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The Disney Hollywood Brown Derby has arguably the best quality food in Disney’s Hollywood Studios. But that quality does come at a price as it is also the most expensive of the Disney restaurants. As it is a Disney Signature Restaurant it also requires 2 Dining Credits. In this guide you will find the current menu and some details about what to expect so that you can decide if this is the right choice for you and your family.

Photo by lorenjavier

The Hollywood Brown Derby is open each day for lunch and dinner. Closing times do vary according to the opening hours of Hollywood Studios but it opens at 11.30 each day for lunch.

The Hollywood Brown Derby is modeled after the famous restaurant of the same name in Hollywood Los Angeles. The original had it’s heyday at the height of the Hollywood Golden Age of the late 1920s and 1930s. The original Hollywood Brown Derby is the restaurant where the Cobb Salad was invented, so of course a version is available on the menu at the Disney restaurant.

Photo by table4five

Many feel that the Brown Derby is one of the best restaurants in Disney World. The atmosphere and decor is elegant and rather ‘grown up’ for a theme park but you are fine to bring your children here. This is Disney after all.

The Hollywood Brown Derby is a Disney Signature Restaurant which means that 2 dining credits are required if you are on the Disney Dining Plan. If you are not on the Dining Plan then this is one of the more expensive restaurants in Walt Disney World. Is it worth it? The quality of the food is very good but sometimes it seems difficult to warrant the 2 dining credits if you are on the dining plan. If you just want a quick lunch you may well be better not to use the dining plan even if you are a Disney resort hotel guest. A Signature Dining Experience is one which you want to savor and you may not want your time in the restaurant to be too long if your priority is to tour the park.

The service can be rather inconsistent. Even if you have Advance Dining Reservations you can still wait over 30 minutes for your table and this is not made any the easier by having a small lobby, and sometimes not so cheerful hosts on the check in stand. The wait staff are generally fine, but service can be slow.

The menu and prices shown are correct as at November 2011. Prices do not include tax or gratuity. The menu is the same for lunch and dinner. Unfortunately gone are the days at Disney World when you could save money by eating lunch instead of dinner as the prices now all tend to be the same whatever time you eat.

Appetizers

Blue Jumbo Lump Crab Cake With Potato Crust, Green Cabbage Slaw, Dijon Mustard and Remoulade Sauces $12.00

Cremini Mushroom Chevere Raviolo Served with Sweet Fennel, English Peas and Tomato $9.00

Spicy Sashimi Grade Tuna Tartar With cucumber, Daikon and pepper salad, Avocado Wasabi Sauce and Crisp Lotus root Chips – $14.00

Soup and Salad

Bibb Lettuce Salad Drizzled with peppercorn sweet onion dressing, cherry tomatoes, shaved radishes and parmesan seed frico $10.00

Cobb Salad for Two – Made with finely chopped greens, turkey breast, bacon, egg, tomatoes, crumbled bleu cheese, avocado, chives, and Cobb dressing $15.00

Portsmouth Lobster Bisque With tarragon oil and brentwood sweet corn lobster relish $10.00

Entrees

Sterling Silver Pork Chop With smoked Gouda and apricot preserves, served over Napa Cabbage, bacon and potato hash with apple cider Jus – $33.00

Brown Butter Almond Crusted Black Grouper With golden beets, roasted celery root, leeks and lobster beurre blanc $31.00

Char Grilled Filet of Beef - Served with white truffle whipped potatoes, mushroom ragout and red wine reduction. 6oz $36.00 8oz. $40.00

Coriander Crusted Black Grouper Served with Cauliflower risotto, fresh English peas, crunchy sunchokes and a yellow tomato coulis $33.00

Duck Two Ways Served with Poached duck Magret wrapped in Swiss chard, Mushroom vegetable couscous and a crispy confit spring roll with a spicy onion jam $32.00

Noodle Bowl Made with wok fried coconut tofu, soy beans, sugar snap peas, bok choy, and Shiitake mushrooms in red curry broth $26.00

Samuel Adams Seasonal Brew Braised Short Ribs Served with parsnip butternut squash puree, crispy rainbow swiss chard and rosemary jus lie $38.00

Spit Roasted Half Chicken – Served with rosemary and juniper, black and white barley, apple chutney and natural chicken reduction $28.00

Desserts

Double Vanilla Bean Creme Brulee Served with a dark chocolate dipped biscotti $7.00

Grapefruit Cake Light layers of yellow cake with fresh grapefruit cream cheese icing $7.00

Banana White Chocolate Toffee Tower Served on a cocoa almond cookie and Bananas Foster $9.00
Caramelized Granny Smith Cheesecake With Cabernet apple crisp and cranberry raisin butter sauce $9.00

Chocolate Three Ways Dark almond buttermilk cake layered with milk chocolate truffle creme and white chocolate chambord $9.00

Warm Seasonal Fruit Cobbler With Creme Fraiche and orange blossom honey $6.00

A Fantasmic! Dining Package is also available at the Hollywood Brown Derby. On nights when Fantasmic! is scheduled guests can book a dining package at the restaurant and get seats in the reserved section of the auditorium. This does not give you a reserved seat at the show, it just gives you access to a reserved seating area. What this means is that you only have to arrive approximately 30 minutes before the show instead of the sometimes 90 minutes needed to secure a good seat at Fantasmic!

A relatively new option is the Dine With An Imagineer experience. Up to 10 diners will dine on a 4 course meal in the Bamboo Room of Hollywood Brown Derby in the company of a Disney Imagineer. The price of this experience is $60.99 for guests aged 10 and up. Tax and gratuity are not included.

So is the Disney Hollywood Brown Derby for you? Certainly it does have a very high standard of food. As with all restaurants check that you are comfortable with the price of the menu before you make your reservations. Also be aware that many guests, particularly recently have been disappointed with the wait times even when you have Advance Dining Reservations. This is difficult at any time but particularly as you have limited time in a theme park. If you want a quick meal then this may not be the place for you. But if you want very good quality food in an elegant atmosphere and you don’t mind spending some time out of the hustle and bustle of the park then the Disney Hollywood Brown Derby would be an excellent choice.

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