Polite Pig Review
The Polite Pig is a counter service restaurant in Disney Springs at Walt Disney World, with a menu focusing on BBQ. In this review, we’ll share food photos from our meal here, thoughts on the Polite Pig, and whether we’d recommend it to those visiting Walt Disney World. In terms of basics, the Polite Pig is on the Disney Dining Plan as a 1-credit counter service restaurant and offers an Annual Passholder discount of 10%.
Disney Springs has seen a well-documented boom in the quantity and quality of restaurants in the last several years, something that has put it on the map for us as a must-do each trip for at least two meals. With so many new restaurants opening, there normally wouldn’t be much fanfare for a counter service restaurant. Sure, D-Luxe Burger and Blaze Pizza received a lot of buzz last year, but other ‘fast food’ restaurants have flown under the radar.
For the Polite Pig, the scenario was different. Rather than being the 3845th restaurant from a conglomerate, the Polite Pig is the sister location to the Ravenous Pig, a gastropub in Winter Park, Florida created by a husband and wife team. I had heard unanimously rave reviews from everyone I know who has dined at Ravenous Pig, and that plus the local, family-owned nature of Polite Pig really had me excited for it. Unfortunately, it did not live up to our expectations…
First, let’s start with what the Polite Pig is. I classified it as counter service before, but that’s not entirely accurate. It’s part of the growing fast casual restaurant movement.
In this context, that means you order at a counter, go sit down, and someone brings your food to you after wandering around searching for you for a couple minutes, never to be seen again during the course of your meal. In exchange for this wonderful service, you “get” to tip!
Oh yes my friends, fast casual is the way of the future.
I know Disney blogs are where people come for hard-hitting viewpoints on social issues, but I’ll still spare you my take on the United States’ antiquated tipping practice.
Just keep in mind while perusing Polite Pig’s menu that you’ll be adding 15-20% on to those totals, which makes the already high prices even higher.
Thematically, I guess you could say the Polite Pig is “streamlined hipster” with a pig motif and some very light flourishes of Southern charm.
Note: I just made up the term streamlined hipster, and even I don’t know what it means. Basically, there is no theme. It’s fairly nondescript, but “feels” a lot like any ole hipster restaurant.
Decades from now, anthropologists are going to wonder why so many designs were created in such a similarly boring style.
Let’s move on to the food…
Noticing that the menu prices for the sandwiches were without a side (add another $4 for one of those), we thought we’d “cleverly” order items “From the Smoker” (which include a side) to get more bang for our buck. I chose the Brisket and Sarah chose the Pork Shoulder.
When our order arrived, we were a bit shocked to see the portion sizes. If ever you’ve complained about the dishes at the Epcot International Food & Wine Festival being “too small” then I can tell you right now, the Polite Pig is not for you. This is BBQ served on cardboard, not a multi-course meal of meticulously-plated haute cuisine.
To compound this disappointment, no less than half of my brisket was fat. I get that brisket is a fatty dish, and some trimming to taste comes with the territory, but that’s the reason why brisket is generally a larger dish. Moreover, some degree of trimming usually occurs in the kitchen.
The portions of my dish that were edible were fantastic, and the coffee rub added tremendous flavor and texture…but this should’ve never left the kitchen with that much fat on it. (To put this into perspective, the Le Cellier filet mignon I had at last year’s Food & Wine Festival was larger than the edible portion of this dish.)
Sarah’s Pork Shoulder was similarly a very small dish; fortunately, it did not have this issue with fat, but it did have its own issue with taste. The meat was dry and lacking in flavor.
We remedied this with some of the Polite Pig’s delicious BBQ sauces, but that misses the point. I don’t think it’s too much to ask to expect to be able to enjoy meat–especially at these prices and portion sizes–without “enhancing” its flavor with a liberal application of BBQ sauce.
The sides were a totally different story. For mine, I ordered the Mac & Cheese with Aged Cheddar and Breadcrumbs. This was fantastic. A comfort food staple, this was rich, creamy, and had an exceptional texture.
Honestly, I could see grabbing this as a heavy snack to tide myself over until a full meal (elsewhere) on a return visit to Disney Springs.
Sarah ordered the BBQ Cauliflower with Paprika Sour Cream, which she absolutely loved. Raved about it even after our meal.
I’m not the best judge of a dish like this, but I found it better than okay. Considering my stance on cauliflower is “not even if my life depended on it,” that’s basically a rave review. I still would never order it on my own, but I wouldn’t choose death over eating this entire side, either. Baby steps.
The rolls were also fine (the online menu calls them Texas Toast, but ours most definitely were not–more like a slightly more buttery version of King’s Hawaiian Rolls).
Altogether, it was not a particularly filling meal and we both left hungry. I suppose this was fine for us, as we intended upon ordering a variety of desserts afterwards at Amorette’s Patisserie (which never disappoints!), but it would probably leave the average Walt Disney World guest a bit miffed.
Part of me really wants to believe our experience was a one-off, or part of early operations growing pains. However, our meal was nearly two months after they opened, and portions & prices are not exactly “one-off” type of things. Sure, maybe we could’ve been unlucky with the fat on the brisket or the dryness of the pork, but even if those dishes had tasted perfect, we still would’ve left hungry, and after having spent a lot of money.
I’m still cheering for the Polite Pig to get it right. It would seem that the husband and wife team behind the Ravenous Pig would know what they’re doing considering the popularity of their original location, but maybe they’re spread too thin here? Or, perhaps they took Rizzo the Rat’s, “they’re tourists, what do they know?” advice to heart when creating this sister location. Given the prices, we are not exactly eager to find out–at least not until we start hearing more positive things about the restaurant.
There is one caveat to this review: if you’re on the Disney Dining Plan, the Polite Pig is an (objectively) excellent use of a counter service credit. No, it won’t make the portion sizes larger or flavor better, but it will take the sting out of the prices, which is a big part of the battle.
Moreover, if you’re already doing a table service dinner at Disney Springs (as you should), a light lunch is not necessarily a bad thing. I would not recommend the Polite Pig over D-Luxe Burger regardless of Dining Plan status, but that’s your obviously your call to make. (Even I would disregard my own advice if I had a counter service credit to burn on those St. Louis Ribs.)
If you are not on the Disney Dining Plan, I think doing a light meal at Homecomin’ (read our Homecomin’ Review) or Boathouse (read our Boathouse Review) makes a lot more sense. There are comparable, low-cost menu options at each of those restaurants that present viable alternatives. You’ll have a better and larger meal, pay about the same price, and have a full-service experience.
Overall, the Polite Pig is a strong concept with less than stellar execution that fails to live up to both the reputation of its sister restaurant and, independently, the high menu prices it charges. When you can order a larger, better, and cheaper meal from a table service restaurant at Disney Springs, something is amiss. The Polite Pig needs to address at least one of those three variables, otherwise it will earn a “why bother?” response from Walt Disney World guests.
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Your Thoughts
Have you dined at the Polite Pig? What did you think of your meal? Agree or disagree with our assessment? What did you order? Other tips for a meal at the Polite Pig? Any questions? Hearing your feedback about your experiences is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts or questions below in the comments!
Mmmm! If the food is that bad & service non existent why tip? They need to get into the 21st Century!
I’m a Brit so no I don’t tip in that kind of scenario. Crumbs even restaurants in Spain & Italy now don’t expect tips now. Think I might be in for some trouble on our visit to Disneyworld in October!
I will admit I was really excited for this restaurant when DFB posted about it coming to Disney Springs, but your review fell in line with other online reviews, EasyWDW & DFB, and with all the tipping and it was a table service credit, now a counter service credit… I don’t think I will be visiting. I would rather spend my money at Homecomin’. I trust your reviews, so thank you for always being honest and considering the value of a dining location. One thing that might be interesting is their pitchers of cocktails, but even some reviews of those have been premixed and not as good as other places in Disney Springs.
The fat is the best part! You just have to get past the thought of it…and the heart attack. But don’t discard it until you try it.
We ate here not too terribly long ago after a day at the parks. Our meal was fine, but did note that the portion was a bit on the small side, a few more ounces would make it worth while in our opinion. I also think meat should be able to stand on its own, without sauce. Theirs was fairly decent on its own.
I was very disappointed at the service and the tipping at the payment time. Our service was not worth what we tipped, and I almost went back to have it adjusted. I wanted a second cardboard bowl to split our meal with, it didn’t show up until well after we were done. The place wasn’t all that busy either.
” culinary exorcism”. That is genius!
This sounds like the exact experience I had. I was relaying my own Polite Pig tale the other day to some relatives. I ordered the brisket. The very small portion that wasn’t fat was delicious, but the fat was at least half of the already-minute portion. The mac and cheese was a delightful side! However, the brisket experience left such a metaphorical bad taste in my mouth that I cannot recommend this restaurant if someone wanted my honest opinion. 🙁
I haven’t tried the Polite Pig yet, but I did eat at the Ravenous Pig a few years ago and found it to be over hyped. I would argue Orlando and the surrounding area (Winter Park, Altamonte Springs etc) doesn’t have the best food scene so the Ravenous Pig didn’t have a lot of competition, hence the rave reviews for something that would pass as just ok in another big city.
While I have absolutely zero firsthand experience with this, I did read something a year or so ago about a cultural boom in the Orlando area. From the sounds of that, “boom” is relative, as before it was a weak city on dining, entertainment, etc., but progress is progress.
Great review Tom (honestly any review featuring a Rizzo the Rat joke automatically moves up a notch in quality!).
I’ve been going back and forth between trying out here or D-Luxe Burger on our upcoming trip. We have never eaten at either and this review has made that decision a lot easier I think. We will be on the dining plan but I’m still taking quality over dining plan value.
I was also debating between the two.
D-Luxe Burger it is.
And I will definitely return to Homecomin’, as it was absolutely amazing on my visit last year.
We have a few BBQ places like this in Maryland (Misison BBQ), the first time we went I didn’t realize that they split the brisket cuts into “Moist” = from the point and covered in fat, or “Lean” = from the flat and basically has no fat on it. I’m wondering if they have the same split here where you can order from the point or the flat since larger restaurants like this order the whole brisket and cook them together to add some of the fat moisture to the leaner flat end. In any case I’m disappointed to read the overall impression here since we love a good BBQ place and would like to be able to add that as an option in Disney Springs.
There was no option here, unfortunately. Maybe it could’ve been specified, regardless, though?
We ate there on our trip and was less than impressed.but then I got thinking to make good bbq takes time and when your trying to feed as many people as they are quality is going to suffer
Full disclosure: I am a French person. We usually tip a few euros if the service was fine, but the salary of the staff is included in the meal. Thus I find the tipping issue very strange and so for several reasons:
1. it’s super hard to estimate your final bill when you’re a dumb-dumb like me, and it kind of breaks the mood to break out the calculator to see how much your meal will end up costing.
2. I know this is cultural but I HATE IT when servers circle around me during my meal saying things like “Are you still working on that?” (what does that even mean) or “are you enjoying yourself?” I also hate it when shop people follow me around so I think this is a French thing. When American friends come to France, they find our service standards appalling and I’m sure they are right.
3. I find it strange that with tips sometimes servers are paid more than cooks. I know serving is a hard and worthy job, but isn’t the point of a restaurant the food? Why shouldn’t the cook be tipped?
I know our blog host has told us he is against tipping culture, but I’m curious if any people here like the tipping thing- I’ve also heard that it’s impossible to maintain a restaurant in America if you pay people actual minimum wage, so that tipping makes restaurants possible? I find that very astonishing!
I’ll go back to my usual hobby of looking gallically angry at people and dusting off my berets during my obscenely long holidays.
I’m not French, but I completely agree with your viewpoints on tipping. I also do not enjoy when retail workers bother you when you are trying to shop. I would probably like to come shopping in France! I also enjoy looking angrily at people, but sadly do not have any berets to dust off. In all seriousness, I have many of the same issues with tipping that you brought up. I also am curious if most people usually tip at restaurants like this where someone brings you your food, but doesn’t do anything else that servers typically do. I have never tipped at these sort of places, but now I am wondering if most people do.
a point to consider regarding retail workers lurking is many of our jobs require us to pester customers. i hate approaching customers which are just browsing and clearly don’t need help, but when it comes down to potentially losing my job because i’m not greeting/helping enough… i go up to everyone in my store. i can’t speak for all retail employees, but most i’ve talked to feel the same, and understand that a polite “i’m just browsing” is enough to move on to the next customer.
@meredith – I think/hope most people understand the catch 22 position retail workers are in. I don’t mind it once when in a store, but my gut response when I’m “pestered” a second time is, “are they hovering around me because they think I’m going to steal this or something?”
The logical reaction of “…eh, maybe, but they’re probably just doing their job” follows.
Having worked in the service industry, I know Americans are about as high maintenance as they come.
Regardless of where you stand on tipping, for America, it’s much more complicated than simply eliminating tipping. In many states, it’s legal to pay servers or other primarily tipped positions below minimum wage. No one–at least to my knowledge–is advocating for them to make below minimum wage. (In fact, I think you’d find that a lot of Americans who advocate for eliminating tipping also advocate for raising minimum wage.)
As for it being impossible to maintain a restaurant in the United States while paying minimum wage…nearly any American business owner will assert that raising wages will put them out of business. It does not make it so. Such restaurants exist throughout Europe and Asia, and if that’s not proof positive (if it’s for some reason “different” since they are not America), there’s a growing anti-tip movement among restauranteurs in New York, Chicago, San Francisco, and Los Angeles. To my knowledge, all of those restaurants are still in business.
I think a lot of Americans would prefer the French approach to the service industry *if* we were brought up in that culture. Since we were not, it seems weird to us. The same can be said about pretty much any familiar or unfamiliar aspect of a culture. 🙂
I agree it’s a cultural difference! I’m very aware that what is done in my country is neither the norm nor better. Just adding my thoughts to the discussion. Hopefully soon you’ll discuss social security and pensions so I can add less than useful comparisons to my country!
I live in Seattle (area) where they instituted the $15 minimum wage, and I did have friends in college who served at Red Robin and one girl’s pay was $2 an hour?! She had worked in Colorado (her hometown) and worked in Seattle at the same chain (burger chain) and they kept the Colorado rate, which seems ridiculous!
I know Ivers in Seattle eliminated tipping, and paid each of their minimum wage workers $15 an hour, and they just raised their prices, which honestly I like better. I also know small business owners and they said with the new laws it is really hard to manage finances because they are offering high school students/college students $15 minimum wage, benefits and paid time off. The way around that is to not offer full-time jobs and have only a few people be full time and most people be full-time. AND their restaurant still tips! I wish they would just offer minimum wage to servers, raise prices and eliminate tipping. I know a lot of people who claim their tips for income tax and they end up owing hundreds because they get cash tips throughout the year and nothing is taxed. Then if they don’t claim it, it will be hard not to prove tax fraud/evasion if your taxable wage is less than your living expenses.
Whoops *only a few people be part time
Had to comment on the tipping. I waited tables all throughout college and grad school, so am pretty familiar with what is expected. While I consider myself to be a generous tipper at regular table service restaurants, I certainly do not tip the same amount for buffets or “wait in line, order, go and sit, someone drops it off” establishments. For these types of meals, I will generally tip 10%, unless it is an actual holiday, in which case I tip 20%.
This is where it gets confusing. Laws vary state-by-state as to what qualifies as a tipped position, and the wages that position receives. In Florida, is the person bringing the food to your table a tipped position, and thus, making under minimum wage? If so, a lower tip means a lower wage for them.
In California, even tipped positions (like restaurant servers) must be paid minimum wage. Meaning it’s no ‘issue’ to give only a 10% courtesy tip to the person running your order to you. In Florida, that might not be the case. As much as I might be against tipping, I participate in the system as long as it exists, and I don’t want to be the “reason” someone does not make a living wage.
Tom, people who run your food to you, or those who work buffets, automatically make the minimum wage, even in the states where paying servers below the minimum wage exists. This is how the restaurants get people to do these jobs. Otherwise, nobody would agree to do them when they could work a sit-down regular table and make regular tips.
Also, I wanted to add that even if this were NOT the case, the individuals running these tables can handle a lot more tables than traditional table service. Therefore 10% at each table is sufficient and they will make wages similar to servers at traditional table service restaurants.
As I stop by the springs at least once every other week while in the area on business, I thank you for this review lol. I literally almost stopped by just last week but held off. That said, I’m curious as to what your thoughts were on the beer selection? In my brief passing, it looked half decent; which is saying a lot for the Springs. Perhaps some Mac n Cheese and beer for my next visit for dinner? Anyway, as always, thank you!
Your review seems like many others I have read regarding the polite Pig. Thus it’s going to be a pass from me. Regarding the tipping, do they bus your table or just deliver the food? Were drink refills offered? I would say that a fast casual restaurant doesn’t require the 15-20% of a typical restaurant since less service is being provided. A fast casual restaurant should therefore get a few bucks or maybe 10% tip? While I don’t agree with the way tipping occurs (I’d rather see a flat service charge added to my bill) I generally tip well at sit down restaurants (18-20% but more if I’m at a cheaper full service restaurant such as a Denny’s)
chiming in from texas.
right now a pound of quality brisket prepared well (wood fire smoker, 10+ hours) will put you back $16 to $20. just the meat. from the pictures, that looks like about a half pound so it’s does seem steep but the availability of quality brisket is probably a hurdle in florida.
and brisket is actually two pieces of meat. one is the “flat” which is more meaty (and often overdry) and the other is the “point” which tends to have more fat. when cooked well, many people prefer the “point” because it’s richer but, personally, i have found it can be overwhelming.
one big problem with doing good barbecue in this kind of setting is the period of time to prepare versus the demands of a daily restaurant. all of the best BBQ places in texas right now are first-come-first-serve because it’s impossible to make it to order. you cook what you cook and that’s what you sell the next day. this isn’t going to fit disney springs so well.
i imagine balancing all of this is what this restaurant is trying to achieve. i’m very interested in trying it out when i’m back down there and seeing how well they are meeting that mark.
I really don’t think I will go there,not because of the tipping because if they go through all that hard work they definitely deserve something, because the food really sounds atrocious. Maybe they will do something to the menu to make it better but first appearances need to be in very good order for a restaurant. If a customer comes in and they leave happy they will usually tell their friends, who will go and tell their friends and so on. If the opposite is true it is very hard for a restaurant to catch on
“I really don’t think I will go there,not because of the tipping because if they go through all that hard work they definitely deserve something…”
To clarify, my position on tipping has absolutely nothing to do with being cheap or wanting workers to be underpaid. To the contrary, I think wages for restaurant servers should be fair.
Putting the onus on the customer to ensure a server (or any position) receives a fair wage is problematic and raises a host of unintended consequences. At an international tourist destination like Walt Disney World, it also causes problems, as the vast majority of the world does not have a tipping culture like ours.
Sorry I was trying to show the absurdity of their viewpoint. I definitely would not say they work hard enough for a tip by bringing your paid for food to you. Sorry if you had a misunderstanding
A “BBQ” place that serves cauliflower? What type of commie restaurant did you go to, Bricker?
In their defense, they were trying to BBQ the vegetable right out of the cauliflower. It was basically a culinary exorcism! 😉
I, at first, thought he was a commie too, until I found out he’s from Iowa, bout sums it up!
It’s a shame you didn’t like it. Would you consider giving it a second chance? (Just curious)
I went with my husband and we both really enjoyed our meal. He had the fried chicken sandwich – which was huge and messy. And I had the southern pig (no mayo because ew) which was also pretty big and equally messy. We also opted to share the BBQ cauliflower and the orange blossom honey cake. We found all the items we tried to be really good, albeit overpriced.
Ordering is a bit wonky and pricey because almost everything is individually priced, but it’s a restaurant we’d revisit.
Unrelated to the food, but worth mentioning: The restaurant only has 2? restrooms. I could only find one and had to wait for like 5+ minutes. There’s only 1 men and 1 women individual restroom in the back and it’s a tiny hallway to wait in line. C’mon, when a girl has to tinkle or wash up after some messy BBQ gimme a bathroom!
I’m willing to give *any* restaurant a second chance, but there needs to be cause for such a chance. A menu change, positive words from people I trust, etc.
As it stands, I would not revisit Polite Pig absent one of those things.
I also noticed the restroom situation, but didn’t think to comment on it in the review. If it’s really an emergency and the restrooms are occupied, there are large Disney Springs restrooms right around the corner (FWIW). Doesn’t excuse the situation inside, but might be a helpful tip!
I am in total agreement with all of this. I was excited to try The Polite Pig, not only because of its connection to the raved-about Ravenous Pig, but also because a good barbecue joint is something I think Disney Springs could really benefit from. Unfortunately, my experience was similar to yours. I ordered the brisket, and mine too was way fattier than it had any business being. For my side I ordered the “baked beans (with lemon, tomato, and bacon).” I understand wanting to add an interesting twist to a classic side item, but sometimes a person just wants a hearty helping of barbecue baked beans to go with his brisket. These were not that. I found the flavor combination to be very strange, and the pieces of bacon on top were so hard I physically could not bite into them. (I gave up after three tries in fear of breaking my teeth!)
At first I thought I was being over-critical because we have a pretty good number of EXCELLENT barbecue places here in Nashville, but my friends who were with me agreed the food was disappointing. I’d be eager to give it another try if some changes are made to the menu, but until then you can probably find me at D-Luxe Burger or The Boathouse. (P.S. I’m so glad you gave Amorette’s a shoutout. Sometimes I get the feeling it hasn’t quite caught on yet, but I have yet to try something I didn’t thoroughly enjoy.)
Walt Disney World, in general, could use more good BBQ. (To be sure, I doubt anyone anywhere has ever said: “this place has TOO MUCH good BBQ.” 😉 )
As for Amorette’s, it took us way too long to finally ‘discover’ it. Since we did, it has become a regular dessert stop in Disney Springs for us. I should probably get around to doing a review of it soon. I think you’re right–it’s still under the radar…
Are you no longer giving ratings out of 10?