Mrs. Potts (or rather Chef Bouche, the angry stove) have been busy in the kitchen recently, and they’ve just unveiled a few new interesting options for your lunch in Beast’s castle. Fans of the classic potato leek soup here may be distraught at the fact that it’s been replaced with a corn-based soup, but the change appears to be seasonal, as with other new items on the menu. We invite you to pull up a chair, sit back, and relax as the dining room proudly presents… your lunch.

We had three new dishes to try today; two entrees and a new soup! Let’s dig in and see what we’re working with, here.

Sweet Corn Bisque ($5.99)

The potato leek soup is gone, and in its place is this little number. The menu describes this as “Sweet Corn Bisque – Garnished with Corn, Bacon, Cilantro, and Chili Oil”.

The flavor on this is quite good. The corn taste comes through well, as it should, without ever being too overpowering. I could tell the corn had been either roasted or grilled before it went into the soup, which is a great touch. The consistency is nice and creamy, and there’s just the right amount of corn in my opinion. They claim there’s bacon in here, but I couldn’t find it. If it’s there, it’s very subtle. The chili oil adds a nice complexity, as well. I didn’t care for the cilantro (I’m one of those people), but you can eat around it pretty easily.

I’m not even a big soup person, but I really enjoyed this. It would make a fine addition to many of the entrees on the menu.

Cannellini Bean Cassoulet ($14.99)

“Cannellini Bean Cassoulet — White Cannellini Beans with Onions, Red Peppers, Zucchini, Eggplant, Tomatoes, Garlic and fresh Herbs served with Broccolini and Crostini”.

I’m not super familiar with French food, so I’m going to explain this in American terms: it’s kind of like a stew. There are a ton of different vegetables in here, and none of them were overcooked at all, thankfully. The texture had a nice variety because of the differences in the vegetables, and the flavor was actually quite strong. All the kick comes from the herb sauce on top, which was very reminiscent of a basil pesto.

The peppers add a nice bit of heat, but it’s not exactly a spicy dish.

I compared it to a stew, but you can totally eat it with a fork. Overall, it’s a very flavorful option for those who want to avoid the meat dishes, or for those who just like lots of vegetables!

Spring Salad ($14.79 for Chicken | $16.79 for Shrimp)

“Spring Salad– Sliced Golden Beets, Roasted Peppers, Chilled Green Beans, Pickled Shallots, Carrots, and Herb Vinaigrette served with your choice of Citrus-poached Shrimp or Thyme-scented Chicken”

I ordered this with the chicken, but I’m thinking I probably should have gone with the shrimp (although it’s $2 more.) The greens were all very interesting. I liked the peppers and the green beans were an nice choice. The dressing was also pretty good. It had a strong basil flavor (although nowhere near as strong as the Cassoulet did).

The chicken was just really dry and flavorless, unfortunately. Even with the dressing, it was tough and hard to chew. It would have been a fine salad, but the chicken really sunk that ship. The salad is the least interesting thing on the menu at the moment, so I might just skip it if I were you. You get more and better food with many of the other options. Maybe try it with the shrimp if you really want a salad.

Well, there we go! A couple of interesting new additions to the menu, and one not-so-great addition. Be Our Guest is still, in my opinion, a fine choice for lunch at the Magic Kingdom.