When it comes to Walt Disney World dining, Hollywood Studios seems to be the most difficult place to eat. Magic Kingdom has castle dining and a wonderful buffet, EPCOT has the delectable and diverse food inside the World Showcase, and Animal Kingdom has elaborately themed food in Africa and Pandora.
Unfortunately, when it comes to the best Hollywood Studios restaurants, offerings are a bit harder to find. Over the years, Hollywood Studios has expanded their dining establishments, so we have put together the ultimate guide on which places to dine, and which to avoid.
What are the Best Quick-Service Restaurants at Disney’s Hollywood Studios?
Dining quick service is a great option at Hollywood Studios, given the number of attractions and shows you’ll want to check off your itinerary. Akin to typical counter service dining at many fast food chain restaurants, Disney World’s quick service establishments allow you to order and receive your food fast, so you’re back to the magic in no time. Use mobile ordering to expedite your dining experience further.
Below are some of the best quick service restaurants we’ve found in Hollywood Studios.
Best: Docking Bay 7 Food and Cargo
Skip: Backlot Express
We recently dined at Docking Bay 7 and it quickly replaced our previous recommendation for quick service, PizzaRizzo. While the latter is still a great choice for a quick personal pie on the go, the variety and unique blend of flavors offered at Docking Bay 7 offers a far better experience.
There are a couple reasons for this restaurant making the best list. The most obvious is the food. Pork ribs, tuna poke and a couple of different versions of Tip Yip are bound to satisfy palettes growing bored with hamburgers and chicken sandwiches.
If you’ve never heard of Tip Yip, don’t be alarmed. We hadn’t either, but decided to be adventurous and give it a try. We were visiting an out of the way space post after all.
We tried both the crispy chicken glazed with chipotle sauce and fried chicken served with macaroni and cheese and had no complaints. If you’ve ever traveled with 5 adults with varying tastes, you’ll know how rare this is.
Besides the food, we enjoyed this restaurant for the ease of ordering, the low wait time to order and receive food, and the unique Batuu themed dining room.
On the other end of the spectrum, we highly recommend avoiding Backlot Express. Backlot Express has bland, and uninspired food options that will leave you frustrated at spending money on food that comes in way below McDonalds standards.
Backlot Express presents burgers, cheeseburgers, a Cuban sandwich, and two salad options. The burgers were overall underwhelming, and the salad inedible. In additional to the subpar food, we had a long wait to order, and a long wait for the food.
For the best Hollywood Studios restaurants, Backlot Express does not make the cut.
Best Table Service Restaurants at Hollywood Studios
Best: Hollywood Brown Derby
Skip: 50s Prime Time Café
The best Hollywood Studios Restaurant for table service has to be the Hollywood Brown Derby. The modern America cuisine is served in an old Hollywood atmosphere that will make you feel as if you have stepped back in time into Hollywood’s Golden Age.
The food is upscale and tastes it! In fact, this restaurant is known for fine dining, and reservations are sought after.
The menu features entrees of filet mignon, risotto, salmon, halibut, the famous cobb salad and a seafood cioppino. Appetizers include shrimp cocktail, the fan favorite lobster bisque, scallops, salads, and more.
Reviews for the Hollywood Brown Derby are more than just positive, they are excellent. One five-star review states “Beautiful restaurant. Grapefruit cake martini absolutely divine. We actually were able to get a rare burger temp. Our waitress Tiffany from Kissimmee was a doll and made our lunch absolutely delightful. 10/10”
It seems the only downside to the restaurant is the high cost. The Hollywood Brown Derby is one of the most expensive restaurants in the resort, but according to many, the price is certainly worth it.
On the other end of the spectrum, we have 50’s Prime Time Café. We have tried over and over to love this restaurant, but we just cannot.
50’s Prime Time Café is designed to transport you into a home in the 1950’s, complete with a mom who gets upset when you put your elbows on the table. Cast members make you feel apart of the family, good or bad.
The atmosphere ranges from fun, to a tad annoying, according to many. Many guests do enjoy the atmosphere and the pretend bossiness of the cast member waitstaff.
Unfortunately, the experience you get does seem to depend on your waiter and how they feel about playing the role. One guest had a great experience one visit, but a horrid one on a previous visit.
This guest left a review saying: “My family and I had gone to the 50’s prime time cafe about 2ish years ago. The waiter was excessively rude and took it way too far. He even made fun of someone in my party for her gluten allergy. So, as you can imagine, we were pretty nervous to go back. But our waiter, Dale, was literally amazing!!! He added just the right amount of comedic rudeness, but didn’t take it too far. He made us feel right at home! He also tells the best jokes!! The food was ok for the Disney price, but really what I think people are paying for is the atmosphere, which was very cool. Anyways, I just wanted to shout out a cast member that most definitely deserves it!!!”
It seems the only good thing Prime Time has to offer is the theming and experience, which is wishy washy at best. In our opinion, the food is seriously lacking. This opinion is echoed in many online reviews like this one which states, “My wife and I recently dined at 50’S. To say the least, the quality has fallen. My wife ordered the fried chicken. She said it was dry and not very appetizing. I had the pot roast. The meat was tasteless. Not even a side of any vegetable. Just a couple of slivers of carrot and celery. At least my wife’s meal came with canned corn!”
During our last visit to the 50s Prime Time Café, the service was slow, and the food was dry and overcooked. To top it all off, this restaurant has a very small and limited menu, and not many allergy options.
Best Lunch Restaurants in Hollywood Studios
Best: ABC Commissary
Skip: Fairfax Fare
During Lunch at Hollywood Studios, it is best to try to eat quick, to get back to the rides faster. Like the other parks, there is a small lull while guests eat lunch, and lines die down a bit. We always find It best to eat lunch quickly to take advantage of this. Therefore, our list for the best Hollywood Studios restaurants at lunch will feature counter service establishments.
One tried and true counter service restaurant for lunch is the ABC Commissary. In the past, the commissary had a bland menu of previously frozen burgers and tasteless salads.
These days, the restaurant has a combination of tacos, sandwiches, and Mediterranean salads. The Commissary serves delicious, fresh food quickly.
The restaurant does get quite busy, but cast members do an excellent job of moving orders along. Additionally, you can always do mobile ordering to get your food even quicker.
The “skip” restaurant for lunch in Hollywood Studios is Dockside Diner. While this restaurant doesn’t necessarily have bad reviews, it is still on the skip list for a handful of reasons.
First, Dockside Diner serves hot dogs, and that’s about it. While Disney is offering some creative options here, it can be pricy for what you get.
Most meals cost around $13 for just a hot dog with various toppings and a side of chips. While the hot dogs are more elaborate than normal hot dogs, many feel for the price, you should get more.
If someone in your group really wants a hotdog, you can try Rosie’s All American Café instead. They serve hotdogs, burgers, salads, and chicken nuggets for a little better variety.
Best Gluten Free Restaurants in Hollywood Studios
If you’re trying to dine with food allergies at Disney World, Hollywood Studios has many restaurants with gluten free options. So many, in fact, it is hard to narrow in on which one is the best. Instead of picking one, here are some honorable mentions so you can choose based on your mood.
Mama Melrose’s Ristorante Italiano serves a gluten free spaghetti Bolognese, but unfortunately, does not serve any of their other pasta dishes in a gluten free variation.
Backlot Express does have gluten free chicken tenders, which have a cult following, including one woman who posted “This place has my favorite gluten free chicken tenders! The soda fountains are also an added plus.”
Rosie’s All American Café serves burgers and hot dogs on gluten free buns, and Pizza Rizzo serves gluten free pizza. The Hollywood Brown Derby features many delectable gluten free options as well such as the filet mignon, mushroom risotto, cobb salad, and salmon.
Woody’s Lunch Box in Toy Story Land is chock full of gluten free meals as well. In fact, almost any dish they serve can be made gluten free.
Where to Enjoy a Snack
With the Addition of Galaxy’s Edge in Hollywood Studios, new and unique snacks are now available—something the park desperately needed.
Inside Galaxy’s Edge, you can try Bantha milk. The milk is a coconut rice milk blend with flavoring added. Bantha milk comes in colors of blue and green.
Kat Saka’s Kettle in Galaxy’s edge serves uniquely flavored popcorn snacks.
Woody’s Lunch Box is also a noteworthy place to stop for a snack. The little food stand serves delectable tarts that are described as “gourmet pop tarts” by many guests.
The popcorn stands inside Hollywood Studios sell a souvenir popcorn buckets that are a must for big fans. At one time, they even offered a collectable popcorn bucket shaped like the aliens from Toy Story.
For Disney World snacking purists, locations offering basic ice cream and soft pretzels are scattered around the park.
Best Place to Grab a Cup of Coffee in Hollywood Studios
Best: Joffrey’s Coffee
Skip: Trolley Car Café
Many Disney visitors might feel the need to argue with our ranking for best coffee restaurants in Hollywood Studios, but hear me out.
When inside Hollywood Studios, we tend to choose Joffrey’s for coffee between rides and first thing in the morning. They have many traditional coffee and tea options in both hot and iced.
We love Joffrey’s because the service is quick, with minimal lines and gets us back on the rides in no time. They also serve muffins, donuts and other breakfast goodies.
There are two convenient Joffery’s locations inside Hollywood Studios. One is located at the exit for Tower of Terror, while the other is near Midway Mania.
Trolley Car Café serves starbucks drinks, including frappes, coffees and teas. The reason to skip this stop is due to timing.
The Trolley Café is slow, and the lines are long. You can easily waste 30-40 minutes waiting for your turn to order during park opening. This wait can be the difference between riding Rockin’ Rollercoaster and Tower of Terror before the crowds hit and missing them entirely.
Even during non peak times, this café can still have a wait of 10-20 minutes.
Best Places for a Cocktail in Hollywood Studios
Best: Oga’s Cantina
Honorable Mention: Tune-In Lounge
Oga’s Cantina in Galaxy’s Edge has wonderful cocktails and a fun atmosphere. Inside, the cantina is themed to match the one on the fictional planet of Batuu.
Droid DJ R-3X, or Rex, plays upbeat music, dances along and chats with guests as a way to keep you entertained while you await your drink concoctions. Drink concoctions are unlike any other.
Many drinks feature boba balls, some drinks magically bubble, and others seem to change color. In fact, some drinks do all three. Not only are the drinks fascinating, they are delicious.
The Tune-In Lounge offers a slightly more relaxed atmosphere to enjoy a drink. Oga’s Canteen can be loud and is always very crowded and usually requires an advanced dining reservation.
The Tune-In lounge has a menu full of brightly colored cocktails in addition to wine and beer options. The lounge features 50’s tvs and retro theming.
Where Can I Get Breakfast?
This is the most asked question when it comes to the best restaurants in Hollywood Studios. The most popular stop for breakfast dining is Hollywood and Vine.
Hollywood and Vine offers a sit-down breakfast with entrees such as French toast, omelets, frittatas, and pancakes, and a salmon topped bagel.
Hollywood and Vine is a character dining spot and is priced accordingly. This is one of the only character dining locations with rotating character experiences, so be sure to check who will be visiting while you dine before you go.
Trolley Car Café serves breakfast sandwiches, pastries, cinnamon rolls, and Starbucks coffee. Unfortunately, during breakfast this counter service location has a line that easily trails out the door and down the street, so you will need patience.
We believe Woody’s Lunch Box to be one of the best breakfast locations inside Hollywood Studios. Woody’s lunch box serves breakfast bowls of potatoes, eggs, and gravy. They also serve breakfast tarts.
There is no shortage of best restaurants in Hollywood Studios in Walt Disney World. Whether you would like to kick back with your feet up, or grab a bite on the go, Hollywood Studios has really revamped its restaurants in recent years.
For a complete list of the best breakfast restaurants in Hollywood Studios, be sure to hop on over to our top breakfast restaurants blog for this park.
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