Be Our Guest Restaurant Lunch Review
Be Our Guest Restaurant in New Fantasyland at the Magic Kingdom is themed as Beast’s Castle from Beauty and the Beast. It’s a 2013 Disney Dining Plan participant as a one-credit counter service restaurant at lunch, and as a one-credit table service restaurant at dinner. At lunch, it makes our list of the best counter service values when on the Disney Dining Plan, but it just missed our list for the best values on the Dining Plan at dinner.
Both the lunch counter service and dinner table service menus feature French-inspired cuisine, and although the menus are ambitious for the usually unadventurous Magic Kingdom restaurants, most guests will find something that appeals to them at Be Our Guest Restaurant.
Be Our Guest Restaurant officially opened to the general public on December 7, 2012, so there’s still quite a bit of demand for this new restaurant. When we visited, the waiting line outside of the restaurant to get inside was about 15 minutes long, and it took us a little over 30 minutes from the time we got in line until the time our food arrived. We got in line just as the restaurant opened–if you wait until the noon hour, don’t be surprised if you’re in line outside for 30 minutes on busier days.
This only bears mentioning for emphasis, as I’m sure most people reading this are already somewhat familiar with Be Our Guest Restaurant, but the place is incredibly lavish and the top to bottom details and effects are stunning. People aren’t kidding when they say that this is the highlight of the New Fantasyland expansion.
I’ll touch upon this in our full review in more detail, but I find that simultaneously cool and disappointing. It’s great that so much effort went into making this restaurant an awesome experience. It’s disappointing that the highlight of a multi-year expansion billed as the “biggest in Magic Kingdom history” is a restaurant. We highly value restaurants at Walt Disney World (probably more than the average guest), but we still see attractions as the heart of the experience.
In the grand scheme of things, New Fantasyland loses points with me for Be Our Guest Restaurant being (by far) the best element of the expansion. In the confined context of this review, which is only of Be Our Guest Restaurant, the restaurant gains a lot of points for that incredible detail. Simply put, if you step foot in New Fantasyland without going inside Be Our Guest Restaurant you have not had the full experience of the expansion.
The details and theming are incredible, but they largely speak for themselves. I won’t bore you by fixating on them, except by pointing out a couple of things I don’t like. First, Beast’s Castle that sits atop the rockwork. It seems like everyone else is gushing over the amazing forced perspective here, but I don’t think it works. To me, it looks like a toy castle perched up there. I seem to be in the minority on this, though.
Second, the ballroom is gorgeous, but because of its large size and noise level, it feels like an oddly luxurious mess hall to me. Finally, I don’t care for the lifelike look of the faces of the babies painted on the ceiling of the ballroom (in some cases they look arbitrary pasted onto the bodies). I realize this is an Imagineer tribute, but I just don’t think it works. On the one hand, having real children up there gives some character to the art up there. On the other hand, using real people instead of generic babies draws too much attention to each individual baby. I think that “generic” babies would convey the “feel” of the art they’re going for, without causing unduly visual fixation. I’m generally all for Imagineer tributes and others seem to like this, so again, maybe this is just me.
Be Our Guest Restaurant uses an RFID ordering system that is surely a part of the big NextGen initiative that Disney has been undertaking for the last couple of years. To my knowledge, it’s the first newly constructed restaurant to use RFID in this way. Basically, you tap this rose before ordering your meal from a touchscreen, and take the rose to any table that strikes your fancy. Cast Members then bring your food to you based on where the rose “says” you are. So if you really want to punk someone good, deposit your rose below their table after ordering and watch them get flustered and upset as your food is given to them. I highly suggest you try this prank on us if you ever see us at Be Our Guest Restaurant! 
We dined at Be Our Guest Restaurant with Josh from easyWDW.com. He already posted his review of the experience, which you can read here. He ordered the $11.99 Braised Pork – Slow Cooked Pork with Vegetables and Bacon with Mashed Potatoes and Green Beans Jardiniere, which was a low calorie option. He seemed to enjoy it for what it was, and he indicated that he’d highly recommend it even though it wasn’t a lot of food.
One motif of Be Our Guest’s lunch menu seemed to be pricey but undersized entrees.
Sarah ordered the $9.99 Quinoa Salad with Green Beans, Potatoes, Olives, Roasted Red Peppers, Golden Beets, and Tomatoes. Sarah is a big fan of quinoa, and she thought this salad was pretty good. As the “victim” (or survivor?) of a quinoa-addicted spouse, I can say with some certainty that reasonable people would find this–and any other “food” containing quinoa–disgusting. I have had my fair share of quinoa, and it is never good. It’s only remotely palatable when heavily seasoned; most of the time it’s bland and not worth consuming.
If you like quinoa and/or salad, you might give it a try, but unless you are really concerned about eating healthy, I think there are much more intriguing options on the menu. It’s also worth noting that Sarah ended up being hungry again two hours after we had lunch, though, so you might be better off spending your $10 on something more substantial and filling.
I ordered the $10.99 Croque Monsieur – Grilled Sandwich with Carved Ham, Gruyere Cheese, and Bechamel with Pommes Frites (not pictured). It was a good sandwich, but small for the price (even by Disney standards) and the fries were fairly uninspired. It’s not something I’d order again, nor would I recommend trying it unless there’s nothing else on the menu that interests you. Not that it’s bad, it’s just nothing special.
For dessert, we had the Lemon Meringue and Strawberry Cupcakes. Sarah really liked both of these, I only liked the Strawberry cupcake (I don’t care for lemon meringue in general, though, so my opinion is worthless on that cupcake). For some reason I was expecting these to be cheesecake (my bad–they’re clearly labeled as cupcakes on the menu). I don’t know if it was just my expectations for a cheesecake or if this was actually the case, but I found them to be a tad dry. Still very good and well worth the $2.99.
Before heading out, we wandered around a bit to explore the rest of the restaurant, including the West Wing. Next time, I really want to eat in the West Wing, as the execution of theme and general design in there is definitely the best, I think. When we were in the West Wing, there was a large crowd gathered to photograph the rose. I noticed that almost everyone was firing their flashes at this and at the snowfall outside the ballroom. If you want good photos of these effects, you need to turn off your flash and use manual settings.
Overall, Be Our Guest Restaurant gets high marks in this review primarily because of its ambiance and theming. While we didn’t love it like we love Gaston’s Tavern in New Fantasyland, it is right up there with Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater as one of coolest and best-themed restaurants at Walt Disney World. It’s also the closest thing to being an “attraction” that a restaurant can be. The restaurant also scores points with us for trying more inventive cuisine, which should be lauded given that this is a restaurant located in the kid’s haven of New Fantasyland in the Magic Kingdom. The food does not quite live up to the rest of the experience, as it is only good rather than great.
In addition, it’s clear that you’re paying a premium for the location, as menu prices seem higher than the Magic Kingdom norm, and entrees are generally smaller. Although Be Our Guest Restaurant isn’t our favorite Magic Kingdom restaurant, it’s still an absolute must-visit for lunch, especially if you’re unable to score the elusive Be Our Guest dinner reservations. The ambiance and detail really pull up our overall score for Be Our Guest Restaurant.
Your Thoughts…
What do you think of Be Our Guest Restaurant? Is it worth the wait? Does it live up to the hype? Share your thoughts in the comments!
Read our other Walt Disney World restaurant reviews and Disney Dining Plan resources.
Overall Score: 8.5/10
38 Responses to “Be Our Guest Restaurant Lunch Review”
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It’s not just you, the tribute babies don’t quite work.
Good to know. Any thoughts on the forced perspective of the castle?
I completely agree about the castle. It just does not work for me in terms of design or forced perspective. It really does not seem far enough away to be so small.
My thoughts exactly. I think it could pass for about 15 feet tall at most with the forced perspective. In reality, I *think* it’s less than 7 feet tall.
I was disappointed with the castle as well. I was having a hard time putting it into words, but the toy castle remark sums it up nicely.
Great review. I was here the week before Grand Opening during “preview” and we ate here for lunch. It was a great experience for the area. We waited about 30 – 45 mins outside at peak lunch time, and about 20 minutes inside. Although, most of that was waiting for everyone to figure out how to use the touchscreen menu. I didn’t find it as a hard concept, but those of the “older” crowd had a tough time.
I made sure to look at the forced perspective of the castles and I actually find beast’s castle to look really good. I didn’t feel it was odd looking or out of place. Maybe, I just happened to stand at the right angle?
Great review! Love reading your blogs!
Out of curiosity, given the forced perspective, how tall does Beast’s Castle look to you in comparison to Cinderella Castle? The same height? Half as tall? Etc.?
I agree with you about the castle. I was very excited to see it when we went in December and I was very underwhelmed by what I saw I got there.
I completely 99% agreed with your review, the 1% is because I enjoyed the Croq Monsieur.
The force perspective of the castle is just weird. It looks tiny and out of place. Inside the restaurant is beautiful but the babies are creepy 
We’ve dined here for lunch and dinner. The fries weren’t anything special but I was somewhat impressed with the kids menu. I felt dinner was better. It wasn’t quite as “mess hall” like. The thyme scented pork rack chop entree was incredible and I don’t typically enjoy pork. My husband ordered it and it was really good thanks to the red wine au jus. I had the layered ratatouille, which was also fairly good for being all veggies and quinoa. I snuck some of the red wine au jus from my husbands and poured it over. It was a good call 
I thought the sandwich was good, just not great–especially for $11.
I can’t wait to eat there for dinner. Given the difficulty of obtaining ADRs, at this point that won’t be until 2016 for us!
We planned a trip with my family in April, the week after Easter, and got an ADR for 9 pm! Never thought we’d be eating that late, but we really wanted to try it! (And have a glass of wine/beer in MK!)
I am hoping that the Seven Dwarfs mine train becomes the highlight attraction for New Fantasyland. Right now BOG seems to be the highlight because Ariel was already at Disneyland.
Try the carved turkey sandwich next time – my friend and I split that and the croque monsieur. Eating 1/2 of each sandwich was pretty filling. My friend and I both agreed that eating in the restaurant was our second favorite experience in New Fantasyland (second only in our opinion to meeting Gaston and having a snack by the fireplace in “his” tavern).
I came really close to trying that! Next time. My favorite experience was actually Gaston’s Tavern. I know it’s the smaller draw of the two restaurants, but I think it works really well for an intimate setting, and I think they really hit a home run with it!
Gaston’s Tavern is quietly one of the most successfully transportive spaces in the New Fantasyland. While Be Our Guest is indeed a very nice piece of work it feels all the world like a theme park eatery built for the logistics of large crowds and the RFID-based ordering system. Gaston’s feels somewhat more to scale and, in its way, more “realistic” with a better sense of place.
Because it seems to be overshadowed by Be Our Guest, even at peak times of day, I was able to spend some time here each day from Dec 20th-22nd, relaxing, enjoying a coke or charging my cell phone. For me, Gaston’s is definitely a must-do the next time I’m in the MK, while BOG will be something I will probably only do if I’m with a first-timer to NF. I enjoyed BOG, but for many of the reasons you outlined, Gaston’s is the real gem and my favorite part of NF.
Totally agree about the castle. It’s beautiful but something is not quite right.
You, with the quinoa and dry cupcake love… you’re cracking me up! It’s so refreshing anytime I read an honest Disney review post. I love Disney dearly, but at times I tire of the endless “every single thing is perfectly Magical” commentary from the Disney blogger community. =/
My reaction to New Fantasyland having a NEW CASTLE **gasp** be nothing but a restaurant struck me the same way – disappointing, and in some ways unfair. I don’t think big families on a budget eat at the park restaurants.
Thanks for the tips, Tom – this is a great post. We’re headed here in a couple of weeks and will try lunch, couldn’t get in for dinner. Very excited!!
I know what you’re saying, but I think it’s really sad that it’s “refreshing” to read an honest Disney review. Shouldn’t ALL reviews be honest?
Unfortunately, I think what you’re saying is becoming more and more the case. Part of it is natural: if people are blogging about a given topic, there’s a fair chance that they are biased towards that topic (myself included). I love Disney–I mean why else would I start a blog about it? The potential difficulty is putting this bias aside and writing objectively (or as objectively as possible). Instead, this bias often comes through in the blogger’s writing, and the blogger looks at things with rose-colored glasses instead of being even remotely objective. Even if people strongly disagree with my opinions, I hope they at least realize that they are my real opinions.
I think there are also some unsavory reasons as to why you see more dishonest reviews. Some bloggers think there is more of a market for “everything is pixie dust and magic!” than there is objective posts. Sadly, this is probably true. A large number of Disney fans want affirmation of their undying love for the Disney, and don’t take kindly to constructive commentary about their “happy place.”
To each their own, I suppose, but I’m not going to compromise my sense of ethics by spouting off a bunch of nonsense that I don’t believe. If people don’t like this blog because I offer criticism or they don’t like my style, oh well. Fortunately, there are numerous Disney sites that do offer objective commentary that “offset” the ones that are all lollipops and rainbows.
I sometimes fear for the future of online discussion about Disney because there seems to be little room for nuance in the criticisms. Either something is wonderful and flawless or a complete failure and travesty with no shades of gray. I know this is a much larger topic than what can be covered here but it is refreshing to find a place where the pluses and minuses of Disney attractions can be examined without the conversation being quickly derailed.
I enjoyed our experience but I agree I didn’t care for the babies faces on the ceiling. I love a tribute but this one was way too much and too personal. I also had the pork at lunch and thought it was a very good portion. Way too much meat for me to eat in one sitting. My husband had the turkey sandwich and it was also a good size and very good. I look forward to going again.
Very interesting. I’m glad to hear that you had two meals with portions that were a good size. Hopefully after trying a few other options, my opinion of the cuisine will improve a little.
Booked this for our anniversary dinner in April. Hoping it’s awesome!
Did you take a pic of your sandwich? I found it interesting that it was small. We ate lunch there on Halloween – my husband’s birthday button worked some Disney magic. I had that sandwich & it was huge, like the size of two normal sandwiches. I wonder if they changed it after the preview. I agree with you about the fries – meh. We tried the soups, which were amazing.
Yeah, I took a picture of the sandwich. I’ll add it to this post when I have a chance.
Your sandwich was huge?! I wonder if portion sizes were “adjusted” during previews?
I also agree with your perspective on the castle and thought I was the only one as well.. I think more thought and cash flow should have gone into that castle and the people having access to it. My 7 year daughter asked right away, ” Can we go in there?… but I guess that would be going into the restaurant?? As always I enjoyed your writing
I think if your child asks if you can go inside Beast’s Castle, perhaps the forced perspective has work…at least for them? So I guess that’s a victory!
My answer would be that you are inside the Castle once you enter the restaurant. Of course that makes little sense as the doors are right at the edge of the rockwork (I at least expected you to walk through a bit of “rockwork queue” before entering the restaurant to give a bit of distance between guests and their last view of Beast’s Castle. I think that’s probably why it’s unconvincing–you can see the doors that lead inside AND the small castle from the same spot.
I completely agree about the castle and I thank you for including it in your blog. My husband, Tyler, a Tom Bricker enthusiast, got annoyed with me for constantly complaining about the toy castle set on top of giant rocks. I was very excited to show him your paragraph devoted to the castle and say, “See, Tom knows what I’m talking about.” I am a big fan of forced perspective, but clearly that “castle” did not display this useful trick of the eye. Truth be told, I was a little underwhelmed at the New Fantasyland. We did enjoy the Be Our Guest restaurant, but there’s not much past that. I look forward to the mine cart roller coaster opening. New Fantasyland desperately needs an E-ticket attraction.
A Tom Bricker enthusiast? That has to be the worst hobby/interest EVER!!!
The term “baby faces” makes me chuckle.
You caught me. That portion of the review was actually just a subtle paid placement for the new soon-to-be-hit film Gangster Squad. In theaters January 11, 2013!!!
Tom, great name by the way! I must say that you have posted some amazing photos and I have to thank my wife for introducing me to your blog. It is also very appreciated on our end when a blogger gives honest opinions and reviews without the previously discussed bias.
We had the pleasure of dining at Be Our Guest for lunch on Nov. 11 last year during the Passholder previews. We ate in the West Wing and were so pleased with that decision. It’s the hand’s-down winner of the three.
As for the meal itself, I was very impressed. I had the grilled steak sandwich and could not have been more pleased with the flavor and the portion size. It’s quite large. I also substitued the fries for the green beans which were also delicious and much healthier. My wife had the tuna salad and was equally pleased with her choice although I’m certain she didn’t remain full nearly as long as I did. We also decided to split an order of the potato leek soup. This is really where the meal shined. Talk about delicious! The next time you dine there you should try it. It really should be highlighted on the menu.
I do agree with you on Beast’s Castle, it does seem a little off. Conversely, I think the did a remarkable job on Prince Eric’s castle.
Jeez, it’s really sounding like I picked the worst possible thing from the menu. Looks like I have a whole list of things to try, now!
I totally agree on Prince Eric’s Castle. It is absolutely awesome!!!
Wondering if anyone knows if traditional mac & cheese has been added to the kids menu. Heard it was in January 2013 – wondering if it’s true.
I like the forced perspective. It totally draws me into the opening scene of the movie, plus I have to say I would be über disappointed if anything overshadows Cinderella’s Castle. I am really excited about what they did. It wit it though. This entire experience brings me back to my childhood. Just my opinion though.
The First Be Our Guest Proposal
On 11/19/12 at 8:40 pm my girlfriend Tiffany and I had the privilege to eat dinner at Be Our Guest in Fantasy land at Walt Disney World Orlando, We were greeted at the bridge that led to the castle and escorted to the hostess who in turn took us to our seats. The napkins were red and folded into the shape of a rose bud.
Our server Amber was cheerful and very attentive, she brought our drinks right away, which seemed bottomless as she kept them filled at all times. We ordered the French Onion Soup which was excellent great texture, aroma, the cheese was not burnt, and it was not too salty. After the appetizers, Amber let us know that the Beast was going to retire for the evening in about 30 mins, we did not have any clue that we had a photo opportunity and she made sure we did not miss it. After the photos with the beast we were able to walk around the castle and take photos and experience it in all it’s glory. Tiffany was worried we would return to cold food, but as we returned to the table Amber asked if we wanted her to put in our dinners in to be cooked, This gave Tiffany and me enough time to talk and just enjoy the experience. We ordered the steak and it came out very quickly with French fries and green beans. The steak was hot and cooked to perfection, the green beans were hot and still had a little snap to them. It was amazing how much attention Amber paid to our table and her ability to judge our time and body language was second to none.
After Dinner she brought out the dessert cart and Tiffany gotten the Chocolate Dessert which was a moist cupcake with a rich chocolate icing and creamy chocolate filling. And she brought out “The Grey Stuff” desert, which was delicious.
The hospitality was excellent, I had brought an Enchanted Rose replica as gift for Tiffany. Since it contained glass it had to go threw security, Hospitality Services then delivered to the restaurant. The Manager asked how and when I wanted to present Tiffany my present. The manager put it together in the back and it was delivered to the table on cue.
Amber our server filmed the event for us on our camera and also filmed when I presented Tiffany the ring and proposed to her. We did not feel at any time that the extra attention and help was an imposition. Their excitement and enthusiasm made our engagement the best and I believe the first ever at he Be Our Guest Restaurant. I would like to Thank Amber, the staff at the restaurant, Holly and all the girls at guest services for all there help.
What a great story–congrats!
We loved be our guest! We had dinner there in Dec and were seated in the west wing right in front of the enchanted rose! Seriously the BEST table in the whole place! Dinner was magical, my hubby had the steak, daughter the kids chicken and I had the rataouille. It was all delicious! Following the Brickers lead on cupcake consumption we devoured four different desserts between the hubby and I! We loved them all! This is our new favorite restaurant in MK and we will be dining there again in Dec if we can!