Paddlefish at Disney Springs opened to guests over the weekend (in case you missed our barrage of tweets from the VIP event or our photo tour of the restaurant that we posted over the weekend). The restaurant replaces Fulton’s Crab House inside what was the Empress Lilly, an icon of the early Lake Buena Vista Shopping Village.

While I was not excited about the exterior concept art, the boat looks fantastic in person. This might be the only case ever where I thought that the finished product eclipsed the vision presented in the early artwork. If you would like a video tour of the exterior and interior, we have one for you below:

The three floors each have a bar, and there is dining space on each floor. If you want to sit higher up on the “vessel”, you will have to come later in the day as they begin seating at the bottom level when they open. Hours for the three bars are not set in stone yet, but the first floor bar opens with the restaurant and all 3 are generally open by 6:30PM (including the beautiful patio on the top floor). There is outdoor seating on the first level at the front of the boat if you wish to dine outside and not at a bar.

Before we go on, I do want to mention that both annual passholder and Tables in Wonderland discounts are available, both offering 20% off, however, only Tables in Wonderland also provides the discount on alcoholic beverages in addition to other items.

Paddlefish Lunch, Dinner, and Brunch Menu

We visited on Sunday afternoon specifically because I “needed” to try to the brunch menu. None of the items from this menu were sampled at the media shindig, so I needed to find out more about them with a regular visit to the restaurant.

Above is the normal lunch menu, below the dinner version.

Above the drink menu. No allergy friendly menus were available as of yet, but the chef was more than accommodating of the needs of the guest we were with who had allergies.

I included the kids menu as I am often asked about them. Sadly, not having children, I don’t often get to try any of these. Don’t get me wrong, I am not sad that I do not have children, just that I can’t have kids menu items without looking like a psychopath.

There are also Late Night and Seafood Boil menus, but we will be back for those. We did get to try a sample of the boil on Friday, but it was a bit of a letdown. We will be making a trip just for the boil at some point in the near future and will update you on how that experience goes.

Complimentary Bread

At first, they did not bring us the bread, but we asked for it after seeing another table get it. In fairness, offering bread at 11AM (when we sat down) and when we saw people starting getting bread around 2PM is a pretty big difference. I can understand maybe not offering it with brunch, but we were happy to get some to try after our meal.

So, how was it? Really fantastic. It has a crunchy exterior and a soft inside with a slight sourdough flavor. Butter is also provided.

Starters

Beef Skewers ($13)

Moving on to the appetizers, the beef skewers were quite good. They were cooked perfectly and were really tender, with the accompanying sauce offering a nice flavor.

Conch Chowder (cup $6, bowl $9)

Crab Fries ($13)

I did not like the Crab Fries at the media event, but they were much improved in their own plate in an appetizer serving. This plate is a nice size, the fries are good, and the crab is fresh and tastes great with the Louie sauce on it. These are still not a must for me, but they are pretty decent.

Hamachi Crudo ($16)

I loved the crudo, but it was also really spicy (thus why I enjoyed it). I highly recommend this if you like such things at other seafood eateries.

Tableside Lobster Guacamole ($28) Serves 4

This is something we tried at the event on Friday and not at brunch.

But, we do have photos of it being made for some guests on Sunday during our brunch:

This is probably the best of the Late Night menu drink items, in our opinion at least. In fairness, we often like vodka drinks, and if you do, I don’t think you will be unhappy with this cocktail blend.

Prohibition Mai Tai ($17)

Mad About Saffron Martini ($15)

Scallops ($34)

Another dish sampled at Friday’s event, the scallop was one of the best I have ever tasted. Cooked to perfection and went well with the cauliflower puree. I typically hate Brussels sprouts, but these were prepared masterfully and made me a fan for once in my life. I can’t imagine that a full serving of these would leave anyone dissatisfied.

Lobster Roll ($31)

The Lobster Roll is exclusive to the lunch menu and is quite good. The bread is nicely toasted and the lobster fresh as can be. I would have enjoyed a little less lettuce in in, but otherwise very enjoyable. We did see the full size version of this and it is quite large.

Faroe Island Salmon ($34)

Fried Clam Roll ($16)

Monte Cristo ($16)

This isn’t what you might recall from New Orleans Square at Disneyland, but it is well priced and a massive portion. Each of these is piled high with ham and topped with plenty of egg, bacon, and cheese. This is a brunch only option and probably the one that comes closest to being a breakfast dish.

Fish and Chips ($33)

There is also an assortment of after dinner drinks…

Brownie Milkshake ($10)

After all the milkshake psychosis over the last year (and I don’t mean the former-WCW wrestler Psychosis), we felt we had to try this. First off, it was the best-looking of any of the crazy milkshakes, that including both the Toothsome Chocolate Emporium & Savory Feast Kitchen and Planet Hollywood Observatory. Secondly, it was the best tasting. The chocolate tasted of a much higher quality in the shake, making this far and away the best I have ever had in a theme park setting. It could have been a little thicker, but it really is a quality product.

Chocolate Bourbon Pecan Tart ($10)

Candied bacon, dulce de leche ice cream, sea salt

This may unseat the Frontera Cocina Pecan Pie as my favorite dessert in all of Walt Disney World. Everything about this was amazing. It had a strong caramel and bourbon flavor, which tasted particularly spectacular with the candied bacon. If you love chocolate, caramel, bacon, and/pr bourbon, you HAVE to order this.

NOTE: This and the following dessert re shown in a sample size, not the larger, finished product that you can order.

Charred Carrot Cake ($10)

Caramelized carrot puree, cream cheese mousse, shortbread cookie crumb

If you enjoy carrot cake, then you can’t go wrong with this interpretation of the classic dessert. While not as exciting as the desserts above, it is a viable option. I personally thought that the cream cheese mousse made it worth a try.

OVERALL

I am completely blown away with the quality of the food and drink at Paddlefish. I was a pretty big detractor of Fulton’s, feeling the menu was fairly plain and lackluster (and having experienced a handful of negative dining experiences there), but Paddlefish goes a long way to “right the ship”. Sorry, I couldn’t help it.

Disney Springs is already a challenge to make dining recommendations for, and this isn’t helping. There is so much good here: The Boathouse, Morimoto Asia, Frontera Cocina, and even some food and drink items at Homecoming Florida Kitchen. I hate to say it, but even Planet Hollywood Observatory offers a stellar drink menu, and Jock Lindsey’s Hangar Bar still has so many of the drinks we’ve come to know and love. However, overall, Paddlefish is a powerhouse.

I like seafood, and Paddlefish has some amazing and inventive dishes. Beyond that, the alcohol menu (for me) is unrivaled. Usually I sit down and know I’m between 1-2 options at a bar, but here, there is at least 4 drinks I would happily order again (although the Mai Tai makes it hard to change).

I can not recommend the Paddlefish enough, for the unrivaled views, simple, yet elegant interior, phenomenal food, and inventive tasty cocktails it offers. I’m not sure I’m ready to say it is my favorite restaurant at Disney Springs just yet, but a few more visits may certainly make it that.

Tom Corless