REVIEW: We Ate Everything at 50’s Prime Time Cafe – Here’s What You Should Avoid

Are you ready for some good food, a little bit of banter and a lot of laughter? We’re taking you with us today to a fan-favorite Disney World restaurant!

At Hollywood Studios, you’ll find a few good table service restaurants. You could grab a quick bite on Batuu at Docking Bay 7 or catch a drive-in movie under the stars while you eat at Sci-Fi Drive-In. But today, I’m sharing my recent experience at 50’s Prime Time Cafe in which the AllEars team ordered basically the whole menu to review for you.

Background

This restaurant is set in the 1950s with decor straight from your grandmother’s kitchen. Black and white televisions are placed throughout the restaurant, playing clips from 1950s sitcoms.

The 50’s Prime Time Cafe offers nostalgia with a classic diner-style menu and an interactive dining experience with a twist — servers are all one big happy family, urging patrons to eat all their vegetables and keep elbows off the table.

Atmosphere 

When it comes to atmosphere, this restaurant is so unique! It was super lively thanks to all of the families chatting and the super fun Cast Members making jokes and being so entertaining.

The added noises from the television also add to the lively experience.

And while our team thought the atmosphere was super fun, we were really there for the food!

Food and Drinks

Drinks

First, I tried the Magical Star Cocktail. This drink has X-Fusion Organic Mango and Passion Fruit Liqueur, Parrot Bay Coconut Rum, Pineapple Juice, and a souvenir Multicolored Glow Cube. The drink is $17.50 and can actually be found at multiple lounges and restaurants around Disney World.

I found the drink to be sweet and had an overall flavor of pineapple juice. You’ll want to be a fan of rum drinks and fruity flavors to enjoy this one. I thought it was more on the expensive side for a cocktail and since it’s found at many other locations, I don’t say it’s a must-get here.

Next, I tried the Chocolate Martini for $15.50. The drink is made up of Mozart Chocolate Liqueur, Stoli Vanil Vodka, White Crème de Cacao Liqueur, and Frangelico Liqueur.

This martini was rich and smooth. I really enjoyed this drink and it was a fun add-on. However, I would recommend ordering it as a dessert drink for the end of your meal. The chocolate of the drink doesn’t pair well with the comfort-style food that is served.

As a drink special, I ordered the After Shock, which was a shot of fireball, and Angry Orchid’s Hard Cider for $15.

I actually thought this was going to be more of a cocktail instead of being handed an actual shot of fireball and a cider. For $15, I would skip this one when you can make it much cheaper at home.

50’s Prime Time is known for its shakes and more specifically, the Peanut Butter & Jelly Milk Shake. I loved the fun twist on an American Classic snack!

The shake itself is huge and easily shareable so for $9, that’s not a bad price. I mostly tasted the peanut butter in this shake with just slight hints of jelly.

Finally, the chocolate milkshake for $9. This is your classic chocolate milkshake. There’s a reason it’s served with a large straw and a spoon, the milkshake is thick.

The shake was smooth and very chocolatey. I really enjoyed the fact that the shakes come in this metal cup, which the shakes are made in, to help keep them cold. Again, this shake is easy to share with others.

Appetizers

First, I tried the Fried Herb and Garlic Cheese. This fried cheese is served with Raspberry Sauce and Apples, our plate also had Strawberries as well even though Grapes are listed on the menu.  This dish is $10 and the table loved it.

The crostini was garlicky and buttery. The crust on the cheese was nice and added a little bit of texture to the smooth cheese. The raspberry sauce and strawberries really were a fruity touch to this to help add some sweetness to the dish. The cheese was very smooth. We all LOVED it. I could get this as an entree and be happy.

Next, the Roasted Tomato Soup which is a savory blend of Plum Tomatoes, Onions, and Herbs, and garnished with Focaccia Croutons. For $9, it was a decent portion of soup and could be shared between 2 people.

This was lumpy, not creamy like some other soups. While some at our table missed the creamy texture of a traditional soup, others didn’t mind the thickness. It definitely has strong notes of roasted tomatoes which helped add a lot of flavor to this soup. 

These Beer-battered Onion Rings were served with Horseradish Sauce and Ketchup for $12. You get a large basket of onion rings so it is plenty for a few people to share.

These were a little inconsistent because some were easy to bite into and pull apart, while some were difficult because the onion slid out of the breading. The horseradish was not spicy like I expected – it reminded us more of a ranch with the initial taste. The team really enjoyed these with the horseradish sauce (although I’m more of a ketchup girl myself).

Don’t worry, we did order vegetables just like our Cousin Kim said to. I tried Cousin Amy’s Iceberg Lettuce Wedge. This was a wedge salad served with Rice Paper Bacon, Sliced Red Onions, Cherry Tomatoes, Chives, and Plant-based Ranch Dressing for $11.

The salad was fine and while I appreciated that this was a plant-based option, it was nothing to write home about. I say if you’re looking for a great wedge salad, you have to try the one at Hollywood Brown Derby.

Finally, these Jalapeno Deviled Eggs were a hit. The deviled eggs do rotate here so you’ll want to ask your server when you order which ones are being featured at the moment. For $11, we got 4 deviled eggs, which isn’t a great value.

However, we loved these. They came with bread crumbs on top, and we liked the texture that those added. The filling was nice and creamy. Our group found that the eggs would vary on the spice level. Some of us got really spicy ones and others got mild ones – it depended on the jalapeno slice on top. 

Entrees

To start with our entrees, here’s a quick view of everything! To help us try as much as possible, we started with A Sampling of Mom’s Favorite Recipes. 

A Sampling of Mom’s Favorite Recipes is a sample plate (which I’m sure you gathered already) that comes with Golden-fried Chicken, Fork Tender Pot Roast, and Traditional Meatloaf with all the fixins for $28.

You can order any of these three items on their own but this was a great way to try them all. I started with the pot roast which was sadly a little plain. It was lacking in seasonings and the carrots and onions couldn’t make up for it. The potatoes with gravy, however, were the start of the show for this dish and made up for the lack of flavor.

The meatloaf was surprisingly moist and savory. The best part of it was easily the brown sugar and ketchup glaze on top that added a nice sweetness and almost caramelization to the meat.

The fried chicken was super crispy and the breading has subtle hints of herbs, although it wasn’t anything super special. The chicken itself was very moist but overall, it’s definitely not the best friend chicken in Disney World. (See Chef Art Smith’s Homecomin’ for that chicken.) Overall, I’d say you could order the chicken or the meatloaf separately and they would be pretty good options. 

For something on the healthier side, we grabbed the Sustainable Verlasso Salmon with Grain Mustard-Beurre Blanc, Fingerling Potatoes with Olive Oil, and Green Beans for $27.

The fish was light and flakey but unfortunately a little on the dry side. The sauce was based with dijon mustard which added a sharp and tangy flavor although it wasn’t overwhelming and it helped with the dryness.

For the sides, the green beans were a nice salty addition to the plate and they were cooked al dente so they still had a bit of crunch. The potatoes were also fine but lacked some seasonings especially when compared to the mashed potatoes from the sample plate. However, this was a pretty solid dish when looking for a healthier option compared to the other items I tried.

Next up, I grabbed Grandpa Jean’s Chicken Pot Pie. It was a Traditional Pastry Crust Filled with Chicken, Potatoes, Carrots, Celery, Onions, Corn, and Peas for $24.

As a lover of chicken pot pie, I was so excited to try this one but was quickly disappointed. I loved the presentation with the puff pastry but the lack of flavor in the filling was very apparent.

The puff pastry was light and airy with some nice herbs baked on top. The filling was full of vegetables and chicken but could have benefited potentially from more cream of chicken in the base or really anything that added a creamy or savory element. If you want anything heavy or comforting, I would recommend Mom’s Old-fashioned Pot Roast.

When the team and I stopped by the restaurant, the 50’s Prime Time Café Blue Plate Special was the Shrimp and Corn Grits for $28.

I can’t lie to you, this was surprisingly one of my favorite items that we tried! The grits were so creamy and buttery which made for a great base. The bell peppers were cooked just enough to where they were softer but still had a nice crunch.

The shrimp was slightly overcooked which made it a bit chewy but the andouille sausage was a great touch! It added a bit of spice and a nice smokiness to the dish which pairs well with the shrimp and grits.

For our vegetarian options, we grabbed Cousin Harold’s Vegetable Garden which was a Rigantoni Vegetarian Pasta with plant-based Chicken. 

This dish is seasonal and can change so it is a market price but we paid $21. I actually loved this dish! It was so flavorful and almost reminded me of a vegetable stew with pasta added.

The vegetables were cooked to a soft perfection as well as the pasta. The chicken was also tasty in my opinion but it was very clearly plant-based to someone who is not normally a plant-based eater. It wasn’t bad but texturally was a bit more chewy than traditional chicken.

Finally,  we grabbed the Caesar Salad! You can get this salad with chicken for $17 or with salmon for $19 although we opted to go without the protein options.

This salad had romaine tossed with Caesar dressing, grated parmesan, and garlic croutons. Surprisingly, I actually liked this more than the pot pie. It was a super basic salad but the cheese and croutons gave us the flavors we had been lacking.

Now I’m not saying this was a spectacular salad (it wasn’t) but the croutons were nice and crunchy without being burnt and the parmesan tasted fairly fresh which was a nice surprise.

Desserts 

When it came to finishing off the meal, I couldn’t pass up the desserts!

To start with my favorite dessert, let’s talk about Dad’s Favorite Chocolate-Peanut Butter Layered Cake for $8. It was so moist and rich and fudgy! The peanut butter was subtle and the cake itself was very chocolate-forward. You can get this a la mode for $10

Next was the Traditional Warm Apple Crisp which was plant-based for $7.50. This is one I skipped over but the team thought it was very crunchy and essentially an apple mixture with oats on top. 

We would have liked it with some ice cream on top, which is an option for $9.50, and we think it would pair well with the soft but still semi-crunchy apples. 

While it was good, we thought the Lemon Meringue Pie was better! It was a lemon curd in a flaky pie shell topped with toasted meringue and garnished with a raspberry sauce for $9.

The pie was so tart, bright, and refreshing. The pie did have a subtle sweetness and the raspberry sauce added to that sweetness. I did wish there was a bit more though.

Finally, I tried the Pineapple Upside Down Cake. It was a yellow cake soaked in pineapple juice topped with caramelized pineapples and maraschino cherries garnished with whip cream and caramel sauce for $9.50. 

The cake is soft and very moist with a good but subtle vanilla flavor. The pineapple was a bit hard to cut but adds a fun fruitiness and sweetness without using too much sugar. 

The juice almost gave the group a rum cake flavor although there was no rum in it. It was nice and moist thanks to the juice so we can’t speak highly enough of that addition. 

Should You Go?

This is a great restaurant to get in some family fun entertainment as well as comfort food. We found the prices to be about average for a Disney World table service restaurant and we believe everyone in the family could find something here.

Comparing it to other restaurants at Hollywood Studios, we tend to think this has consistently decent food compared to other restaurants. We appreciate the theming of this restaurant and it’s probably one of the best themed ones in the park giving Sci-Fi Diner a run for its money.

If you are looking for somewhere more relaxed and quiet, you’ll want to try another restaurant. If you’re looking for a buffet at Studios, check out Hollywood and Vine which is a character meal and changes for the seasons. For something more upscale, you can try Hollywood Brown Derby.

87% of our readers recommend 50’s Prime Time and it currently has an 8.16 rating. One reader recently wrote, “All of the food was good and everyone enjoyed everything that was ordered. Two of our party ordered the PBJ milkshakes for dessert and said they were delicious.”. Another said, “The food was amazing but it’s imperative that you know what you’re getting into. If your server seems pushy or blunt, they’re supposed to be.”.

While I really enjoy the banter with the servers, I agree with the reader above that you should know that is a part of the theming at this restaurant. If you don’t follow the server’s rules, you could be subject to public games and activities. If you know your family isn’t wanting to be a part of that, but you still want to try the food, just let your server know ahead of time.

Overall, I think it’s definitely worth trying out if you’re looking for a fun atmosphere and good home-cooked food. For more Disney tips and tricks, be sure to follow us at AllEars.net.

Read Why Why We WARN You About Eating In Hollywood Studios HERE!

Have you ever dined at 50’s Prime Time Cafe? Let us know in the comments below!

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