Lunch Review: Liberty Tree Tavern at Magic Kingdom

Liberty Tree Tavern is a table service restaurant in Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World, serving traditional American comfort food. In this review, we’ll focus on the a la carte lunch menu, share food photos, how this compares to other WDW dining options, and also offer thoughts on the All-You-Can-Eat Bill of Fare.

For starters, Liberty Tree Tavern participates in the Disney Dining Plan as a one credit table service meal. It also accepts the Tables in Wonderland card for a 20% discount. Liberty Tree Tavern is not a good value on the Disney Dining Plan (click to see top restaurants for maximizing your bang for buck on the Dining Plan). It’s not a terrible value, either–more middle of the road, especially the a la carte lunch menu.

We’ve been a bit tough on Walt Disney World restaurants serving indulgent comfort foods. Another popular Magic Kingdom location, Tony’s Town Square Restaurant, earned scathing criticism. More recently, Mama Melrose’s Ristorante Italiano at DHS was the subject of a not-so-positive review. While both are Italian restaurants, they’re similar in nature to Liberty Tree Tavern. However, unlike both, we thoroughly enjoy Liberty Tree Tavern. This restaurant is very good at what it does…

While those aforementioned reviews might suggest otherwise, I’m a total sucker for guilty pleasure cuisine. I love comfort foods, and actively embrace the occasional food coma. What I’m not a sucker for is paying premium prices for meals that taste like they were sourced from the frozen foods section of Publix.

Thankfully, Liberty Tree Tavern does not suffer from this problem. Its menu is like a smorgasbord of items you could find on your table at Thanksgiving, and just like those, most of these dishes could pass as something home-cooked by grandma. Perhaps that’s all you need to know about Liberty Tree Tavern?

In terms of theme, Liberty Tree Tavern is solid. As with Liberty Square itself, it feels like colonial era America, much like what you’d find in Williamsburg, Virginia. Upon closer inspection, you’ll find a treasure trove of details, including dining rooms that each pay homage to a different Founding Father of the United States.

It’s a lot like nearby Columbia Harbour House, which I absolutely love. Both have inviting and homey sensibilities, and their base design is calming. As with the second floor of Columbia Harbour House, Liberty Tree Tavern could be the perfect place for decompressing and relaxing after a long day in Magic Kingdom.

It could be, but that’s never been the case for us. In every experience we’ve had at Liberty Tree Tavern, it’s packed and loud. The lobby is usually bursting at the seams, and fills the entire restaurant with noise. It’s still nice in terms of atmosphere, and this is hardly criticism of the restaurant itself…it just is what it is.

Someday, we really need to dine at Liberty Tree Tavern during a huge storm or book the last seating and linger until it’s actually peaceful. I’m certain that second-floor Columbia Harbour House vibe exists here, it’s just a matter of timing. Gorging myself on the Patriot’s Platter then enjoying my food coma in peace sounds blissful.

Moving on to this meal, we started with the Lobster Fritters: “Fried Lobster and Sweet Corn Fritters with Grilled Lemon Aïoli.”

As could probably be expected, these were light on the lobster and heaving on the corn fritter. Nonetheless, they were good, especially when accompanied by the aioli. There was just enough lobster present to give the sense that they weren’t just breading, and the sweet corn flavor worked well with the creamy aioli. I’d definitely order these again; I don’t think Sarah would.

Next, the Traveler’s Loaded Tavern Fries: “Crisp Fries, Creamy Beer-Cheese Sauce, House-smoked Pastrami, and Pickled Red Onion.”

These were a hit. The beer cheese was fantastic, and worked excellently with the pastrami. Quality ingredients all around, but a small portion for the price. We’d both order these again, but the Lobster Fritters would be my first choice.

For her entree, Sarah ordered the Revolutionary Meatloaf: “Plant-based Meatloaf, Mashed Potatoes, Roasted Root Vegetables, and Mushroom Gravy.”

This is supposedly made using Impossible Burger, and that would check out in terms of flavor. It had that smoky flavor that (I assume) works well in a burger, but perhaps not quite as much in a meatloaf. It was still good, just a tad unexpected as compared to the normal dense and semi-sweet and tangy flavor of meatloaf. The vegetables, potatoes, and gravy were all good. Despite seeming a bit ‘off’ as compared to normal meatloaf, Sarah would order it again.

Here’s the Portobello Pot Roast: “Hearty Mushrooms, Roasted Root Vegetables, and Brown Gravy.”

This is a sharp contrast to the Revolutionary Meatloaf. Here, you’re getting more or less the same dish, except with more mushrooms and no Impossible Burger. Those patties aren’t cheap, and these mushrooms are nothing special, so you’d expect the Revolutionary Meatloaf to be a bit more expensive. Not the case, as this is inexplicably $3 more. It’s not terrible, but there’s literally no reason to order this over the Revolutionary Meatloaf.

For my entree, I ordered the BELL Burger: “Applewood-smoked Bacon, Cheddar, Poached Egg, Lettuce, and Lobster.”

That’s what a $25 burger at Walt Disney World looks like. I remember the good ‘ole days…around 5 years ago…when Carthay Circle Restaurant did the unprecedented and unthinkable by introducing a $20 gourmet burger. Disneyland locals lost their minds, contending that a burger should never cost $20. It was (and still is) an exceptional burger, yet that price was (and still is) difficult to stomach. Nowadays, $20+ burgers seem to be the norm rather than the exception at Disney table service restaurants.

It’s topped with bacon and lobster, so there’s at least some justification for the high cost. Personally, I thought the burger patty itself was good enough to stand on its own, and found that the lobster didn’t add much.

To the contrary, I ended up removing most of the lobster and eating that by itself after a couple of bites of the burger, because it was simply too large to eat everything together. I’m a strong proponent of novelty burgers at Walt Disney World counter service restaurants, as those toppings mask subpar beef. Here, the beef is excellent.

I don’t regret ordering this and found the separate components to be solid. However, if a burger is what you’re in the mood for, I’d recommend opting for the (cheaper) regular Bacon Cheddar Cheeseburger.

Next, Our Tavern Keeper’s Favorite: “Pot Roast, Mashed Potatoes, and Garden Vegetables.”

It’s these top-of-menu entrees (pot roast, turkey pot pie, and carved turkey) that are in Liberty Tree Tavern’s wheelhouse. Iconic items that deliver exactly what you want and rarely disappoint. This pot roast was perfect–tender with just the right amount of fattiness to deliver the perfect flavor. The meat doesn’t even need that mushroom gravy, but it certainly doesn’t hurt. Highly recommended.

This brings us to the family-style all-you-can-eat Bill of Fare Patriot’s Platter that is available on the lunch menu and your exclusive option at dinner. If I had the choice, this is absolutely what I’d order. The Bill of Fare is an exact re-creation of the first Thanksgiving feast, right down to the Ooey Gooey Toffee Cake and Coca-Cola.

Currently, this Bill of Fare costs $38 and includes Roasted Turkey Breast, Pot Roast, and Oven-roasted Pork with Mashed Potatoes, Seasonal Vegetables, Herb Stuffing, and House-made Macaroni and Cheese. Given menu prices, this is worth about $24. However, this is all-you-can-eat, so we could probably bump that number up a bit.

The Bill of Fare also includes a drink, which we’ll value at $4 and the Declaration Salad, which we’ll value at $0 (only a fool eats salad when bottomless meat is on the menu). Add to that a trio of desserts, including the iconic Ooey Gooey Toffee Cake, which we’ll say are worth $12 total. By our conservative estimates, that’s $40 worth of food–and possibly much more if you’re a big eater.

More importantly, the Bill of Fare gives you choices and flexibility. Let’s say the pot roast isn’t your jam or the turkey breast is atypically dry. Simply pivot to the oven-roasted pork, mashed potatoes, and mac & cheese. Or eat more Ooey Gooey Toffee Cake. “If you can dream it, you can do it.”

Oh, as for the new desserts at Liberty Tree Tavern, we ordered the Blueberry Citrus Fritters, Cherry-Almond Tart, and Boston Cream Whoopie Pie.

None of these were bad, but they also were not anything special. It felt criminal ordering these when the iconic Ooey Gooey Toffee Cake is right there, but such is the nature of blogging. You often don’t order what you want. Anyway, get that and don’t bother with any of these.

Overall, our meal was a bit hit or miss, but we expected that given what we “had” to order. If you go in to a meal at Liberty Tree Tavern knowing this is American comfort food and stick with the menu’s highlights (or even order that vegan Revolutionary Meatloaf), you are unlikely to be disappointed. I’d still pick Skipper Canteen or Be Our Guest Restaurant for dinner over this, but I recognize those are “controversial” choices (and the latter may not even be an ADR option). Liberty Tree Tavern is not the objectively-best table service restaurant at Magic Kingdom and it’s arguably a bit overpriced for what it is, but it’s nonetheless a very satisfying dining experience that consistently delivers with tried and true favorites that are unlikely to disappoint.

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Your Thoughts

Have you dined at Liberty Tree Tavern? If so, how were your experiences with the cuisine? Are you a fan of the Thanksgiving-style cuisine, or do you think Liberty Tree Tavern is overrated? 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!