REVIEW: Did We Just Find the BEST New Breakfast Items (Also Served for LUNCH) in Disney World?!

One of the most consistent Disney World restaurants has made some MAJOR changes to its menu!

There are a handful of Disney World restaurants we KNOW we can rely on for any meal throughout the day, but these latest changes made us extremely curious. You know us by now. When there are changes to Disney World restaurants — big or small — we’ve GOT to check them out and tell you all about it. Trust us; these changes might have just made breakfast our FAVORITE meal to enjoy at Wine Bar George.

When you’re craving a really safe bet for brunch in Disney World, your first thought might not be to visit the only Master Sommelier-owned wine bar in all of Florida, but it should be!

“George” of Wine Bar George is Master Sommelier George Miliotes. If you’ve grown to know him through his restaurant in Disney Springs, his name might also ring a bell as a former chef at a restaurant we love, California Grill.

Atmosphere

While Wine Bar George offers a wide variety of meal options, we noticed that there was a bit of a shakeup to the brunch offerings recently. As you make your way over to Wine Bar George at Disney Springs, the first thing you’ll probably notice is just how BIG the outside of the restaurant truly is. It’s a few stories tall and is a humble brick building with a simple sign.

As you step through the glass doors, you’re met by a Cast Member at the host stand in the corner. Your eyes settle into the warm neutrals and bold black colors you’ll find at the center bar…

…and surrounding tables and chairs.

When you reach the back left corner of the room, you’ll see the exposed metal staircase that leads up to the top level of the restaurant, where you can feast your eyes on another open-concept dining room as well as another bar!

There’s also outdoor patio seating if you prefer to take in the sights and sounds of the Disney Springs outdoor entertainment.

But if you’re looking for a cozy area to gather with family and friends, Wine Bar George has that, too! They’ve also built a room with longer communal tables for larger parties and celebrations, and there’s even a wine cellar room you can request to be seated inside, too!

We could go on and on about how well this restaurant pulls off a home-y vibe of just hanging out with your close friends, but we’ve got to get into the real reason for our visit this time — the new eats!

Menu

The Wine Country Brunch menu here is available for a limited time during the middle of the day. If you’re looking to snag any or all of the selections we made during this review, you’ll need to know that they’re only available between 10:30AM and 2PM. The menu is comprised of a few starters…

…boards to choose from…

…main plates…

…and sides. If you’re still craving something a bit sweeter, there are a few limited dessert options, too!

You’ll also have a selection of beverages, including mocktails and cocktails…

…beers and ciders.

There’s even a children’s menu available just in case you’re dining with little ones, too.

The offerings over the weekend on Saturdays and Sundays change to a super limited time slot only available between 2-3PM.

Oh, and of course, this restaurant couldn’t have wine in its name without serving over 200 wine offerings all day long!

So big, in fact, that it has its own front and back menu brought to your table.

It’s kind of their thing here.

Drinks

We started off our brunch experience with an Authored in Autumn cocktail. This drink is made of rye, pear liqueur, honey, and lemon for $16. 

This drink really earned its name. It evokes all of the heartier feels and flavors of fall in a glass. The rye gives more of a bourbon feel in its aftertaste but is a bit sweeter when it’s mixed with the pear liqueur.

The addition of honey and lemon worked together to create a smooth taste, and it truly impressed us.

Eats

Our food started to arrive shortly afterward, and we’ll talk about them and the order in which they arrived. The first dish to our table was the Crispy Mac & Cheese Bites. They’re sitting in a shallow bed of tomato nage sprinkled with pecorino. We ordered this dish of four bites for $16.

These bites are a past favorite of ours (and you can even pick them up at the quick service window outside at The Basket if you’re not looking to sit down for a full meal). They’re the perfect mix of crunchy and crispy yet cheesy enough to justify the macaroni inside.

Each ball is just about as big as if you make a circle with your curved thumb and index finger, and there’s just enough depth to get a few bites out of each — if you can somehow keep yourself from devouring them whole, that is.

The Brunch Board was next to arrive! This version of a charcuterie board is filled with breakfast sausage, maple-dusted chicharrones, hashbrowns, candied pork belly, cheddar, Manchego, and a few condiments. This new board will cost you $30 and is easily sharable between a table of four.

This one smelled so good when it came to our table that we almost didn’t want to touch it. We asked our server about the changes made to the brunch menu, and he explained that the breakfast sausage had been changed to a few patty slices rather than the thicker links that used to be served. We found this change worthy of its new featured spot on the board, and the sausage has a low-smoked taste without feeling overly greasy.

There were also a few pieces of toasted bread, which served mostly as the base for your board to stack and mix…

…as well as a few maple-dusted chicharrones, which crunch when you bite into them. They’re not anything special, just a sweeter dusting of maple to the pork rind, which was a bit different from the unflavored or spicy barbecue you might expect. It actually made them more interesting with the maple addition, and we really would have loved a few more.

Going around the board, the condiments served were fresh honeycomb supplied by the neighboring Savannah Bee Company nearby (which was great to see Disney Springs neighbors collaborating on food) and fresh strawberry jam.

The candied pork belly really shines among these offerings and is almost a meatier sister to the candied bacon slices you can find in Magic Kingdom. The pork belly had just the right ratio of fattier parts to meat that pulled apart when we dug into it, and the candied glaze surrounding it really enhanced its flavor.

There were two house-made hashbrowns that were made out of finely diced potatoes, which were a great addition to the board for texture and a simpler flavor to break up the fruitier flavor profiles…

…and the addition of the sharper cheddar cheese slices…

…mixed with the offering of the softer Manchego that seemed to crumble in our mouths was just the right dose of cheese for a lighter brunch option.

Our entrees arrived together, but when they did, we could hardly pull our eyes away from the Stuffed French Toast. This dish will cost you $19 and is made of brioche toast slices filled with coconut cream sitting in a bed of rum caramel.

If you think this looks like a slice of Heaven, just wait until you taste it! It was divine, and we couldn’t get it in our mouths fast enough!

The inside cream mixed with the rum caramel drizzle reminded us of the Coconut Bread Pudding you can find at Sebastian’s Bistro and Banana Cabana at Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort. If you’re a fan of that bread pudding, this is the brunch meal made specifically for YOU!

Last but certainly not least on our list was the Roasted Porchetta Sandwich for $21. The sandwich is made of seared porchetta steak between buns slathered in cabbage & pickled onion slaw and served with fries.

We’re pretty sure this was another dish made entirely to fit our taste because it was bursting with flavor. The perfectly violet hues of the cabbage are what you’ll probably notice first about this sandwich, and in its defense, it’s kind of hard to ignore! It certainly knows how to command your attention, and we fell in love the moment we laid eyes on it from presentation alone. The pickled onion slaw gave a similar taste to a horseradish sauce, and the roasted porchetta slices were a great mix of fattier areas against a bit drier pork meat, but it had no problem peeling apart when we bit into it.

The fries were served as smaller wedge slices tossed in herbs and fried until the outside was just a bit crisp. It gave a nice snap in your mouth as you bit down on them.

They also didn’t leave a greasy feeling behind and were a great accompaniment to the flavors achieved in the sandwich.

Overall

We already enjoyed practically everything we’ve dined and sipped on at Wine Bar George, and clearly, if you’ve made it this far into our brunch review, this meal wasn’t one to break the mold. We found ourselves fully immersed in its offerings, and it was surprising to find a mix of dishes that leaned more toward breakfast and lunch than just a late breakfast.

This made it super hard to pull ourselves away from the table and gather our belongings to go back out into the world after such an elevated meal surrounded by such a warm, lively restaurant that strives to create a cozy feel.

Nosh or Not?

You’ll want to make it a point to visit Wine Bar George for brunch if…

• You’re looking for a comfy place to settle into with friends and family. This is a great restaurant that’s got just the vibe to fit the solo traveler and a full family. When you’re here, its hard to feel out of place because it’s so relaxed yet bustling at the same time.
• You’re weary of trying new dishes or restaurants. If you’ve been searching for a restaurant that consistently delivers no matter the meal time, this is a solid option for you.
• You’re not a morning person. Like the idea of breakfast but just don’t want to fight the crowds in the parks or wake up early? This restaurant’s brunch has got your back. On the opposite side, if you’re not big on breakfast but everyone else you’re traveling with is, this is a great restaurant to compromise on.

We think you’d enjoy a meal at another Disney Springs restaurant if…

• Intimate-feeling restaurant vibes just aren’t your style. The tables here are made to make you feel like you’re engaging with the rest of the restaurant or at least a part of it from a distance. If that’s not really your speed, then we’d suggest passing on this one.
• The menu isn’t terribly adventurous. If you’re looking to try some wild dishes and curated drink concoctions, this restaurant is definitely focused on crowd-pleasing options.
• Disney Springs isn’t on your list of places to visit on your vacation. If you’re not planning to take time away from the parks or can’t stand the thought of peeling away for a few hours to visit, then it might be more trouble for you to break your original plans just to dine here (although we totally think it would be worth it in the end).

We’re constantly eating our way around Disney World and updating our reviews of the newest menu items, popular restaurants, and everything in between. Stay tuned with us at Disney Food Blog for them all!

REVIEW: Did This Disney Restaurant Beat Its BAD Reputation?

Would you prefer brunch or dinner at Wine Bar George with the latest menu changes? Tell us in the comments below!

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