Chances are when you mention dining at Be Our Guest Restaurant, you’ll probably get a mix of emotions depending on who you’re talking to. While this highly sought-after restaurant was once one of the hardest advanced dining reservations to snag, in its more recent years, it’s become increasingly easier to find as a dining option in Magic Kingdom.
That’s A LOT of food!
We’d recently heard about some dining changes to this restaurant’s menu which seemed like it was begging us for a return visit. So, we set out to see if Be Our Guest’s prix fixe menu really was one that our taste buds fancied or if it just fell totally flat for us.
Over in the far corner of Fantasyland, Be Our Guest Restaurant has been enchanting guests ever since it opened. Here, you’ll be dining to a French-inspired cuisine inside of the Beast’s castle inspired by the renowned animated film, Beauty and the Beast. Its completely immersive atmosphere, and chance to meet a familiar (furry) face make it a popular choice for advanced dining reservations.
Table setting
However, it’s not been without its critics. When Be Our Guest Restaurant first opened, the restaurant was a table service spot for dinner, but there were quick-service breakfast and lunch options. Since the restaurant’s reopening from the pandemic closures, the restaurant has done away with the quick service options and moved to just offering Lunch and Dinner on a prix fixe menu. That means you pay one price (currently $70 for adults and $41 for children ages 3-9), and select an appetizer, entree, and dessert.
Many people miss those quick-service options, and on our recent trips here, we just haven’t found the food to warrant the high price.
Atmosphere
The theming here looks like it was ripped directly from the film! You truly get the opportunity to step inside one of the most iconic Disney castles from the movie and immerse yourself in all of its decor.
Be Our Guest
Just walking up to the castle is already a sight to behold thanks to the gorgeous waterfall…
The bridge up to the castle
… and angsty gargoyles that border the bridge over.
As you step up to the castle doors you’re greeted by a Cast Member, one of “the master’s” servants, and they will help you get checked in for your arrival.
Step on in
If you find yourself needing to spend a few minutes waiting before your table is ready, you’ll be invited to wait in the hallway where you can visit talking suits of armor…
Talking suits of armor
… and take a photo in front of the mesmerizing stained glass window that closes out the animated classic.
THE stained glass
Once your table is ready, you’ll be invited in further and treated to views of the grand ballroom…
The ballroom
… a room with a dancing statue of Belle and the Beast surrounded by portraits…
They’re dancing
…and tapestries along the walls…
Family portraits!
… and the west wing!
The West Wing
This is also where you can catch a glimpse of the enchanted red rose and its falling petals (don’t worry though, the curse has already been broken among the castle and its inhabitants)!
The enchanted rose
As you’re dining or waiting on your food, feel free to hop up and visit the other dining rooms to take photos and pick out all of the details that can be found in each. You’ll just want to be sure that you’re back in your seats when you hear the overhead announcement come up, because that means the Beast will be out to greet you shortly!
The master comes out to say, “Hello!”
While “the master” of the castle, unfortunately, doesn’t have time to stop by each individual table, you’ll still be able to take photos of him as he makes his way around to each dining room and thanks you for coming to be his guest at the castle.
Menu
The menu here is very heavily French-inspired, and that’s reflected within all of the appetizers, entrees, sides, and desserts.
Menu front
There are even a few alcoholic beverage options here.
Inside of the menu
On this visit, Be Our Guest also had a limited-time entree offering — Steak Frites.
Limited-time menu
We didn’t take too long to decide (since it was an easy choice for us), but we did talk to our server and were cleared to order an additional entree at a separate cost from our original prix fixe dining price.
Drinks
For our drink this visit we opted to order the French 75. It’s made with Ford’s Gin, Lemon Juice, and Pure Cane Sugar topped with Charles de Fère Reserve Chardonnay Tradition Brut and costs $15.
French 75
This drink has a nice, light Gin taste to it but it’s also got a commanding zesty lemon vibe going on too. It’s an interesting drink and one we would totally order again!
A closer look
If this was setting the tone for the rest of our meal, it definitely made us curious about what else we might like here.
Eats
Once we were led to our table, our server swiftly brought out a long baguette with a side of oil and butter. This was included with the meal to share at your table.
Complimentary bread, oil, and butter
The bread had a chewy exterior, but it was quite soft on the inside.
Cross section of the bread
The butter and oil were a nice touch but nothing terribly extraordinary. The bread service did what it was supposed to do — helped curb our appetites until our food started to arrive.
With butter and oil
Since this meal is a prix fixe dinner your appetizer, entree, and dessert are all pulled into the same meal price. However, we also ordered the limited-time Steak Frites entree along with the Sweet Corn Bisque, Short Rib Beef Bourguignon, and the Dessert Trio. (Yeah, it was quite an undertaking but, have faith in us). You can order additional items for a fee — but each person at the table will be charged for the prix fixe meal. In other words, you can’t share a meal here, but you can add on to your meal.
That’s A LOT of food!
So let’s start our meal in order, right? As the appetizer, the Sweet Corn Bisque arrived first. This was garnished with Corn Madeleine, tomato, and chive.
Sweet Corn Bisque
We LOVED this appetizer! It has a distinct sweet corn taste to it and we could smell it while it was warm. The corn madeleines are like slightly undercooked sweet cornbread and they are delicious! If you’ve had the sweet corn appetizer on Disney Cruise Line, it’s a similar taste but more of a soup consistency rather than like grits.
So sweet and delicious
Next up was the main entree we ordered, the Short Rib Beef Bourguignon. It’s made of smoked bacon, potatoes, and red wine jus.
Short Rib Beef Bourguignon
This one impressed us in all the best ways, too! The meat was so tender and there’s no bone in the ribs so you can finish it all so cleanly. The smoked bacon has a bit of a fatty layer to it in the top but the short rib is pulled apart like a pot roast. We found ours to be just a little bit drier unless we had the red wine jus with our bite.
It just pulls apart so easily
The mashed potatoes were creamy, and we liked the crunch of the crisp topping. The smoked bacon had a nice low-smoked wood taste to it and the red wine jus flavors the meat very well.
Just a bite
That would have been the end of our main meal had we not opted in for the limited-time entree, too. Yes, this one cost us a bit extra, around $45 to order just the entree along with our prix fix meal, but the Steak Frites entree BLEW US AWAY!
Steak Frites
It’s made of slow-roasted butcher’s steak and house-cut fries, and served with dijon sauce. Honestly, we should have just ordered this meal even with as much as we liked the Short Rib Beef Bourguignon. We literally left this meal and dreamed about it for days afterward because it was so good.
Fries
At first glance, you may laugh at its size because it looks like such a small portion but don’t let its size fool you!
Mixed greens salad
The butcher’s steak was super tender and cooked to a medium rare temperature giving it a bright pink center to the steak (they won’t cook this one above a medium becuase it ruins the flavor of the dish), and you could see the juices flowing out of the meat and into the surrounding dijon sauce.
Check out the meat
When we spoke to the chef, he said the goal with the frites was not to need ketchup or other condiments, so you’re encouraged to dip the fries into the dijon sauce which gave it an enhanced flavor. Our only complaint — and it’s truly just a nitpicky thing because we liked it so much — was there’s not a ton of sauce offered on the plate initially but when we asked for more sauce they were happy to oblige. The mixed green salad that comes with the meal was fresh and crunchy and was a sufficient portion for a side salad.
If you’re keeping up with how much we’re eating in this meal, we applaud you because we’re finally into the last turn. It was time to tackle dessert with the Dessert Trio.
Dessert Trio
Three desserts made of a chocolate tart…
Chocolate Tart
….a dark chocolate truffle…
Dark Chocolate Truffle
… and a lemon jam macaron…
Lemon Jam Macaron
… which are all served on one plate.
These desserts looked so good we almost didn’t want to eat them and ruin them, but we did what we came to do. The chocolate truffle is creamy and decadent in the center but very chocolatey, like a melted milk chocolate Hershey bar just thicker coated.
Cut open
The chocolate tart is cute with the little chip character medallion that’s made of white chocolate, and white crisp pearls, and the outer layer of the tart is chocolatey, too! The inside of the tart is made of grey stuff (which we LOVED), and we could have easily eaten three of these tarts alone. This one hands down was our favorite of the three!
Too pretty to cut
The lemon jam macaron has a vanilla macaron taste to it but the lemon jam is found in the center pink filling which also has a hint of raspberry to it in the gel you’ll find at the very center.
Soft macaron
The outer cookie pieces of the macaron were fresh and crumbled very easily when cut or bit into.
Overall
Admittedly, we went into this meal not expecting much but left with so much more (plus an empty stomach and our leftovers for later)! While we know this isn’t quite the meal it used to be when Be Our Guest offered both quick service and entree options for different meal times, we were more than satisfied with our selections.
We hope this becomes a permanent entree
Normally, this is a meal we would most likely leave before choosing as a first choice to dine at Magic Kingdom, but this experience is making us rethink our position.
Nosh or Not?
Pull up a chair at Be Our Guest if…
- You want TOP NOTCH-themed dining you can’t get anywhere else! While you might not be as blown away by the food on your visit as we were, there’s no denying the theming here is incredible. It’s truly like stepping through the film and placing yourself directly within the story at the Beast’s castle.
- Second chances are kinda your thing. We’re there, too. We loved the previous setup and menus when this place served quick service meals, but you may find yourself pleasantly surprised like we did.
- You like an “all-inclusive” feel. The prix fixe dining helped us feel like we had an almost all-inclusive meal. Sure, we paid for a few extras like another entree and alcoholic beverage, but the price that we would have paid solely for the appetizer, entree, and dessert felt OK this time given the quality of our food.
Go on and fold that menu closed and dine elsewhere if…
- You’re not sure the prix fixe is for you. We’re not gonna lie, there’s a LOT of food offered with this menu and if you’re unsure this type of dining would appeal to you, we don’t encourage you to push yourself just because.
- The per-person price is a little scary. While there is a lot of food, it isn’t a super budget-conscious meal. If you’re looking to dine in the castle, it’s going to cost you quite a bit.
- The quality of the food consistently outranks anything else. We’ve said it all before the theming here is unmatched but if that doesn’t truly matter as much to you as the consistency in the quality of your meal, we’re not one to argue you out of a place you’d rather dine.
We’ve eaten EVERYWHERE you can think of around Disney World! If you’re curious to know our thoughts on a few recent places we’ve visited, check out the links below to look through our reviews, and stay tuned with us at Disney Food Blog for even more to come!
REVIEW: This Disney Snack Reminds Us of Taco Bell’s Mexican Pizza in the BEST Way
Need Disney Restaurant Advice? We’ve Got EVERYTHING You Need to Know
Do you enjoy the pix fixe lunch and dinner offerings at Be Our Guest or do you prefer the day of quick service for breakfast and lunch? Tell us in the comments below!