Looking for where you should eat breakfast at Disney World?
Starting your day with a sit-down breakfast can be a great way to get you ready for a day in the parks! If you are headed to Magic Kingdom, you might want to take the monorail over one of the three monorail resorts. We recently ate at Steakhouse 71 at Disney’s Contemporary Resort for breakfast, and here is what we thought!
Background
Located just steps away from the Magic Kingdom, Steakhouse 71 is at the Contemporary Resort. Previously, Steakhouse 71 was called The Wave, and for Disney World’s 50th Anniversary, this restaurant got a makeover! Why the 71? Well, that is because Disney World opened on October 1st, 1971, and the Contemporary Resort just happens to be an opening-day resort as well!
Steakhouse 71’s vibe fits the Contemporary’s theme much better than The Wave’s. The restaurant is retro and nostalgic without feeling too dated.
The hallway and lounge area feature pictures of Walt Disney and early photos of Disney World. If you are a Disney history buff, you will probably love looking at all the photos.
The main dining room feels contemporary, which is obviously fitting for the resort. The walls have Mary Blair-style paintings of Disney World icons like the castle and the train. The theming in Steakhouse 71 just makes sense, and we think it is a better fit for the resort than its predecessor.Â
Atmosphere
To check-in, you can either use the My Disney Experience app or head down the long hallway, where a host or hostess will greet you and get you all checked in. There is a waiting area to the right of the host stand that you can lounge in until your table is ready.
There is the main dining room and a lounge. In the main dining room, there is a mix of booths and standard tables. There are a few alcove-like areas, and depending on your party size, you may get seated in an area that feels a tad more private. The restaurant can also transform part of the dining room into two private event spaces.
As we mentioned, the style of the main dining room is retro, but it still feels fresh and new.
Food and Drinks
For breakfast, Steakhouse 71 offers classic American breakfast meals such as pancakes, bacon, and eggs. Unfortunately, it no longer offers its iconic Refillable Mimosas.
Let’s take a look at the menu!
First up, Sage ordered the Sunset 71. This drink features Herradura Reposado Tequila, tropical juices, rosemary, and house-made grenadine. When asked if he wanted the big size, he went for it and said yes. Turns out the large size is served in a fishbowl! It was big enough to share with multiple people!
While it was too large for just one person and cost $28 (the normal size costs $15), it did have a nice citrus taste. It reminded Sage of an elevated Screwdriver. The pineapple juice cut through the citrus and lowered the tartness. This drink is also topped with citrus foam as a garnish. Both Sage and Fry Bucket found it to be incredibly sour. Regardless of the size and sour citrus foam, it was refreshing.
Fry Bucket tried the Curious Cold Brew for her drink. This drink has both alcohol and coffee in it. What a great way to start your day at Disney World! It features Maker’s Mark Bourbon, Joffrey’s Coffee Cold Brew, Maple, and Vanilla Bean Cream. Both Sage and Fry Bucket felt that it was the better of the two drinks. The flavor of whiskey really came through, and they thought it was delicious! This drink costs $15.
To start the meal, we got the Breakfast Pastries for $10. This came with an assortment of savory croissants, sweet mini muffins, and other goodies. These were in no way made to order because we were hoping for a little bit more flakiness and crunch to our pastries. Overall, it was still a nice start to breakfast.
Time for the food! Fry Bucket ordered the Seasonal Pancakes for $15. To no surprise, these pancakes change seasonally and have different flavors that rotate out. At the time, the seasonal pancakes were strawberry. Fry Bucket was left disappointed with the amount of strawberries that came with the order. The pancakes were large, vanilla, and fluffy, but for strawberry pancakes, there were not a lot of strawberries.
The pancakes did come with strawberry whipped cream, which Fry Bucket thought was unique. It also came with a side of bacon that was deliciously crispy, but if you like fat on your bacon, you might be disappointed. You can also choose to get pork or chicken sausage as a side instead.
Next, Sage tried Walt’s Prime Rib Hash for $18. This dish is served with seared Prime rib, fried potatoes, caramelized onions, and peppers topped with a fried egg. If you like savory food, then you will probably like this dish. The fried egg did make the potatoes a little soggy, which was a bit of a letdown since the hash browns lost their crunch.Â
This dish was also very well seasoned and had a lot of onions and peppers, but if you do not like those flavors, you might want to skip out on it. The prime rib was cut up into bite-size pieces, which was perfect for this savory breakfast.
Should You Go?
We would totally recommend Steakhouse 71 to anyone, but if you only have one chance to go, we say have lunch or dinner instead. We liked everything we had. It is a very traditional American breakfast with not a lot of exotic flavors. If you are looking to try something different, we recommend dining at Boma or ‘Ohana. While the flavors are great at Steakhouse 71, it is a safer option.
As for the level of fanciness, Steakhouse 71 is towards the bottom. It is still nice, but there is no dress code, so you can totally wear the clothes you would wear to the parks. As for dinner, though, the vibe does change, and you might see people in nicer attire. We also found it to not be super loud and was kid-friendly.Â
Our meal cost just over $100, and we got two drinks, an appetizer, and two entrees. We do not think this price is too bad for a Disney World restaurant. You also do not have to get the cocktails or any appetizers, which can make the price go down even more. The entrees are also big enough to split. On the other hand, we are not so sure it was worth it because it was so traditional, but it could have been the way we ordered it.
The AllEars team is currently trying to find the best breakfast spot at Disney World, and unfortunately, Steakhouse 71. is not the winner, for now at least. Overall, we think this is a traditional breakfast and anyone would like it — and it’s a convenient spot to start the day if you’re headed to Magic Kingdom.
Steakhouse 71 Restaurant
Services: Table Service
Our readers give Steakhouse 71 a rating of 8.3/10 and it is recommended by 83% of people who reviewed it. Many readers point out the good food prices as well as the friendly Cast Members.
You can watch Sage and Fry Bucket’s Steakhouse 71 experience below!
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We loved out breakfast at Steakhouse 71. One of my daughters and I are gluten free and my other daughter is corn intolerant. The
staff were wonderful and the chef came out and was knowledgeable. The corn intolerance (WDW handles it like an allergy) is harder
than the gluten allergies.
My husband can eat anything and does. The gluten free group ate gluten free doughnuts. I bit heavy but ok and then we had Mickey waffles, eggs
potatoes and bacon. Yes we needed to roll out but we were happy! My corn intolerant daughter had the seasonal pancakes and she really enjoyed them
and my husband also had pancakes. All in all we thought it was delicious and our waitress and all other staff were great!!
We did this before our pool day at the Grand Floridian so we did not have to go into the parks after this heavy meal.