One of Disney Springs original themed restaurants still tops the list of places to dine in the Disney bubble
If someone were to say to me... I'm only going to get to visit Disney Springs once or twice, which restaurants do you recommend? My top three choices have remained the same for several years now... Chef Art Smith's Homecomin', Frontera Cocina, and Raglan Road.Now those are three very different places, chosen for different reasons — and they're great choices for different people... it depends on what you're looking for out of a themed meal experience. Since this is a review of Raglan Road — I won't get into my other picks (one of which always raises an eyebrow with people) — but Raglan Road is the one location that I'd recommend to most everyone... no matter what.
Raglan epitomizes what all themed dining experiences in the Disney bubble "should" be... and I would argue that all Disney dining (to one extent or the other) should be considered "themed" dining. There's no Burger King in the middle of the Magic Kingdom, there's no Denny's in the American Pavilion at Epcot — every location has a backstory of sorts.
For example, the nearby Ale & Compass restaurant is supposed to be a place where you can "Dine on New England comfort food and classic seafood dishes in a coastal-inspired restaurant that's reminiscent of a cozy lighthouse." What you end up with at Ale & Compass though, is so unremarkably off-point you might just think you're enjoying lunch at a 80's style, new-wave oxygen bar on a slow Thursday afternoon, where someone in the kitchen just got a pappardelle pasta machine from QVC — and doesn't know how to shut it off.
All of the design elements at Raglan Road are "Irish Pub", the chairs, the woodwork, the prints and art on the walls, to the tiles surrounding the columns and liquor cabinets behind the bar — it's all "Irish Pub" — everywhere you look. It's loud and lively, just like you'd expect an Irish Pub to be. There's entertainment (during the dinner period anyway ... not so much during the "lunch" period) — dancers, live bands — and while I'm sure it's not a requirement — all the bartenders seem to have beards and floppy hair. I bet they even have a rugby team when they're not working.
I don't know if this guy's Irish or not — but he sure looks the part.
The food all has an Irish Pub flair. It's a large menu (not Cheesecake Factory large, but larger than most in the Disney bubble) — they haven't fallen into the Disney Culinary trap of... one chicken thing, one steak thing, one pork, one salmon (but we'll call it "fish of the day", just to make people think we actually offer something else when they're not here), one turkey club, a caesar salad, and one tofu dish (because I'm sure all vegetarians love eating tofu everywhere they go for a week).
Oh, you'll find some of those items on the menu at Raglan Road (I swear, there's some Disney-wide initiative to get guests thinking salmon is the only fish that swims into restaurants) — but they've managed to hold on to traditional, boldly flavored pub-fare, along with a couple of Irish classics, and some stuff that just unapologetically tastes great (which is also an Irish thing).
They've managed to do all of this... while keeping the food at the same price-point as any other Disney table service restaurant... and in most cases — a little less. The average dinner period main entree at the previously mentioned Ale & Compass is $31.80 while here at Raglan Road the average diner period main entree is $28.63.
Raglan is one of those themed dining experience that I hold up and compare other experiences to. It doesn't set a high, unobtainable bar — but it does set a precedent for what other table-service locations in the Disney bubble should be. Great food quality, some degree of culinary artistry, authentic feeling surroundings, on-point entertainment that draws your mind even deeper into believing you're in that themed location — all at a price-point that, yes... is still higher than dining outside of the Disney bubble — but not so high that you mind parting with your money, in exchange for a deeply themed experience.
Be prepared for a loud, crowded Irish Pub — and go to Raglan Road. Have the experience in your back pocket... and then when you go to Tony's at the Magic Kingdom, when you go to Boatwright's at Port Orleans, or the Rose & Crown at Epcot — ask yourself — why aren't these places more like Raglan Road?
As you can imagine, Irish step dancing is not a quiet activity — and the dining guests are encouraged to clap along with the music.
Oh — I don't mean I want a loud pub everywhere. But there should be a strolling violinist at Tony's and a fresh grated parmesan cheese guy that adds cheese to your dish table-side.
Why does eating at Boatwright's feel more like having dinner in the middle of a Costco than a ship builder's cabin? Why does it sound like everyone at the lounge next-door is having more fun than me... and what can we do to make all of this feel more New Orleans inspired?
Why are there only four things on the menu at Rose & Crown? Do English people really only eat Bangers & Mash and Fish & Chips every frigging day — or is there a whole culinary culture that's being under represented here?
What's the Seating at Raglan Road Like?
Well to be perfectly honest, I'm not totally sure about what seating is like in the "whole" restaurant. They've always sat us in and around the main dining area. The wooden chairs and booths in the main seating area are lightly padded and aren't as uncomfortable as they might look.Yes, the tables are packed in pretty tightly, but I've never really felt too crowded or too uncomfortable... maybe that's partly my mindset going in — I know I'm going to a "pub". Honestly though, the seating area at Earl of Sandwich "feels" more congested than it does here at Raglan... once you get seated.
This photo of the interior dining area at Raglan Road was taken from one of the half-booth style tables in the main dining area. All of the tables in this area get a good view of the center dancing table (on the left, with stairs leading up to it) along with the primary performance stage (at the back of the photo and slightly left).
All the tables in the main dining area offer great views of any of the bands or dancers that will be performing over the course of your meal. Half of the guests sitting in the main dining room will have to turn their heads or even rotate their chair around to see the main stage — which is perfectly acceptable to do in a pub.
There are various other hallways and rooms that span out from the main stage dining area... there's a so called "Music Room" that's a little quieter than the main area (but only slightly) and the "Raglan Room" which has a fireplace and more wood details and framed art on the walls.
I have attended a couple of special events in these other rooms — but I've not been seated in either of those areas for a normal dinner. It is more difficult (or even impossible) to see the main stage in these other rooms — but during the special events I attended — one or two members of the band came into these spaces, and played a couple of numbers. The dancers even had a portable tap floor and did a couple of numbers as well. I can't be sure that happens during a normal dinner — but I sure hope it does. It's just as cool seeing someone do a high-energy tap number just a few feet away from where you're sitting — as it is to see them on stage.
There are also some "high-boy" chairs lined up around the bar counter spaces. I'm not sure if the bar area is used for guests that have made reserved dining arrangements — or if those are just for walk-up visitors that simply want to gab a beer, "pub" style. Either way... I'm getting too old to safely hoist my jacksy up into one of those things — so you'll probably never get an experience-based review from me about sitting at the bar.
There's several traditional "bars" at Raglan. I don't know if these areas are used for walk-ups or are available by request. In all the years we've gone, we always get a table in one of the rooms. If you're wondering where the restrooms are though — the "restroom" sign is visible in this photo — just to the right and behind the bar counter.
The Entertainment at Raglan Road
It's important to point out that (usually), the dancers and bands only perform during the dinner period and/or maybe lunch during special occasion periods (St. Patrick's Day, Mother's Day etc.) — so if you're going to go — make sure it's dinner time. At lunch, there's Irish background music piped in... so it's a little quieter, but really... you want to see the live bands and dancers.The musical acts are all authentic Irish folk bands between one and four members in size and they play mostly traditional Irish and pub type tunes. You might occasionally hear something more modern, but still distinctly Irish.
The stage at Raglan isn't very big, but Irish bands don't need much room. It all adds to tbe quaintness of the "pub" atmosphere.
The dancers too are authentic, talented Irish step dancers (like Riverdance) but a smaller troupe. I'd say there's four or five dancers there on any given night, and they take turns performing different routines in different groupings.
Sometimes there's just a soloist at the table in the center of the room, while other times, there might be two or three dancers on stage.
Astute photo-viewers may notice that the background behind the dancers and band keeps changing. That's because it's actually a video projection wall ... and it's done very subtly and very well. You'll notice many different looking "sets" over the course of your meal.
There's not really any structured "show" as near as I can tell (this isn't Hoop-Dee-Doo) — everything seems to be spaced out to give the band and the dancers a break now and then. At some point, all five dancers will perform at the same time in somewhat of a big "finale" type number — and then a smaller band takes the stage, to give everyone else that just performed a break. Then — the whole performance series starts over... a couple of songs, a dance number, a couple of songs, another dance number, etc. — seemingly and continually from around 4pm until close.
Right before the dancers take a break, and in true Riverdance form — there's usually a big group number where all the dancers perform the same steps at the same time! It's loud, high energy, and fun to watch!
It's really hard to describe just how much energy and how important the musicians and dancers are to the overall Raglan Road experience. Somehow, their performances are not so in your face that everything stops when they're performing — but if they weren't there — it just wouldn't be an Irish Pub.
The Food at Raglan Road
A dinner period meal starts with a couple of complimentary slices of Irish Brown Bread which is served with a house made Guinness reduction dipping sauce. Irish Brown Bread is a quick bread that doesn't require any yeast — as such, it's a dense whole wheat bread with a wee bit of Guinness mixed in — that holds up well topped with things like butter and jam... and while the next descriptor is not particularly Irish... I find that it's a great bread to pair with soup.
The Irish Soda Bread is offered to the table as a complimentary starter at the dinner period. It's served with a house made Guinness reduction dipping sauce.
American Soda Bread tends to be a little sweet, where Irish Brown Bread is not. To counter the fact that it's not sweet on it's own ... Raglan serves their soda bread with a Guinness reduction dipping sauce that hopped up with a ton of sugar — and it pairs really well with the bread. When I say a ton of sugar... I'm talking about a 1 to 1 ratio. One cup of Guinness with one cup of sugar dissolved in the Guinness.
What I really want to talk about here though, is the plate that's brought out with the bread. Raglan Road has been around for over two decades. Initially, (as near as I can remember) the bread was served (in a basket, like it is now) but each guest was given a plain white melamine (plastic) plate. After about 10 years of operation, they switched to these botanical patterned, actual, real china plates — because they look a little less commercial and more like what you might find at a small Irish Pub.
The house made Guinness reduction dipping sauce that's served with the Irish Soda Bread has quite a bit of sugar in it — but that's not bad. It's a perfect pairing with the bread and a pint of Guinness.
Now a restaurant the size of Raglan Road has broken enough of these plates over the last ten years — for all of them to be replaced many times over. If you think about what's happened in the last ten years — everything has tripled in price, Covid shut many businesses down, and all the suits and bean counters in the Disney bubble decided that cutting expenses was the only way left to increase margin ... it would have been easy and understandable for Raglan to switch back to those plain white melamine plates... but they didn't.
I think there's a slightly rebellious force somewhere, deep in the belly of the beast that understands running a themed restaurant is more than writing a good 30 word description on a website and just showing up — it's the sum of a hundred little things that make this one of the top, authentic, themed dining locations at Disney Springs. And with that simple observance Raglan, I say to you — may your dining room always be too small to hold everyone that wants to visit. Go n-éirí an bóthar leat ... sláinte!
Raglan's appetizer menu isn't as large as their main entree menu, but I could easily make a great meal out of just two or three of those starters. On the Raglan menu, the appetizers are listed under the "It's All to Savor" title — which I've never really understood, but who cares — they're all great items.
On this visit, we tired something that I haven't had before — it's a vegetarian item called "Sure I'm Frittered" which combines a frittered broccoli and corn shoestring haystack — with a sweetcorn puree and fire roasted pepper relish.
You might think this broccoli and corn fritter is a new take on a classic fritter, but actually — a "fritter" doesn't have to be in cake or patty form at all. Frittered food is simply food that's made with batter-coated ingredients. As seen in this "Sure I'm Frittered" appetizer at Raglan Road the broccoli and corn meal "haystack straws" have been battered and deep fried.
Now most people think about a patty or small cake that's been fried but actually, "to fritter" is really just coating anything in batter and frying it... in this case, everything is in haystack form.
The dish is served piping hot, but it does cool down quickly because of it's shoestring form (air is a poor insulator). The red roasted pepper relish is tangy and savory without being too (capsaicin) hot and the sweetcorn puree (the yellow drizzle under the haystack) adds a sweet compliment to the relish and offsets the mild bitterness of the broccoli.
You do have to be a little coordinated to eat this one, and I'm not good with utensils apparently — I found myself pushing elements onto a fork with my finger on more than one occasion. It was a fun, and not-too-heavy starter that could easily be shared — if you don't mind multiple fork-to-mouth trips.
My mom... will probably, only and always, order the Shepherd's Pie at Raglan Road. Yes... it's that good... and if I wasn't trying to take photos and write reviews of different things on the menu — I'd probably get it every time too.
The "Shepherd's Pie to Try" features braised and pulled beef & lamb with root vegetables in a rich red wine jus with Irish peat smoked mashed potatoes. While most Shepherd's Pie dishes are served in a medium sized baking dish of some type, the Raglan version is served "open sided" so you can get whatever mix of mashed potatoes, meat, and red wine jus that you want in each bite.
Unless you really don't like one or more of the ingredients listed as being in the "Shepherd's Pie to Try" – I'd highly recommend getting it at least once. It's THE item here at Raglan. The open-sided Shepherd's Pie features braised and pulled beef & lamb along with root vegetables in a rich red wine jus and served topped with Irish peat smoked mashed potatoes.
This one is served piping hot as well... as evidenced by the bubbling and caramelized au jus that's starting to solidify around the sauce line of the bowl. Those slightly burnt caramelized bits are the best so don't leave them in the bowl. Scrape them off with your fork and pair a little of that crispy burnt caramelized red wine jus with some smokey mashed potatoes!
The pie itself hits a really nice density note ... it's not so heavy that it's "clunky" but in my mind, it's a little more formed and comprised than your typical meatloaf. The red wine jus is sooooo savory — and honestly, you just can't get enough once you start eating it.
Oh I know what you're thinking... that red wine au jus is a sloppy mess — but see how it's clinging to the sides of the dish? Those bits are actually starting to caramelize on the side of the bowl because it's so hot when it's delivered to your table — and those caramelized bits are the best. Scrape those off the side with your fork — there's something special about braised beef, lamb, and red wine au jus when it starts to caramelize into a solid.
On this visit, I tried one of the LTO's titled the "Dublin Delhi" — which was an Irish chicken curry with rice. While not being as savory as the Shepherd's Pie, it was a nice, lighter, spring-like dish — that wan't as hot (capsaicin) as I thought it would be, while also not quite being a "butter chicken".
The Dublin Delhi Chicken Curry entrée was a seasonal LTO that's not on the "all the time" menu. It featured white chicken cooked in a savory curry sauce and served with yellow rice.
As it turns out, proper Irish Chicken Curry is slightly sweet when compared to it's Indian counterpart. Ultimately, this one didn't move over onto the "all the time" menu — my guess is, most westerners are probably thinking about a darker, more bold and spice complex sauce — than what a correctly executed Irish Curry actually is. This was a nice, lighter, springtime dish — but it seems like the darker, traditionally Irish sounding pub grub is where all the crave-worthy items are located.
The colorful Dublin Delhi Chicken Curry entrée does include some cut red peppers. While the menu indicated that they might be on the hot side... I didn't really find that to be the case in context. They were "theme park hot" - probably some type of banana pepper... they weren't in jalapeño territory.
For dessert, we tried out the "Crumble at the Knees" which is an apple and blackberry crumble served with caramel sauce, vanilla custard, and ice cream.
The desserts at Raglan are intended to be personal sized items, but we shared this one — it was just the right amount, especially if you don't typically order desserts.
The desserts at Raglan aren't really sized to share but we didn't want much other than a few bites of sweetness after the main meal and so the apple crumble fit the bill nicely. I lean into the thought that all self standing pie crust desserts have a tendency to be too small for their own good, and you get more crust than you would if it were just a slice of traditional cobbler.
This one didn't really do anything to change my mind but I actually quite liked the pie crust in this dessert. It wasn't anything like a "you have to try this" exceptional — but it also wasn't the bland, under baked, lard heavy container shell dough that I've found on so many Disney dessert buffets recently. It was nice having a little extra buttery, dry crust to pour the vanilla custard on — even after all the fruit was eaten.
Value and Conclusion
When it comes down to price, everything at Raglan Road is right in-line with any of the other table service restaurants in the Disney bubble — but what's missing from so many really great themed ideas — are all the little details that suck you in and make you believe for one quick minute that you're not in the middle of real world, hot and humid, Orlando, Florida (sorry Chamber of Commerce, my infraction check is the mail, again).They just get everything right here at Raglan, from the authentic feeling furniture, to the atmosphere in the main dining area — from the plates and glasses to the bands and dancers — and top-notch food that still has flavor and texture profiles that allow them to be called "craveable" items. That's not something that all Disney table service restaurants are able to deliver on these days.
The main bar is beautiful. I mean, the chairs, the tiles, the liquor cabinets — it's all very authentic looking.
Raglan Road is one of the few themed location that I could easily recommend to anyone (except for those needing a "sensory-friendly" location) — and that I myself want to go back to, again and again — to keep trying various new things on the menu — and to re-order some of my long-standing favorites (like that legendary Shepherd's Pie) which you just can't find anywhere else.
It's also one of only a couple of table service restaurants in the Disney bubble that I use as a measuring stick. If Raglan Road can be doing all of that — why isn't this place (insert name here) — doing more than what it is.
The scoring system here at Mealtrip is hard on restaurants (honestly, anything above the mid 80's is a place worth visiting) . It's not curved in any way to seem more "touristy friendly" and every place just isn't "the best place ever". But Raglan Road consistently scores just as high with our current system as it did all those years ago using our old system — when Mr. "Dancing with the Stars" chef Kevin Dundon was the chef de cuisine during the "Disney Pleasure Island" years. Raglan Road is the real deal. If you're okay with the pub atmosphere, I think you'll find that Raglan is one step above the other themed dining locations in the Table Service — a la Carte grouping.
