The Crystal Palace is that one restaurant at Disney World that will always bring me back to being a kid. I can vividly remember the first time I went here, the first time I took my husband here, and it truly feels like time stood still (but in a good way.) This has previously been a buffet experience, which was nothing extraordinary, so I was very excited to try the new family-style menu!
While the characters are currently taking a break from meeting guests, The Crystal Palace still brims with light, topiaries, and tropical palm trees; inspired by Victorian greenhouses of the late 1800s. I think it's very fitting they went with a southern inspired menu for the new offerings.
Your meal starts with Homestyle Buttermilk and Cheddar Bacon Biscuits served with Honey Butter, Caramelized Onion Butter, and Hot Pepper Jelly with a Seasonal Salad of Tomato and Watermelon, Crisp Greens, Blue cheese, Candied Walnuts, and Hot Pepper Jelly Vinaigrette. Both the biscuits and the salad were very good. The salad was a little too blue cheese forward for me, but I picked around it. All of the accompaniments for the biscuits were delicious.
For my entree I went with the Crispy Fried Chicken served with Honey pot Drizzle, Macaroni and Cheese, and I had ordered the Asiago Potatoes au Gratin but there was a little mix-up so originally my order came with the Sweet Potato Casserole. The portion sizes are huge and these are definitely very hearty meal options!
Let me start by saying the fried chicken is a far cry from any southern fried chicken in terms of seasoning and flavor. I will say it ranks right under the fried chicken at Chef Art Smith's Homecomin' in terms of "Disney Fried Chicken." So it's not "amazing" but it's definitely a decent fried chicken by Disney standards. The Mac and Cheese is exceptionally creamy and very rich. I was not a fan of the Asiago Potatoes au Gratin, definitely lacked seasoning and I wouldn't recommend. The Roasted Potatoes or Green Beans were both much better and I'd definitely go with either of those over the Asiago Potatoes next time. The Sweet Potato Casserole was good, I'm just not a huge fan of marshmallows, so not something I would order, but still very good!
Let me start by saying the fried chicken is a far cry from any southern fried chicken in terms of seasoning and flavor. I will say it ranks right under the fried chicken at Chef Art Smith's Homecomin' in terms of "Disney Fried Chicken." So it's not "amazing" but it's definitely a decent fried chicken by Disney standards. The Mac and Cheese is exceptionally creamy and very rich. I was not a fan of the Asiago Potatoes au Gratin, definitely lacked seasoning and I wouldn't recommend. The Roasted Potatoes or Green Beans were both much better and I'd definitely go with either of those over the Asiago Potatoes next time. The Sweet Potato Casserole was good, I'm just not a huge fan of marshmallows, so not something I would order, but still very good!
My friend ordered the Fire-roasted Prime Rib of Beef with the green beans and she also made the mistake of ordering the Asiago Potatoes au Gratin. The prime rib itself was such a huge portion and so tender and delicious. The green beans were also very well cooked and delicious!
You end your meal with a Family Style Dessert Platter featuring seasonal fritters with powdered sugar and chocolate dipping sauce, banana cream pie, hummingbird cake, and a specialty cupcake. I will say...the desserts are prettier than they taste. There's something about Disney desserts that they are either insanely good or blah. The fritters were a little too dense. The banana cream pie's flavor was so mild that it actually took me a quick Google search to figure out it was "banana".
This cupcake...I had high expectations for this cupcake. I saw the mousse and I instantly thought it would be reminiscent of the mousse at Satuli Canteen in Animal Kingdom. While it looks the same...it definitely didn't taste the same.
The redemption of the dessert platter is this hummingbird cake. I thought it was just the perfect combination of light, sweet, and fruity!
Overall I see nothing but improvements to the menu at The Crystal Palace and I think it would be hard for me to go back to the buffet options of previous years after experiencing this new menu!
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