New Menu at Disney World’s Most Highly Hyped Brunch
We love making Walt Disney World top 10 lists and we also love eating, so it seemed like a good idea to combine those two passions and make a list of the best brunches at WDW. About halfway through the process, I realized that no one seems to care about Disney Springs restaurant reviews or out of the way resorts, and at least 80% of the list would be at those locations.
There was also the practical reality that we had already spent a lot of money on brunches and although it was a lot of fun, it just wasn’t “worth it” from that perspective. We’ve regularly reiterated that breakfast is the most overpriced and skippable meal at Walt Disney World, which is why we usually opt for grocery delivery for healthy on-the-go morning options. When it comes to poor value, brunch is a close second.
Another practical reality is that some of the best brunches we tried at Walt Disney World aren’t even offered on a daily basis! Many of the offerings at Disney Springs are only on weekends, which makes the already limited reader appeal of those restaurants even more limited.
Cutting to the chase, we didn’t complete that project, but the best brunch we tried was Olivia’s Cafe at Old Key West Resort. We’ve mentioned this cozy restaurant as one of our hidden gem favorites for years, most notably on our list of Underrated Table Service Restaurants at Walt Disney World for 2025. If you asked us for one Walt Disney World brunch recommendation, Olivia’s would be it. We’re big fans.
There are several great items on the brunch and dinner menus, but regardless of which meal service you pick, my absolute favorite dish is the Southernmost Buttermilk Chicken (pictured below). I have a hard time ordering anything else, even during meals that are ostensibly for “research.”
We also just love the homey vibe of Olivia’s. It’s definitely not for everyone–if your favorite resorts are Gran Destino, Riviera, and the Poly Tower, look elsewhere. But if you’re an old school Walt Disney World fan who has never dined at Olivia’s, you owe it to yourself to make a trip out to OKW for brunch or dinner.
Other brunches that immediately come to mind as being top-tier are Wine Bar George, Grand Floridian Cafe, and the Boathouse (when offered). We wouldn’t hesitate to do any of these meals again for fun, which probably shouldn’t surprise regular readers as they’re routinely mentioned as some of our favorite restaurants at Walt Disney World. (Except maybe Wine Bar George, which we love despite not being oenophiles. Unless you count extensive experience with Two-Buck Chuck in college?)
There are also a couple of brunches at Disney Springs we’ve yet to try, the most notable of which is probably Summer House on the Lake (the photos make it look delicious). Wolfgang Puck Bar & Grill is another we’ve missed that seems promising.
When it comes to the parks and most of the resorts, your best bet is probably a DIY brunch–book a late seating at a breakfast buffet that also does lunch and hang around for the changeover. That’s the best intersection of food variety and value for money at otherwise expensive breakfast buffets.
Anyway, there are also several brunches that we flat-out did not like or found to be massively overrated. This includes many of the popular spots in Disney Springs–but since it’s been a couple of years, I’m not going to name names. But one of them does rhyme with Tag-along Toad for those of you detectives able to decipher cryptic clues.
Somewhere in no man’s land between ‘best of’ and overrated is Chef Art Smith’s Homecomin’. This would have made our work-in-progress top 10 list, but probably in the bottom half. As a general matter, we do find Homecomin’ to be overrated. This isn’t to say it’s bad, because it most certainly is not. It’s just hugely popular, especially among locals, which is a bit confounding since exemplars of Floridian flavors are ubiquitous in this area…of Florida. I get the appeal for tourists, but I’d think Floridians are familiar with Floridian cuisine? Anyway.
Brunch is the best meal service at Chef Art Smith’s Homecomin’ and is actually fairly good! Not quite great, but I’m certainly not turning my nose up at it. Just not as good as Olivia’s Cafe or the other aforementioned spots. However, Chef Art Smith’s Homecomin’ is the most highly-hyped brunch in all of Walt Disney World, with reservations that can be difficult to score. I don’t think it lives up to that level of popularity.
Or at least, it didn’t our last time, but it’s been a couple of years. Maybe Chef Art Smith’s Homecomin’ has improved. Rather than serve up a belated review, here are photos of the dishes we ate the last time we did brunch at Homecomin:
All of this is really neither here nor there, as Chef Art Smith’s Homecomin’ is adding new dishes to its brunch menu. Some of these sound and look fantastic, so perhaps the meal will improve with the introduction of these items and become the new #1 brunch at Walt Disney World.
Let’s take a look at the additions to the Chef Art Smith’s Homecomin’ brunch menu as of February 1, 2025 (photos via the restaurant’s official Instagram):
First up is the Apple Butter Bread Pudding ($14).
A decadent, house made apple butter bread pudding sprinkled with cinnamon sugar and drizzled with crème anglaise.
Next is the Steak & Egg Plate, which costs $24.
This consists of a brunch-sized portion of country fried steak, smothered in sawmill gravy and topped with two over easy eggs. Served with a side of Southern-style cheesy potatoes and a biscuit.
Another new option is the Vegan Hash, priced at $24.
Scrambled Just Egg plant-based egg substitute, over fire-roasted tomatoes, diced potatoes, red and green peppers, onion and zucchini. Served with fresh fruit and multigrain toast.
Although it’s listed as a new dish, we’ve had the Homecomin’ Hash ($24) during a previous meal. It was fantastic before–the highlight of the menu.
This consists of two sunny side up eggs over fire-roasted tomatoes, diced potatoes, chopped bacon, sauteed red peppers and onions. Served with potato gratin mash and a cheddar drop biscuit.
On the sweeter side, there’s the Blueberry Buckle for $18.
This is described by Homecomin’ as its house made blueberry coffee cake topped with vanilla glaze and garnished with fresh berries and mint.
There’s a new featured drink, the Southern Mary ($15).
Dixie Black Pepper Vodka, Whiskey Willy’s Bloody Mary Mix with pecan-smoked bacon, fried green tomato, pimento cheese-stuffed olives and seasoned salt rim.
Finally, the side of Southern Style Cheesy Potatoes for $10.
Ultimately, the new dishes for brunch at Chef Art Smith’s Homecomin’ look delicious (except for the vegan one, but to each their own on that) with a not-so-healthy mix of sweets and savory items. This makes me eager to revisit the restaurant to reassess it and see whether Homecomin’ actually does live up to the high hype.
There’s gotta be a reason why so many Walt Disney World fans–and more importantly, Floridians–rank Chef Art Smith’s Homecomin’ as one of the best restaurants in all of Walt Disney World. I would love to be wrong about it, and just have been unlucky with a couple of meals. Looks like maybe it’s time to revive the brunch project…in the name of research!
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Your Thoughts
Have you dined at Chef Art Smith’s Homecomin’ at Disney Springs? Do you think it’s one of the top restaurants in all of Walt Disney World, or overrated? If you’ve done brunch, does it live up to the hype? Any of the new menu items you’re eager to eat? Do you agree or disagree with our rundown of the best brunches? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing feedback about your experiences is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
WHAT????
Homecomin’ is TOP NOTCH. Food, alcohol, and staff/service are all on point. My family loves it, we’ve never had a bad meal there. This spans probably 4-6 visits for dinner (including the last 2 Thanksgivings where the Turkey meal was excellent) and 2-3 brunches since 2019.
I wish Disney owned restaurants were this well run.
Yes to all of this! Disney Springs seems like a useful destination for locals who have better use for standard mall shops, but not one single retails store there is accretive to my WDW vacations. That said, my top ten list for WDW meals in the past decade is 90% comprised of Disney Springs restaurants. My complaint with WDW food coverage is that the general assumption seems to be that readers only eat steak, fried chicken and macaroni and cheese. (I’m exaggerating for effect, here, and mean no offense to Sarah, who always seems to choose the more interesting things on menus!) My family’s favorite three restaurants at DS are Jaleo, Morimoto Asia, and Frontera Cocina. It’s rare to see any of these covered, which always makes me worry that my favorite restaurants may be at risk of disappearing. That said, I do read and value all your DS restaurant coverage, Tom. I just don’t comment when I don’t feel like I have anything to add to the discussion. For example, that STK lunch burger deal sounded awesome, and I thoroughly enjoyed that post without participating in the comments. With respect to Homecomin’, I haven’t been able to get excited about the menu. The food sounds either too heavy or too sweet for my family’s preferences. We have been fans of Art Smith during his Top Chef and other tv appearances, but it’s hard for us to pass up the Rosejat Negra at Jaleo for menu items we haven’t been able to muster enthusiasm for.
I’m a local to WDW. Chef Art Smith’s Homecomin’ is my absolute favorite restaurant in all of WDW. Whether I’m there solo, sitting at the bar, or with friends in a booth or enjoying outdoor dining, the food has always been incredible, and the servers are incredibly friendly. It’s my favorite for brunch, hands down. I’m excited to try those new brunch dishes!
Piggybacking off @mickey1928, I first learned about POR Boatwright’s from your blog. We were blessed enough to realize early on we’d be back every year and it would not be for rides or parks predominantly. Their evolving food game and extracurricular activities are enough to keep us engaged in a bubble that constantly offers something new. I’m about to take a DL friend and she has the nerve to bounce in to EPCOT for Cosmic Rewind and bounce to the next park for the next coaster and so forth and so on. I was like, there is soooo much more…! Before even your article this week I’d already determined: Crew’s Cup: Prime rib sliders is happening!
Just got home from WDW. the Polynesian has a delicious Macadamia Nut Pancakes. Three dinner plates sized fluffy pancakes infused with finely chopped macadamia nuts, and more nuts in the butter. very easily shareable. the “famous” Tonga Toast was disappointing. when brought to the table, it looked like the World’s Largest Crouton! Seriously! I was less than impressed and very glad I’d chosen the pancakes.
We finally had a lunch and a brunch at Chef Art Smith’s in December. At one point, a distinguished looking older gentleman stopped by our table and politely asked how everything was. I said thank you, everything is wonderful, and resumed talking to my daughter. I then noticed he was checking in on all of the tables, spending a lot of time at tables who were engaging him in conversation. I realized it was Chef Art Smith! I felt like such a dummy for not recognizing him but my daughter and I were immersed in discussing our Disney trip. Our server said he comes in every few months unannounced and goes around to the tables like that, when he’s staying at his Florida home.
The food was wonderful, and I can’t wait to try the blueberry buckle, my goodness that looks amazing. Tom, please do some “research” for us on some of these new dishes as soon as you are able to.
We’ve actually seen Chef Smith a few times at Homecomin! His presence and genuine concern are one of the reasons why I feel bad about calling it overrated–I really *want* to love Homecomin’ and maybe giving brunch another chance is what’ll do the trick.
Honestly, the biggest surprise about your comment is that he’s only at Homecomin’ once every few months. At one point, it seemed like he was there every other week!
“I realized that no one seems to care about Disney Springs restaurant reviews or out of the way resorts, ”
If that’s the case it’s because a Disney vacation is super expensive. Most people don’t have the extra time/ money to use one of their days visiting DS or difficult to reach resorts.
The spiraling costs make blogs essential.
Yours is the best of them. The reason DTB towers over others is not just the quality of your writing and sense of humor but your attention to minutiae.
You cover angles of a visit no one would even think of and your output is steady and impressive.
Your production is another reason people keep reading you. Everyday you reliably fill a need for those families who can only make a trip every year or two. You supply their Disney fix. You keep them connected to the Disney community. You fill their lives with positivity.
But what if it is only 20%?
That’s 200 people out of 1,000. A solid number.
Helping just 20 out of 100 is something to be proud of.
Thanks for the kind words–truly appreciated.
There are a lot of factors involved in decisions about what to and not to cover. That’s especially true with dining reviews, as there’s the monetary cost, time cost (both the meal itself and writing the review), and health cost. When “we” go review these restaurants, it’s mostly me doing the eating–and I feel compelled to eat more when it’s for a review than if it’s just for fun. I was also just told a few months ago by the doctor that I need to work on lowering my cholesterol (something that doesn’t seem to be going well). All of that is part of the trouble in being a solo shop blogger as opposed to having a staff.
Bottom line is that sometimes choices have to be made in terms of what to cover and what to skip, and I feel like Disney Springs brunches are okay to (mostly) overlook.
Homecomin’ is good but definitely overrated. Give me Olivia’s any day over Homecomin’! I feel like it is still the best kept secret…except you and others have been outing Olivia’s for years and people don’t seem to take notice or don’t trust that it is good because it is at OKW. We have enjoyed brunch and dinner there often and always make a trip to eat there when staying at a different resort. Great descriptors for those who are not looking for a casual type setting. The chicken and all that comes with it are the stars!
One thing we’ve learned over the years is that no amount of publicizing Walt Disney World’s best kept secrets changes that status. Whether it be weeks to visit, restaurants, lounges, rooms, etc.
They’re usually that way for a reason, with significant barriers to the average guest. In the case of Olivia’s, it’s the location of OKW–most people aren’t going out of their way to get to any resort that isn’t easily accessible from the parks without getting on a bus.
RIP to the best brunch at WDW- the Sunday brunch at California Grill.
One of the best meals of my life. Every single time we experienced it.
Every time I’ve gone back to California Grill since COVID we have made a point to mention we want it back.
YES! Brunch at the Top wasn’t just our favorite brunch–it was our favorite meal in all of Walt Disney World. Such a fun experience that I really wish were brought back.
At the same time, given the massive price increases at V&As, Takumi Tei, and Monsieur Paul, I shudder to think about what it might cost today.
I can’t believe you rag and goad tag- along toad.
For what it’s worth, I care, and have made special trips to Disney Springs and out-of-the-way resorts to try your recommendations!
“No one cares” is definitely hyperbole, but restaurant reviews (or any coverage) for both Disney Springs and Downtown Disney are really unpopular. It doesn’t make complete sense to me, as I think Disney Springs is home to many of the best restaurants at WDW and DtD at Disneyland is improving by leaps and bounds.
But I’ve learned over the years that sometimes it’s okay to leave the camera at home and just do certain things at Disney for personal enjoyment–it’s nice to not always be in “blogger mode.” (I still take phone photos–it’s a compulsion!)
“ restaurant reviews (or any coverage) for both Disney Springs and Downtown Disney are really unpopular. It doesn’t make complete sense to me, as I think Disney Springs is home to many of the best restaurants at WDW”
This may be true, but what’s also true is that going to DS (especially at night) is just a nightmare. It’s packed, the layout makes no sense, it’s mostly shopping, and it’s just not worth the hassle, especially with kids in tow. At least in the parks there’s some sense of immersion. But DS is just an outdoor mall and I need it to be indoors if it’s gonna be a chance to experience “Mallrats: The Attraction.” Maybe with just adults it’s alright but usually it feels like such a colossal nightmare that it’s not worth a fantastic meal. Out of the way resorts though? Those are totally worth it!
Hilary, you may be right. Disney Springs lacks Disney magic. Sometimes I go there to eat but don’t have a lot to do before or after the meal. Riding the tethered hot air balloon or the Boathouse’s amphicars is fun, but cost too much extra to do every time. Most of the stores don’t carry things I’m interested in & would be overpriced anyway. World of Disney carries interesting stuff, but the layout is so huge & confusing, & you can find the same things in the main gift shops of the parks. There isn’t a lot of Disney music to be heard except in certain areas. Even a store called DisneyStyle was playing regular pop music instead of Disney songs. I used to be fond of browsing the now extinct Virgin Megastore, but seldom bought anything there ’cause I could get it cheaper elsewhere.
An example of overpriced is a “painting” that’s sold at a store I think is called Sugar Boo’s. It’s a big white canvas that simply has the words “Daydream Believer” painted on it. Now I’m a longtime Monkees fan, but I think I could do the same job myself for cheap. Maybe even add in imagery of those cute Monkees themselves. No need to pay $200 or however much it was for that piece of “fine art”.