Ahoy Mateys! Morgan here, with Neverland Navigation Co. and Neverland Navigation Radio podcast! We publicly declared that there weren't many really good quick-serve restaurants in Magic Kingdom and our fans responded and told us to check out Columbia Harbour House! So that is what we are doing. You asked we listened. So let us see. Is there a GOOD quick-serve restaurant option in Magic Kingdom?
Check out our VLOG about Columbia Harbour House below!
So over the years, I have tried all the quick-serve dining locations in Magic Kingdom and I was never really impressed. But Disney has gotten better with food over time and some of our fans recommend a few options for us to try. Columbia Harbour House was one of them. I LOVE seafood, so I was excited to give it another go.
I am a BIG fan of the vibe of this restaurant. There are two floors worth of seating and it was really pleasant to feel out of the hustle and bustle while eating upstairs. I loved that there was plenty of indoor (read: air-conditioned!) seating. This restaurant has no outdoor seating and I appreciate that. A lot of times the quick-serve options are crazy busy and fast moving and you wind up feeling like you just ate real quick while standing up because you needed to eat, but didn't enjoy it. In Columbia Harbour House, you can sit down, enjoy your food, and take a breather. We went on a busy day and there was still plenty of open seating. I wondered if a lot of people didn't realize there was an upstairs seating area. When we entered the second floor of Columbia Harbour House I was impressed by the chill and slow mood up there. It wasn't as busy as anywhere else in the park and people didn't appear to be rushing around.
The decor in the restaurant is fun and fits in perfectly with the Liberty Square theme. It is as if you enter a ship in colonial times. There are colonial-era collections everywhere. If you have ever been to Liberty Tree Tavern then that is a good comparison they are similarly decorated, just with Columbia Harbour House having a more nautical theme.
The menu at Columbia Harbour House is mostly seafood, but not entirely. Two of the three entrees we ordered were not seafood. The entree I ordered was the Trio Platter. It had Fried Shrimp, Fried Fish, and Chicken Strips. It came with hushpuppies and a side. For my side, I chose French Fries. I probably should have chosen a healthier side, but it just wasn't that type of day. If you have more willpower than I do they do offer not-fried side options like green beans and rice. This platter was good. It wasn't next level (if you are looking for next-level fried fish try Cookes of Dublin in Disney Springs or the Yorkshire County Fish Shop in EPCOT's World Showcase.) But it was solid food and a ton of it for less than $15.
The Doom Burger was another entree ordered at our table. This restaurant has a few Haunted Mansion-themed options and this was one of them. It is a plant-based crab cake burger. This is what my husband ordered and he did not realize it was plant-based when he ordered it, nor could he tell it was while eating it. He was halfway through it when I said "isn't that plant-based?" I think he saw a Haunted Mansion-themed name and the words crab cake and was sold. Jake and I both tried it and it was good! Not great but for a plant-based crab cake sandwich, it was quite good. It was served on a black bun (I guess that's the "doom" part??) It came with fries. Honestly, weirdest name ever. It has nothing to do with what you get. It is like someone thought "wouldn't it be awesome if we named a burger a Doom Burger, since the cars that take you around the Haunted Mansion are called Doom Buggies?" But then they didn't sell a burger anywhere near Haunted Mansion so they stuck the name on a vegan crab cake sandwich. I mean..what?? I am not a fan of the look of the black (which is actually more of a dark brown) bun. Seems more gross than spooky looking.
The last entree we tried was the Sea Captain Catch, but with a twist. Jake isn't a fan of seafood so he asked the cast member what they would recommend to someone who wanted a nonseafood option. He recommended getting the Sea Captain Catch but substituting fried chicken for fried fish and having them remove the tarter sauce and adding mayo yourself. The insane part is this was my favorite thing that we ordered. And I LOVE seafood! It was chicken strips in a thick batter (like a fish and chip batter) topped with slaw. It was just shockingly good. So if someone in your party doesn't like fish, this is our recommendation. Don't forget to ask for no tarter sauce! That would be weird with chicken. The only downside to this surprisingly good chicken sandwich was that they put it on a "black" bun even though it did not have a Haunted Mansion name. Why? Good question. I don't like the look.
We also ordered a Happy Haunts Milkshake. This was another one where the title of the shake told you nothing about it. However, it was better themed than the 'Doom Burger." First off, It's a blackberry shake, so it is purple. Then it is topped with a glazed chocolate cake donut with purple icing and black sprinkles. Most importantly it came with a wide paper straw that had the Haunted Mansion wallpaper design printed onto it. The shake was yummy and I'd order it again for the straw alone. If it had been a plastic straw I would have washed and taken it home, but you know how those paper straws do, they barely last as long as your drink. The donut topper wasn't a great doughnut. It was just fine. The overall look? Totally Instagramable! I'm surprised I don't see more of these on my Instagram feed actually. I think I'll go post a picture of mine now. 😂
All in all. Columbia Harbour House was a hit for us! I had low expectations so that probably helped, but I would recommend this as a Magic Kingdom quick-serve. It wasn't cheap (but not much is in Magic Kingdom) but it was good and filling and a little different from the burgers and hot dogs at a lot of the quick-serve spots.
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💖
Morgan
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