With 3 of our group already on their flight home to Chicago, that left 4 of us for our 11:45 brunch at Summer House on the Lake at Disney Springs. Summer House opened its 4th location (with the other three being in Chicago, Las Vegas and North Bethesda, Maryland) at Disney Springs in December 2023, so was still fairly new when we visited for brunch in early April 2024.
The interior of the restaurant has a “beachy chic vibe” with palm trees growing in the center of its light and airy dining room…
Here is a photo I took of one its three bars, this one overlooking the lake…
And speaking of the bar, here is a photo of their Brunch Cocktail menu which three of us ordered from…
Here were our choices…
My cocktail was the Mimosa (pictured in the back, left side) which had fresh-squeezed Florida orange juice and Giuliana Prosecco. To its right is Emily’s Bellini which also had Giuliana Prosecco but mixed with white peach puree. Both of these cocktails were listed as being 6 oz. and priced at $14.00 on our bill. I would guess that the 6 oz. refers to the amount of Prosecco in each of the drinks since the mimosa glass was much larger than the other one. Anyway, both of these were your average, ordinary brunch mimosa/bellini and we rated them accordingly as a 3. Don made the better choice though because he had the Bloody Mary with spicy Bloody Mary mix and vodka and a chili salt rim for $15.00. This had a little kick to it but not overly spicy and he enjoyed it enough to rate it a 4.
Next is a photo of their California-inspired Brunch menu…
NOTE: This special Brunch Menu is offered from 9:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays.
For our starters, I had originally wanted to try their Jalapeno Cornbread, but when we confirmed that it was not gluten-free we instead ordered something that was so that Emily could have some too…
Cheesy Dream Puffs – Cheesy gluten-free tolls topped with sea salt, pepper and rosemary – $10.95 (price as of Feb. 2025 is $12.95)
Though I had heard wonderful things about these, our group was not impressed by them. We were very disappointed by their flavor (or lack thereof), especially when they looked so good. I will say though that the quantity of rolls that we got for $10.95 was impressive, however I see the price is up to $12.95 as of this writing. I wonder if the quantity has decreased along with the price increase? But anyway, this was the weakest link of our meal and we rated the Cheese Puffs only a 2.
For our other starter we ordered the…
Potato Salad Deviled Eggs – $9.95 (price as of Feb. 2025 is $11.95)
At a cost of more than $3.00 per deviled egg (now almost $4.00) the price is pretty steep, plus we didn’t even get enough for our party of 4 to each have one of their own. But these were tasty and the potato salad filling made them unique. So overall we rated the Deviled Eggs a 4.
NOTE: Last week I paid more than $8.00 for a dozen eggs at the grocery store so I guess I shouldn’t be complaining about paying $3.00 or $4.00 for a deviled egg, lol.
Now for our entrees, starting with Bryan’s choice…
Fluffy Buttermilk Pancakes served with Vermont Maple Syrup – $15.95 (now $16.95 as of Feb. 2025)
These were about as basic as you could get, served without any kind of breakfast meat or even a bit of fruit as garnish. The pancakes were definitely the least impressive of our entrees and they got an average rating of 3.
Next up is Don’s choice…
Breakfast Burrito – Flour Tortilla filled with Scrambled Eggs, Monterrey Jack Cheese, Pico de Gallo, Bacon and Avocado – $16.95 (price unchanged)
The burrito was on the small side but at least it came with a side salad. Also on his plate was a dipping sauce, which I believe was salsa verde. Like the pancakes, the presentation of this entree was pretty unimpressive. However, Don enjoyed this and gave it a rating of 4.
Emily’s choice looked more appealing…
Short Rib Hash topped with caramelized onions and two sunny side eggs – $22.95 (price unchanged)
Emily said this was very tasty and gave it a rating of 4.
But IMHO, I think I made the best choice…
Breakfast Tostadas with Pulled Chicken, Black Beans, Ranchero Sauce, and Monterrey Jack Cheese topped with sunny side eggs and crema – $18.95 (price unchanged)
I loved the combined flavors of the seasoned chicken, the spicy ranchero sauce, the runny eggs, and the crema. I really enjoyed this and rated it a 4 1/2, the highest rating of this meal.
After our meal in the restaurant, we of course had to check out their Cookie Bar…
So I chose one cookie and my husband chose a cookie. Then I asked the server what their most popular cookie was and what her favorite cookie was and also bought one of each of those.
So here are the four cookies I purchased…
First up are the cookies that my husband and I chose…
Mine was the Sea Salt Chocolate Chip ($4.95) and my husband’s was the Walnut Chocolate Chip ($5.45). We both enjoyed our choices and rated them a 4. They might have received a higher rating had they been a bit larger.
Next is the cookie that the server said was currently their most popular…
This was their Lemon Cookie ($4.95) and for a lemon-flavored cookie it was very good. However, I’m not really a fan of lemon cookies or other lemon-flavored desserts and therefore this wasn’t my favorite. But I’m glad that I gave it try and gave it a rating of 3.
Then the server’s personal favorite was the…
Oatmeal Scotchie Cookie for $4.95
For me, this was kind of dry and flavorless. This was my least favorite of the four cookies we tried and I gave it only a rating of 2.
Taste of Disney 