A Shockingly Good Counter Service Meal – The Polite Pig
A few short weeks ago we had the chance to check out one of the many counter service offerings at Disney Springs that we had wanted to try for quite some time, The Polite Pig. Truthfully, the day we arrived at Walt Disney World we didn’t entirely know what time we would actually make it onto Disney property. As a result, a table service reservation was kind of out of the question, but at the same time we were excited to try something new at Disney Springs in the realm of counter service offerings. We’ve toured the area many times throughout the construction and had previously had the chance to check out D-Luxe Burger and Morimoto Street Food counter service offerings along with the Boathouse, Homecomin Kitchen, and T-Rex (not so new) in the table service variety. So, on this particular day, it lined up quite well to try out The Polite Pig.
When we arrived at the restaurant, located near Uniqlo, we had a pretty good idea of what to expect. A few readers had encouraged us to try it out and see what our thoughts were on the food and many had even mentioned how enjoyable their own meal was when they dined there. As a result, I went into this meal with somewhat high expectations for the level of food and array of menu offerings. However, be aware that this is not a Disney owned restaurant but they do in fact accept the Disney dining plan.
The Order Process
As with any counter service offering at Disney Springs, be prepared to wait in line a few minutes before placing your order at the counter. With the volume of guests moving through the Springs, it quite honestly is an inevitable part of any counter service meal in the area. However, despite the length of the line spilling out the door, this particular process went by quite quickly and the staff did an excellent job of keeping the line moving and processing orders much quicker that we anticipated at first glance.
After we left the counter, we faced something else that is typically a challenge at these more popular restaurants, seating. Again, it was pretty much a non-issue here. The staff cleaning the tables were right there when a guest left to wipe down the table and clear the plates. We looked around for a table for maybe 3 minutes or so and quickly found a seat. Less that 5 minutes later our food arrived at the table. Considering the amount of guests in the restaurant, it was impressive to say the least. Also worth mentioning is that this particular meal was on a Saturday night at around 6:30pm in the summer. Crowds on property were at their highest and we were genuinely impressed with the service.
The Food
Here’s a quick tip before we really dive into the food in more detail. Try not to over order. Considering we had never eaten here before, we opted to try quite a range of different menu items and even picked up an appetizer (or “shareable” as the menu calls them) which is a little unusual for us when we travel. Not only will splitting meals save you from vastly over eating, but it will likely save you a bit of money along the way as well. This isn’t really a “budget friendly” meal or a way to save money opposed to a table service offering, but you could cut back on a lot of what we ordered and save yourself a good amount of money.
With that being said, our family of four payed $90.53 for this meal. Interesting to note is that $14 of that was drinks for the group (no alcohol, just fountain drinks) at $3.50 each. The cost is definitely a big factor with this one and something you definitely want to consider before eating here from a guest perspective. We were all adults so you would save some money when traveling with kids, but it’s a touch pricey to say the least, even by Disney property standards.
Even though the pricing is on the high end of things in comparison to other options, after the meal, every guest in our group agreed that we would likely be back in the future. As mentioned above, we did order quite a bit. First and perhaps my favorite item that we tried was the “Southern Pig” sandwich. Typically the menu item consists of Pulled Pork, Fennel-apple Slaw, tangy Mustard BBQ and Duke’s Mayo served with a Pickle Spear. I don’t really care for slaw on top of barbecue so I opted out of the slaw (I know that may be a “crime” where some of you all are from lol). I then paired the sandwich with their Macaroni and Cheese and the meal overall was pretty excellent. The pork was hot and incredibly flavorful. Also, opposed to some barbecue, it wasn’t dry but rather quite the opposite while retaining lightly textured edges in classic barbecue fashion. The macaroni was excellent as well complete with a bread crumb-esque topping and a warm and gooey cheese sauce. Both items were far larger that they appear in this photo, and even as a 21 year old college guy, I was more that content with the portion sizes. Ironically, we ended up ordering two of this exact combination of menu items for two guests in our group which accounted for $32 of the overall bill.
Additionally, we opted to try out two of the many salad offering on the menu. Personally, I’m not a huge salad person, but these were supposedly quite delicious and incredibly large, even at the price point. Again, the pictures do the size of this salad no justice, but for reference, the sauce cups in the top right hand side of the image are about one inch in width. This salad was massive and looked like a basketball sized sphere they had cut in half and called a salad bowl.
The first salad pictured is what the location calls the Barbecue Cobb Salad with Smoked Chicken, Egg, Bacon, Roasted Corn, Tomato, Cheddar, and Avocado-chipotle Dressing. You can order this with or without chicken and the chicken is a $5 add on. However, the individual who ate this mentioned directly to me that the chicken is pretty much what “makes” the salad great. This salad, with everything you see in the photo, ended up with a price tag of $18. The second salad was listed as the Polite Caesar Salad. It was a fairly simple salad, but the individual who ordered this paired it with a massive Hop Salt Pretzel with Beer Cheese Fondue and we all ended up trying a piece of that before the meal was over. The Beer Cheese Fondue was excellent. It wasn’t quite what you would expect and was a rather liquid cheese but the flavor was outstanding and the pretzel was soft and quite wonderful as well.
Would I Go Back?
The answer to this one, as you can likely imagine, is a resounding yes! The pricing is a little tough to wrap your mind around if you go all out when you order, but I would definitely go back in the future. Is it better that a meal at a true Disney owned counter service restaurant?… maybe. Truth be told, you do miss out on a little bit of that Disney cast member “charm,” for lack of a better word, but if you’re looking for a good meal to share with friends or you’re local and simply looking for a great meal on a Friday night, this is a great option.
If I did go back, and we likely will on future trips to Disney, I would do things a little differently. If I were going with family or a friend I’d order one entree, one side, and one of the giant pretzels. It would be plenty of food for two and would likely save you a little money along the way. Also, there’s no chance I’d order a fountain drink here again to have with the meal. I’m perfectly content with water and it would cut $3.50 per guest off of the overall bill.
Your Thoughts
As always, if you have thoughts, concerns, questions, or even some tips of your own to share, don’t hesitate to reach out to us on Facebook or your favorite social media platform. Give us a follow while you’re there, and we’ll keep the conversation going in the future. We’re not the largest Disney community, but we’re one that’s there and one that listens. Thanks for reading and have a wonderful day wherever you are!
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A few short years ago, I was sitting in a college apartment trying to figure out what was "next" and came up with this idea to share my accumulated knowledge of the Disney Parks and Resorts with others. The end goal was to help others make the most of their Disney experience and it's been quite the journey!
