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I’ve eaten my way through countless BBQ joints, but I think I might have found my favorite one in an unsuspecting location.
The Polite Pig at Disney Springs in Orlando, Florida may not seem like a fit to be on a theme park food website, but because Disney Springs is owned by The Walt Disney Company this is part of their theme park collection, therefore I will gladly point out that yes, yes it is. With the average price being between $20-30 per person, this restaurant does come at a cost for a family of four.
We tried four dishes: Kids Pork Slider, Fried Chicken Sandwich, Smoked Chicken Salad Wrap, and the Southern Pig Sandwich.
My initial thoughts of the restaurant were overwhelmingly busy, which could be a good sign of things to come or … an overrated food spot. However, I was pleasantly surprised and found that all of the food was fresh, service was well done, and the general atmosphere casual, comforting, and cozy.
Check out our other food reviews if you’re interested in theme park food!
Atmosphere and Ambiance at The Polite Pig
The way it works at The Polite Pig is simple – you hop in line, order your food, are given a pager, you find a table, place your pager on the table, and your food is brought out to you.
My overall impression of it all? Easy to maneuver, but the lines are incredibly busy and it can be difficult to find an indoor table during the dinner rush. There were some outdoor tables available, however by choice my party wanted to stay inside.
The look and feel of the restaurant is well thought-out (except for one thing … the bathroom situation, but I’ll get to that in a moment) with high-top tables, booths, indoor and outdoor bar seating, and general floor seating. It has a little bit of everything for everyone.
My biggest gripe were how tightly packed the high-top tables – the option we chose – were in close proximity to each other, the sauce station, and the beverage station. It’s a bit claustrophobic and you’ll find yourself being hit if people aren’t paying attention to their surroundings, so I would choose another of the seating options if you’d like more personal space.
Aside from that there aren’t enough bathrooms for the amount of patrons inside of the restaurant – one stall per gender in such a large establishment seems egregious. However, there are plenty of bathroom options outside if you need it after your meal, otherwise, I highly suggest you bring hand wipes with you before you enjoy your meal.
As for the service, I thought the quality was great considering that we did half of the legwork of finding our own table and serving ourselves our own drinks (aside from cocktails). The staff was friendly and not overly attentive, which I really appreciated. They came through to pick up trays that were finished, but didn’t bother us during our meal.
One thing to note is that you tip at the register for your service before it happens, so bear that in mind. There were options for 15, 18, and 20%.
(And I understand the reasoning – at that point you’re done interacting with the cash part of your transaction, get it out of the way, and you don’t have just one server to your table, there are multiple people roaming throughout the restaurant doing their job so by putting a cash tip down it may get stolen or not distributed evenly to staff at the end of their shift).
Oh, and if you’re looking for a quiet restaurant? This isn’t it. It’s a BBQ spot after all. Lots of hearty laughter, clattering of utensils, and kids being children – it’s great!
Food Presentation
Whew, I’ll keep this succinct, but the food presentation was elevated a step above bare bones (and I really liked how the food was arranged and presented here in a rustic feel, too). The food came on a simple metal tray with a parchment sheet sat under the food in brown paper food trays and that was it.
It’s a messy put-together presentation of food and it’s enticing all the same.
The food speaks for itself. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
As for the cocktail and mocktail received, they made sure we got our money’s worth for sure. My mocktail was overflowing on to the table when they set it down and the cocktail was all the way to the brim as well. A bit of a mess to be frank, but if you’re looking for value in that department they’re going to deliver.
Taste and Flavor
Kids Pork Slider
The kids menu is for children 9 and under.
My nephew chose the pork slider with his choice of waffle fries; it also comes with a drink of choice (although on the menu it mentions apple juice on one version of the menu and nothing on another) that can be filled at the soda machines on the far wall.
He really enjoyed the waffle fries, the were soft, fluffy, and slightly crunchy on the outside. They were not seasoned, but they were deliciously fried up to perfection.
As for the pork slider he wasn’t its biggest fan – not only was it messy, but he didn’t like the flavor. He couldn’t pinpoint what about the flavor he didn’t like (he’s 9, he likes what he likes can’t ask for much else), but I was able to narrow it down to the fact that it had nothing to do with the pork itself. My guess? He didn’t like the sauce.
He kept adding ketchup to it potentially ruining any of the original vinegar ratio, but he is a picky kid either way.
He ate roughly half before quitting and focusing on the waffle fries and the side of macaroni and cheese.
E’s Rating: 3/5
Smoked Chicken Salad Wrap
Mom came in with an order of the Smoked Chicken Salad Wrap and a fountain drink. The wrap consists of spinach, roasted tomatoes, dried cherries, sunflower seeds, and avocado purée.
It initially tasted like a Caesar Salad inside of a soft wrap: packed, cool, crunchy spinach with well-cooked, tender, flavorful chicken inside. She enjoyed being able to customize her wrap despite it being pretty much complete; she added hot sauce to her wrap, but felt like the hot sauce did nothing.
Note: We are a Caribbean family, ordinary American-style hot sauces typically don’t do anything for us, but throw in a scotch bonnet and you’re cookin’.
What she didn’t taste? The avocado purée. She didn’t even know it was supposed to be in there.
The biggest complaint my mom had about her wrap was the unevenness of the ingredients throughout. One half tasted like the Caesar Salad wrap I mentioned earlier, but the next half seemed to have all of the sunflower seeds, dried cherries and roasted tomatoes (and this was her favorite half).
She liked how the cherries added a sweetness to the overall savoriness of the wrap and the seeds added a crunchy texture that contrasted from the spinach.
J’s Rating: 4/5
Fried Chicken Sandwich & Twisted Tea Cocktail
My broski had the Fried Chicken Sandwich with a Twisted Tea cocktail. The sandwich consists of sweet & spicy BBQ, Duke’s mayo, pickles, and coleslaw.
The cocktail was a combination of bourbon, tequila, gin, rum, vodka, triple sec, and Coke, and he devoured it. He felt like he could taste the liquor but it wasn’t overpowering, had a good blend of all the liquors and the Coke, but actually couldn’t tell it was Coke just that he liked that the soda brought that bubbly, carbonated feel to the drink.
But as for the sandwich, he isn’t the biggest fan of sweet BBQ sauce and had he’d known it was sweet he probably would have gone with another item on the menu. That being said, he wouldn’t order this sandwich again based on a number of things:
- wasn’t a fan of the flavor
- thought the breading was tough
- felt that there was more breading than chicken
- didn’t like the presentation; chicken was disproportionate to the bun and messy
However, he enjoyed the pickles and the coleslaw immensely. He even liked the pickle on top which wasn’t his favorite kind of pickle (nor any of ours).
Note: I didn’t realize that my brother was a harsher critic than me, but here we are. 😬
M’s Rating: 3/5 • M’s Rating (Cocktail): 4/5
Southern Pig Sandwich & Frozen Mocktail
Now, it comes to me, I had the Southern Pig Sandwich and a combined Frozen Mocktail. The sandwich consists of pulled pork, fennel-apple slaw, tangy mustard BBQ, and Duke’s mayo.
The mocktail was combined with both Piña Colada and Strawberry Daiquiri was generally in a frozen slushie form – delicious, refreshing, and was a whole lot of it. My mom loved it though and wishes she just drank it herself, ha!
As for the sandwich – please, management, send me another one because ooh-weeee that sandwich was so good. 🥹
The bun was soft, a little buttery, and it didn’t get soggy as I ate through it (then again, I ate this pretty quickly, so there is that).
I’m not a fan of fruit combined with my meat dishes, but I literally didn’t even notice there was apple in the slaw, it was shrouded by the vinegary, mustardy heat of the BBQ. I liked that there was enough crunch in the sandwich from the fennel-apple slaw and wasn’t too much, it was quite frankly perfect.
The pork was tender and the parts with the fat melted in the mouth, just writing about it is making my mouth water. The flavor was smoky and it was a fantastic combination of flavors, textures, and smells.
TPB’s Rating: 4.5/5 • TPB’s Rating (Mocktail): 4/5
Sides: Macaroni & Cheese, Roasted Brussel Sprouts, Street Corn
Each of us got a side to add to our meals as it was an extra $5.00 rather than pay for all three separately at $17.00.
The macaroni & cheese (aged cheddar and fontina with breadcrumbs) was a smashing success, that went clean off the table immediately and we ended up giving a good chunk to my nephew. The noodles were cooked perfectly and were smothered in creamy, ooey, gooey, cheesy goodness with crunchy breadcrumbs on top.
My nephew couldn’t stop raving about it; he almost licked the cheese out of the ramekin!
The street corn (chipotle aioli and breadcrumbs) was a simple corn dish that had us generally feeling it was overcooked with far too soft kernels. I thought the flavor of the aioli was rich and I liked the contrasting breadcrumbs against the softness of the corn, but I think it needed less time with whatever method it was cooked under.
We all expected that bite you get out of corn and when we didn’t get it we knew we’d never order it again unless that was something they took under consideration.
The roasted Brussel sprouts (whiskey-caramel) had a slight sweetness to it that wasn’t overpowering, but was tasty! They were perfectly roasted, I’m a big fan of a little over-roasted sprouts so these hit the spot. My mom was the only other person to eat them and she wasn’t wow’d, she liked them enough but wouldn’t go out of her way to get them again.
Quality and Value of The Polite Pig
The general consensus of all the meals was that the quality, freshness, and taste was an A. My nephew is pretty discerning, actually he’s just picky to be honest, but if he doesn’t like something he will not eat it and even he had to admit that he liked his pork sliders.
Everything that needed to be crunchy was and everything that ought to have been cool, snappy, and a little tangy was, too.
The portion sizes were of the standard American burger size, but do I think it was worth what we received? It depends on how you look at it.
If your perspective is asking about whether your food merely tasted good, didn’t absolutely break your wallet, and you were satisfied, then yes, this is a decent value.
If your perspective is asking … is that it? Where are the included sides? I have to pay extra for a side to an already pricey sandwich? Then, no, you won’t find value in this meal.
None of the meals, aside from the Kids Pork Sliders, came with any sides or drinks, those were all extra.
As a reminder, for every sandwich we bought a side that was an extra $5.00 (and we each got one so we could try as much as possible and save $2.00) and that adds up. And on top of that we ordered one fountain drink, one cocktail, and one mocktail.
We did receive water for free though. 🤡
In total, with tip included, these meals came up to $110.81.
That’s a hard pill to swallow, I’m just sayin’. For a BBQ joint though, this isn’t that bad.
Overall Thoughts of The Polite Pig
The Polite Pig is not the spot for you if you’re looking for a budget-conscious menu, somewhere quiet, or wanting something fancy. It is the spot for you if you’re looking for quality food with lots of flavor in an overly casual setting with a robust alcohol menu and you can laugh to your hearts content.
General consensus? I recommend this place for any barbecue lover. The dishes are fantastic, flavorful, and the service is great.
I hope you get to experience The Polite Pig on your day out to Disney Springs, it’s truly a great quick service location with options for the entire family and have you seen those pictures of the inside? Gorgeous.
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