There are certainly NO shortage of places to eat at Disney World. 400 restaurants. 400!!
Walt Disney World Resort entrance
But of all the quick service spots, grab-and-go food items, and table service restaurants, Wine Bar George is one of our FAVORITE places to eat, not just at Disney Springs but in ALL of Walt Disney World! And…interestingly, that’s something that just about everybody agrees with! That NEVER happens! So here’s why this restaurant seems to be universally perceived as practically perfect!
So of course we’ve visited a few times since Wine Bar George reopened at Disney Springs to sip on some wine and cocktails and nibble on some nosh-worthy bites. We LOVE this place because
1) You’d think it would be pretentious, but it’s 1000% not,
2) They have really really good, really really accessible eats,
3) The cast members here are smart, knowledgable, and super good at their jobs.
And the truth is, locals and travelers alike flock here, if they’re in the know.
Wine Bar George
But let’s see how this UBER popular spot doing after all those months of closure?
Atmosphere
When we first visited Wine Bar George when it reopened along with Disney Springs, there were quite a few new health and safety measures put into place, including a QR code menu, additional sanitizing of common areas and items, and paper disposable napkins, among other procedures like socially distanced tables and plexiglass barriers.
Wine Bar George QR Code for Digital Menus
Beyond those measures, Wine Bar George has a cozy yet modern vibe, with tons of wood, windows from the floor to the ceiling, and an open-aired atmosphere that is meant to mimic a winemaker’s retreat.
Wine Bar George
And I can’t stress this enough — unlike a lot of wine bars, this place does not have a stuffy air about it, making it a great place to try something new! Like, oh, say…TONS of yummy food.
Eats
Wine Bar George is operating with a limited menu right now but thankfully, most of their Small Plates menu made the cut.
Wine Bar George Menu
Their cheese and charcuterie boards are still here as well. If you’re in the mood for something more substantial they do have a few of their Entrées on the menu still.
Wine Bar George Menu
You’ll also find a small Dessert and Kids’ Menu.
Wine Bar George Menu
In the word of drinks, you’ll find a healthy-sized Cocktail menu. You’ll also find a few beers and ciders, if you’re not in the mood for the hard stuff. Oh, BTW they have wine here too. 😉 Wine IS in the name of the joint, so, not surprisingly, they have a LOT of vino options! 😉
Wine Bar George Menu
Like all great meals, we started our time at Wine Bar George with a drink. Instead of opting for a glass of wine, we decided to try a cocktail. We landed on the Vecchio Fashioned. This cocktail contains Copper and Kings American Brandy as well as Homemade Barrel-Aged Barolo Chinato Bitters for $14.
Vecchio Fashioned
If you know us, you know we looooove an old-fashioned, and we found WBG’s version to be super smooth and not-too-sweet (which can be a challenge sometimes at Disney World!). If you’re not feeling wine, this is a great option for sipping.
Vecchio Fashioned
Because we love to snack (duh, have you MET us?!), we opted for a few small plates on this visit. Our first small plate was the Hummus, which is topped with olive oil and chipotle and is served with cucumbers and naan bread.
Hummus at Wine Bar George
It may sound weird to rave about a plate of simple, unassuming hummus, but we swear this was INCREDIBLE hummus. It was creamy and fresh and for $11, we feel like we got a HUGE portion too. Our only complaint? There isn’t enough naan bread. But, pro tip, you can (and should!) ask for some more so you can dip away to your heart’s delight.
Hummus
Next up, we got the House-Made Meatballs served with a triple cheese polenta and fresh tomato sauce. This small plate costs $14.
House made Meatballs Wine Bar George
The meatballs are tender and quite hearty, but the star of this dish is actually the three-cheese polenta! If we could just sit and eat this creamy, cheesy comfort food all day, we totally would. Don’t judge! You could easily order this as a meal if you weren’t mega-hungry.
House-Made Meatballs
And because we loooove cheese, you know we also ordered the Crispy Mac & Cheese Bites, which cost $12.
Crispy Mac & Cheese Bites
How much do I LOVE that a wine bar has mac and cheese bites? And it’s totally un-ironic because they’re so, so good!
Oh where do we begin with these crispy, cheesy beauties? Guys, these are seriously just the best! The Mac & Cheese Bites come served on top of tomato nage (FYI that’s basically, like, a sauce…OK so maybe there’s some pretense here) and are sprinkled with pecorino cheese, both of which add a nice little zip to the dish.
The coating is perfectly crispy and the mac inside is creamy and oh-so-cheesy. YUMMM!
So. Much. Cheese!
And because cheese was the name of the game for this meal, for our final small plate, we opted to get the Grilled Romaine for $12. Eat your veggies, y’all!
Grilled romaine
Though it may sound a tad boring, we promise this fun twist on salad is anything BUT that! The lettuce is quickly charred so the edges of the leaves get toasty crunchy bits. Sounds strange. Tastes awesome. Also (because we’re obviously all about living that cheese life), it comes with a pecorino wafer — who can say no to a giant crispy piece of cheese?! The dressing on this salad, which is called Anna’s dressing on the menu, is reminiscent of a Caesar dressing, and the creaminess of it plays well off the charred lettuce and the toasted cheese.
Grilled romaine
Healthy portion of the meal out of the way, back to all things rich and cheesy! We also ordered Saganaki on Fire, which is quickly becoming a required DFB order at Wine Bar George every single visit because it’s THAT good. (I mean, really, I will eat this as a meal over and over again. Just a big block of firey cheese.)
Vlahoriti cheese (a firmer Greek sheep milk cheese) is doused in Metaxa liquor tableside then lit on FIYAH! You get a lemon to squeeze over the flames and it’s served with Crostini for scooping up the goodness (again — ask for more! You only get a few.)!
Saganaki on Fire
It’s a fun show and, you know, a ton of melted cheese all for $15. We’re fans, if you couldn’t already tell. 🙂
Saganaki on Fire
We rounded out our meal with a lil sweet treat, the Olive Oil Cake. This dessert is $7 and is served with candied olives and lemon mascarpone.
Olive oil cake
This cake was incredibly moist thanks to all of the olive oil, but it also…well…TASTED like olive oil! This is my one complaint about Wine Bar George — the desserts could be better. But some people seriously lurve this dessert, so…if you’re not in love with lardy frosting like us, this could be the perfect light and sweet bite to end your meal.
If you’re down with the flavor of olive oil, you’ll likely love this but if that taste doesn’t sound appealing in your dessert, maybe try the Key Lime Pie.
Nosh or Not
Grab a table at Wine Bar George if…
- You’re looking for a meal you can linger over with wine and cocktails and friends.
- You enjoy small plates and sharing dishes with the other diners at your table. A lot of the items here are meant to be shared and sampled.
- You want a mid-price meal at Disney Springs. The small plates here average in the mid-teens but have ample portions, so this spot is not a bad deal.
Dine elsewhere in Disney Springs if…
- You’re traveling with really little kiddos. They’ll like a lot of the food here, and the menu and restaurant are family-friendly, but the relaxed yet modern vibe here isn’t exciting, vibrant, or particularly fun for little ones (especially with in-your-face kid options like T-Rex around the corner!).
- You’re not into the idea of sharing food with your fellow diners right now.
- You want a quick meal so you can get back to shopping ASAP! WBG isn’t “slow” per se, but if you wanna dine and dash, choose quick service.
Overall
Wine Bar George impressed us yet again. Shocker. The simple-sounding dishes were all totally impressive, and the service at this spot has ALWAYS been top-notch in our experience. The servers and staff are super knowledgeable and helpful about food and wine pairings and anything else you could possibly need! And, the best part: George Miliotes himself — owner, sommelier, and all-around great guy — is literally IN the restaurant most of the time (pretty sure he sleeps in the back) to help you decide on wine choices. He’s super approachable and — I say this with 100% sincerity — DOES. NOT. CARE. if you know nothing about wine. He’s just invested in making sure you get food you like with something yummy to drink. And he — or his staff — will help you discover what that is.
When we find ourselves in Disney Springs, it’s an easy decision to decide to stop in for a drink and a nibble. And it seems this is nearly a universal opinion. Oh, and did we mention BRUNCH?!?
If we HAD to complain about something here, we’d say desserts could be more indulgent, and the menu could be expanded a bit. We always want access to more excellent eats when they do this good of a job. But…yeah…practically perfect.
Wait Til You Hear About Wine Bar George BRUNCH. Read All About It Here.
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Right before covid we went here and had Sunday brunch. It was soooo good. I thought your review was spot on.
Oof, looove Wine Bar George! I think my absolute fave in Disney would be the Skipper Canteen in MK, though.
We’ve had the opportunity to go to Wine Bar George 3 times (pre-Covid-19). The first time, we did a pairing of assorted sparkling wines w/ several small plates. The waiter took time to review it all with us, and later sat down at our table to discuss the various points of the wines. Food was delicious! The 2nd time we did a special program offered to DVC for wine tastings – much to our great surprise, “George” ran the seminar. He was personable & knowledgeable & we had a great experience. The 3rd time, we decided to order a main course off of the menu – when our food arrived, it was cold! And since I had injected my insulin prior to starting to eat, when we had to send back the plate, I had to flag down the waiter again to bring me some carbs to cover the insulin. That was very disappointing. Once the hot food came back, it was tasty but the experience was already ruined (by the way, “George” was spotted dining w/ some people across the room.
Love, love this restaurant, George is a host, wines and food excellent. We keep going back everytime we visit Disneyworld. Meet the owner, George, he is so nice and has a lot of knowledge.
LOVE Wine Bar George and went there in May for my son’s birthday, but HATE the QR menus!! Disposable menus should be available at all the restaurants. Most everyone has a cell phone, but not everyone has a smart phone. And QR’s definitely take away from the ambiance of a high end restaurant. Paper please……
I was excited from the day it was announced because WDW was in dire need of a great wine venue like this. It has been a favorite from the first visit. My biggest regret is that we don’t live locally and we can’t visit all the time. While I expected great wines, the food is the surprise. If there are better mac n’ cheese bites in the world, I haven’t found them! The article is correct, George has been visible in the restaurant on every visit. Very impressive.
All of this sounds amazing and just the kind of snacks/light meal I would want. My only reservation is that we don’t drink alcohol. Are we going to look like idiots eating at a wine bar and not partaking in the beverages? Not that I really care what I look like to others but, I guess I’m wondering, is it going to annoy the staff? I generally avoid wine bars and the like because of it.
Practically perfect? Nope. Sorry. No vegetarian entree, and possibly nothing vegan…maybe the hummus or olives? That’s a huge segment of the dining public left out. So maybe fun. Maybe good. But certainly far from perfect.
I can’t agree more, Wine Bar by George is a real gem. Love the atmosphere, ability to taste small portions of really exceptional wines, delicious food and great service. 5 stars across the board.
Do you know if they take Tables in Wonderland?
I guess I am a bit different in the sense that I would probably never eat at a Disney Springs restaurant. I just want to get to the parks and spend most of my day at the park and wind up back at Epcot for dinner. Of course, that is what used to happen prior to this pandemic. My day is not usually planned down to the exact minute, but I wan’t to spend as much time at the park, eat dinner right before the fire works, and watch the fireworks at Epcot. I haven’t been to WDW in 17 years and a lot of stuff has changed since I’ve been there.
Lori, Wine Bar George isn’t on the official list. I’ll check with the team and let you know if it’s actually honored there despite Disney not publishing that info.
Diane, not at all! Their food is known to be so good, it’s a destination even if you’re not drinking.
Amy, we’re finding you can request paper menus just about everywhere.
I can’t believe I’ve been visiting Disney annually (sometimes bi-annually) for over 35 yrs and have missed out on so many foodie experiences! I didn’t discover DFB until COVID kept us home watching Disney on YT!
I see you recommend T-Rex for kiddos but is it just as interactive as the review says it was now?
I worry that we missed out on alot of stuff forever!
Please Please Please open a WBG at Disneyland’s Downtown Disney 🙂
Nikki, as far as I know, the T-Rex effects are active, but I’m double-checking with the on-site team to be sure. I’ll come back to confirm when I hear back.
Nikki, confirmed that the effects were all operational when we visited last!
Hands down the best place at Springs! Casual, relaxing, yet still adult enough to enjoy a nice night out. The olive oil cake is a staple in many Greek households and definitely isn’t for everyone, but WBG’s is pretty legit. And the saganaki… <3 Love that George is almost always there and always hospitable and friendly.
You lead off saying Wine Bar George is not pretentious, yet you simply oozed pretentious in your writing of it. A nibble here a nibble there. There’s maybe 3 things on the menu my crowd would enjoy and 2 off the cocktail menu. Look up the definition of pretentious and be enlightened.
I can’t agree with you more. We have been here numerous times – for brunch, dinner, and simply to enjoy some great food and drinks in the afternoon. We absolutely are always pleased and satisfied with the service and food. We agree, George must sleep there! He has been there whenever we come in. I hope they always keep up to the standards of service and quality of food that they have now.
Why is nothing labelled incase you are vegan or vegetarian
Margaret, Disney’s menus would feature the leaf icon indicating plant-based options, but since WBG is third party-owned and -operated, it may not include labels.
@DFBSarah Thanks!
Haven’t been dining at Disney for many many years, I have my own favorites. You did linebarger his last year. Was not overly impressed. Too much put pretense… Servers pushing hard sells on some items value for price, not great. We put it on the been there done that list. Our meal experience have range from Victoria and Albert’s chef’s table, to whispering canyon at wilderness Lodge.
I was so interested until you made that comment ‘in the know’. How pretentious and woke.
I had always wanted to go to to this restaurant since it opened. We did go on new years for our trip to Disney. It was amazing. Great food and great service. The staff was so attentive and friendly . Great food and great wine. Can’t wait to go again.
Hello, I know another person asked regarding whether the TiW discount is accepted here. Has your team been able to secure that information? I have had a little difficulty trying to find that information thus any assistance from your fabulous team would be most appreciated. I love the information you all offer and it is truly helpful. Thanks.