*This gluten free dining experience took place in March 2021. It includes information about dairy free options, as well as fish/shellfish, peanut, hazelnut, cabbage, and chicken & turkey allergies.

Dinner at Be Our Guest Restaurant

Be Our Guest Restaurant, located at the Magic Kingdom, is a table service dining location in Fantasyland that is inspired by Beauty & the Beast, as you dine in the Beast's castle. Brandon and I have been here for lunch together and really enjoyed it. I have dined there for dinner but it's been years. So, we finally decided to give the restaurant a try for dinner with a late night seating to try out their updated fixed price meal offerings.

COVID-19 & Reopening Notes

On this particular visit, we made reservations for the restaurant about a week before we dined there. I used the My Disney Experience app and found that there was a later evening seating, which we decided to book (the restaurant closed at 8 p.m. when we dined there). The app worked as it normally does, and we were able to add in our special dietary needs in the app and alert cast members of our needs when we arrived at the restaurant. We were able to easily check in using the mobile app, though we have found checking in using the app to be very hit or miss.

The restaurant itself featured many mechanisms to provide sanitization, social distancing, and safety for both guests and cast members. We were actually asked to wait outside versus inside before our table was ready to ensure social distancing. All cast members wore facial masks and some cast members also wore protective shields, as well. All servers in the restaurant wore both facial masks and protective shields.

As a note, at the time of writing this review, we have been to several of the Disney Resorts, including the Animal Kingdom Lodge, Boardwalk Resort, Contemporary Resort, Coronado Springs Resort, Grand Floridian Resort & Spa, Old Key West Resort, Polynesian, Riviera Resort, and Wilderness Lodge Resort along with all of the theme parks. All locations have the same protocols, as far as we have observed. Be sure to check with restaurants and the official Disney World website for additional information about current guidelines and recommendations.

Atmosphere

Be Our Guest Restaurant is inspired by Beauty and the Beast and like Cinderella's Royal Table is located inside a castle. The restaurant features three unique dining rooms that will make you feel like you're transported into the animated film.

Be Our Guest Restaurant / Photo Taken by Gluten Free & Dairy Free at WDW

We dined later in the evening, so it was fairly dark outside the restaurant when we arrived. But, as you'll see from the photos, they include colorful lighting at night for a totally different look and feel depending on what time of day you eat at Be Our Guest.

I especially love the grand entrance, which features busts and stained glass features. It's all really elegant and beautifully designed.

Do take a bit of time to look at the stained glass throughout the restaurant's entrance and front interior. You'll see moments from the story of Beauty and the Beast in these intricate designs.

Be Our Guest Restaurant - West Wing / Photo Taken by Gluten Free & Dairy Free at WDW

Once inside the restaurant, you'll be seated in one of three rooms: The Grand Ballroom, The West Wing, and the Castle Gallery (which I've also seen referred to as the Rose Gallery too). We were seated in the West Wing -- which is the Beast's study -- and is dimly lit and features elements from the film.

The West Wing includes the iconic rose slowly losing its petals. Be sure to check it out no matter what area you're seated in the restaurant.

Brandon lightened up a photo of the West Wing so you could see a bit more of what it looks like. Here's a bit of the seating area and some of that unique decor.

For comparison, you can see a photo that is a bit more dark that also highlights what the Grand Ballroom looks like. As you can see, the lighting is very different between the two rooms and really distinguishes the different themes in each of the spaces.

Be Our Guest Restaurant - Ballroom / Photo Taken by Gluten Free & Dairy Free at WDW

The Grand Ballroom is probably the most impressive of the three rooms with ornate chandeliers, pillars, and even a unique fresco in the ceiling. I especially love the floor to ceiling windows in the back of the ballroom that features a snowy landscape that actually "snows" while you dine there.

The biggest downside from our viewpoint of the Grand Ballroom was that it was extremely loud and very busy. If you prefer a quieter meal, you might request dining in the West Wing or Castle Gallery. But, you really can't beat the atmosphere in the main ballroom dining area.

The Food

Like most Disney owned restaurants, Be Our Guest Restaurant does have an allergy-friendly menu -- which during our visit was found on the mobile app. You can, of course, always speak to a chef when you dine at at the restaurant too to discuss different options, modifications, and any questions that you might have.

On our visit, we utilized the mobile app for the allergy-friendly menu and discussed options with our server who talked to the chef on our behalf. Of course, if you feel more comfortable speaking directly to a chef, be sure to let your server know too. We saw chefs come out several times during our visit to speak with other guests.

For the first time ever in the Magic Kingdom, Brandon and I got alcoholic beverages during our meal. Be Our Guest Restaurant is one of the few places in the park that does carry wine and beer. We enjoyed two different wines including a sparkling wine (Charles de Fère Cuvée Jean Louis Blanc de Blancs Brut).

We also ordered one of the private label wines made for the restaurant -- the Enchanted Rose. Both of the wines we had were good, and we really liked the Rose. If you're a wine drinker, you can get better options at other restaurants on Disney property, but these were not bad either. We'd definitely get both of them again.

For my bread service, I was served the gluten free, dairy free & allergy-friendly Bloomfield Farms brand rolls. These were served with regular butter, but if you're dairy free, you can get non-dairy vegan buttery spread or extra virgin olive oil for your bread service too. While these weren't heated as well as other locations, I really love these rolls and enjoy them for any bread service. If you can have dairy, the whipped butter with a French sea salt served at Be Our Guest is really excellent. Somehow we didn't get a photo of Brandon's bread, but he was served regular gluten-filled bread which he said was good but made even better with the butter. Both Brandon and I said the butter really made the bread service.

During our visit to Be Our Guest Restaurant, the meal was a fixed price -- meaning you were served an appetizer, entree, and dessert of your choice. For my appetizer, I ordered the Mixed Field Greens which was marked safe for Gluten/Wheat, Egg, Fish/Shellfish, Milk, and Soy Allergies. We were also told this was vegan too.

While, the salad itself was super fresh and light, I wouldn't say it was the highlight of the meal. It was a fairly plain salad -- so if you're looking for something a bit more decadent, this dish is probably not what you want to order. However, if you're dairy free or vegan, this might be the best option that's safe for your special dietary need. I would personally like to see maybe a different salad option that is safe for those special dietary needs but maybe has a bit more of a wow factor to it. On the upside, it was a very nice size portion!

For Brandon's appetizer, he got the French Onion Soup one we were able to confirm that it did not contain chicken or turkey broth in it. Our server did tell us that the current version contains beef stock, so if you're vegan or vegetarian, it looks like the French Onion Soup is no longer a safe option as it was in the past. In addition to covering Brandon's allergies, this dish can also be made gluten free. It is marked safe for Gluten/Wheat, Fish/Shellfish, Peanut/Tree Nut, and Soy Allergies on the allergy-friendly menu. It is also chicken & turkey and cabbage free (Brandon's other allergies).

If you know any of our reviews or seen any of our YouTube videos, you know that Brandon absolutely loves soup. He especially loves French Onion Soup, so this was a double-win for him. He absolutely loved it and said he wish he could have ordered a second bowl of it -- it was that good. If it is safe for your special dietary needs, and you like soup, this is a strong appetizer contender at Be Our Guest Restaurant.

For my entree, I ordered the Herb Salted Pork Tenderloin with Crispy Pork Belly, Seasonal Vegetables-Two Ways, Pork Jus, and Candied Pecan. This dish was marked safe for Gluten/Wheat, Egg, Fish/Shellfish, and Soy Allergies. I did not ask if it could be made dairy free, but if you're interested in the dish, I have a feeling they could make some easy modifications by removing some of the purees on the dish.

Overall, I really liked the dish. The pork, both the tenderloin and pork belly, were well-cooked and flavorful. I liked the root vegetables and the sauce on the dish. I think my only slight complaint were the pickled beets on the plate. I'm not a huge beet fan to begin with, and I found the pickling on the beets to be very strong in flavor compared to the rest of the dish. Had the beets been removed, I think the dish would have been much stronger and more balanced. That being said, I would still probably order this again, though I might opt for a different entree on our next visit.

For Brandon's entree, he ordered the Grilled Center Cut Filet Mignon with Robuchon Yukon Potatoes, Seasonal Vegetables, and Cipollini Marmalade with a Red Wine Glaze. This dish was marked safe for Gluten/Wheat, Egg, Fish/Shellfish, Peanut/Tree Nut, and Soy Allergies. It was also made safe for chicken & turkey and cabbage allergies.

Like me, Brandon was pleasantly surprised with his entree. He really liked the filet and how well it was seasoned. As a mashed potato connoisseur, he said the version he had in this entree were OK but not amazing. I think both of us were impressed at the presentation and quality of the food -- with a few elements in each of our dish that were just slightly off or just OK. That being said, we both agreed the entrees were surprisingly good based and exceeded our expectations.

For dessert, neither of us expected that we would be given more than some allergy-friendly cookies. So, you can imagine how surprised we were when we were each served a dessert trio. For the gluten free option (contains dairy), I was served a lemon raspberry macaron, white chocolate "Chip" cup with a gluten free version of the Grey Stuff, and dark chocolate truffle filled with Grand Marnier.

I was impressed that there were some options for gluten free guests. I'd like to see what the dairy free options are next visit, especially as I do try to limit my dairy. But, I'm glad I got to try the gluten free options and that they were all served in small portions. The lemon raspberry macaron was extremely sweet, but I liked the sharpness of the lemon flavor combined with the raspberry jam cream. This would a skip for me next time, as it was just too sweet for me. The grey stuff was a real treat, as I wasn't sure they could make a GF option. In this case, they just omit the Oreo cookies that are normally mixed in with the vanilla mousse. I loved the presentation and thought it was such a fun treat. That being said, it was a really bland dessert. I think kids would love this no matter what, but to me, the flavors weren't anything too exciting. And finally, my favorite of the dessert trio was the dark chocolate truffle. It was rich, decadent, and super flavorful. I liked the citrus punch from the Grand Marnier too. I'm pretty sure I would have been happy with three of these truffles version the trio sampler instead!

For Brandon's dessert trio, he was served slightly different options. Like me, he was able to get the Grey Stuff but his came with Oreoe cookies in it and had the decorative chocolate pearls that were omitted from my dish. He was also served two truffles that did not contain any nuts. Brandon also agreed that his truffles were the winner on the dessert trio and that the Grey Stuff was just OK. Still, both of us were just thrilled that we were served something besides sorbet or allergy-friendly pre-packaged cookies.

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VatCi0axcBs[/embedyt]

If you want to get more information about our visit to Be Our Guest Restaurant, we did film our visit for our YouTube channel.

Overall

We were both really pleasantly surprised by our meal at Be Our Guest Restaurant. We both had more options for all components of our meal than we expected. And, based on my previous dinner experiences, the food was definitely a step up in quality, presentation, and flavor. At the price point, we would probably not go back for a while so that we can try other restaurants, but if you're looking for a special experience in the Magic Kingdom or have kiddos, this might be a great table service option for you. It was fun to dine in the castle and see the Beast -- all while enjoying a tasty and safe meal.

Have you been to Be Our Guest Restaurant? What was your experience dining there with special dietary needs?

Be Our Guest Restaurant Dinner Review

Dinner at Be Our Guest Restaurant

COVID-19 & Reopening Notes

Atmosphere

The Food

Overall

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