Flame Tree Barbecue: Still Worth It?
Flame Tree Barbecue at Animal Kingdom has historically been up there as one of the Top 15 Counter Service Restaurants at Walt Disney World. In our various incarnations of that ‘best of’ list, it has frequently ranked #1 or #2 among all WDW dining options.
More recently, Flame Tree BBQ has faced staunch competition as new restaurants have opened and others have stepped up their menus. That’s even true within Animal Kingdom, as the opening Pandora — World of Avatar brought with it Satu’li Canteen, which is arguably the #1 counter service restaurant at Animal Kingdom.
With a variety of restaurants still closed during the phased reopening, we skipped our annual update to the Walt Disney World counter service power rankings last year. However, we nevertheless wanted to ‘investigate’ whether Flame Tree Tree Barbecue is still deserving of its strong reputation among us and other Walt Disney World fans…
Accordingly, we’ve done three meals at Flame Tree Barbecue in the months since Walt Disney World reopened in the name of thorough research.
We won’t rehash basic background info, themed design inspiration, or any ground already covered by our previous Flame Tree BBQ Review. The goal here is an update, covering what’s new, changed, and whether this Walt Disney World fan-favorite still lives up to the hype.
One post-reopening development at Flame Tree Barbecue is the installation of wiring installed around the edges of the gazebos. You can’t see it with the naked eye from a distance, and I’d stop short of calling it netting. It’s narrow enough to prevent a bird from entering, but still widely spaced.
Those who enjoy the sport of protecting their feast from Animal Kingdom’s barbaric birds will be happy to know they can still partake in that time-honored tradition by sitting at the open courtyard tables. Joking aside, we’d recommend one of the gazebos–especially the waterfront one with views of Expedition Everest. The birds are large, aggressive, and much more common in the open areas now.
Speaking of the waterfront gazebo with views of Expedition Everest, this will also give you the chance to kill two birds with one stone (figuratively!) and also watch the character flotillas.
You should see 2-3 during the course of your meal, which should (hopefully) be good enough. Trust us, it can be painful sitting in the old Rivers of Light amphitheater waiting for all of them to pass.
Moving along to the menu at Flame Tree Barbecue, we have the Ribs and Chicken Combo.
Here’s our first recommendation change. In our previous review, we called this a worse value than the half slab of ribs. That was true at the time, but the half slab of ribs is no longer on the menu. Now, this is a more substantial portion than the St. Louis Rib Dinner, and it’s ~$1 cheaper. If you want to sample some of the signature barbecue at Flame Tree, this is the best option.
For “our” first two post-reopening meals at Flame Tree Barbecue, Sarah would just sit and watch me eat (protecting my feast from birds, Wonder Woman style) and then I’d do the same with her at Satu’li Canteen. This approach is obviously not recommended as it makes lunch take twice as long, but we usually have no shortage of time at Animal Kingdom–especially without the shows.
On our third visit, Sarah ordered the Hot Link Smokehouse Sandwich: Plant-based Sausage topped with a Tangy Mustard Barbecue Sauce, Slaw, and Crispy Onions on a House-made New England-style Roll. This is very similar to the Loaded Slaw Dog at Casey’s Corner, and likewise has a lot going on.
It’s unlike the other dishes at Flame Tree, and isn’t intended to “fool” anyone by approximating smoked meat. It’s more like an inventive twist on a hot dog, with nuanced flavor, and variety of textures.
While it might look like something that has been slow-aged on the roller at 7-11, don’t let the appearance fool you. The Hot Link Smokehouse Sandwich is delicious. We were both really impressed by this and would highly recommend it to vegetarians or vegans. It wouldn’t be my first choice at Flame Tree Barbecue as an avid carnivore, but it’s most certainly not a phoned-in plant-based option.
Next, the Baked Macaroni and Cheese topped with Smoked Pulled Pork, Onion Rings and Coleslaw.
This was added to the menu a few years ago, and has become my go-to “bang for buck” option at Flame Tree Barbecue. It’s not the best entree, but it’s very good and filling. The quality is really high on everything, with the smoked pulled pork providing that ‘signature’ Flame Tree flavor.
As a side note, you might’ve missed or skipped our “Fantastic Food at Disney World’s Worst Restaurant: Another Festivus Miracle!” right before Christmas.
While that focuses on a lot of holiday desserts that are now gone, it also reviews the Pulled Pork-topped Baked Macaroni & Cheese: Cavatappi Pasta with a Five-Cheese Blend topped with Pulled Pork. In our taste-test, that beat the Flame Tree BBQ dish on size, cost, texture, density, cheesiness, and flavor of the dish as a whole. Just something to consider if you’re in the EPCOT area and want some heavy comfort food! (That’s another dish that tastes much better than it looks.)
Finally, the flagship menu item at Flame Tree Barbecue has long been the ribs. Currently, this is known as the St. Louis Rib Dinner served with Beans and Coleslaw and is priced at $16.29.
Other recent incarnations of the same menu item were the Full Slab of St. Louis Ribs ($19.99) or Half Slab of St. Louis Ribs ($13.99) with the same sides, plus cornbread (now a $2 add-on). Those options were followed by the St. Louis Rib Dinner ($18.29). The latter item obviously has the same name as the current entree, but its menu photo previously featured 3 segments of ribs versus the current 2 sections.
We’ve done dozens of meals at Flame Tree Barbecue over the last 15 years. Above is our “we’ve got Disney Dining Plan credits to burn let’s have a royal feast!!!” order from 2007.
Depicted there are two things I really miss: generous portions at Flame Tree Barbecue and the Year of a Million Dreams!
Above is my most recent, post-reopening order of the St. Louis Rib Dinner at Flame Tree Barbecue. I did a poor job of photographing it, but the portion underneath is much smaller and thinner than the one on top (you can sort of see the white space between the beans and ribs). It’s hard to match the scale between the photos, but I’d say this portion is a little over one-third the size of the previous photo.
I was still hungry after finishing this more recent meal, which is a new sensation for me after dining at Flame Tree BBQ. Honestly, this left a bad taste in my mouth. Not literally–the ribs were fantastic, as always. However, it was a lot of money to pay for a counter service meal that was not filling. It’s hard to believe this was a one-off, as the portion size has been shrinking on the ribs each meal we’ve done at Flame Tree over the last ~4 years. This was just a new low.
Ultimately, the question of whether Flame Tree BBQ is still worth the money depends upon what you’re ordering. The St. Louis Ribs Dinner has long been one of my favorite counter service entrees in all of Walt Disney World, and that remains true to this day. However, it’s been incredibly frustrating to watch these ribs go from being a hearty portion to an insufficient one, all while the price has continued to climb.
This is not an uncommon occurrence with highly-hyped Walt Disney World restaurants or menu items; the same has happened with Le Cellier, ‘Ohana, Be Our Guest, Sunshine Seasons, and several others. At this point, I won’t order the St. Louis Ribs again until the Disney Dining Plan is back and we’re paying with the “monopoly money” of those credits. It’s still a delicious dish, but paying over $16 out of pocket for a less-than-filling meal is a rip-off.
The difference and saving grace of Flame Tree Barbecue is that other affordable and delicious items have been added to the menu. It’s hard to be too down on the restaurant when there are several excellent ~$11 options. The less expensive menu items offer solid value for money when paying out of pocket–we wouldn’t hesitate to order any of these again. In fact, Sarah enjoyed the Hot Link Smokehouse Sandwich so much that maybe in the future we won’t have to do separate meals at Satu’li Canteen and Flame Tree. To answer the questions, Flame Tree BBQ is simultaneously worth and not worth it, lives up to the hype and falls short of it. If you want to butcher a metaphor, it’s basically Schrödinger’s BBQ.
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YOUR THOUGHTS…
Have you dined at Flame Tree Barbecue recently? Do you think it still lives up to the hype and/or is worth the money out of pocket? Have you noticed portion sizes decrease here as prices have increased? Would you pick Flame Tree or Satu’li Canteen (or something else entirely) as the #1 counter service restaurant in Animal Kingdom? Think that Flame Tree Barbecue is still one of the elite quick service restaurants at Walt Disney World? Which menu items here do you like? What do you plan on trying? Do you agree or disagree with our review? 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!
We dined at Flame Tree Barbecue this December for lunch and really enjoyed it! It was one of our favorite meals and best meal of the day in AK. We sat overlooking the water away from the birds, the same area as your picture. (I never knew they could be such a problem! My girls were entertained by the little ones that would scavenge for crumbs when families left, but they never got close to us. We got some great pictures of the large cranes by the reflecting pool on the way out.) We had a chicken and brisket plate and both were well cooked (not overcooked) and the sides were enjoyable too. My daughter loved her mac and cheese. I think they even had a signature polar bear cupcake that we tried that was really tasty too, it was gingerbread and I don’t like gingerbread much, so that says a lot. I still want another one! The view of Expedition Everest was great and we had maaaaany fun floating character cavalcades drive by on the water, including Santa. My girls loved it! Flame Tree is a family favorite that has become a tradition in our family. Admittingly, the portion sizes have shrunk, the beans were quite good and there were not a lot of them. Haven’t had a bad meal there yet, and hope not to. Love the pics and the post about Dollywood, we live close to it and visit it often, but can’t wait to return to DW soon. We really miss Tusker House and the added fun of having a dining plan, we hope they both return before our next trip. With Tusker House being closed, what is your recommendation for best breakfast in AK at this time?
We ate at Flame Tree about 14 months ago and was rather underwhelmed. It was easily one of the more forgettable meals we had that week. Perhaps they have been steadily going downhill.
Flame Tree has become a favorite of ours, but not for the standard barbecue per se (it’s always seemed average from what I could tell)–it’s more for the Mac N Cheese with pulled pork. While Tom noted it as just being ok, in the past we thought it was quite good. We order it with the pork on the side and always have received generous portions. Most importantly, this is one of the ONLY places in WDW to get non-standard mac n cheese. The standard velveeta-y mac n cheese that you find at most counter services and even most sit down restaurants is not even appetizing to our 4 year old, who LOVES mac n cheese. This has been great for our picky eater and for us.
Side note: we went to Skipper Canteen last year and I asked about the mac n cheese there–the server admitted that they *used* to have house-made mac n cheese, but that it was now the standard stuff served everywhere. Ah well!
Will the Regal Eagle put pressure on Flame Tree to step up, or will it become the Tony Times Square in comparison to the superior World Showcase restaurant? Only Time and Tom will tell!
Thanks for the highly useful update.
I’m an avowed carnivore but I think Sarah had the right idea. When we went to AK last February, we did lunch at Satu’li, dinner at Flame Tree. The food at Satu’li was delicious, Flame Tree was decidedly average. On our previous visit several years prior (pre Pandora’s opening) we also did Flame Tree and I don’t remember being blown away then either, to me it has always felt like it’s reputation as a great option was more a lack of strong competition than actually being a good BBQ place.
If I’m paying Disney BBQ prices, it’s regal eagle hands down . Flame Tree is a tropical themed dump. I don’t know how they got an acceptable rating from the health inspector.
I had the BBQ Jackfruit Burger at Regal Eagle and I thought it was excellent. I almost didn’t bother looking at their menu because it was a bbq joint but I’m so glad I did. Now, I’m excited to try the plant-based option at Flame Tree. Never thought to look for plant-based eats there.
I understand that this post is about Flame Tree BBQ and whether it’s still worth it or even still good (because even for park food, it really never was). Dollywood has much better food in their theme park. That being said, I surely hope people are not going to Disney World for great food (quick service/festival/fine dining) because if so, they will be disappointed. Disney World has places to eat because you are hungry or you want ambiance – not because you want great food.
I want great food when I eat at Disney World!
We have found many wonderful places to dine at Disney World! That is one of our favorite reasons to go is to plan out all of the fabulous eats at our favorite restaurants and to find new restaurants and treats to try. It is harder with Covid and not nearly as many restaurants being open and many with limited menus. We really enjoyed the festival fare at our December trip in Epcot, Chef Mickey’s, and Flame Tree BBQ-all dining with open air spaces, as we are not dining indoors at this time, but can’t wait for more dining options to return in the new year.
Susan and Kirks – hear hear.
Perhaps I am just a food snob being from New Orleans and having really good food just about anywhere I just think for the outrageous amounts of money that I spent on food at Disney World it would’ve been better tasting. But everyone definitely has different tastes – guess I’m just used to seasoning and flavor on mine.
I miss the days where Disney World did those themed promotions like “Year of a Million Dreams.” It made the trips really special and the CMs did a great job with surprising guests even in little ways. I get so nostalgic when I see photos from that time…
Agree about the birds. Won’t go back, ever. Almost got pooped on twice. Food isn’t that great to go through that.
Tom, was at FlameTree BBQ over Christmas and it was once one of our favorites however this time my wife said it was overpriced Cafeteria food and I didn’t disagree. Our ribs and chicken were dried out, agreed it was not filling and sadly gave me Indigestion…
Haha Lorainecramer
Another coleslaw hater here. It seems to be present on every bbq plate no matter where you go. I ask to make sure it is not on my plate because if it touches something I cannot eat that part. I do not eat mayo so that’s the big problem.
My only issue with the place is trying to eat while trying to defend food from the birds – irritating!
P.S loved the Schrodinger line!
We ordered the pulled pork mac & cheese in December. Can’t believe how small the portions have become.
A fond memory – getting pecked by a giant bird while trying to defend my friend’s mac and cheese. The bird got away with a hefty hunk of pulled pork, alas.
Well I just read a few more comments. We ate at Regal Eagle at Epcot. My High school senior grandsons thought it was their favorite meal the whole trip. so my husband and I tried it. I thought it was good. But by far my fav burger during the week was the bison burger at Wilderness lodge. Delicious!!!
The Bison Burger at Geyser Point is my favorite meal on WDW property. We LOVE going there the day we arrive and eat at the tables right next to the water and just enjoy the view/food/drinks.
We went to flame tree last Friday. Good as usual. It’s the only place I eat at AK. I really enjoy it. We ate many other places this past week on our week of “get out of our state” can I say it was wonderful even with masks. By far my fav was Le Celier in Canada. Over all our favorite is Yachtsman steakhouse. But it’s not open. But our steak in Canada was excellent â¤ï¸
I don’t like Flame Tree BBQ anymore. I am a local and our go to restaurant at AK is Satuli. You just can’t beat it. Flame Tree used to be so good but I don’t think its great anymore. It is still ok, though.
Schrödinger’s BBQ. Nice!
I almost didn’t include that line because it doesn’t make complete sense if you think about it, but I thought it was nevertheless moderately amusing. Glad to see a couple of you seem to agree, thus far.
I liked “butcher a metaphor,” intended or not!
we will never not eat here. it’s staple for us every trip.
off-topic, i’d love to see them replace rivers of light with something more akin to world of color at california adventure. rivers of light was… odd. a show along the lines of world of color with all the effects would be very cool and a great use of the theater space.
Did you know that Dr. Schrodinger was a Bon Jovi fan?
His favorite song was “Wanted Dead and Alive”.
Jungle Cruise worthy….
I chuckled.
Not sure that’s high praise, though. You’ve seen the caliber of humor on this blog.
Good to know it’s not just me. Portions are smaller at Flame Tree as of early Dec 2020. I suggest walking a few feet further to Restaurantasaurus for an uninspiring BUT quick inexpensive filling lunch. I know you’re far from enamored with the place.
My opinion, #1 counter service at AK has to be Satu’li Canteen.
For BBQ…Love the BBQ at Regal Eagle and was still getting plenty of food as of the last week in Dec 2020. Sat outside and watched the Christmas entertainment across the way. Perfect!
can’t wait to try regal eagle whenever our next trip is.
It didn’t receive a ton of attention since the parks closed a few weeks after publication, but in our Regal Eagle Review (https://www.disneytouristblog.com/regal-eagle-smokehouse-review/) I actually compare it to Flame Tree and conclude the Muppet Meatery is better overall.
We’ve dined there several times since, and I stand by that. Regal Eagle has a lot of competition being in EPCOT, but it’s nice to see that location offer a menu that is *finally* worthy of American Adventure.
when we got our meal at the flame tree a couple of weeks ago, when I saw the serving size , I thought it was so small, but it was a decent size. what I didnt like about the pulled pork/ coleslaw, mac and cheese/ onion rings was everything was mixed together just enough tht I couldnt get all that cole slaw out of it. Cannot stand coleslaw, period , my husband cannot eat onions, so we tried to switch. It was a good serving size for us, There is aa place in rochester ny that has a plate called the garbage plate which people love, but I like my food a little more separated, this reminds me of it.
Hi Lorraine,
Was so interesting to see your reference to Nick Tahous.
My wife is originally from Rochester and she has never had the garbage plate because it is not appealing to her. On the other hand, Marty, one of her brothers is less discerning and loves it. I do like the occasional White Hot which is carried by Wegmans from Rochester to PA to NJ.
That said, next trip to Epcot you’ve got to try the Regal Eagle.