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The Cape May Cafe at Disney’s Beach Club Resort has reopened with a great family breakfast, but guests can also visit the cafe for dinner, which is available daily between 5:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m. Dinner is $42 per adult and $25 per child, plus tax and tip, but can be more if you add additional seafood options, which we did…
Arrival at the Cape May Cafe
Although the physical distance of six feet is reduced in certain areas of Walt Disney World, restaurants are not part of these zones. Distance markers lead to the check-in podium, which has a sheet of plexiglass on it.
Masks are still needed indoors until they are seated in a restaurant.
Many tables are left empty or pushed aside for distancing. The buffet is not currently in use due to security protocols. Meals are now family-style, ‘all you can eat’, so if you run out of something and want more, just ask. Unless it is lobster or crab, there will be an additional charge.
Plexiglas dividers are installed between the stands.
We were among the first guests to be seated at the Cape May Cafe for its first night of dinner service since March 2020. Cast members lined the entrance and cheered as we entered.
Starters
Parker House Buns and Cornbread with Roasted Garlic Herb Butter, Salted Butter and Cheese Spread (Plant-based breads and spreads are available upon request)
We loved the Parker House rolls and the cornbread.
Salted butter and cheese spreads are better than garlic-roasted herb butter, the latter needs more garlic. That being said, they were all enjoyable. The cheese spread is similar to what is served at Ale & Compass as “beer cheese” with their Parker House rolls. It may even be the same distribution.
Arugula, kale and romaine with orange wedges, cherry tomatoes, red onions and sun-dried cherries, with a citrus-vanilla vinaigrette (plant-based)
We found the citrus flavor a bit too strong. The cheese would have reduced the strength of the citrus fruits. The salad was also a little under-dressed. The dried cherries are a nice touch. It’s not a terrible salad, but you can find better options.
Starters
Prince Edward Island Mussels, Peel-n-Eat Shrimp, Cape May Clams, Sustainable Catch of the Day, Red Bliss Potatoes and Corn on the Cob
We found everything in the seafood boil to be delicious except for the catch of the day, which was the mahi-mahi. Mahi-mahi is dry and tasteless. Fortunately, everything else was not.
The rest of the dish has rich, developed flavors. We enjoyed the prawns, mussels and clams. In fact, they may have been the best mussels we’ve ever had at Disney World as they lacked fishy flavor, were tender, and were full of butter and spices from the boiled broth.
Peeling and eating prawns is a hassle, but they were at least good.
A good serving of large potatoes sits at the bottom of the boil, soaking up the flavor. If the mahi-mahi was actually in the broth, it might have been as good as everything else here.
Slow Roasted Striploin with House Steak and Chimichurri Sauce, Oven Roasted Lemon Pepper Chicken, Mashed Potatoes and Farmer’s Market Vegetables
The sirloin is perfectly cooked. It is sliced thin for easy sharing. The chimichurri adds a nice depth to the flavor. Homemade steak sauce tastes like A.1. mixed with Worcestershire sauce which is disappointing. Luckily, beef doesn’t need gravy, so enjoy it without.
The lemon-pepper chicken is moist and perfectly cooked. The skin has a light crispiness and fantastic light seasoning with a hint of flavor.
The mashed potatoes are very good, buttered with just the right amount of consistency (not too thick, not too runny). The vegetables are steamed, but not too soggy.
The toppings add a nice subtle crunch to the dish.
The serving dish is shallow which is disappointing but they can always bring more. The mac and cheese itself tastes a bit basic, but the lobster pieces in it were divine.
The vegetable tray is available on request.
The large Portobello mushroom is extremely tasty. The pasta base is delicious; it’s cooked well and the perfect amount. This is one of the best plant-based dishes in any park and resort.
Tofu lovers will appreciate this dish. The sauce is sweet, with just a subtle hint of spice.
The rice is excellent and the vegetables are served crunchy. It’s good enough, but probably not good enough to justify the price if you can’t get many other offers.
Additional Seafood Boiling Improvements
So, with the buffet gone, crab legs go up to an extra $29 a pound. What you see here is one pound. The crab was fresh, tasted good, but nothing out of the ordinary.
Crab legs are good, but not the biggest ones. $29 seems like a lot for these, and they pale in comparison to the other add-ons you can add.
Many may laugh at the $35 extra for the whole lobster, but that was honestly the highlight of the meal. I can’t even believe I’m writing this, but it was one of the best lobsters I’ve ever had, and it was at an all you can eat family restaurant in a Disney resort.
Each bite was buttery, tender and perfectly prepared to minimize the work required from those eating there.
The tail was the most tender I have ever eaten. My knife cut it so easily. The claws were quite large and filled with meat.
The phrase “melt in your moth” gets overused in reviews, but perhaps it was never more applicable than here.
So you know that unfortunately you can’t just order the lobster or the crab and skip the rest of the meal and the associated costs. These are additional options to existing offers and can only be ordered as such.
Six different desserts are served. A vegetable tiramisu is also available on request.
Oreo Bon Bon
Bon Bon Oreo is brilliant in its simplicity.
Raspberry Cabbage
Sugar Free Cheesecake
The sugar-free cheesecake is a little rough. It has a very chalky texture with a hint of citrus flavor on the back.
Lime Pineapple Mousse on Macaroon
A refreshing little dessert, the flavors of pineapple and lime pair well with the little flat cookie that holds it all together.
Eight-tier chocolate cake
It sounds more exciting than it is. It offers a light and forgettable chocolate flavor that is very monotonous.
lemon curd
This could be close to the good good. Although it looks simple, it offers complex flavors in the blend of lemony and sweet flavors to balance it out.
Vegetable Tiramisu
available on demand
As for the vegetable tiramisu, it wasn’t bad. Obviously, we didn’t like this one as much as the other desserts, but it wasn’t the worst on the table. We suspect those who choose this will enjoy the dense cake and light cream that does its best to replicate the real thing.
Globally
Cape May Cafe has never been one of my favorite dinner places at Walt Disney World. There was always a strong smell coming from it thanks to the seafood, and I always felt like I was waiting a long time behind people at the rather small buffet. With food now brought to your table, all served chilled rather than sitting under a lamp, Cape May is yet another family-turned-buffet-style restaurant that’s vastly superior to what it used to be. That’s the case with Biergarten, Chef Mickey’s and many more thanks to the pandemic, but it’s especially true here. What is missing in the variety of offerings due to the discounts is nothing compared to the huge leap forward in the overall quality of food and quality of service we received. I highly recommend a dinner in Cape May if the above offers suit you, and especially if you like the idea of having a whole lobster.
