Since news is a little slow today, I decided to pull out a new article by staff columnist Collin Korb. This time around, Collin reports on his most recent visit to Boatright’s at Disney’s Port Orleans Riverside Resort hotel.Â
Let me begin by saying that we have dined at Boatwrights one other time before our second visit. Our first visit was so positive, server so pleasant and accommodating, and management so responsive, that we booked a second dinner as soon as we knew we were to return to the Port Orleans Resort.
The ambiance is very unique. Inside the restaurant you will find the “bones†of ship mounted in the center of the room surrounded by various tools, cogs, and saw blades. It is a very rustic environment that is warm and inviting. The servers and hostesses are very personable and friendly. Sadly, our second visit was not as pleasing as the first. Our dining experience began very positively as the three of us took advantage of the specialty non-alcoholic drinks. The ladies each ordered a milkshake and it was very tasty. I ordered the Chocolate Banana Smoothie and was very pleased; it was an excellent way to begin the evening. Our server arrived in a timely fashion and took our appetizer orders: Steak and Red Bean Soup for one, Caesar Salad for the other, and I chose the Crawfish cakes. The cakes were very tasty, due in part to the fact that they were baked, not fried at my request. The remoulade dipping sauce really completed the taste experience. We were less than adventurous with our orders this evening. Each of us ordered the Filet Mignon. This is where the experience went sour. We, of course, were excited as a result of our positive dining experiences and filets at other Disney Dining Restaurants. Each of us ordered our filets cooked medium and were eager for the meal to arrive. Our drinks and waters ran dry as our server was somewhat delinquent in her duties. Being a former server, I took note of her section and how many tables she was managing and wondered what caused her delay? We each got our waters topped off and our pop ordered and were doing o.k.
When our dinners arrived things appeared to be in order until we each decided to take a bite. One filet was rather bloody, surely not cooked medium, the other two tasted like “charâ€- a lot of grill remnants were coated on the filet. We sent the bloody order back to be cooked a bit more but the 14 year old lost her appetite. I admit I finished my meal as did my fiancé, because we were on the dining plan. During our first visit I asked to see the manager because our server, Jose, was OUTSTANDING!!! We wanted to compliment him. I spoke to a female manager who was brand new. Interestingly enough when I requested a manager (4 months later, next visit) it was the same woman.
I explained our situation to her and this time she was less than sympathetic. I told her we were on the dining plan and explained the situation about the under/over cooking. I was disappointed in her response that the reason for the issues was a result of the menu just changing; she offered no measure to resolve the issue at all. We were all very disappointed. We ordered our desserts to go. I had the Bananas Foster Angel Food Cake and the ladies ordered chocolate cake. We finished those up after visiting the Magic Kingdom that evening. One positive and one negative experience don’t quite add up. Next time, it’s back to Le Cellier at Epcot.
