This was a last minute reservation that my husband and I made. We had an unexpected date night and we wanted to go somewhere nice. I had heard very good things about the Yachtsman Steakhouse and we were staying at the Boardwalk Villas, so it was just quick boat ride or walk from our hotel.
Our reservations for the Yachtsman were for 8:15 p.m. We opted to take the boat from the Boardwalk, since it was raining. Once we were docked on the Yacht and Beach Club side, we made our way into the lobby of the Yacht Club. While in the lobby you can check out the impressively big globe they have.
When you are entering the lobby from the side of the boat dock, take a right to get to the Yachtsman. First you will see the Captain’s Grille and to the right of that is a hallway. Follow that hallway and it will take you to the Yachtsman.
When you reach the restaurant there will be someone waiting by the door to take your name. We gave her our name and she said they would be right with us. We were then told to sit on a certain bench. The reason for this is so they know where you are sitting and can come to get you, instead of yelling your name.
Once it was our reservation time, we were led into the restaurant. The hostess stopped by the dry-aging room. This is where they dry-age the meat (hence the name) and where the meat is cut. It also serves as a showcase of the different cuts of meat you can order. The Porterhouse for two is pretty impressive!
After seeing the dry-aging room, we were brought to our table. We were lucky and were seated in the curved room. I think it was supposed to look like a ship. The whole restaurant is a nautical/New England theme. You can see pictures on Disney’s website. The reason I found this room a lucky one to be seated in was because we were actually able to see some of the higher fireworks from Illuminations while we ate. That was a very nice surprise.
Not long after we were seated, Raymond, our waiter, came over to see what we would like to drink and to tell us about the menu. He gave us his recommendations and answered any questions we had. I have nothing but great things to say about Raymond. He was funny, attentive, helpful, friendly, and made our first experience at the Yachtsman great.
Raymond brought a basket of bread to the table with butter and garlic. There were two types of bread. One was onion bread with pieces of onion in the bread and the other was a dinner roll. The butter and garlic come on their own plate, because you get a very generous portion of each. The garlic is actually a whole roasted garlic. So you can pat the bread on top or take the garlic cloves out to put on the bread. Both types of bread were delicious!
We looked over the menu and finally decided on our appetizers and main dishes. My husband got the Caesar Salad, which turned out to be a really good size appetizer. It was a small whole heart of romaine with the end cut off. The dressing was drizzled on top and throughout the lettuce; there were some good sized croutons, shaved Parmagiano cheese, all on top of coppa ham. It was very good and well worth the $12.
For my appetizer I ordered the French Onion Soup. This is one of my favorite soups, so I was curious to see how this would measure up to others I have tried. It was topped with Gruyere cheese, which was browned nicely on top of the soup bowl. Breaking through the delicious cheese layer the broth starts to cover the top of the cheese and the flavors mix very well together. Also, the broth wasn’t too salty, which can sometimes happen with French Onion. The croutons in the soup were sourdough bread croutons and they were really good. Overall, I would say this is one of the best French Onion soups I have had and will most likely order it again the next time we go to the Yachtsman. The soup was $12 and well worth the price.
For the main dishes my husband got the 12 oz. Prime New York Strip Steak and I got the 14 oz. Roast Prime Rib of Beef. My husband’s dish came with Potatoes Gratin and had a Peppercorn-Brandy sauce. He was very pleased with his choice. The knife cut through the steak with little to no effort and the potatoes were cheesy and delicious. The potatoes came in a separate dish, which was nice because the flavors of the potatoes and the steak are kept separate. The cost of this meal was $49.
My dish came with a sweet potato casserole and, like my husband’s potatoes, they came in a separate dish on the plate. The sweet potatoes were good sized chunks and not mashed. They were mixed with marshmallows and cinnamon. Loved how all the flavors mixed. It was really good! For my steak, all I can say is…wow! I’ve had good steak before, but this was melt-in-your-mouth good steak. Cutting the steak was effortless and it was perfectly cooked. This meal cost $45.
As a side, we split the Brentwood Cornbread with jumbo lump crab. We thought that the crab would be mixed in with the cornbread, but we were wrong. What we got was much better than that. It came out in a cast iron dish and the cornbread was layered with the crab and corn. You know how sometimes when you order something that has crab or lobster you only get a few small pieces? Not the case with this dish. Every piece we each picked up had good sized crab pieces. It’s not a small side, so sharing was a good idea for us. Highly recommend this side dish. It’s not something you will see on a lot of menus and it was really good. The cost of the cornbread was $12.
Now for my favorite part…dessert. I was happy to see they had my favorite dessert on their menu, which is Crème Brulee. I love this and have ordered it at many different restaurants. The Yachtsman makes a delicious Crème Brulee. The top layer of sugar was very solid and warm, but the custard below was cool. It was so good and I wish I could have it more often! It was topped with berries which mixed with the flavors of the hardened sugar and the custard very well.
My husband was not going to get dessert, but Raymond wouldn’t hear of it. He brought him out a special “Happy Birthday” dessert. Every time he walked past our table after that he would wink and say “Happy Birthday!” He really wanted my husband to have a dessert and we thought the way he did it was both funny and thoughtful. The dessert was a mousse topped with some shaved chocolate and had berries and “Happy Birthday” written in chocolate on the side. It was really good and my husband ate it all (minus the piece I tried).
Our entire experience at the Yachtsman Steakhouse was fantastic. The food was delicious, the ambiance was nice and relaxing (the surprise view of fireworks didn’t hurt either), and the service was one of the best we have received on Disney property. I would recommend this restaurant to anyone, especially if they like a really good steak. If you do make reservations for the Yachtsman, ask for Raymond. He’ll take good care of you.
Thanks for reading!
*Liz*
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