Casual family restaurant with great steak

TD1516

Earning My Ears
Joined
Apr 15, 2018
As the title says we are looking for recommendations for a casual family restaurant that serves great steak. We will also be bringing our five-year-old with us. Unfortunately the only things she really likes to eat at dinner time are chicken strips or pasta. My husband says he must be able to wear jeans and not have to get dressed up. The location doesn't matter as long as it's at DisneyWorld or Springs. As we would be dining here either on our arrival day. Or our rest day.

Thanks!!
 
As the title says we are looking for recommendations for a casual family restaurant that serves great steak. We will also be bringing our five-year-old with us. Unfortunately the only things she really likes to eat at dinner time are chicken strips or pasta. My husband says he must be able to wear jeans and not have to get dressed up. The location doesn't matter as long as it's at DisneyWorld or Springs. As we would be dining here either on our arrival day. Or our rest day.

Thanks!!
Like most every Disney restaurant (not named Victoria & Albert), dressing-up for dinner is optional.

Shula's has a great steak.

They also offer 'free' Camp Dolphin for your 5 y.o. (you have to purchase one entree) if you dine at a Signature like Shula's.

https://www.swandolphinrestaurants.com/campdolphin.html

Yachtman's Steakhouse is also very good, but we simply prefer the steak at Shula's.
 
As the title says we are looking for recommendations for a casual family restaurant that serves great steak. We will also be bringing our five-year-old with us. Unfortunately the only things she really likes to eat at dinner time are chicken strips or pasta. My husband says he must be able to wear jeans and not have to get dressed up. The location doesn't matter as long as it's at DisneyWorld or Springs. As we would be dining here either on our arrival day. Or our rest day.

Thanks!!
I would never wear jeans at Shula. I’m not sure any “ casual family restaurant “ , by your definition, has great steak. Great steak is generally at upscale, Signature Restaurants, with some exceptions
 


If you want great steak, I would definitely recommend one of the signature restaurants. You will see families at all of them and your husband can wear jeans. We really like Flying Fish on the Boardwalk - great steak and pasta on the kids menu. It's also a lot of fun to walk around the Boardwalk in the evening and see the jugglers and magicians.
 
Agree with the others that great steak at Disney is largely synonymous with Signatures. Yachtsman is our favorite, but just about every signature has a steak option. And you are in a theme park so jeans are perfectly fine in them as a lot of people come direct from the parks.

I haven't had steak there, but the Boathouse may be a good middle ground. They have a more casual atmosphere and food at several price points and steak in both traditional and sandwich (and burger) form.
 
We had excellent steak at California Grill. I wore jeans and a collared polo shirt. We did have a teen who wore jeans with holes in them. She was nicely dressed otherwise and nobody said a word. Steak was one of the best we had during our stay. Wife had Bison which she said was perfect.

Not many dressed up at California Grill but nobody was dress sloppy.

For non signature restaurants our steak at Grand Floridian Cafe was very good at about 1/2 the cost of California Grill but the latter was definitely better.
 


I do not recommend the Boathouse for beef

Our party of 10, about 5 of us ordered beef. Not 1 was cooked right and my order was never put in! When our server figured out mine was missing, they put a rush on it and it came out raw in the center. Gross

If you want a great steak, stick to the signature restaurants. Your husband can wear jeans and a nice polo, no problem.
 
I do not recommend the Boathouse for beef

Our party of 10, about 5 of us ordered beef. Not 1 was cooked right and my order was never put in! When our server figured out mine was missing, they put a rush on it and it came out raw in the center. Gross

If you want a great steak, stick to the signature restaurants. Your husband can wear jeans and a nice polo, no problem.

Boathouse is a signature restaurant; sorry your steaks weren't cooked properly and the server didn't count the order right. We haven't had that problem yet. So far my biggest service problem was a wrong drink order; I ordered a Campari and soda with lemon slices and recieved an orange soda with lemon slices instead, LOL. Easily remedied. To date our beef has been served properly same as our exquisitely fresh shellfish. Wasn't happy with the hoison sauce squirted over our the fried calamari so had them place it in a seperate dish (too much cornstarch) thereafter and bring extra lemon wedges.
 
The best steak I have had at Disney was at Yachtsmen Steak house which is located at the Yacht Club Resort. I wouldn't exactly call it a casual restaurant. Most of the best steaks on property are going to be found at the signature restaurants which depending on how you define casual, might not be your thing. You can wear jeans and casual clothes but the prices are higher and some people will be dressed nicely; there likely will be more adults than kids etc.

I would check the menus and make sure if you pick one of the signatures, that they offer chicken fingers or pasta for your 5 yo. Some of the signature restaurants have more limited kid selections and have things like salmon/grilled chicken as kid options. California grill comes to mind as a place that I would not classify as casual (others might) and does not have chicken fingers or plain pasta as kids choices.

I will go out on a limb and say that your "great steak" mileage will vary quite a bit at places in Disney that I would characterize as casual family dining (basically any restaurant in Disney that's not signature); I don't usually order steak unless I'm at a more upscale place where I assume it will be good so can't offer much help there.
 
Your at Disney World. Kids are welcome anywhere with the exception of V&A. All of the restaurants have a kids menu, and the majority of the menus feature chicken strips and / or pasta - you can double check on the online menus to see which ones have the grilled chicken option versus the fried strips. My DDs pretty much don't eat anything and we can always cobble something together at any of the Disney Signature restaurants that they will eat.

Jeans are perfectly acceptable with a collared shirt. You will see people more dressed up at some of the signature restaurants in the resorts because they may not have come straight from the parks, but even then it isn't super fancy (with the exception of V & A). How good the steaks are is pretty subjective as to what each individual considers a good steak.
 
I would vote for STK as it will be a shorter meal yes a little more adult themed but fine to bring kids. As far as jeans.... I have seen everything from suites to jeans and a sport jacket to a pullover hoodie and jeans at michelin star restaurants in NY... If you are paying you can dress as you want so long as it is within the guidelines and today in most places those are very loosely enforced... Do not understand it today jeans in general cost more than a suit these days.
 
What's your definition of "great steak"? Most of the places people listed will be able to competently cook a steak. I would not hesitate to wear jeans anywhere listed either.
 
As the title says we are looking for recommendations for a casual family restaurant that serves great steak. We will also be bringing our five-year-old with us. Unfortunately the only things she really likes to eat at dinner time are chicken strips or pasta. My husband says he must be able to wear jeans and not have to get dressed up. The location doesn't matter as long as it's at DisneyWorld or Springs. As we would be dining here either on our arrival day. Or our rest day.

Thanks!!

Two words for you that haven't been mentioned:
Mama Melrose.

I suspect that that there will be about a 50/50 split of haters /non-haters.
Do research on their steak. You might be surprised at the love.

I'd also go to any signature in jeans. If they don't want my money, somebody else will. I guarantee it.
 
The best steak I've had at WDW was years ago at Yak n Yeti. This last July DH got the VERY expensive ribeye at CG and he said it wasn't good. I told him that's what he gets for ordering beef in FL. (But others are recommending it) If you're from the Midwest or are a steak connoisseur...buyer beware.
 

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