On Thursday, we were lucky enough to attend a “friends and family preview” event for The Polite Pig, the newest eatery at Disney Springs which is scheduled to officially open on April 10th. If you would like to read more about this location, please refer to our last story about the opening of the restaurant.

The Polite Pig is located in The Town Center section of Disney Springs, right next to the fountain that greets guests at the pedestrian entrance to the Lime Parking Garage.

Once through the doors, you are greeted by a prep station behind glass. The kitchen is also visible through windows in the main dining room.

Behind the bank of registers is a wall of taps. If you are not comfortable with establishments that serve alcohol, you may want to stop reading this review now…

The interior is themed as most Disney Springs eateries are: it was once something else (in story) and was converted into a restaurant. The Polite Pig apparently used to be a Farmer’s Market.

The interior is nice, but many of these places at Disney Springs are starting to blend together. The Polite Pig almost feels like a combination of design elements from D-Luxe Burger, the Welcome Center and the restrooms around the area. The look is good enough, but is more of the same.

Upon ordering and paying, guests are given a pager and then can pick a table to dine at.

If you dine outside, you will have to put the device on one of these readers.

There is an indoor/outdoor bar area as well where guests will find the full alcohol menu available. The restaurant is a unique hybrid in that once you are seated, a server will come by to assist with anything you might need, including adding additional food or drink to your order. I don’t know of another counter service establishment at Disney World where you can do this. Of course, you could also sit at the bar or just get food and drink to go from here.

The Polite Pig Menu

The menu is fairly focused on barbecue as it offers sandwiches and assorted smoked entrees, but there are also interesting snacks, salads, and sides.

Seven (yeah, seven) sauces are available at the condiment bar, as well as spiced vinegar. Of course, there is also the highly touted bourbon menu featuring over 50 selections.

All of the four pictured here were good, but my favorite was the Signature Black Pepper (as I like a little spice). I look forward to trying the Fresno Hot Sauce and Hot Honey on my next visit.

If you purchase a fountain drink, a number of the usual offerings are available, but The Polite Pig also has its own Sweet and Unsweet Tea. The Blue Sky Root Beer is also available at Blaze Pizza, where it is often a guest favorite.

The Southern Pig ($12)

Pulled Pork, Apple Slaw, Mustard Sauce, and Duke’s Mayo

The Southern Pig is not your average pulled pork sandwich. The pork is actually “less pulled” than you might expect, left in large chucks heavily coated in the mustard sauce. The flavor is not what I was expecting, but was delicious nonetheless. The pork is tender and the bun is nice and crispy, working well with everything in-between.

Half Chicken ($15)

Half Chicken with a citrus rub served with Slaw, Texas Toast, and Choice of 1 Market Side.

This is a massive portion of chicken with a smokey flavoring that was as unique as it was delectable. Sure, you will have to put a little work in to get the meat off the bones, but it will be worth your time once you get the chicken into one of the fantastic sauces offered. The Texas Toast is pretty standard, but that isn’t a bad thing. It reminded me a lot of the toast offered at Sonny’s BBQ, a restaurant chain present here in Central Florida.

For $15, this giant chicken, a piece of Texas Toast, and a side are an insane value, at least for Walt Disney World… and I probably don’t have to tell you that it’s better than Cosmic Ray’s Starlight Cafe or the ABC Commissary.

The absolute best thing we had at the restaurant was the BBQ Cauliflower with Paprika Sour Cream. The vegetable was cooked perfectly, mixed with surprisingly well paired granola clusters, and accented nicely with the sour cream. I can’t recommend this enough, and I am not a person who generally enjoys cauliflower.

Orange Blossom Honey Cake ($7, Yeah, $7)

The Honey Cake was a little off putting in the first taste, but once I was better prepared for it, I found myself really enjoying it. The thick frosting had a nice flavor which counteracted the strong citrus overload nicely. Well worth a try at $7 and big enough for at least two to share after entrees.

Cask & Larder Red Drum Amber Ale ($9)

A good 20 ounce beer for $9, I really enjoyed this Red Drum Amber Ale, exclusive to restaurants in this family chain. It’s a nice, light, refreshing beer in a hefty potion. I almost couldn’t finish it just because we ate so much, but it pairs nicely with the barbecue dishes.

Old Fashioned ($10)

The Old Fashioned tasted a bit watered down, but was enjoyable. I am curious to see what the quality is like once they start serving these in pitchers on Monday.

OVERALL

In review, I was thoroughly impressed with the food and drink quality at The Polite Pig, as well as the attempt to offer a more service-intensive experience at a counter service establishment. We’ll see how it works when Monday rolls around, but until then, I am impressed with what I have had already and am anticipating my next visit. The barbecue was on the same level as (if not better than) Homecomin’ Florida Kitchen, and comes at a much better price (especially on alcohol). In the fantastic run of counter service additions to Disney Springs, this is another viable dining option to throw into the mix next time you are debating what to eat at the former Downtown Disney.

We will offer another review once the restaurant officially opens.

Tom Corless