REVIEW: I'm Actually SHOCKED at How Much I Loved This Disney World Restaurant

There are quite literally DOZENS of places to eat in Disney Springs — how do you choose one?

The shopping and dining complex is home to several different types of cuisine, from Italian to Indian to Seafood to Asian and so much more. But if you’re in the mood for some southern comfort food, we might have a surprising spot to add to your list!

Now, we often tell you to skip dessert at table service restaurants. The desserts are usually good, but you can often find better ones at snack stands and places geared toward dessert (like Swirls on the Water or Amorette’s Patisserie). However, we’re going to tell you NOT to skip dessert here! It was THAT GOOD.

Background

I recently made a visit to House of Blues in Disney Springs, and now it’s time to bring you my full review!

This restaurant is located in the West Side area of Disney Springs, all the way down at the end by Cirque du Soleil. It’s home to a restaurant, a quick service spot, an outdoor bar, a gift shop, and a concert venue. There’s a lot going on over here!

If you’re planning to visit, you might want to check the concert schedule ahead of time to make sure things aren’t too busy. Typically, we don’t have a difficult time getting reservations here, though.

Let’s head inside and check out the restaurant!

Atmosphere

When you first walk inside, you’ll come to the host’s stand where you check in for your reservation. The first room is a great indicator of the House of Blues atmosphere — the restaurant is absolutely decked out in artwork and music memorabilia.

There are several dining rooms in the restaurant, and in the main dining room there’s another bar. It’s called the B. B. Blues Bar as a nod to the Blues Brothers!

The menu here is filled with southern cuisine and comfort food, with everything from BBQ to burgers to pasta to seafood. They’ve got a little of everything!

Now let’s order something delicious!

Food & Drinks

So that we could try a variety of the items on the menu, I visited with a coworker, and we ordered a smorgasbord of menu selections! My coworker started the meal with the Beast of Bourbon for $15 made with Knob Creek bourbon, maple syrup, chocolate bitters, and orange.

The maple syrup and the chocolate bitters complement the bourbon really well here, and the drink is well-balanced overall.

For our full spread, we got one appetizer, a side, and three entrees. Let’s dig in!

First up are the Loaded Fries for $16, made with jalapeno-bacon, pickled red onion, four-cheese sauce, cilantro crema, and cotija cheese.

They were very cheesy and the toppings were spread pretty thoroughly. The fries are pretty basic Disney fries, but there are a great mix of flavors and textures here! I would totally recommend these as an appetizer.

Heading into the entrees, the first one on our list was the Cajun Chicken Pasta for $23. It’s made with blackened chicken, penne pasta, cajun cream sauce, bell pepper, tomato, red onion, basil, and parmesan.

This dish is made with a mix of white and dark meat, so be warned if you’re averse to dark meat. The sauce is very creamy, but there wasn’t much “blackened” flavor here. However, it’s still quite flavorful and we really enjoyed it!

Next up was the Fried Hot Chicken for $22. It’s made with two crispy-fried chicken breasts and Nashville hot sauce and served with house-made slaw, french fries, and dill pickle chips.

The chicken was fairly juicy, and we could tell that it had been marinated in hot sauce, which packed in the flavor. There was a decent amount of heat overall, but about level with what you’d expect from buffalo wings. The coleslaw and dill pickles add some coolness to the dish overall, and the fries were fairly basic, but still nice and crispy on the outside but soft in the middle. We would get this again!

If you’re in the mood for seafood, check out the Shrimp Po’ Boy for $19. This is French bread topped with fried Cajun shrimp, spiced remoulade, lettuce, dill pickle chips, and tomato.

The shrimp have a little bit of heat, but it’s not overwhelming. The tomatoes and pickles help cool it down while adding a nice crunchy texture. The remoulade was my favorite part by FAR though — it was creamy and tangy and a perfect complement to the other elements.

As a side, we ordered the Mac and Cheese Skillet for $11. It’s made with four-cheese sauce and topped with toasted breadcrumbs.

This was creamy, but not particularly saucy. You get a strong, sharp cheese flavor coming through in each bite and the breadcrumbs give a little textural variety. Even after it had cooled down a bit, the right flavors and textures really came through here.

To round out our meal, we got the Bread Pudding for $11. It’s topped with bourbon butter, toffee sauce, and you can get it with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top!

This was rich from the bourbon and sweet from the toffee, and the bread pudding itself had some nice chew. The ice cream cooled it down and the vanilla paired nicely. This was one of the more unique and robustly flavored bread puddings we’ve had in Disney World!

So how did House of Blues fare?

Should You Go?

Ultimately, House of Blues really shocked us with how delicious our meal was! Highlights included the Loaded Fries, the Bread Pudding, and the Mac and Cheese Skillet, but we literally enjoyed EVERYTHING.

In addition, the portion sizes were large, and we felt like we were getting a great deal for the price. We think a couple could share a side, entree, and a dessert and have more than enough to eat.

House of Blues doesn’t always come to the top of our recommendation list, but it has definitely climbed the ladder thanks to this visit! This would be a great spot if you’re spending time on the West Side of Disney Springs or if you need a last-minute reservation, because there’s lots of seating and it’s pretty easy to get in.