10/1/21
Somehow I was able to score a lunch reservation at the BRAND NEW restaurant, Steakhouse 71, located at the Contemporary Resort where The Wave used to be. This was the grand opening day and we were very excited!
We left Magic Kingdom and took the monorail to The Contemporary Resort. We checked in at 11:40 a.m. and they told us they were running a little bit behind from breakfast. At 12:15 p.m. we were paged.
Compared to The Wave (the restaurant this used to be), I thought the decor was much brighter, which made the dining area look much bigger.
Like I said before, this was opening day, so I knew there may be some hiccups. We sat, and waited and waited for our server to come. She did not, but a manager did. He took our drink order and then our food order as well. Our drinks came and we had ordered appetizers, and those eventually came as well. (We still didn’t see our server!)
I ordered the Fork & Knife Caesar Salad $10. This was delicious and possibly one of the best salads I’ve had!
My friend ordered the Baby Iceberg Wedge Salad (house-made bleu cheese dressing, toy box tomatoes, pickled red onions, bacon, hard cooked egg) $11.
At some point during appetizers, our waitress appeared. She explained her last table (during breakfast service) was super complicated and had a bunch of different payments. We also noticed that they had random people bringing out food and managers were busing tables. Nothing seemed organized and it seemed like they were struggling!
At one point, someone else brought us two more salads, and we told them we were already served.
For entrees, my friend ordered the Crab Cake Sliders (lump crab cakes, old bay remoulade, tomato, pickled slaw on a brioche bun, served with parmesan fries). You could also choose a petite wedge salad or pasta salad as your side. $19. She really liked these. She smashed them down so she could fit them in her mouth.
I ordered the Steakhouse 71 Stack Burger (signature blend of beef, American cheese, lemon aioli, red onion, house-made pickles, on a brioche bun served with parmesan fries) $20. This was amazing! I asked for the lemon aioli on the side because I wasn’t sure I would like it, but it was really good.
Overall, the service was not that great. We didn’t get out of here until 2:00 p.m. But the food more than made up for it. The staff was very apologetic and friendly, they were just overwhelmed. I will 100% be back here again. I think this is a great alternative to a table service in Magic Kingdom, especially at lunch time.
Taryn's Mad Hatter Adventures 