Spyglass Grill opened this past Monday at Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort. This is a quick service food & beverage spot located just off the quiet pool in the Trinidad South area. The opening of this restaurant is part of the multi-phase refurbishment of the resort.
A rather cool Hidden Mickey in the sign.
We learned that this entire building is a brand new build for the resort, meaning it’s not something they converted. It’s brand new, yet still sticks to the same design and look as the rest of the resort built in 1988. Expect large, brightly colored blank walls and a cramped dining area.
This location is open 7am-10pm daily and features a unique breakfast menu that we’ll be reviewing in a future post. We arrived for dinner and were greeted with numerous choices.
An impressive beer selection, unfortunately there’s no draft option and these all come in cans and bottles. It’s worth noting Carib Lager, Prestige Lager, Red Stripe Lager, and Dragon Stout all originate from Caribbean islands. Also unlisted on this menu is the option for a dark or a light rum in multiple of the drinks. They can be served with Bacardi Superior Rum (light) or the Coruba Dark Rum (dark). We opted for the dark rum in our drinks to add an extra kick of flavor.
The Drinks
Caribbean Mai Tai – $10.50
The Mai Tai drink is typically found in Polynesia themed areas, such as Polynesian. It should probably stay there too because this version was nasty and had a taste of rotten apples.
Island Margarita – $12.25
There’s two names for this drink floating around, but it’s served up the same. A decently tart margarita that felt boozy, which is good considering the price was much higher than the other drinks we tried.
Pina Colada – $10.00
The rum was mixed-in after the pina colada was poured making for a frothy mixture. The taste was on-point, but it looked pretty disgusting to drink.
Spiked ‘Ortanique’ Lemonade – $9.50
Lemonade and dark rum mix well, who knew? The tartness of the lemonade is offset by the subdued spice on the dark rum. Very refreshing.
The Food
Cuban Sandwich – Pulled Pork, Ham, Swiss, Pickles, and Mustard – $11.49
It’s a full panini packed with ham, pulled pork, and cheese. The pork stole the show within the sandwich, each bite as tasty and tender as the last. This was a really awesome sandwich, especially because we expected it to be lackluster. We opted for the Fresh Fruit side here. A bunch of strawberries joined a large piece of pineapple. Usually fresh fruit as a side means the cheapest available, this isn’t the case here. The strawberries felt fresh and the pineapple was juicy. It’s not a huge side like french fries, but it’s a great alternative.
Crispy Yuca Bowl – Pulled Pork, Black Beans, Cotija Cheese, Mojo, Pico de Gallo, and Lime – $9.49
This bowl was the size of the poutine bowls at Disney Springs, meaning it’s absolutely huge. Packed with crispy yuca below and overloaded with toppings, this is one heck of a deal at $9.49. The pork is the same from the Cuban Sandwich, keeping its delicate tenderness after being topped with black beans and salsas. Everything worked well together and tasted fresh. It’s a huge portion and fantastic taste, get it before the price gets raised.
Caribbean Tacos – Spiced Fish, Beef and Black Bean, Jerk Chicken – $9.99
There’s a fourth taco available listed as Vegan Black Beans. You can opt for this as one of your three tacos, and you can also keep three of the same taco if you wanted. We tried the fish, beef, and chicken. The spiced fish had an Old Bay seasoning on the exterior and didn’t immediately yield any overbearing spice, but if you’re not prone to spicier food we can see this being decently hot. Just as tender as the previously mentioned pulled pork, the beef was expertly prepared and beyond tender. When going back to Spyglass Grill we’ll probably opt for three of the beef tacos. The jerk chicken was perhaps overly peppered, but some may find that enjoyable. The side we got with this dish was the plantain and yuca chips. They were very crispy and a nice change from the usual quick service french fries.
Chorizo Burger – Crispy Pork, Lettuce, Provolone, and French Fries – $13.99
Unflattering picture below the top of the bun for your viewing pleasure. We were warned that the patty would be cooked thoroughly but still appear pink on the inside due to the chorizo, which was very accurate. The burger was spectacularly juicy and had a decent kick on the back of the tongue. A tomato was included, although not mentioned on the menu. It may be a little difficult to order a burger at $13.99, but the quality is certainly there in this one. We dare say it rivals D-Luxe Burger’s recent creations which makes this one worth your time.
Passion Fruit Tres Leches – $4.79
A very pretty presentation with a white chocolate mickey envelope stamp on top. The passion fruit isn’t as sweet or blaring with flavor as other tart fruit would be, which makes for a subtle and sweet dessert. You’ll probably want to skip this.
Overall
If you’re stating at Caribbean Beach in the near future, we absolutely recommend visiting this inviting new quick service. Guests staying in Trinidad South have complained for years that the food and beverage offerings were too far away, and their prayers have been answered. Not only was a food option installed, but a VERY good one. All four of our entrees were fantastic, a very rare feat at Walt Disney World. We can’t recommend anyone deviating from their vacation plans to make their way to the far end of Caribbean Beach, but if you’re a veteran Disney-goer or a local looking for a new food option, it’s absolutely worth your time.
Good to hear the food is getting better. We were entirely unimpressed a few years ago. Food was cold, either under spiced or horrendously over spiced, and all around bad. May have to give CBR another try if the reviews continue to be good.