Be Our Guest is a sit-down restaurant at Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom.  While a quick-service location for lunch and dinner, Be Our Guest transforms to a table-service spot in the evening.  This (New) Fantasyland restaurant offers French fare, as well as some American dishes.  Be Our Guest offers a 10% discount to Annual Passholders and does accept Tables in Wonderland.  We recently had dinner at Be Our Guest and this review will cover that experience.

Since opening in December of 2012, Be Our Guest has been Walt Disney World’s most popular restaurant.  While counter-service availability is generally easier to gain for breakfast and lunch, dinner reservations are very hard to come by.  Speaking for myself, I had to get a reservation 180+ days in advance for dinner.

We’ve dined at Be Our Guest for lunch many times.  I’ve always enjoyed our meals there and think the restaurant is easily the best Magic Kingdom counter-service option.  I was eager to see if the dinner lived up to the hype, both in terms of popularity and the high standards of lunch.

We arrived at Be Our Guest shortly before our reservation and waited for a few minutes outside before being seated.  Knowing the layout of the restaurant, I’m surprised that they keep guests outside while waiting for their reservation to be called.  In the middle of summer the waiting can be uncomfortable.  I think the reason this is done is to create a staging space for the wait staff and a photo opportunity for guests with Beast.  There are plenty of umbrellas outside for guests so most of the waiting is in the shade at least.

After meeting the Beast, we were seated in the Grand Ballroom.  While the most generic of all the rooms, there is still some grandiose here.  The chandeliers at giant windows at the end of the room make the ballroom beautiful.  On top of that, the painted ceiling is a marvel.  While the other two rooms (The West Wing and The Castle Gallery) have a little more character and intrigue, the Grand Ballroom’s scale is impressive.

The tables were a little squished but, knowing how hot of a ticket the restaurant is, I’m fine with that.  I’m glad they’re doing what they can to add capacity and didn’t think the experience was hindered at all because of that.  Once factoring in the beautiful ceilings, music and elegance Be Our Guest has one of the better environments of any Disney World restaurant.

Albeit by a slight margin, I do think the environment at dinner is better than lunch or breakfast.  The rooms all look the same, obviously, but there is a slightly fancier vibe and fewer people walking around to interrupt the ambiance.  With that said, I don’t think seeing Be Our Guest at dinner is a big enough difference to justify going over lunch based on ambiance alone.

Moving on to the food, here’s a look at the menu.  I don’t necessarily think the choices are that inventive but there is a good variety of French and American choices.  I wouldn’t be afraid to take picky eaters there as I think there is something for everyone.

We started with appetizers and I had the Charcuterie Board.  This was way too much food for one person but was decent.  I didn’t think the bread was anything to write home about (so instead I’m writing about it while I’m at home) but the a few of the meats and cheeses were decent.  We ate at Chefs de France the night before and the cheese plate there seemed more authentic but this was still pretty tasty.

Melissa had the Marseilles-style Mussels and liked them.  This was another large portion and I would absolutely recommend sharing either of these.  The mussels were good and prepared well.  The tomato broth was a bit chunky but good overall.  We both liked this more than the charcuterie.  With that said, both appetizers were good but neither wowed us.

(Sorry about the poor photo.)  For my entrée, I had the lamb and enjoyed it.  The meat was tender but didn’t provide as much flavor as I’d like.  The side dishes in this (which I believe change seasonally) were fine but not great.  While I liked the lamb I probably wouldn’t order this again.

Melissa ordered the a Shrimp Pasta which is currently on the menu.  This was served in a lobster sauce that we both enjoyed.  I wasn’t a fan of the noodles and thought the shrimp was just okay.  Melissa liked the dish a little more than me but wasn’t wowed.

The most disappointing aspect of our meal was the dessert.  Having dined here for lunch, I was bummed to see that the dessert options at dinner were largely the same.  With dinner options being in the 25-40 dollar price range, having a few $5 cupcakes and cream puffs doesn’t cut it.  I’d be fine with a few of those options plus a few higher priced options that are specifically made for dinner.

The meal as a whole was fine but far from the best I’ve had.  As an overall experience, I didn’t think dinner at Be Our Guest met the expectations that lunch at the same restaurant gave us.  Lunch there has an amazing atmosphere, with good food and is a decent value.  Dinner has a slightly better atmosphere, but the value of the food does not compare.  While the experience is enjoyable, I would generally recommend lunch at Be Our Guest over dinner.

Overall Rating – 8/10

Have you had dinner at Be Our Guest?  Let us know your thoughts on the restaurant, along with any questions you have, in the comments.  If you enjoy what you’re reading here on Wandering in Disney please subscribe to the blog via email or WordPress and like our social media pages.  You can find all of those things on the right side of this page.  Thank you very much for reading, we appreciate it!

– Andrew