We had an unexpected lunch at the Crystal Palace in the Magic Kingdom… Unexpected both because we hadn’t planned to go there and snagged a last-minute reservation, and because we were stunned at how much we liked it!
Previously we’ve only had breakfast at Crystal Palace when it was a character buffet featuring Winnie the Pooh. Currently, they’re serving a plated lunch and dinner that you order from a menu. The meal starts with corn muffins, both plain and bacon-jalapeno, with honey butter and a pepper jam that was sweet and tangy, and a salad to share with the table.
For our meals, I had the prime rib with au jus and horseradish cream, au gratin potatoes, and asparagus. The prime rib was seasoned and cooked perfectly, the potatoes were cheesy, and I traded my asparagus for Kyles broccolini.
Kyle had the bone-in pork chop ripped with crispy onions and spiced apple reduction, with baked sweet potato, and my asparagus. His pork chop was very large, overcooked, and dry, but a new one was brought when requested. The second was thinner and cooked perfectly. The apple reduction was perfect for the pork.
Dessert is a platter shared by the table. We had a chocolate cupcake filled with caramel, a banana cream tart, a plant-based strawberry shortcake, and a piece of hummingbird cake. The cupcake was our favorite!
While I do miss the characters here, I would definitely go back right now for the quality of the food that we had! It’s a solid choice in the Magic Kingdom, which can sometimes be lacking in good options.
