Vacationing at Walt Disney World is so much more than just visiting the theme parks. While you are in the Disney bubble, the entire experience contributes to your vacation experience. It is for this reason that the MouseHouseNews.net team highly recommends staying at a Disney resort while you’re on vacation. Disney resorts have a lot of great table service restaurants. Over at Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort, there is a family style restaurant that often flies under the radar. Let’s take a closer look at Sebastian’s Bistro.
Sebastian’s Bistro is a family-style table service restaurant that perfectly matches the ambiance of the resort where it is located. Much like the larger Caribbean Beach Resort, Sebastian’s has a theme comprised of Caribbean and Latin influences, with complimentary menu flavors. You’ll be transported to the islands while enjoying an all you care to enjoy fare. The diner is only open for dinner, and there are two main menu options: Taste of the Caribbean is the default option, while Harvest of the Caribbean is the plant-based option available by request. Since this is a family-style meal, the menu items are brought to the table and each person shares from the items. You can ask for more of each item if more is needed. Since there is obviously so much food to be eaten here, Erin helped me with this review.
The Atmosphere
Sebastian’s Bistro has a casual atmosphere. The dining room itself is an L-shaped room, with seating from wall to wall. One side of the dining room has a mix of traditional booths along the inside walls, while there are tables with chairs in the side closest to the windows. The other side seems to be more of a higher-capacity area with communal benches along the inside wall, tables next to each other in front of the benches, and chairs on the other side of the tables. There are also some two-top tables in the middle of the room, then traditional tables with four chairs closer to the windows. The walls are bright with a beach vibe and subtle touches of The Little Mermaid, giving the restaurant a non-intimidating feeling suitable for a casual night out or even a date night. A word of warning, however. If you are a party of two, you might want to request something bigger than a two-top table when you check in. Remember, this restaurant will bring lots of food at one time for everyone to share. Our biggest complaint of this review is that there is simply not enough room at these small tables to accommodate all of that food. Your table will feel crowded!
The Menus
Taste of the Caribbean includes the following food:
- Buttery House-baked Pull-apart Rolls with Guava Butter and Caramelized Onion Jam
- The Spice Necklace Salad (Mixed Greens with Spiced Candied Pumpkin Seeds, Tropical Fruit, and Radish with Key Lime Dressing)
- Oven-roasted Chicken with Tamarind Barbecue
- Slow-cooked Mojo Pork with Mango Sambal
- Chili-rubbed Beef with Roasted Red Pepper Chimichurri
- Baked Fish with Citrus Butter
- Cilantro Rice and Beans
- Roasted Seasonal Vegetables
- Candied Plantains
- House-made Coconut-Pineapple Bread Pudding w/ caramel sauce and ice cream
Harvest of the Caribbean includes the following food:
- Dinner Rolls with Plant-based Guava Butter and Caramelized Onion Jam
- The Spice Necklace Salad (Mixed Greens with Spiced Candied Pumpkin Seeds, Tropical Fruit, and Radish with Key Lime Dressing)
- Kebab featuring Impossible® Beef
- Fried Jerk Tofu with Pineapple-Chili Sauce
- Plant-based Sausage with Mango Sambal
- Caribbean “Fish” Cake with Curry “Aïoli”
- Cilantro Rice and Beans
- Roasted Seasonal Vegetables
- Candied Plantains
- Plant-based Coconut-Pineapple Bread Pudding w/ plant-based caramel sauce and vanilla soy frozen dessert
There are also a couple of enhancements available for an additional price: Crab & Seafood Cake and Fried Coconut Shrimp. Additionally, there is an extensive selection of cocktails, non-alcoholic speciality drinks, and other liquor available for an additional price. For the food portion of our review, we are reviewing the Taste of the Caribbean menu.
The Taste
Starters
The Spice Necklace Salad is a salad with a bright, tropical taste. The fruity dressing was vibrant, the pineapple was fresh, and the pumpkin seeds provided additional texture and sweetness.
The pull-apart rolls were buttery and soft. Layer by layer, we were able to pull them apart and spread the guava butter and/or caramelized onion jam. We could eat these all night, especially with the onion jam! There was an off-menu item that was included with these starters: a Mickey-shaped cheese cracker that tasted like a softer (not crunchy) Cheez-It cracker. It was pretty dry and unmemorable.
Meats
Unfortunately, the meats were more of a mixed bag. The baked fish was hands-down our least favorite meat on the table. It was a unanimous decision. This was a dry, under-seasoned piece of white fish. Unfortunately, it was underwhelming. The oven roasted chicken was better, but honestly nothing to write home about. It had a more adventurous flavor at least, and it wasn’t dry.
The best two meats at the table were the mojo pork and the chili-rubbed beef. Those meats were fantastic! Both were full of flavor and I would honestly fill up on those. Amazing! To those (like myself) who like your beef cooked well-done, be sure to advise your server of this when they take your drink order. Since most tables are getting the same entrees, they move this food out of the kitchen like an assembly line. As such, they will need to know your request before the food is delivered.
Sides
The sides are healthier options that are just what the doctor ordered after having had Disney fries for a few straight days (not that Disney fries are bad… they’re REALLY good actually). It’s just refreshing to have something different. My favorite of the sides were the cilantro rice and beans. The rice is well seasoned with the freshness of cilantro, and the beans take the backseat as protein filler.
Our seasonal vegetables this night were broccoli and roasted carrots. On the real, with all of the other good items on the table, neither Erin nor I tried it. The candied plantains had Erin and I divided. She thought they were good and mildly sweet with a good texture. On the other hand, I didn’t actually care for them. For me, the flavor was fine, but it was a bit too starchy for my liking.
Dessert
Finally, for the dessert, there is House-made Coconut-Pineapple Bread Pudding w/ caramel sauce and ice cream. Word on the street is that this item came to Sebastian’s Bistro when the head chef moved from ‘Ohana at Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort to Sebastian’s.
It takes very similar to what you get at ‘Ohana, and is served warm a la mode with warm caramel sauce. It is delicious with bold tastes and, if you like bread pudding, you’ll probably love this. Both Erin and I are a little lukewarm on bread pudding (it’s the texture), but we both think the flavors are very good on this dessert.
Drinks
During this visit to Sebastian’s Bistro, Erin opted for a soft drink, which is free with the cost of dinner. However, I saw something that caught my eye from the Non-alcoholic Specialty Drinks section of the menu. I chose the Sebastian Island Paradise, which appeared to be a frozen POG juice. Because I am a fan of the Passion Fruit, Orange, and Guava Frozen Slush offered at The Mara over at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge, I was excited to see something similar.
While this was a great tasting drink, it did not exactly taste like the POG juice I am used to. Even though it contains the three key ingredients, the proportion must be different. Nevertheless, it was a good tasting drink that I would recommend.
The Cost
Dining at Sebastian’s Bistro is comparatively inexpensive compared to other Disney World restaurants, especially given the amount of food you get. Remember, even though you get all the food on the menu, you can ask for more of anything if your table runs out. Dinner at Sebastian’s is a prix-fixe meal that, at the time of publication, will set you back $39 per adult ($21 for those ages 3 – 9). If you are a Passholder looking to recoup your investment, ask for that 10% discount!
The Verdict
Overall, we recommend Sebastian’s Bistro. We didn’t like everything on our table, but the value of the meal and what you get for the price more than made up for the shortcomings. Dinner at Sebastian’s Bistro is nice for a family night out, a date night, or a celebratory dinner amongst a group of Disney Adults! Dining here won’t break the bank, and it is very convenient to anyone staying at Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort or any other hotel served by the free Disney Skyliner such as Disney’s Pop Century Resort.
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