Best Value Lunch in All of Disney World

Disney Springs has emerged as the culinary epicenter of Walt Disney World. Restaurants like Boathouse, Homecomin’, Morimoto Asia, and a variety of other table service restaurants by celebrity chefs have impressed, and offered a better value proposition than in-park alternatives. (Updated May 22, 2020.)

Despite this, one challenge has been finding an affordable and delicious lunch. The top-tier counter service restaurants at Disney Springs are not cheap, leaving something of a “value void” that’s really only filled by Blaze Pizza, Earl of Sandwich, and a variety of food trucks.

Nothing against any of those, but they’re not exactly exciting. The good news is that the embarrassment of dining riches at Disney Springs has driven competition, especially among table service restaurants before dinner. This has led to some great lunch and happy hour specials, and the champion here might surprise you…

It’s STK. That’s right–the same restaurant that has a steak menu with prices ranging from $50 to $128. The first time I saw the sign outside advertising this burger, I did a double-take, as all of the sides at STK are more expensive than this delectable lunch!

Regular readers of the blog might be surprised to learn that STK has become our go-to lunch spot at Disney Springs, especially after some blistering criticism of this restaurant bringing a Las Vegas vibe to Walt Disney World and (initially) refusing to read the room and adapt for a radically different demographic in Central Florida.

Despite those early missteps, STK has emerged as one of the top dining options at Disney Springs. While other Walt Disney World restaurants make a good first impressions and gradually erode once their positive reputation is baked-in, STK seems to be taking the opposite path. It is now fighting an uphill battle, and doing so with an assortment of promos and deals.

The best of these, and what has become our go-to lunch at Disney Springs, is the Linz Angus Burger at STK. (Comically, adding bacon to the burger is another $7.)

Update: Disney Springs has reopened after a two-month closure, and we’re happy to report that this deal has returned with it. While the price has gone up one whole dollar (to $10.99), this is still one of the best deals in all of Walt Disney World.

Plus, STK has added a spacious outdoor seating area. There’s plenty of shade if you dine during the daytime hours, and there’s an abundance of reservation availability for all dates we checked.

Suffice to say, the Linz Angus Burger is fantastic. A thick and juicy patty that’s a tad fatty (I normally order burgers medium-rare, but think this one is better medium because of the fat) and incredibly filling.

At this price, it’s actually a couple dollars cheaper than specialty items at D-Luxe Burger, and the Linz Angus Burger at STK comes with fries and is higher quality beef.

To put this deal into perspective, if you were to order these Linz Angus Steak Burgers Dry Aged patties yourself, you’d be paying $6.50 each for them. That’s not including the bun, toppings, labor, overhead, or anything else.

While I’d assume STK isn’t paying quite that much, it’s still a pricey burger for them. Honestly, I feel a bit bad about going and only ordering this without alcohol or anything else, as I know it’s a loss leader for STK.

Because of this, on our most recent visit to STK, we also ordered the Cinnamon Monkey Bread with cream cheese icing from the brunch menu.

This is also fairly inexpensive, and it’s a decadent and delicious way to start your meal.

They also accept Tables in Wonderland and Annual Passholder discounts for lunch (and every meal). That really sweetens the deal on this.

I’ve been told I don’t need to lecture readers about this, but we’d encourage you to tip above 20% on this meal if you’re only doing the burgers. This is an expensive steakhouse with high-dollar drinks.

It’s been a while since we’ve done it, but the afternoon happy hour is also fantastic, with a ton of deals. Just take a look at the happy hour menu–several items in the $5 to $7 range.

You can easily make a meal out of just a couple of things, or split 5 items between two people.

Rounding out the deals, you might consider signing up for their email list. Once you get past the cringey “friends with benefits” name, you’ll receive a variety of special offers, including $50 birthday gift cards, free items, and more.

The name of that email list should serve as a reminder that STK has a bit of edge to it, even if that has been toned down at the Disney Springs location. Lunch and happy hour are generally pretty chill, with the scene bumpin’ a bit more upstairs at dinner. (That’s the closest I get to hip language.)

Our favorite experience at STK, and one about which we still laugh, was last Christmas when someone was having fun with the playlist. It started out innocuously enough, with some 90s hip hop Christmas songs that you’d never hear in the parks but that are still perfectly tame.

Things continued to escalate with an uncensored version of Lonely Island’s “gift-giving” song, before going off the rails–and having the song quickly changed. It was actually a bit unfortunate, as you could look around and see people lifting their heads with a, “do I hear what I think I hear?” look, but no one seemed upset or offended. Ah, good times.

Overall, STK is still an acquired taste in terms of atmosphere, but the food is unquestionably good. It wouldn’t be a place I’d take kids after about 6 p.m., but the brunch, lunch, and happy hour experience is friendly to all ages. Perhaps more importantly, the price-points are friendly to all budgets. If you order that Linz Angus Burger, you’re getting the best value meal in all of Walt Disney World; something that likely wouldn’t even be that cheap at a “real world” restaurant in Orlando or elsewhere.

Planning a Walt Disney World trip? Learn about hotels on our Walt Disney World Hotels Reviews page. For where to eat, read our Walt Disney World Restaurant Reviews. To save money on tickets or determine which type to buy, read our Tips for Saving Money on Walt Disney World Tickets post. Our What to Pack for Disney Trips post takes a unique look at clever items to take. For what to do and when to do it, our Walt Disney World Ride Guides will help. For comprehensive advice, the best place to start is our Walt Disney World Trip Planning Guide for everything you need to know!

Your Thoughts

What do you think of STK? Have you tried the Linz Angus Burger or any other deals on the brunch, lunch, or happy hour menus? Do you agree or disagree with our take on STK? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!

23 Responses to “Best Value Lunch in All of Disney World”
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