Gasparilla Island Grill is a counter-service restaurant in Walt Disney World’s Grand Floridian Hotel. Located on the ground floor of the lobby building, this quick spot serves American food and includes a coffee counter. Gasparilla Island Grill does take part in the Disney Dining Plan as a counter-service credit. In this post, we’ll review the restaurant’s cuisine, atmosphere and value.

We’ve long been proponents of getting out of Magic Kingdom at lunch time. Most of that recommendation comes from the dearth of options in the park. We like The Plaza and Columbia Harbor House pretty well but even the best spots in Magic Kingdom have some drawbacks. On top of that, the park gets very hot and busy in the afternoon. There’s no better time to hop on a monorail or boat and escape the chaos that is MK’s Fantasyland at 1 PM.

As if getting the heck outta dodge wasn’t enough of a reason, there are some quality counter-service restaurants at a few of Disney World’s most prestigious hotels nearby. Capt. Cook’s at the Polynesian has been a favorite for us for a long time and Wilderness Lodge has a couple of good options. Gasparilla Island Grill is another solid addition to the Magic Kingdom lunch alternatives list.

Assuming coming from Magic Kingdom is what brings you to Gasparilla Island Grill, that experience starts with either a boat ride, monorail or walk. I prefer the boat ride as it’s quick but really beautiful and gives guests some views that they wouldn’t get elsewhere. Boating there and monorailing back, as the boat goes to the Poly after the Grand Floridian, is the quickest option. It just so happens to be the most interesting transportation option too!

Once at the hotel, Gasparilla Island Grill is on the bottom corner of the main building. It’s most easily accessible coming from outside. There are a few tables and chairs for outdoor seating and it’s a pleasant spot if the weather isn’t sweltering. The Grand Floridian is never a bad spot to sit outside and soak in the Victorian views. That outdoor seating area should be in the shade in the afternoon.

Inside of the restaurant is a comfortable and modern space with splashes of lime green. Honestly, this looks similar to many other hotel’s counter-service restaurants in terms of seating and size. Gasparilla Island Grill does benefit from natural light through the large windows. The seating area isn’t going to wow anyone but it is a really clean and crisp looking space. It also is a really relaxing spot to enjoy some air-conditioning and that can’t be overstated on a hot Florida day!

Guests order in the area pictured below. There’s a coffee bar on the left, pizza in the center and sandwiches and salads on the right. There’s also two strangers in the middle in this particular photo. Hello, strangers! As you can see, there are several bakery cases with some delicious looking pastries in them. If you’re staying at the hotel, grabbing one of those for breakfast would be a no-brainer!

I liked the atmosphere well enough. Counter-service spots at hotels are always going to be less themed and more common spaces. This area was much better, fairly spacious with up-to-date furnishings, than other deluxe resort quick spots.

Moving on to the food, here’s a look at the menu. We were there for lunch but the restaurant also serves breakfast and dinner. Breakfast doesn’t look too interesting to me but dinner includes a few specials along with the usual lunch menu. Speaking of, that lunch menu consists of flatbreads, sandwiches and salads all in the $10-$14 range. Gasparilla Island Grill doesn’t have the most exciting options but there is plenty of variety.

This is the Blackened Chicken Sandwich consisting of Blackened Chicken, Pepper Jack, and Coleslaw on a Brioche Bun. Of the two entrees we tried, this was the clear winner. The chicken was cooked and seasoned well, very juicy with a tiny bit of heat. Melissa doesn’t do spice and she thought this was good so I wouldn’t worry about the ‘blackened’ part of the title, outside of it adding just more flavor. The sweet coleslaw balanced out the pepper jack and blackened chicken. This isn’t an overly ambitious dish but it’s a step above your typical theme park sandwich. At $12.49, I’d happily order this again.

We’ve also tried the Broccoli and Roasted Tomato Flatbread. This included Roasted Garlic, Mozzarella, Broccoli, Fire-roasted Tomatoes, and Ricotta on House-made Dough. We both enjoyed the dough and liked the proponents of this flatbread, it was surely a step above theme park pizza by a wide margin. But disregarding the comparisons, the flatbread was just okay. There was a lack of flavor with every ingredient outside of the tomatoes seeming mild. It could have used a little more acidity or another pop of flavor to cut the rich cheese. This was $13.29 and not a bad dish but I’d opt for a different flatbread next time.

Melissa and I both enjoyed our meal at Gasparilla Island Grill but a large part of that is thanks to the pleasant experience more than it was the actual meal. Not that there was anything wrong with the meal, everything we had (and saw) came out very fresh and I’d be interested in trying other options in subsequent trips. We just weren’t overly impressed by what we had.

That said, the meal was really refreshing. Perhaps the boat ride played a role or maybe I was just in a good mood that day! Hopefully I’m in a good mood most days but I digress. Whatever it was, hopping over to grab a meal here during a Magic Kingdom day was really enjoyable and reinvigorating! I’d probably pick the counter-service options at the Polynesian or Wilderness Lodge over this one but it’s by the slightest of margins. If you’re looking for a reason to visit the Grand Floridian and don’t want to break the bank on a meal, Gasparilla Island Grill fits the bill!

Overall Rating – 8/10

Have you tried Gasparilla Island Grill? 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. Looking for discount tickets? Check out this site! 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!