Review: Big River Grille and Brewing Works

Big River is a restaurant at Disney’s Boardwalk Resort. We did not have an ADR for this restaurant but decided to give it a shot. They make their own beer and try to give a contemporary beer pub atmosphere to compliment it.

Are the beer, food, and atmosphere worth the trip over to the Boardwalk?

Food: My wife and I wanted a light dinner so we avoided entrées and opted to both get an appetizer instead. I ordered the chicken nachos and my wife ordered the beef nachos. They were decent but the cheese was a cheese sauce. It reminded me of cheese wiz. Or the liquid sauce they serve at sporting events. At least the portions were big.

Beer: Between my wife and I, we tried four beers. That was four too many because none of them were all that good. The best one was the Belgian style ale but I wouldn’t rave about it. I also ordered an IPA. I Like IPAs. What I got served was an awful excuse for an IPA. It was so bad I question the fact that it was an IPA or an opps by the bar tender. It was red. IPA’s should never be red.

Service: Well we got seated and served. I say that because there was reason to question that for a while. When we checked in we were given a pager and told it would be about ten minutes. They paged us forty minutes later. I understand if you off a little but a half hour off is unacceptable. We would have gone somewhere else if we had known it was going to be that long of a wait. The service itself was decent but I question how accurate the waitress was with our drinks. I think someone goofed up. When you work at a brewery you should be able to spot the difference between beers.

Atmosphere: Two things really hurt Big River. First it’s too crowded. Second it’s a resort restaurant. The second really hurts it because that means parents are dragging kids, who are half dead, in there way about two hours after they should have been put to bed. My wife and I ate around 9pm and we were surrounded by kids. Big River is an awful place to bring kids. For the most part it’s a loud bar which is bad for kids. Combine that with kids who are falling asleep at the tables and you have a terrible mix. The only cool thing about the inside of Big River, are the big beer vats. It’s not that it’s bad inside it is just crazy and over crowded.

Cost: The cost isn’t bad but it is still on the expensive side. It’s a little too expensive for not being located inside a theme park. My wife and I only ordered appetizers and four beers and paid more than full meals at other WDW restaurants.

I have no desire to ever go back to Big River. Not when Epcot is so close. Even if I stayed at the Boardwalk again I really doubt I’d go to Big River again. I’d go to the ESPN Zone it’s much cheaper.