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A year ago when my family was staying at the Grand Floridian at Disney World, we took a monorail over to the Contemporary Resort to eat breakfast there. We ate breakfast at one of their onsite restaurants, The Wave of American Flavors. You can read our review of the restaurant here.
Fast-forward to today, and that restaurant has been completely changed. As in, the restaurant is no more and there is a new restaurant in its place. That restaurant is Steakhouse 71.
Steakhouse 71 gets its name from the year Disney’s Contemporary Resort opened. And even though it is a steakhouse (and at some point, I am sure my family will have dinner here) we really wanted to try breakfast here to compare it to the breakfast we had at American Flavors. So since we were staying at Bay Lake Tower at Contemporary a couple weeks ago, it seemed like the perfect time to try it.
I made my reservation online a few weeks before our stay. I checked in when it was time and then waited to get a message on my phone that our table was ready.
Atmosphere & Decor
To capture its nod to the opening of Contemporary Resort, Steakhouse 71 has a 1970s design style. The whole restaurant also has a nice and relaxing atmosphere. It starts with the location.
It’s on the first floor of the Contemporary Resort. Even if you are not staying at Contemporary or one of the hotels on the monorail line (like Grand Floridian and Polynesian), you can take a monorail from Magic Kingdom or the Ticket & Transportation Center here if you would like to try this restaurant.
There was plenty of seating inside the restaurant and in the lobby.
It is really nice to rest your feet and be able to wait inside in the air conditioning during a Disney World trip.
If you choose not to sit and wait, I recommend checking out the pictures on the wall leading up to the table where you check-in. They have really great pictures up of the Walt Disney World Resort in the early days.
It’s really neat to compare Disney World back to Disney World now and really appreciate how much the resort has grown. It also brings back great memories for those of us who have been going to Disney World for years now. Like I forgot about the Skyliner that used to run through Tomorrowland at the Magic Kingdom.
There are also other great nostalgic pictures of the Contemporary Resort and Magic Kingdom throughout the restaurant.
We didn’t wait long until our table was ready. Throughout the restaurant, I couldn’t help but notice the restaurant was decorated differently from when it was Waves of American Flavors. Gone were the wave-type decorations from the ceiling and there was different carpeting, too.
One thing I really like about the restaurant is the mural of Magic Kingdom.
It really does make the restaurant a celebration of the early days of Walt Disney World.
The chairs were padded and comfortable, which was really nice given my back can often hurt after long days at the parks during a Disney World trip.
Service
The service was really good. For example, after we ordered, the server brought out butter, syrup, and ketchup to the table without being asked.
They also brought out coffee so we could keep refilling a cup whenever we needed it.
Food Review
The breakfast menu was very similar to when I went there before. I ordered seasonal pancakes at the time, which were sweet potato pancakes. I ordered the seasonal pancakes this time at Steakhouse 71. This time, they were blueberry lemon ricotta pancakes.
And they were delicious. I liked how the blueberries were baked into the batter. Often, when you order blueberry pancakes, they are just regular pancakes with blueberries on top. I like that it had blueberries on top but also in the pancakes. It also came with bacon, which was delicious.
We ordered the Eggs Benedict.
This was also available at Waves of American Flavor. This Egg Benedict had 2 poached Eggs on top of an English Muffin. It also had Canadian Bacon and Hollandaise.
The English muffin was hard, which was a bit disappointing. Otherwise, it was delicious. The eggs were cooked perfectly. The breakfast potatoes were very good.
Another order at my table was the Ham and Cheddar Omelette.
It was delicious.
The food was filling, too. This allowed us to eat lightly and save up room for Cinderella’s Royal Table, which is where had dinner that night.
Conclusion
Steakhouse 71 has a great breakfast that is similar to the breakfast offerings of its predecessor, Waves of American Flavor. If you are staying at one of the monorail hotels, we recommend it. Otherwise, we recommend taking a monorail from the Magic Kingdom or Tickets & Transportation Center to try this restaurant.
Other Dining Options
Looking for another great dining option while you are staying at Disney’s Contemporary Resort? Check out our review of Contempo Cafe.
Interested in breakfast elsewhere at the Walt Disney World Resort? Here are some reviews of our favorite breakfasts at Disney World that are not buffets, like Steakhouse 71:
- Grand Floridian Cafe
- Ale and Compass at Disney’s Yacht Club
- Trattoria al Forno on Disney’s Boardwalk
- Sanaa at Disney’s Animal Kingdom
If you are looking for a breakfast buffet at Disney World, here are our favorites:
