Las Ventanas -- Breakfast -- Table Service -- Coronado Springs
*This dining experience took place in March 2018.
Breakfast at Las Ventanas
There's nothing I enjoy more than a good brunch or breakfast at Disney World. Recently, I stopped by Las Ventanas, a table service restaurant at Disney's Coronado Springs Resort for a Sunday brunch that was quiet and relaxed. I hadn't dined here for breakfast since 2014. So, it seemed like a good opportunity to check out the restaurant once again.
Atmosphere
Las Ventanas is located near Pepper Market, the quick service restaurant at Coronado Springs Resort, and the convention center. However, when I arrived, the doors to the restaurant were closed. When I looked inside, the restaurant was empty. After some investigation, I discovered that the restaurant was temporarily located in Maya Grill down the hall due to a kitchen refurbishment.
I finally made my way over to Maya Grill. Having never dined here before, I was interested to see the restaurant interior. I wouldn't say the restaurant was overly themed. But, it was bright and spacious with lots of tables.
I have to admit, the restaurant interior actually reminded me a lot of the main restaurant at the resort I stayed at when I went on vacation in Cozumel, Mexico several years ago.
One of the things I liked the most about dining here was that it was very quiet. There were only about 7 tables with guests in the entire restaurant, which made for a quiet and calm brunch experience.
The Food
The restaurants at Disney's Coronado Springs Resort are not owned and operated by the Disney Company. This means that they do not offer an allergy-friendly menu. Upon arrival, my server did note that the chef could come to my table to discuss options.
Thankfully, breakfast tends to be fairly easy gluten free and dairy free. And, the chef did let me know that I had quite a few options. They do carry allergy-friendly Mickey waffles now, along with gluten free French Toast.
I decided to stick to the basics and order the Ventanas Breakfast which came with eggs any style, Pepper Bacon (or choice of breakfast meat), scallion potatoes, and gluten free toast. All of the items on the Ventanas Breakfast were gluten free and dairy free.Overall, I liked the breakfast entree. But I wasn't wowed by it. The pepper bacon was by far the best part of the breakfast, as everything else was a bit bland and under-seasoned. Adding some salt and pepper helped though.
In addition to the main entree, my Ventanas Breakfast also came with allergy-friendly bread. Las Ventanas uses a brand called Hilltop Hearth which contains soy but is gluten free, dairy free, and egg free. Back in 2014 when I ordered it, I wasn't a huge fan. But, on this visit, I liked it a lot more. It had almost a challah like taste and texture and was very soft. I also brought my own dairy free buttery spread from home. So, that may have also impacted the flavor too. Currently, Las Ventanas does not carry an dairy free butter alternatives.When the chef told me about the allergy-friendly Mickey waffles, I asked if I could get a side of them too. He noted that they weren't using Bob's Red Mill or Namaste pancake & waffle mix and said he would let me know the brand. Unfortunately, he never came back to the table with the brand. And, my server kept forgetting to ask the chef again.The allergy-friendly Mickey waffles were good, but not my favorite. I still don't know what brand they used. But, I found them to be quite gummy inside. The outside was super crisp (almost a bit too crisp). But, the inside was definitely under-cooked. I really liked that they dusted the waffles in powdered sugar, which was a nice touch. I can't say for sure, but the mix almost tasted like it had a bit of cinnamon in it. Definitely not my favorite version of allergy-friendly Mickey waffles. But, they weren't bad either.
Overall
Las Ventanas served a reasonably priced and solid breakfast. However, the food itself was just OK. And, the service I had while dining there was pretty bad. But, most puzzling was the fact that he came back to the table not once, not twice, but 5 times to ask what I wanted in my order again. Thankfully, I had already given my order to the chef. But, this was not a very confidence boosting meal experience when it comes to handling special dietary needs. With this in mind, I don't think I'd go back for a while. The meal was good but not enough for a repeat visit with so many other amazing options on Disney property. Still, if you're staying at Coronado Springs Resort and want a table service breakfast, you'll find a good amount of options at Las Ventanas.Have you been to Las Ventanas? What was your experience dining there?
Las Ventanas -- Breakfast -- Table Service -- Coronado Springs Resort
*This dining experience took place in November 2014 and includes my gluten free & dairy free dining review along with a review that includes: gluten, corn, dairy, tomatoes, apples and peanuts. 
Disney's Coronado Springs Resort has several dining options available to guests, including Las Ventanas which opened earlier in 2014 as a table service location that serves breakfast and lunch. The restaurants at Coronado Springs are not owned and operated by Disney and therefore aren't my most favorite in terms of accommodations and offerings. However, I was able to safely dine at both Las Ventanas and Pepper Market while staying at Coronado Springs during the 2014 Food Allergy & Celiac Convention held at the convention center.Blog reader and friend Kathleen was at FACCWDW coordinating the teen area at the event. She did a fantastic job with the area and offered so many great resources for teens and college students. She's doing fantastic things at her college as a food allergy advocate and hosts her own blog at: http://soulfoodheals.com/. 
I was so thrilled when she and her mom invited me for breakfast on the morning after FACCWDW, because it gave us a time to chat and catch up. Kathleen and her mom totally had the same idea as I did by going to Las Ventanas as a quick service breakfast wasn't appealing to any of us. When we arrived, we let the server know that we had special dietary needs. He then brought out the manager on duty who went over some options with us. While I would have loved to have seen a Disney chef, I was glad that the manager spent some time to discuss options with us and to ensure safety. 
While the menu did note several dishes could be made gluten free (including steak and eggs, Huevos Divorciados, and Ventanas Breakfast) which was nice. Everyone at the table decided to go for the Ventanas Breakfast which seemed the easiest and best option for special diets. It came with two eggs any style, choice of peppered bacon or grilled ham, and green onion potatoes. The manager advised us that the potatoes were made with extra virgin olive oil and contained no dairy, and the eggs short of scrambled could be made dairy free (my guess is they have pre-packaged beaten eggs, though I am curious how they can't make scrambled eggs on the fly. Seems not that hard!). The manager also mentioned that they had gluten free bread, and both Kathleen and I wanted to see what brand so we could determine if it was safe to eat or not.
The brand used was Hilltop Hearth and was certified gluten free. It was also dairy free. Here's a list of the ingredients from the box. Both of us ordered the toast dry, since they didn't have any non-dairy butter options.
The breakfast itself was OK, nothing spectacular. I asked for my eggs to be cooked over-easy, but they were hard cooked, so someone missed that memo. I asked if I could have both pepper bacon and ham, and was served both. I love bacon, as you all know, so I was happy to see pepper bacon in a restaurant! The potatoes sadly were missing the scallions, but tasted OK. I can't say that I loved the bread served but it wasn't terrible either. It had a slight after taste, and I wonder if it was due to the chickpea flour or soy flour. 
Overall, I think the meal was OK - solid and at least safe. It wasn't as amazing as some of my favorite Disney restaurants, but it was a great option while staying at Coronado Springs. I also really enjoyed the company and found that to be the best part of my meal! Thanks to Kathleen and her mom for inviting me! 
I can't say that Las Ventanas will be in my regular rotation but I'd definitely go back again and see what other options might be available. Have you been to Las Ventanas? What did you think of the special dietary options there?