Why Does Summer House Appear Whenever I Am Near?

Summer House on the Lake Disney Springs giant cinnamon roll

Hello and welcome to my Dopey Challenge 2025 trip report! Today I’ll be reviewing our post-race brunch at Summer House… among other Summer Houses. Read all the entries in this report here. Onward!

Everywhere I go, there’s a Summer House restaurant.

Okay, this is a slight exaggeration, but I definitely see my fair share of them: there’s one in Maryland near my job’s home base; there’s one in the oft-visited Charlotte airport; there’s now one in Orlando International Airport if you’re flying out of the new terminal C; and there’s one in Disney Springs.

Does the Summer House franchise deserve to proliferate? Let’s discuss!

SUMMER HOUSE ON THE LAKE IN DISNEY SPRINGS

If I were to pick one word to describe Summer House, it would come to me quickly and easily: bougie. Bougie, bougie, bougie. And oh, it’s hella Californian, if you’ll permit me a second word. Think large, airy, light wood, clean aprons, and a menu full of fresh foods with a twist. We dined for our post-half marathon brunch, and you can follow along with that menu here.

I opted out of drinking for race reasons, but our server was kind enough to doctor my club soda with mint. That man knows how to secure a tip!

Summer House on the Lake Disney Springs mint club soda

By contrast, I opted into a “famous, giant” cinnamon roll for the table. The menu describes it thusly: fresh blueberry swirl, candied lemon zest, house-made cream cheese frosting.

This cinnamon roll certainly looks impressive! I was impressed with the toppings at any rate – the cream cheese frosting was tangy and not too sweet. Normally I’m not a fan of blueberries, but in this case the flavor was mild and natural enough not to bother me when it occasional snuck in with my frosting.

Unfortunately I found the cinnamon roll itself rather dry. Although to be fair, I’m an err-on-the-side-of-underbaked kinda gal. I probably wouldn’t order this again unless I was eating with a large group that was all aflutter about it.

ADDING TO MY BREAKFAST SANDWICH TALLY

I am avowed breakfast sandwich enthusiast, and yes, breakfast burritos count. Thus for my entree I selected the vegan breakfast burrito: tofu scramble, spinach, pico de gallo, avocado.

Now, is this a fake egg sandwich? I say no – neither the texture nor the taste of the tofu scramble aped real eggs in my opinion. That being said, I really enjoyed the spices they used, which reminded me of Indian curry. The pico de gallo was similarly flavorful, although mild if you’re afraid of spicy food.

I also had a few bites of the regular breakfast burrito (they accidentally switched the plates, so watch out if you’re strictly vegan), and I found the egg version bland by comparison. If you like spiced, aromatic food, I’d gun for the vegan burrito even if you’re a meat eater.

The payment process is modernized On the Lake. Rather than a traditional check, diners use a QR code to a mobile site (not an app) that enables you to pay, whether that be the bill in full, split, or item by item. Not necessary for all diners, but as a group of financially unrelated* individuals, this was a nice convenience. Not sure if it’s company-wide as I’ve never encountered it before, but I wouldn’t be surprised.

SUMMER HOUSE SANTA MONICA IN MCO

Pat and I flew JetBlue during our Universal Studios trip, allowing us to thoroughly explore Orlando International Airport’s new C terminal.

Terminal C has a lot of bright and shiny new restaurants, including a Wine Bar George outpost if that’s more your thing. Where Summer House wins here, however, is in its quasi-hidden dining room.

Summer House on the Lake MCO bar

The downstairs portion of MCO’s Summer House is composed of grab-and-go goods. In order to receive table service, you’ll need to head to the second floor. This isn’t hard – they have stairs and an elevator. Still, while the downstairs sit-down places were packed, we waltzed straight into a minimally populated dining room.

The airport location maintains its large, airy, light, California aesthetic. I’m having trouble nailing down official Summer House internet presence for both airport locations, which is weird; luckily I had the foresight to snap pictures of the menu.

MORE BREAKFAST SANDWICH SHENANIGANS (& A PROPER DRINK THIS TIME)

I was down for a drink on this occasion, and select the Keep Your Gin Up: gin, Cocchi Americano [a quinine-flavored aperitif], combier [similar to Cointreau], lemon juice, and Prosecco.

Summer House on the Lake MCO Keep Your Gin Up cocktail

I LOVED this. Yes, it’s very pretty, but ALSO, it’s right up my alley: lightly sweet but not aggressively so, a tang from the lemon, and BUBBLES. I love bubbles! Yes, I had a second round. If you enjoy champagne-based cocktails, I highly recommend it.

Needless to say, I was doubly delighted to see that the airport Summer House serves its breakfast sandwich all day. It even has a name: The Commuter. Alongside your egg, tomato, and cheese, you can choose regular or spicy mayo as well as breakfast meat or avocado. It all comes on a toasted English muffin. (I was offered the option of brioche, which I took, but it still arrived on the muffin. As the MCO menu doesn’t mention brioche, I didn’t consider it worth mentioning.)

Summer House on the Lake MCO breakfast sandwich

Anyway, The Commuter was fantastic. Everything a breakfast sandwich ought to be: melty, salty, and savory, cut with the brightness of the tomato and avocado. I don’t know if the English muffin was homemade, but whoever baked it knew what they were doing.

The only thing I might change is the egg. You get a sort of scrambled egg disc where there really ought to be a sunny side up or over easy egg. Something with a drippy yolk. I get that it would be messier, but that extra unctuous element would really take it over the top, you know?

MORE SUMMER HOUSES I’VE BEEN CLOSE TO

As noted at the top of this post, there’s a Summer House near my job’s main campus, so I’ve eaten at that particular location many times. It offers many of the same hallmarks: bougie atmosphere, a California-fresh menu, and an extensive cookie selection. I’ve had the cookies in the Maryland location, and I would describe them as large and perfectly good. Very nice cookies. Side note: don’t waste your money; go to Gideon’s instead. Trust.

While I’ve walked past the Summer House at Charlotte International Airport, I’ve never partaken of the cuisine. Perhaps I shall rectify this oversight next time I’m there, if only to complete the set.

And for the sake of completeness, I will note that Summer House claims an additional Chicago eatery. So if I ever go back to Chicago, I’ll be familiar with at least one part.

THE VERDICT

Circling back to my original question: is Summer House worth your time? Of those locations of which I boast experience, I would say

a) MCO? Absolutely; the “hidden” upstairs keeps crowding down and the menu is small but mighty.

b) Disney Springs? If the aesthetic and menu appeal to you, yes, but I wouldn’t call it transcendental if it doesn’t.

c) Maryland? Eh, it’s fine.

I’m definitely up for another few rounds at the MCO Summer House, which is my favorite of the three I’ve patronized. On the other hand, I think I’ll hit a few other Disney Springs hotspots before I circle back to this one. But with the right group, I can see myself coming back one day. The ease of bill-splitting alone…

Don’t forget, you can follow FRoA on Threads @fairestrunofall and on Instagram @fairestrunofall. If you have any questions or thoughts, leave a comment or email fairestrunofall@gmail.com. See ya real soon!

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