tender pieces of large clams, the consistency was watery and not the creamy goodness we are used to. The one plus is that it was served with oyster crackers, which are always a hit for me!
New England Clam Chowder
My Green Goddess salad was well dressed, but was definitely lacking in seasoning — I needed to add a lot of salt and pepper to it.
It tasted much like a Caesar Salad and even had the saved Parmesan and croutons to compliment it. It was only the slight taste of herbs and green tinge to the dressing that reminded me that it was Green Goddess dressing.
Green Goddess Salad
Before we were finished with our appetizers, our entrees arrived. Our waiter was quick to take our plates and we (uncomfortably) had to stop him, as we weren’t finished. They were left on the table for us as we finished our soup and salad.
The entrees left a lot to be desired. Barry’s burger, which he ordered medium with Swiss, wasn’t the thick juicy Angus burger we were expecting. It was a thinner burger cooked closer to well done than medium. It came with one piece of lettuce, a slice of red onion, and one small slice of tomato.
The fries were tasty and a thicker cut than the typical Disney fries, but still didn’t make up for the disappointing burger. Pecos Bill’s would’ve been a better bet at a cheaper price tag.
Angus Chuck Burger
My Tomato & Mozzarella Sandwich was tasty and very fresh. The menu stated that the Focaccia was toasted, but it wasn’t, which was a bit disappointing. Overall, it was very good and the arugula vinaigrette added great flavor to the sandwich.
Tomato and Mozzarella Sandwich
I chose the “healthier” option of the vegetable orzo salad as my side, which was good and had the surprising addition of wheat berries. This sandwich was definitely the better out of the two entrees, but nothing overly memorable.
Tomato and Mozzarella Sandwich Close-Up
Overall
While the Captain’s Grille was a nice quiet getaway, the food was sub-par for the price tag.
I noticed that many other diners ordered the Lobster Roll, which might be what the restaurant is known for since I don’t know any other restaurants on property that offer it. But coming from New England, it was not something I was likely to order.
We found that the food was nothing outstanding and rather typical of the homogenized cuisine found at many of Disney’s table service restaurants. My husband and I definitely had an enjoyable afternoon, but I don’t think that we will return to the Captain’s Grille in the near future.
What are your thoughts about Captain’s Grille? Do you have recommendations from the menu? Let us know in the comments section below!
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Would have to agree. This is a definite skip despite the solitude.
oh wow Sarah.. this sounded so promising at the beginning with the crab cakes and lobster roll mentioned (I love seafood) … but thanks to your review I probably won’t be going out of my way anytime to visit this place. I defintely trust your taste in food as we both did Victoria and Alberts on the same night! 😉
I had breakfast at Capt Grille last Dec. I loved it. The buffet was one of the best, if not the best, breakfast buffet’s I’ve ever had. And I love me a breakfast buffet. Everything was fresh (granted, it WAS 7:30am), staff was good, and excellent variety. It also had an a la carte menu and from what I saw other people ordering, everything looked good. It was nearly identical to Cape May Café, only without characters (and thus like $7 cheaper).
So I wouldn’t write this place off, but maybe it’s just better for breakfast?
I agree with the review. I’ve had a few decent meals here and some mediocre ones also. It is usually quiet at lunch time and a good place when you have no reservations and the resorts are full. They are one of the many eateries at WDW that would benefit from a close look at the menu and some modernizing of the food.
Wow, a New Englander here too and that chowder does look odd. We have creamy chowders and brothier chowders and I love them both, but that one just looks watery. The burger pictured looks like it has a fairly substantial patty, but it must be deceptive. Perhaps it would be better with the crab? But I’m not inclined to head over there to try.
Great review! Thanks! My family was disappointed with this restaurant too when we went for dinner one night on a trip a few years back. It was not full either which should have given us a clue as to the mediocre quality of the food but we went anyway. Everything was very Dennys-like but for the price Disney is charging, not at all worth it. Last night, we ate at Cape May Cafe at the Beach Club and if you like seafood, it is worth a trip. The buffet is pricey at $35 per adult but they have yummy crab legs, mussels, calamari, clams, mahi mahi, creamier chowder and a variey of sides. The desserts were boring like most Disney desserts though.
We have dined there for lunch and dinner multiple times with varying degrees of success and because of that will never go back. We have also found the service to be extremely slow.
I have always gotten the Green Goddess Salad and it has never looked like your picture. I wonder what happened. It has always been a large iceberg wedge with the dressing, no croutons.
Thanks for the feedback everyone! Sounds like many of you have had a similar experience for both lunch and dinner. I had high hopes for the place given that it’s a table service at a Deluxe resort, so it was a disappointing meal.
C&MC&M – I also found the service very slow and not very attentive to our needs.
John B – Breakfast sounds good and like it might be the better option if visiting here.
thanks for the review. your honesty saved us a trip!
I do like their lobster roll, and the fact that it is usually a nice quiet spot for lunch.
I used to eat here years ago when they had this excellent chicken pot pie, but haven’t been back in years . . .
Do the boats still move in the window boxes, or is that off to yesterland?
AJ, my team of 10 coworkers went to Captain’s Grill last week for lunch. Our two servers were very inexperienced and disorganized. The food came out three plates at a time, four minutes apart making for an uncomfortable situation for all.
While I too enjoyed the Tomato & Mozz sandwich, the overall experience was quite disappointing.
This is the price we pay for “Free Dining Plan”
We enjoyed our lunch there last year.
Especially the mellow atmosphere, which is a refreshing change in the middle of a hectic WDW vacation.
However, we were staying at the Boardwalk Resort across the water, which made for a short walk. I certainly wouldn’t go out of my way to travel far for it.
We have always enjoyed our meals at the grill, but the picture of the salad shown is not the salad my husband always gets. As previously stated it is a wedge of iceberg lettuce. It is his favorite salad. The picture looks like caesar salad to me. We haven’t been there in a bit so hopefully when we do return they will have improved. I’ll keep checking reviews.
I’ve been twice – in 1999 and in 2008 so you can forgive/ignore my review because it’s not exactly timely but I’ve only just come across this website.
I had very, very fond memories from 1999. The food then was superb. But, when we went back some 10 years later it was only OK and very, very salty. I remember the quality being high but that it was over-seasoned. I’m researching a trip for this October and I think we’ll have to give it another go, just to see if there’s been an improvement.
My husband and I eat here every visit to Disneyworld. We visit several times a year. Having only dined here for dinner I don’t know about breakfast or lunch. We have never been disappointed for dinner. The salads are fresh and a good portion. We love the crab cakes and if they have rainbow trout as the sustainable fish, it’s delicious. My husband has had the steak option and thought it was good.