REVIEW: Is Sebastian’s Bistro the Best Dining Value at Walt Disney World?

Brit Tuttle

REVIEW: Is Sebastian’s Bistro the Best Dining Value at Walt Disney World?

Brit Tuttle

REVIEW: Is Sebastian’s Bistro the Best Dining Value at Walt Disney World?

It’s always island time at Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort! We recently visited to check out the family-style dining at Sebastian’s Bistro, and see if it truly is the best dining value on Walt Disney World property.

Sebastian’s Bistro

Exterior

sebastian's bistro exterior

Sebastian’s Bistro is located along the Old Port Royale promenade of Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort, near the Fuentes del Morro Feature Pool. There is stroller parking to the right of the restaurant’s entrance.

sebastian's bistro exterior sign
sebastian's bistro exterior menu

There are multiple signs that display the restaurant’s name, as well as a menu just outside the entrance that shows off the items available for family-style dining.

Interior

sebastian's bistro interior dining area
sebastian's bistro table settings

The interior is a bit narrow and not very spacious, but there is both table and high-backed booth seating available. When you arrive at your table, you’ll find your flatware and silverware already set up, as well as a special plate and knife ready for the highlight that is the buttery pull-apart rolls.

Sebastian’s Bistro Dinner Menu

Dinner is available from 4:30 p.m. – 9:30 p.m. daily at Sebastian’s Bistro. The meal is served family-style at a flat rate of $19 per child and $35 per adult. Children under 3 eat free across Walt Disney World Resort.

Bread Service

Buttery House-baked Pull-apart Rolls

with guava butter and caramelized onion jam

sebastian's bistro buttery house-baked pull-apart rolls

The pull-apart bread was buttery and doughy, but we found the caramelized onion jam to be slightly overpowering. The guava butter, however, was much smoother and had a more subtle yet sweet flavor. Our bread plate also included a new Mickey-shaped bread item that we couldn’t quite place. The buttery flavor you’d expect was there, but the texture was quite grainy.

Dinner Rolls

with plant-based guava spread and caramelized onion jam

sebastian's bistro dinner rolls

The dinner rolls were quite dense and chewy, but still easy to pull apart. However, the guava butter this time around was quite intense with guava flavor. If the onion jam was different for this alternative bread option, we couldn’t tell the difference.

Appetizer

Plant-based The Spice Necklace Salad

mixed greens and kale with spiced candied pumpkin seeds, tropical fruit, and radish with key lime dressing

sebastian's bistro plant-based the spice necklace salad

Next, we went for the salad, and found that the key lime dressing dominated the dish with a tart flavor. The kale and tropical fruit tasted super fresh, and offered a refreshing bite for a hot summer day. The highlight for us, though, was the addition of pumpkin seeds.

Dinner Platters

Taste of the Caribbean

oven-roasted citrus chicken, slow-cooked mojo pork with mango sambal, grilled chili-rubbed beef with mojito relish, and sustainable baked fish with Veracruz sauce

sebastian's bistro taste of the caribbean
sebastian's bistro grilled chili-rubbed beef

We started things off with the grilled chili-rubbed beef, which offered great flavor but was a little dry.

sebastian's bistro oven-roasted citrus chicken

Our platter didn’t include a lot of the oven-roasted chicken, but what we were able to try had a powerful citrus flavor to it that was almost a little much. We thought a jerk chicken option might have been better suited to the menu.

sebastian's bistro slow-cooked mojo pork with mango sambal

The pork was very moist and tender, with plenty of mojo flavor. We thought it definitely could be enjoyed alone without the mango sambal. This was our main favorite of the platter.

sebastian's bistro sustainable baked fish with Veracruz sauce

The Veracruz sauce on the sustainable baked fish was a winner in our book, despite the cod being slightly fishy in taste.

Plant-based Harvest of the Caribbean

Impossible kebab, fried jerk tofu, plant-based sausage, and Caribbean “fish” cake

sebastian's bistro plant-based harvest of the caribbean

The Impossible kebab, on the left, was very well-seasoned, and did a great job at imitating meat with its smoky flavors and charred exterior. The fried jerk tofu, found in the middle of the plate, had a breading that gave it an extra crunch, and was enjoyable despite being very peppery. The plant-based sausage, on the far right, had a little bit of spice, with an almost spot-on sausage texture.

The Caribbean “fish” cake, seen in the lower right of the plate, however, was extraordinarily fishy in flavor and tasted as though we had taken in a mouthful of salt water. While that last plant-based option wasn’t a winner for us, as they say, three out of four isn’t bad!

Sides

Both the Taste of the Caribbean and Harvest of the Caribbean are served with cilantro rice and beans, vegetable curry, and grilled seasonal vegetables.

sebastian's bistro cilantro rice and beans

The cilantro rice itself had only a hint of cilantro flavor and seemed undercooked, and the beans were chalky in texture. We’ve had this side before, and it was fine, so maybe this was just a bad batch.

sebastian's bistro vegetable curry

The vegetable curry had a little bit of spice to it, but everything tasted fresh and cooked properly.

sebastian's bistro grilled seasonal vegetables

The grilled seasonal vegetable was broccolini, which was quite oily and garlicky in flavor, and potentially overcooked. Overall, these sides didn’t blow us away.

Dessert

Our Celebrated House-made Coconut-Pineapple Bread Pudding

with caramel sauce and vanilla ice cream

sebastian's bistro celebrated house-made coconut-pineapple bread pudding

The caramel sauce was much thicker for this version of the dessert in comparison to the plant-based option, and was almost too sweet (though we did go a bit overboard on the pour). The flavor structure was enjoyable, though we did think it had a similar taste to that of suntan lotion.

Plant-based Coconut-Pineapple Bread Pudding

with plant-based caramel sauce and vanilla soy frozen dessert

sebastian's bistro plant-based coconut-pineapple bread pudding

Though you can immediately taste the difference between the vanilla soy frozen dessert and regular ice cream, it was still enjoyable and had an interesting tartness and texture to it. We only wished that there were more dessert options, as the plant-based and non-plant-based options were basically the same, save for an ingredient here and there.

Watch our full review and experience in the video below.

Overall

We’ve visited Sebastian’s Bistro before since it transitioned to family-style offerings, but this was the best meal we’ve had here so far. If you’re looking for charm, you’ll find it thanks to the iconic music loop that’s pumped through the restaurant (the 1990’s album “Disney’s Sebastian: From the Little Mermaid”), since the interior itself is cute enough but quite plain.

At just $35 for all-you-care-to-enjoy dining, plus the ability to tack on a 20% Annual Passholder discount or use your Disney Dining Plan, Sebastian’s Bistro is a great value that you really can’t beat anywhere else on property. We highly recommend you check it out, and reservations are usually easy to come by.

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