Review: House of Blues Bayou Brunch

Last August, the House of Blues introduced a new brunch option at Disney Springs called the Bayou Brunch. The menu items sounded so good that I knew I had to make time for it on my next vacation. We arrived in Disney World on a Friday night very late. We knew the next day needed to be a restful day, so we planned to spend our time at Disney Springs. It was the perfect opportunity to try out the buffet!

When I originally tried to book my reservation at the same time as my other ADR’s, I could not find any availability. I decided to check out Open Table, because many Disney Springs restaurants often have availability on Open Table when My Disney Experience does not.

On their website I received an error message saying that the House of Blues does not book that far in advance for the Bayou Brunch. It appears that the Disney World Website and Open Table only open up bookings for this brunch about 2 months prior. I ended up booking the reservation around two weeks before our trip and there was still plenty of availability.

The Bayou Brunch occurs on Saturdays and Sundays only from 10:00am -1:00pm. I decided to book our brunch reservation for 10:00am. Because we didn’t get to our hotel room until 2:00am the night before, I ended up modifying it the morning-of to 11:00am.

Arrival

When we arrived, the place wasn’t busy, so it did not take long to be seated.

The ambiance of the restaurant was really fun. Lots of colorful Rock & Roll memorabilia on the walls and pictures of famous Gospel and Rock legends decorated the restaurant.

We were shown to a long wooden booth, which would have been big enough to fit 3 people on each side easily. Despite the fact that there was no padding on the booth seats, this wasn’t uncomfortable to sit on.

There was a list of the brunch buffet offerings on our table when we sat down. Luckily I grabbed a quick photo because the menu was cleared away from the table rather quickly.

Our server came over and got our drink order. She informed us that there was an add-on special to the brunch that featured bottomless Bloody Marys or Mimosas for only $15. I am quite the Bloody Mary enthusiast, so I had to go for the Bloody Mary option.

Most places in Disney will charge you $15 for just one drink, so I felt this was a great deal! If you are a fan of Old Fashioneds, then you should check out the Build Your Own Old Fashioned offering for $12 each.  

The Bloody Mary was really tasty. I personally love when lemons and limes are used as part of the garnishment or mix. To me, it just adds a little zing to the drink. Call me odd, but I also love to put green olives in my Bloody Marys (and margaritas!). It gives it just a bit of saltiness to balance out the heat or tartness.

The only problem with these particular olives was that, they were SO salty. I love all things salt, so if I tell you they were too salty, you can take that to the bank! It didn’t destroy the integrity of the drink though, so life was good!

The Buffet

When we were ready, our server showed us to the buffet. It was located in the back room of the restaurant on the top level.

The bottom level had a made-to-order omelet and meat carving station along with some more tables. 

The buffet featured a large variety of options. Some were major hits and others were major misses. I wouldn’t be telling the truth if I said every item on the buffet was outstanding. The ones that were, however, made me feel like this buffet was completely worth the cost, and a return visit. 

Let’s get started on the specific offerings…

We started on the top level, where the majority of the food was located. The buffet was divided into several stations. I actually liked this set up, because you didn’t have to go through the whole buffet just to get one item that you were looking for.

The first station we visited was a cold bar.

It had Caesar salad, a Southern salad (made with field greens, shaved apple, fennel, toasted pecans, white cheddar and champagne vinaigrette), jalapeño pepper and cheese cornbread, fresh mixed fruit, along with peel and eat shrimp, with all the fixins’.

The next station to the left had hot lunch foods such as roasted garlic mashed potatoes and gravy, fresh seasonal vegetables (which had perfectly cooked zucchini pieces) and shrimp and crawfish étouffée.

Now I will be the first to admit, I had no clue what étouffée was. I was a little nervous to try it, but I am SO GLAD I did! This item was THE stand-out lunch item on this buffet.

The flavors were so amazing and no ingredient overpowered each other. For those of you (like me) who get a little creeped out looking at whole crawfish, there is nothing to worry about. The étouffée just had the meat mixed in.

There was another lunch offering station that had build-your-own tacos. This was both a hit and miss for us. The pulled pork and pulled chicken were both really good. Very flavorful and moist. However, the corn tortillas were just horrible.

They fell apart due to their dryness and were simply not worth it for the lack of flavor. I would highly recommend just grabbing the meat with some of the taco toppings and leave the tortillas alone.

On the opposite side of the buffet area, there were breakfast options. You can’t have a good southern brunch without chicken and waffles.

I loved all the choices they provided too. It wasn’t just maple syrup, but you could also add fresh strawberries and whipped cream to your waffles.

Once again, a hit and a miss. The waffles were a major hit! They were so light and absolutely perfect with the strawberries and whipped cream.

The chicken, on the other hand, was disappointing. I expected the outer coating to be crispier than it was. To me it tasted like KFC original recipe chicken.

Part of the breakfast station included scrambled eggs, candied bacon, andouille sausage, and fresh pastries.

First off, let’s talk about the good. There were a lot of pastry options such as donuts, muffins, turnovers and croissants. The croissants were so delicious and buttery.

The andouille sausage was also outstanding. It had some heat, but not overwhelming.

Unfortunately, I cannot say the same about the candied bacon, which (in my opinion) was mislabeled. When you think of candied bacon, you think of sweet flavors. This bacon was covered in red chili pepper flakes and was 5 alarm, burn your intestines off spicy.

It tainted everything I ate for a good 15 minutes.

Sure it was tasty at first, but then the spice gets you from behind. If you like spicy foods, this is definitely for you, but I truly feel that this item is mislabeled. I would hate to see a little kid find that out the hard way.

The scrambled eggs didn’t do anything to impress either. They were really dry and crumbly.

Don’t fret, there are always a few items on a buffet that miss the mark. The good thing, is that there were plenty of options left to try that we didn’t even miss the bad ones.

The scrambled eggs weren’t good, but the made-to-order omelet station was! The ingredient bowls were not labeled at the table, but they were listed on the menu when we sat down.

There were plenty of choices including: ham, bacon, crawfish, tomatoes, mushrooms, andouille sausage, red and green peppers, green onions, jack cheese and cheddar cheese.

Not to mention, fresh carved meats were offered as well.

The prime rib was excellent and had numerous sauces to pair with it. There was also fresh carved ham.

Desserts

After enjoying all this tasty food, it was time to move onto dessert. This station had the best item of the whole meal on it: Whisky Butter! They had a big bowl of it on the dessert station.

Now, I am sure it was meant to go on top of the bread pudding it was sitting next to, but we felt the bread pudding was way too mushy to ruin the whisky butter like that.

Seriously folks, spread the word and cue the Hillary Duff music because “This is What Dreams Are Made Of.” This stuff is simply put, AH-mazing! It is worth the price of admission just for this one item.

It is as close to sweet frosting as you can get while still being a whipped butter consistency. I don’t care what you put it on, waffles, croissants, a spoon, anything really. it is pure Disney magic!

After you finish drooling over the whiskey butter, there are plenty more desserts to try. We grabbed one of each and shared them around. The desserts are individual sized, but they are super indulgent. It was best to share them.

We thought that the real stand out items on the dessert buffet were the chocolate wave, pecan tarts, and raspberry cheesecake.

Music

Not only was there amazing food, but there was also amazing music. I am a little hesitant when I see the words “Live Music” at a restaurant. I am not a fan of having to shout at my dinner company across the table.

The music was not too loud and added the perfect calm jazzy atmosphere. The Brown Bag Brass Band played some amazing classic jazz numbers, and I was actually a bit sad when they took their break. The music was so good!

Final Thoughts

When we were finished, our server brought over our check. She asked me if I wanted another Bloody Mary and i decided against it. She then offered me one in a To-Go cup for later, since I had purchased the Bottomless Bloody Mary option. I thought it was so sweet of her!

I asked her if the House of Blues accepted the Tables in Wonderland card and she said no, but that they did accept my Annual Passholder discount. I was grateful for anything I could get and thanked her for her excellent service. She was truly a great server.

The cost of the buffet for Adults is $33 and $15 for children. There are a lot of overpriced buffets on Disney property, but I thought the House of Blues Bayou Brunch was a really good value overall. Sure, not every item was amazing, but we really enjoyed it nonetheless. I would highly recommend giving this place a try on your next vacation!

Have you been to the House of Blues Bayou Brunch yet? What did you think? Let us know in the comments below or on facebook!

-Christina