I’m getting out ahead of my Christmas in July trip report with some avant restaurant reviews! We’ll be starting with Steakhouse 71. Read all the posts in this trip report here. Onward!
Hello and welcome to this Steakhouse 71 restaurant review, which also serves as the inaugural post of my Thanksgiving Walt Disney World trip.
Hold on, hold on – didn’t I say I wouldn’t be posting a trip report for that particular excursion until July? Why yes, I did. However, between seven days of trip, a Christmas party, and at least one table service restaurant per day, we have a lot to cover. Besides, WDW restaurant menus are some of the most unstable information of the entire resort, so I’ll be publishing a few of my food posts in advance. We better get started before everything I gathered becomes useless!
Which leads us to…
STEAKHOUSE 71: ATMOSPHERE
Steakhouse 71 is located in the former location of the dearly departed The Wave restaurant, on the ground floor of The Contemporary resort. While you’re waiting for your table, be sure to check out the framed photos on the walls just outside the restaurant – they’re full of vintage Walt Disney World gems, like this shot of one of the Nautilus subs from the former 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea ride.
Inside, the dining area is what I might describe as a cross between a large cafeteria and a traditional steakhouse. The decor is done up in traditional steakhouse style, with dark woods and an air of understated elegance. On the other hand, the room is cavernous, with minimal mood lighting and minimal intimacy.
We had a table tucked into a corner, which is about as good as it gets. Romantic this place is not. But if you’re there with your kids – and let’s face it, a large chunk of Disney clientele is – then this may be a plus. We never had a problem hearing each other, so that’s definitely a positive.
DRINKS
It being the first night of our trip, it was time for a celebratory cocktail! For some reason I snapped a photo of both the cocktail list and the wine list? I guess past me didn’t trust the online menu to match. She might be on to something. The shadow of my cellphone really adds a certain something, wouldn’t you say?
I love a good champagne cocktail, so I selected the French 71, with cognac, pear nectar, agave syrup, lemon juice, and most importantly, prosecco.
If you are similarly pro-bubbles, this is definitely worth a try! Despite the agave syrup and pear nectar, the flavor profile is light and bright, with the lemon juice cutting through any potential heaviness with a zingy shot of acidity. Recommended.
But wait, there’s more! After our entrees, Pat and I shared the Curious Cold Brew: bourbon, coffee, maple, and vanilla bean cream. This is a fun twist on an Irish coffee, and was impressively smooth. If you prefer your coffee on the sweet side, however, this might not be your drink. There isn’t quite enough vanilla bean cream to tame the bitterness of the coffee combined with the bourbon – but then that’s true of most proper Irish coffees. If you like such a thing and you’re getting dessert anyway, why not?
Which leads us to…
FOOD
Follow along with the dinner menu here!
As a steakhouse, you might imagine Steakhouse 71 features a steak menu, and you would be correct. Each cut even comes with a side and single sauce included. What a deal!
If you can’t decide on the sauce, though, you can order a flight of all five our their house-made sauces for $6. Our server pushed the sauce flight pretty hard – she called it a must-do. Naturally we relented and ordered it, although personally I think it would’ve been nice if they came gratis with your entree. This might be why I’ve never been offered a position as CFO.
Anyway! The sauces in question (also pictured above) are as follows: red wine, whipped horseradish cream, au poivre, chimichurri, bernaise, their signature steak sauce, and wild mushroom. See descriptions in the image below.
I tried all five, and all were good, with the chimichurri being a particular standout. I wish the horseradish cream punched the horseradish a little harder, but then I’m a huge wasabi fan. That being said, I absolutely do not think you need to order the sauce flight. It’s a fun addition, and I wouldn’t say don’t order it, but it was way overhyped. These are some sauces. That is all.
After all that, I didn’t even order a steak. Sorry, but I’d heard really good things about the vegetable “Wellington:” mushroom duxelles and fire-roasted artichokes wrapped in puff pastry, Romesco, brussels sprouts. I know, I know; me and my plant-based entrees.
Unlike the sauces, my entree was NOT overhyped. I really enjoyed my vegetable Wellington! The rich umami of the mushrooms made a wonderful meat substitute, and the tomato and pepper based Romesco sauce provided a tangy juxtaposition. I don’t recall tasting the brussel sprouts much, but I think we can all forgive that. The puff pastry was perfectly baked, with an excellent bread-to-filling ratio. Vegans should flock here.
DESSERT
Oh, yes, and we ordered dessert! Unfortunately the beautiful apple tart tatin that graced our plate is no longer on the menu. See what I mean about restaurant instability? Still, look how pretty!
I did manage to dig up an old menu, and it describes this dessert as caramelized Granny Smith apples atop puff pastry alongside blackberry gelato.
And to be honest, there’s no need to mourn this one – it was… okay. It kinda tasted like undersweetened apple pie filling. The blackberry gelato was easily the start of this show. Oh, well, I guess they can’t all be plant-based winners.
SO SHOULD YOU GO TO STEAKHOUSE 71?
That depends. Although it’s quite good and the old school WDW-centric theme is fun, I’m not sure I’d go so far as to call it destination dining. Nor is it as upscale as, say, Yachtsman Steakhouse, Shula’s Steakhouse, or similar meat-centric restaurants on property. Although it is a bit cheaper…?
I wouldn’t necessarily say “only if you’re staying at The Contemporary,” however. The location is extremely convenient to a bunch of other places, specifically the Magic Kingdom and any of the other four Magic Kingdom-adjacent resorts (I’d consider that the Polynesian, Grand Floridian, Wilderness Lodge, and Fort Wilderness). I would indeed recommend it if you’re spending the day at the Magic Kingdom – you can walk if you don’t feel like you waiting for the monorail, and it’s a nice break from the crowds.
Basically, if you’re going to be nearby and you’d like to sit down for a meal in a cocoon of WDW nostalgia, Steakhouse 71 can’t be beat. Besides, I’d hate for you to settle for the limited cocktail menus of the Magic Kingdom. ;D
Don’t forget, you can follow FRoA on Twitter @fairestrunofall and on Instagram @fairestrunofall. If you have any questions or thoughts, leave a comment or email fairestrunofall@gmail.com. See ya real soon!
I do like the idea of a sauce flight! I’d definitely be interested in trying that – I don’t think they offered it when I first dined there.
It wasn’t mind-blowing, but it was certainly fun!