REVIEW: New Loaded Tavern Fries, Lobster Fritters, Plant-Based Entrees, and Desserts for Lunch at Liberty Tree Tavern in the Magic Kingdom

Tom Corless

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REVIEW: New Loaded Tavern Fries, Lobster Fritters, Plant-Based Entrees, and Desserts for Lunch at Liberty Tree Tavern in the Magic Kingdom

A salute to all restaurants, but mostly Liberty Tree Tavern. That’s right, we’re back for latest menu change since the BELL Burger debuted back in January. New to the menu are some appetizers and a slew of desserts, plus we tried out some new-to-us entrees to round everything out. With its serene setting and solid menu, it’s no surprise that Liberty Tree Tavern is a regular on the WDWNT rotation of Magic Kingdom lunches. Now, without further ado, let’s do lunch at the hearth of democracy: the Liberty Tree Tavern!

Liberty Tree Tavern Lunch – Appetizers

Traveler’s Loaded Tavern Fries – $13.00

Crisp Fries, Creamy Beer-Cheese Sauce, House-smoked Pastrami, and Pickled Red Onion

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These are very good, with similar ingredients to the Smoked Pastrami Hash that was previously on the menu. We didn’t really care for it then, but the pastrami was pretty good this time around. Now they’ve thrown that same pastrami on cheese-laden steak fries. This is a good starter, but it still doesn’t beat griddled brown bread. (That’s best appetizer in the park!) However, we’d still get this again. After all, you can’t get cheese fries with pastrami hash elsewhere in the Magic Kingdom, and the creamy beer cheese really can’t be beat.

Lobster Fritters – $9.00

Fried Lobster and Sweet Corn Fritters with Grilled Lemon Aïoli

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These are rather bland without the sauce and have way too much breading, and not enough lobster… but that’s about what you’d expect from any restaurant at Walt Disney World. The lemon aioli was pleasant, but I’m not sure I’d get this again, because it’s basically just a lot of bread. You’d be hard pressed to pick this against the cheese fries and brown griddled bread. If you like lobster, just get the lobster roll.

Liberty Tree Tavern Lunch – Entrees

Portobello Pot Roast – $24.00

Hearty Mushrooms, Roasted Root Vegetables, and Brown Gravy

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This is essentially just a pile of mushrooms and root vegetables. To omnivores, this tasted unremarkable and lacking. Even the plant-based eaters who joined us for the review mentioned this dish severely lacked flavor. Definitely pass on this.

Revolutionary Meatloaf – $21.00

Plant-based Meatloaf, Mashed Potatoes, Roasted Root Vegetables, and Mushroom Gravy

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Keeping that last dish in mind, if you’re vegan, save yourself a couple of dollars and opt for this instead. The portion size is good, and it’s a far more flavorful dish. With this on the menu, there’s really no need to order the portobello pot roast.

“Our Tavern Keeper’s Favorite” – $24.00

Pot Roast, Mashed Potatoes, and Garden Vegetables

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The pot roast here is a classic, and it’s rightfully what most people come here for. Thankfully, it’s still as good as everyone remembers it. That being said, though, if you’ve never had it before, don’t buy too much into the hype. Keep in mind that people deemed this amazing in a day and age before Be Our Guest and Skipper Canteen even existed. Liberty Tree Tavern’s signature pot roast came through at a time when the park basically served slop, so it really stood out then. If you order it, you won’t be disappointed with it, but it still isn’t necessarily what I’d order. (If you’re curious, I’d get the Turkey Pot Pie or Lobster Roll.) At this point, it just might be worth leaving your comfort zone.

Liberty Tree Tavern Lunch – Desserts

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Let me preface this with one thing. If you’re coming here and not getting the Ooey Gooey Toffee Cake, you’re making a mistake. The very fact that they thought to add to these desserts is downright ridiculous, but I understand the need for a fruit-based dessert. (Not that it’s any good, but I understand it.)

Blueberry Citrus Fritters – $8.00

Fried Blueberry Fritters with Citrus Glaze

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The fritters are somewhat off-putting in that they look just like lobster fritters, which makes sense because they’re prepared the same way, just with different ingredients. The same critique applies here. Definitely pass on these. They’re shareable, but just not good.

Boston Cream Whoopie Pie – $8.00

Vanilla Whoopie Pie dipped in Chocolate and filled with Pastry Cream

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The Boston cream pie is surprisingly good and really soft. I honestly wouldn’t bother with the other two new desserts, but I’d probably get this again. Do keep in mind that this dessert is rather small and not shareable.

Cherry-Almond Tart – $9.00

House-made Almond Tart Shell filled with Cream Cheese and Cherry Compote

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The fruit tart was hard, with a crust that was incredibly difficult to break into, even with silverware. There was nothing wrong with the berries, but the tart crust was not well prepared, making it hard to enjoy the overall dessert.

Liberty Tree Tavern Lunch – Overall

Our rule of thumb after trying out these new items is to stick with the tried-and-true stuff we’ve already reviewed in the past. For apps, go for the Tavern Cheese Dip and Griddled Brown Bread. (If you end up going for the fries, though, we won’t judge.) For entrees, stick with the Lobster Roll or the Turkey Pot Pie. And for dessert, just stick with the Ooey Gooey cake.

Seriously. If you must deviate, just get dessert elsewhere in the Magic Kingdom.

Author

  • Tom Corless

    Tom has been regularly visiting the Walt Disney World® Resort from the time he was 4 months old. While he has made countless visits in the last 28 years, he did not become a truly active member in the Disney fan community until the summer of 2007, when he decided to launch the WDW News Today website and podcast. Tom has since become an Orlando-local and is a published author on Walt Disney World. Contact Tom at tom@wdwnt.com.

1 thought on “REVIEW: New Loaded Tavern Fries, Lobster Fritters, Plant-Based Entrees, and Desserts for Lunch at Liberty Tree Tavern in the Magic Kingdom”

  1. *sigh* “Even the plant-based eaters who joined us for the review mentioned this dish severely lacked flavor.”

    Here’s the thing – do meat-based eaters go to a restaurant and nod happily if all they can get is a a pile of sliced meats on a plate with some kind of brown sauce poured over it? I imagine some do – but I suspect most would get pretty tired of that fairly quickly. Because that’s basically what “Portobello Pot Roast” is. And it’s kind of the same ol’ same ol’ thing that chefs who have no concept of how to prepare a meal that’s not mainly a slab of meat come up with. It’s lazy cooking.

    At least the “Revolutionary Meatloaf”… I was going to say “shows some imagination”.. but it doesn’t, really – it’s just standard meatloaf… just made with Impossible burger rather than real ground beef.

    Still, THIS is why we need more meat analogues – because most “chefs” couldn’t cook their way out of a paper bag unless that paper bag is carrying meat..

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