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On the Disney Wonder, Tiana’s Place is one of the three table-service restaurants guests rotate through each night. Travelers are assigned a different restaurant each evening, so you are guaranteed a visit to each of the main three. On longer sailings, you may visit a restaurant twice, in which case they will have a second, different menu.
Tiana’s Place
Tiana’s Place is based on “The Princess and the Frog” and is named after Tiana’s original restaurant concept (her completed restaurant in the film is Tiana’s Palace). The interior is inspired by New Orleans.
It has Mardi Gras theming, including bead necklaces on every table for guests to wear. Tiana, Louis, and jazz musicians come out and perform during the dinner. Cast Members wear Tiana’s yellow outfit from the film.
Tiana’s Place Menu
The menu is a work of art directly from the film, in the style of Tiana’s “Almost There” sequence, with “Tiana’s Place” written across the top.
Tiana’s Place serves Louisiana-inspired Cajun and Creole cuisine.
Mardi Gras confetti, streamers, and beads decorate the inside of the menu.
The drinks menu features artwork of people making a toast.
The orange color scheme from the “Almost There” sequence continues inside the drinks menu, with crowns, fleurs-de-lys, and stars.
Though most food and beverages are included with the price of your sailing, specialty drinks like alcohol and mocktails do cost extra.
Tiana’s Place Drinks
Charlotte’s Peanut Butter Dream – $5.75 (non-alcoholic)
Ice cream smoothie, nonfat vanilla yogurt
This is a dream. We weren’t surprised — it’s peanut butter ice cream, after all. It’s smooth with a rich peanut butter flavor.
For $7.50, you can add a Raymond the Firefly glow clip to either of the non-alcoholic drinks. Raymond changes colors thanks to a button on the clip.
Bayou Moon – $13
Bayou spiced, ruby Port, VeeV açai, fresh lemon juice, fresh blackberries
This one is interesting but not bad. It’s not overly tart or overly sweet, juicy and heavy on the Port. It’s different from most theme park cocktails.
This drink also came with an unexpected souvenir of a beaded bracelet around the glass.
Though the menu only says you can add Ray to non-alcoholic drinks, we were allowed to add him to this alcoholic drink.
Mardi Gras – $10.50
Powerade Grape, Mello Yello, bayou rum
Presentation-wise, this comes out looking like a green mint julep, complete with a mint sprig on top. As the ingredients suggest, this is a weird-tasting drink. We could taste the rum but are mostly getting the sugary Powerade Grape flavor — like a rum-spiked ’80s kids’ drink. We’re not mad about it, though.
Bread Service
Herbed brioche with roasted onion dip
This may be the best bread service at a Disney Cruise Line table-service restaurant. It’s a soft, fluffy, perfectly-cooked brioche.
The roasted onion dip is a great accompaniment. Butter is also available.
Tiana’s Place Appetizers
Boudin Sausage Fritters
Minced pork and boudin sausage, breaded and fried, served with a bourbon aioli
This had potential that was ultimately wasted. It has a nice kick on the back end, but it’s otherwise just grainy and dry. The pork and sausage don’t come across in consistency or flavor.
It is well-seasoned, with a spice you would expect from a New Orleans-style dish — but it’s still a pass for us.
Ahi Tuna Tartare
with mango, pine nuts, radish, and wasabi
The head server recommended the ahi tuna tartare and it is a solid appetizer. The quality of the tuna isn’t amazing; it’s a little fishy. The mango is strong but saves the dish. There is only a dot of wasabi, which is basically just holding the garnish together.
Sautéed Shrimp and Grits
with andouille sausage, grilled green onions, and a smoked barbecue sauce
Our server recommended this one. When you think of Louisiana food, you probably think of shrimp and grits, and thankfully this appetizer was a winner. The smoked barbecue sauce is fantastic and brings a lot to the table, giving the whole dish a smoky flavor. The shrimp are cooked well and not fishy at all. The grits are unexpectedly creamy. It’s a fantastic dish.
New Orleans Seafood Pepper Pot
A Creole bouillabaisse with calamari, shrimp, scallops, and flat leaf parsley
You’ll find whole shrimps and scallops in this little soup. Everything is cooked well. We were stunned it was not spicy at all, but it’s a good broth. That said, it is a heavy soup to start your meal with.
If you only choose one appetizer, soup, or salad, we say go for the shrimp and grits.
Tiana’s Place Entrées
Eudora’s Artichoke Ravioli (vegetarian)
with satuéed spinach, lemon butter, sage, and pecorino cheese
We like this a lot. For a vegetarian dish, it’s solid. It’s creamy and cheesy. The artichoke is perfect and the pasta is cooked well enough. There are a few big chunks of artichoke, which are great. The spinach is oily and a great addition to the dish. We highly recommend this. Don’t overlook it if you’re not vegetarian.
Charlotte La Bouff’s Bucatini Pasta
with pancetta, oyster mushrooms, eggplant, spinach, peas, basil, and shaved parmigiano-reggiano cheese
Before even taking a bite, we knew this dish wasn’t going to be a home run. We recognized the noodles from our room service chicken noodle soup and they didn’t have a good consistency. They were rubbery and tasted terrible. This is the worst-cooked pasta we’ve ever had from Disney. There’s no sauce but the dish desperately needs one. This was inedible.
Cajun Spiced Sea Bass
On shrimp jambalaya with crisp fennel salad and rémoulade
Despite the name, this didn’t have any spice. It’s a little overcooked.
More shrimp! It’s cooked well, just like all the shrimp at Tiana’s Place. The jambalaya is nice and spicy. We would eat a plate of just that. The rémoulade is a mayo-mustard sauce that helps the fish, but this dish still missed the mark.
Tiana’s Place Desserts
The dessert menu features art of Tiana and Naveen in their frog forms, dancing on lily pads under the starry night sky.
Southern Style Pecan Nut Tart
with bourbon caramel sauce
This is the signature dessert and for good reason. The tart crust is phenomenal. It’s buttery and rich, really enhancing the tart. The filling is sweet, the pecans are perfect, and there’s a strong cinnamon flavor. We loved it.
Tiana’s Buttermilk Beignets
Dusted with powdered sugar and served with chocolate espresso dipping sauce
It wouldn’t be Tiana’s Place without beignets. Unfortunately, this is fine fried dough but doesn’t have the consistency of what we would call a beignet. It’s more like a donut with how thick and heavy it is. It’s not a bad donut and the chocolate sauce is sweet enough, it’s just not what we want out of a beignet dessert.
Chocolate Doberge Gâteau
Six-layer sponge cake filled with chocolate chantilly crème
This is light for a layer cake. It’s chocolatey and basic. There’s nothing special about it but it hits the spot for a safe dessert.
Tiana’s Place Characters & Performance
Tiana welcomes guests and the jazz musicians at the start of the meal before she starts making the rounds to visit guest tables.
She’s dressed in a white gown, boa, and headband, just like in her “Almost There” dream sequence. She’ll talk and pose for photos.
Tiana also invites Louis out with his trumpet. Like Tiana, he’ll visit every table to take photos.
There are a few scripted segments with Tiana and Louis, but the band continues to play music throughout.
Of course, they play music from “The Princess and the Frog,” but they also perform other Disney and jazz songs — we even heard “Hello, Dolly!” with the lyrics changed to “Hello, Tiana!”
The whole experience culminates in Tiana’s Bayou Bash Parade. Tiana, Louis, and the wait staff dance around the room, singing “Gonna Take You There.” Some of the Cast Members have parasols, staffs, and Mardi Gras sashes.
Guests can also join in on the Mardi Gras celebration and it ends with everyone singing “Dig A Little Deeper.”
Tiana’s Place Video
Watch our video review below.
Overall
Tiana’s Place is everything a Disney dining experience should be. The food quality was hit and miss but the atmosphere and storytelling are stellar. It has everything you want: characters, live entertainment, audience participation, and a beautiful interior. The design feels intentional, right down to the table settings.
The musicians were great and the Tiana performer was amazing. The show writing and song choices were phenomenal and fit the story of “The Princess and the Frog.” It helps that the film is the perfect IP for a restaurant and has excellent music to begin with. Nothing felt forced. It’s not IP for the sake of IP — it’s IP exactly how it should be used.
We could tell our fellow guests and the Cast Members were having fun. There was an awesome energy throughout the whole meal. Tiana’s Place is now easily one of our top ten favorite Disney restaurants in the world and a reason alone to choose the Disney Wonder.
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