Our dinner on Wednesday night, December 14th, was at the castle of a Beast and his Beauty (aka Be our Guest Restaurant)…
After checking in at the outside desk we waited quite a while to be called to go inside. While waiting I heard countless people being turned away after attempting to score a walk-up here. So it seems the novelty of dining at the Beast’s castle has yet to wear off…even after 4 years of being open. This was the second time that my son and I had had dinner here, the first time being just a few months after it opened. Though my daughter had had lunch with me at Be our Guest back in December 2013 and breakfast in May 2015, this was her first experience with dinner.
After waiting for nearly a 1/2 hour, we were finally called and seated in the Ballroom/Main Dining Room.
Although I really like the theming and special effects of the West Wing…
…I knew that for the sake of better light for taking photos I was better off with us being seated in the main room. While still a bit dark there, it was better than having to use a flash and disturbing the guests seated at nearby tables.
The main dining room (ballroom) was looking quite festive for the holidays…
What looks likes glimmering, snow-capped mountains in this photo, is actually just the reflection of the beautiful chandeliers in the window…
I had forgotten about the red cloth napkins which are folded into the shape of a rose…
So we began our dinner here by ordering an appetizer to share…
We chose the…
Assorted Meats and Cheeses served with Cornichons, Pickled Onions, and Toasted Baguette
My notes regarding this platter of meats and cheese are unfortunately rather short. I believe there were two kinds of ham, one smoked and perhaps the other was serrano. Then there was a cured salami-type meat and some pate I think. For cheeses, I believe there were 3 different kinds, including brie. No bleu cheese, which was fine for the kids but I was a little disappointed. Anyway, we all enjoyed this.
We were also served a complimentary basket of rolls…
…which were mostly eaten by my son.
My daughter and I also both had a glass of wine with our dinner (my son stuck to a soda since he wasn’t turning 21 until midnight)…
At the time, the ability to have a glass of wine or a beer with your dinner at Magic Kingdom was unique to Be our Guest. However, a little more than one week later (on Dec. 23, 2016) several other Magic Kingdom restaurants began serving wine and beer (including Cinderella’s Royal Table, Tony’s Town Square, Skipper Canteen and Liberty Tree Tavern…making it more appropriately named 
).
Now moving on to our entrees, which were chosen from this menu…
My daughter ordered the…
Roasted Lamb Chops served with Potato Pave, Artichokes, Tomato Salsa, and Lamb Demi-glace
She didn’t say very much about this other than it looked better than it tasted.
And on Day #5 of our trip, my son ordered a steak for the 4th time…
Grilled Strip Steak with Garlic Herb Butter and Pomme Frites
So how did this one stack up against the others?? The best was still the first one he had at Chefs de France, followed by his steak at San Angel Inn. But this one was deemed by him to be a little better than his steak at Coral Reef.
For the second time of the day, I was declared the Winner of ordering the best entree…
Braised Beef served with Seasonal Vegetables (asparagus), Baby Potatoes, Balsamic Caramelized Onions, and topped with crispy Potato Curls
This is not the type of thing that I would normally order because I despise fatty meat and often short ribs (or braised beef) can be fatty. So even though I had intended to order the chicken breast, for some unknown reason I surprised myself and ordered this instead. And I’m glad that I did because it was very good.
Twice during our dinner the Beast did a fast walk through the middle of the dining room. He moved so quickly that it was difficult to get a photo…
However, you do have the opportunity to take part in a meet and greet with him in his library. We checked it out on our way out but he was taking a break and the kids didn’t want to wait for his return.
But I’m getting ahead of myself because before leaving Be our Guest we first ordered dessert…
My son’s choice was the…
The “Grey Stuff”
This was basically just a brownie topped with a cookies and cream panna cotta that’s been whipped into a creamy dessert which they call “Grey Stuff”. Being called the “Grey Stuff” he was expecting this to be delicious, but he said it was just okay. Apparently the brownie was a little dry.
He did though like the plain “Grey Stuff” he was given as a complimentary birthday dessert…
As for my daughter and me, we both ordered cupcakes…
This Triple Chocolate Cupcake was my daughter’s and she said it was good. However, I think my cupcake was the best of our desserts…
Now that’s DELICIOUS!!! I really like the Strawberry Cream Cheese Cupcake at Be our Guest.
So that just leaves the ratings. I really liked my entree and dessert and the appetizer was pretty good. The kids though were not as enthused about their entree choices. So overall our rating would probably be a 4, the same as it was given on both Trip Advisor and Yelp. Oh and speaking of Yelp, I saw this Instagram post recently and thought it was pretty funny…
Anyway, as for Be our Guest’s ranking on Trip Advisor, it currently comes in at #152 of the nearly 3,000 Orlando area restaurants reviewed there. In comparison, the other Magic Kingdom restaurant where we had lunch, Skipper Canteen, comes in at only #241. Though both received 4 star ratings by those that dined there, I think the big difference in their ranking (and popularity) is due to the atmosphere/theming of Be our Guest and the more familiar food options on their menu.
Taste of Disney 