PHOTOS: We’re Taking You INSIDE Steakhouse 71 Before It Officially Opens in Disney World

Steakhouse 71 is a new restaurant opening at Disney’s Contemporary Resort on October 1st.

Steakhouse 71

We’ve taken a look at the menu, prices, and even seen some of the food that will be served there. Now, as part of a special media event, we’re finally going in to see the lounge and dining room and try out the food! Come along with us, and check out the new Steakhouse 71.

When you enter the restaurant, you’ll find the modern-looking check-in desk right at the front. There’s a large glass wall behind it, with a wavy pattern etched in the glass. Maybe a nod to The Wave…of American Flavors restaurant that used to be in this space?

Check-in Desk

There’s a waiting area next to the check-in desk, with comfortable-looking couches and chairs.

Waiting area

Once you’ve checked in, you can wait to be called back either here or in the lounge area behind the glass.

You can hang out here while you wait

The light fixtures in this restaurant definitely give us 70s vibes (since the restaurant is inspired by Disney World’s opening year), but they have a very elegant design.

Chandeliers

The lounge area is behind the check-in desk.

Steakhouse 71 Lounge

You don’t need reservations to come here, and you can even enjoy a cocktail or some bites while you wait for your table to be ready inside the restaurant.

Lounge

The Lounge is a three-sided bar with TVs overhead and comfy chairs all around.

Lounge Chairs

We passed through it into the dining room, which has more of the 70s style design.

Steakhouse 71 Dining Room

There are options for round tables…

Round Table

…square tables…

Square Tables

…or booths in the dining room.

Booths

The tables are set simply with black folded napkins, forks, knives, and votive candles. The carpet has a modern (and slightly dizzying if you look at it too long) geometric pattern with teals and whites.

Carpet

On the walls, you can see modern-style art with a Disney World theme, including paintings inspired by EPCOT…

Artwork

…and the Magic Kingdom.

Magic Kingdom Artwork

The geometric shapes form iconic Disney landmarks, like the Cinderella Castle and the Walt Disney World train. Look closely at the train…

Train

…and you can spot a hidden Mickey design on it!

Hidden Mickey!

Other artwork included paintings that depicted Tomorrowland attractions from the Magic Kingdom.

Space Mountain Attraction

There was art with a Space Mountain theme…

Space Mountain

…and some depicting the PeopleMover and Tomorrowland Speedway cars.

PeopleMover Art

We headed through the dining room to our table…

Dining Room

…and took a look at the menu.

Steakhouse 71 Menu

The media event was for lunch at Steakhouse 71. On the menu, we found non-alcoholic specialty drinks, specialty cocktails, and draft beer options.

Drinks Menu

For lunch, there were several appetizers and entrées to choose from.

Food Menu

We started out with some drinks, including the Vodka Gimlet, which is Tito’s Vodka, green chartreuse, seedlip garden, lime juice, simple syrup, and Minute Maid Premium lemonade.

We also tried the Raspberry Gin Sour, which is made from Tanqueray No Ten Gin, lemon juice, and raspberry sage syrup.

We also grabbed the Tequila Sunrise Shared Cocktail, which is Herradura Reposado Tequila, POG juice, rosemary simple syrup, and house-made grenadine. 

Sherbet Punch

Finally, we tried the Fig Manhattan, which has Monkey Shoulder Blended Scotch, Cointreau Noir, fig simple syrup, and orange bitters.

Fig Manhattan

Off the non-alcoholic specialty drinks menu, we tried the Cold Brew & Tonic, which is Joffrey’s coffee cold brew, maple, vanilla syrup, and tonic water.

Cold Brew and Tonic

Before our appetizers, we got a breadboard with two huge rolls…

…and some amazing themed butter!

Steakhouse 71 Butter

Off the appetizers menu, we tried the French Onion Soup.

French Onion Soup

The soup was rich beef broth, croutons, and Gratinée Cheese.

We also tried the Bacon and Eggs, which was a classic from the Wave restaurant that used to be here as well.

Bacon and Eggs

The dish has maple-lacquered pork belly, smoked cheese grits, and a perfect egg.

We needed a little something healthy too, so we tried the Fork and Knife Caesar Salad, which has Caesar dressing, croutons, and shaved Parmesan cheese.

Caesar Salad

Finally, we got the Steakhouse 71 Onion Rings, which are hand-breaded with a spicy Ranch dipping sauce.

Onion Rings

Think we’ve had enough food yet? We haven’t even looked at the entrées yet!

For our entrées, we tried the Gourmet Grilled Cheese, which is toasted Brioche bread, Gruyère cheese, smoked Gouda, shredded pork belly, caramelized onion jam, and arugula.

Gourmet Grilled Cheese

It’s served with your choice of a petite wedge salad, Parmesan fries, or pasta salad.

A closer look

Next up was the Steakhouse 71 Stack Burger, which is a signature blend of beef, American cheese, lemon aïoli, red onion, and house-made pickles on a brioche bun. It’s served with a choice of a petite wedge salad, Parmesan fries, or pasta salad.

Stack Burger

We also tried the Steak “Frites,” which is Hangar steak, garlic-Parmesan waffle fries, with chimichurri and truffle aïoli sauces.

Steak “Frites”

We checked out the Crab Cake Sliders next, which have lump crab cakes, Old Bay Rémoulade, tomato, and pickled slaw on a brioche bun.

Crab Cake Sliders

These are also served with a choice of a petite wedge salad, Parmesan fries, or a pasta salad.

Crab Cake Sliders

Up next was the Prime Rib Sandwich, which is shaved prime rib, caramelized onions, herb aïoli, Provolone cheese, arugula, and horseradish cream. These are also served with a choice of a petite wedge salad, Parmesan fries, or pasta salad.

Prime Rib Sandwich

The last entree we tried was the Vegetable “Wellington.”

 

This dish has mushroom duxelles and fire-roasted artichokes wrapped in puff pastry, with Romesco and brussels sprouts.

Inside the Vegetable Wellington

What a lunch!!

Of course, we couldn’t leave without dessert, though! Here’s a look at the menu.

Dessert Menu

We tried one of each! The Steakhouse 71 Chocolate Cake is fifteen layers of whiskey-infused chocolate cake and chocolate mousse, garnished with raspberries.

Steakhouse 71 Chocolate Cake

It’s a massive slice of cake, and you can definitely share it around the table.

Next, we tried the Crème Brûlée, which is vanilla- and chocolate-layered crème brûlée topped with fresh berries and chantilly cream.

Crème Brûlée

The Ambrosia dessert is a coconut chiffon cake, topped with mandarin curd and compressed pineapple.

Ambrosia

And last but not least is the Apple Tart Tatin, which is caramelized Granny Smith apples on top of puff pastry, served with blackberry gelato.

Apple Tart Tatin

And that wraps up our meal at Steakhouse 71! You can make reservations now, and the restaurant officially opens on October 1st at Disney’s Contemporary Resort. We will be back with a full lunch review today!!! So stay tuned. Keep following DFB, because we’ll let you know about all the Disney World updates throughout the 50th Anniversary celebrations.

Click Here to Check Out the Menu at the Steakhouse 71 Lounge

Walt Disney World 50th Anniversary Details and Info

Click HERE for Your Guide to Disney World’s 50th Anniversary Celebration

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Which item would you try first at Steakhouse 71? Let us know in the comments!

Disclosure: In nearly all circumstances, Disney Food Blog writers and photographers pay full price for their own travel, hotel, food, beverage, and event tickets. We do this because it’s important to us as journalists to ensure not only that we give you unbiased opinions, but also that you can trust us to do so since we’re paying our own way. On rare occasions, when we are invited by a company to attend a preview as media, and when we choose to accept that invitation, we will always make you, our readers, aware of that situation. Today, we were invited by Disney World to attend their media preview of Steakhouse 71. Note that when we attend events as media we are 1) Not required to review that event/food on any of our channels, and 2) Not required to review that event/food favorably. You can always count on DFB to give you a 100% unbiased and honest review of any event that we attend, food that we eat, or beverage that we drink. You can see more in our Disclosure Policy. Thank you for reading. — AJ

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