ABC Commisary is a counter-service restaurant in Disney’s Hollywood Studios that serves American fare. Located in Commissary Lane (I truly didn’t know this was a place in Hollywood Studios), ABC Commissary only offers a lunch and dinner menu and does close abnormally early on some days. When applicable, the restaurant takes part in the Disney Dining Plan as a counter-service credit. In this post, we’ll review ABC Commissary’s atmosphere, food and value!

A few short years ago, Hollywood Studios was a place I’d try to avoid eating at. The counter-service game was incredibly weak, full of generic theme park food that simply was not very good. Table-service restaurants weren’t much better as they largely focused on atmosphere over cuisine. With Epcot a short boat ride away, eating at DHS seemed like a terrible move.

As the park has evolved and added some excellent attractions, the dining scene has evolved too. Woody’s Lunch Box came with Toy Story Land and, seating problems aside, added a tasty option. Docking Bay 7 and Ronto Roasters were additions with Galaxy’s Edge and were welcomed with warm receptions. Just as exciting are the improvements made to existing restaurants, with overhauled menus. That’s where ABC Commissary fits in!

I will say that ABC Commissary has had many menu changes over the years. The latest one has been notable in that it’s well received so hopefully it sticks around. That said, it could be changed out for a bad cheeseburger and chicken strips as soon as tomorrow. Let’s hope that doesn’t happen. Carpe diem, my friends!

Before we get to the surprisingly excellent and revitalized menu, let’s take a look at ABC Commissary’s atmosphere. Or, lack there of, for as much as we enjoyed the meal the restaurant looks downright terrible. Of all the counter-service restaurants we’ve tried and ranked, this lands in the bottom five in terms of atmosphere. Should we be surprised? This is called a commissary after all.

There are palm trees at the ordering bays and that is truly as good as the restaurant gets in terms of looks. The etching of what looks like Hollywood above the electronic menus is also unique. After that it gets incredibly dull.

This is the seating inside of the restaurant. There’s another side but it looks pretty much exactly like this one. The carpet is busy, the walls are bland and the plants somehow make it all worse. Of course, this will matter more to some than others. Sometimes sitting anywhere indoors for half an hour is a good way to go at Disney World, no matter how ugly it is. But if the weather cooperates, I definitely recommend sitting outdoors.

That’s not to say the outdoor seating is very nice. There’s not much scenery and the pink and blue chairs and tables aren’t going to turn any heads, at least not in a good way. Still, I found it more interesting than inside. No matter inside or out, you could do much better than the atmosphere at ABC Commissary.

Turning our attention to the actual food, the news gets better in a hurry! Here’s a look at the menu. As you can see, the menu is pretty diverse and interesting for being a counter-service restaurant.

We tried the Buffalo Chicken Grilled Cheese Sandwich. This is made up of Grilled Sourdough toasted with Buffalo Chicken, Monterey, Provolone, Cheddar, and Cream Cheese served with a side of Buffalo Sauce. The sandwich reminded us a lot of those that you’d find at Woody’s Lunchbox. It was very rich and pretty heavy but ultimately delicious. I liked that the Buffalo Sauce came on the side in case that taste or spice isn’t your thing. There chicken was very thinly shredded and didn’t change the flavor profile very much. The star here was the cheese, made up of four different kinds resulting in a delicious goopiness (is that a word?). I’m not sure I could eat this all by myself because of how rich it is but splitting it was delicious. At $11.99, including the side, this is a good value that will definitely fill you up.

This came with your choice of side and we opted for the Arugula-Farro Salad which includes Arugula, Farro, Granny Smith Apples, Dried Cranberries, Plant-based Parmesan, and Pecans tossed in a Dijon Vinaigrette. It was so nice to not have a side salad that was just generic and pre-packaged. This all tasted fresh and the apple and dressing added a nice acidity to the greens. Paired with the filling grilled cheese, this made us feel a smidge more healthy. I’d go for this option if you’re deciding between this and the fries.

The Shrimp Tacos were also a surprise hit. This dish included Sautéed Shrimp on Flour Tortillas topped with Cabbage Slaw, Chipotle-Mayonnaise, and Mango Salsa served with Mexican Rice and Black Beans topped with Queso Fresco. The taco ingredients all meshed well and the shrimp was surprisingly tasty for having come from a counter-service restaurant. They were plump and cooked well. If there was a negative to the tacos it was that they were a little heavy handed with the Chipotle-Mayonnaise. I didn’t find the dish to be overly spicy and all of the ingredients tasted fresh. The rice and beans were a nice addition even if they weren’t the stars of the show. At $12.99, this is another strong option as far as value goes.

Also $12.99, this is the Chicken Club Sandwich which consists of Marinated Chicken, Bacon, Provolone, Avocado Ranch, Lettuce, and Tomato served on a Toasted Brioche Bun. The chicken was juicy and it was nice to see a grilled version of the sandwich. The Avocado Ranch tied the sandwich together and I really enjoyed it. There was slightly less flavor here than the other two options I’ve mentioned, but it was a nice and simple meal that ended up delicious. I still think the Shrimp Tacos are my favorite dish here but I’d order the Chicken Club over the Buffalo Chicken Grilled Cheese.

Overall, the food makes up for a lackluster atmosphere at ABC Commissary. While I was a little skeptical of both dishes going in, considering the restaurant’s reputation, both pleasantly surprised us and I would happily get them again. While the restaurant isn’t the best in the park, it does offer a few very strong options at a good price. With a better atmosphere, ABC Commissary would be a hit!

Overall Rating – 8/10

Have you tried ABC Commissary? Let us know your thoughts or any questions you might have in the comments below. Planning a trip to Walt Disney World? Check out our Disney World Trip Planning Guide to help you out. If you enjoy what you are reading here on Wandering in Disney please share this post with your friends, as well as like our social media pages. You can also subscribe to the blog via WordPress or email. All of those links are on the right side of this page. Thank you for reading, we really appreciate it!