Inside Port Orleans Riverside Resort is Boatwright’s Dining Hall – a table service restaurant serving up Southern and Cajun inspired dishes.

My family discovered this restaurant back in 2010 and have always tried to squeeze in a dinner reservation here on subsequent trips.

There’s many reasons to make a trip to Boatwright’s and it seems this restaurant is slowly gaining popularity among Disney World visitors.

Relaxing and Cozy

Boatwright’s is located right beside the food court at Port Orleans Riverside and is only open for dinner.

The wood and metal decor including the hull of a large boat hanging from the ceiling creates a relaxing and cozy space.

You wouldn’t know from the looks of it but Boatwright’s can seat over 200 guests.

Its laid back atmosphere is one where diners don’t have to change out of their park clothes to something fancy for dinner. Tshirts and shorts are perfectly fine here.

We arrived for our 7:20PM reservation and the restaurant was packed – walk-ins were told the wait time would be an hour or longer.

They Could Survive on Just Cornbread

Every time we visit, our kids go crazy for the cornbread at Boatwright’s. It’s light, fluffy, warm and the paired with the whipped butter — it’s the bee’s knees according to our daughter and son.

The first basket of cornbread quickly devoured (my husband and I didn’t even get any) and a second one was brought a few moments later – thank goodness!

Dinner at Boatwright’s Dining Hall

To start our dinner my husband and I chose Cajun-seasoned Crawfish Bites. What the cornbread was for our kids, the Crawfish Bites were for my husband and I.

The generous portion of Crawfish Bites arrived at our table piping hot, smothered in remoulade sauce on top of crisp lettuce ribbons. The remoulade sauce was very memorable – tangy and spicy. We had no problem finishing this dish and the sauce bowl returned to the kitchen sparkling clean. Unfortunately we were so into it we forgot to take a picture of it! 🙁

My husband ordered the Slow-roasted Prime Rib I chose the Grilled New York Strip for dinner.

Both pieces of meat were tender and juicy and our favorite entrée between the two was the prime rib — it was the horseradish sauce gave it a slight edge.

Our kids ordered off the Disney menu — Cheeseburger with sliced apples for one and Mac and Cheese with green beans for the other.

Nothing to write home about – pretty standard fare when it comes to kids’ menu. Because they filled up on so much cornbread it was a bit of struggle for them to finish their dinner and they probably could have split one meal between them.

We wrapped up dinner with a few desserts – Pecan Pie for my husband and Butterscotch Crème Brûlée for me. We really wanted the Bananas Foster Angel Food Cake with Vanilla Bean Ice Cream (we had it on a previous visit and it was nothing short of amazing) but decided it was too heavy after filling ourselves with everything else.

The kids gave the ice cream sundaes two thumbs up – it’s hard to go wrong with ice cream for kids.

Tips for Dining at Boatwright’s

We can’t say enough good things about Boatwright’s. Back in 2010 we were really surprised by the quality of food here and blown away by the fact that you can get a good steak on Disney property.

This restaurant is out of the way for some (as it’s not on the monorail line) but is definitely worth the trek. There are several activities for families to enjoy at Port Orleans Riverside including horse drawn carriage rides, boat and surrey bike rentals and a fishing hole so you’re not limited to just coming for dinner at Boatwright’s. There’s also a boat that will take you to Downtown Disney too.

Service is friendly and efficient and the Crawfish Bites are a must order every time we visit.

Boatwright’s is included in the Disney Dining Plan and requires 1 Table Service Credit per person.

This is a very baby and kid friendly restaurant and as such it does have the potential to get noisy during dinner time.

Boatwright’s Dining Hall serves Southern and Cajun inspired fare and the menu includes meat, fish, pasta, and vegetarian options. Click here to see the full dinner menu.

Make reservations in advance if you can. Being the only sit down restaurant between Port Orleans Riverside and Port Orleans French Quarter, it fills up quickly here.

More About Boatwright’s & Disney’s Port Orleans Riverside Resort

Address: 1251 Riverside Drive, Lake Buena Vista, Orlando, FL 32830-8514
Price Range: $$$
Hotel Class: 3.5 stars
Reviews: Over 80% of reviewers rated this hotel Very Good or Excellent
Availability: Click here for rates and availability

Have you had dinner here? We’d love to hear what you thought about the food, service and atmosphere at Boatwright’s.