Big River Grille and Brewing Works to close at Walt Disney World

bhg469

bhg469

Well-Known Member
llrain said:
A perfect opportunity for another polite pig location. Think of the masses that would dine there..ugh so dreaming this could happen
I mean polite pig is a brewery (not the disney springs location but their orlando location)..please please please dream come true
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Ravenous pig is vastly superior. Polite pig is just slightly better than chain bbq
 
ParentsOf4

ParentsOf4

Well-Known Member
CJR said:
This is a pretty big deal just for its longevity, it opened in 1996 and kept a similar look the whole time.

It's honestly more surprising that it lasted so long, I never knew of it being very good. Disney didn't mind it though, so long they got that rent check.

So, it'll probably create a lasting change to the area. Honestly though, it was past time to give that spot some new life. Hope they can find something really good to go here, lots of possibilities.
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We went to Big River Grille many times.

It used to be good for a burger, beer, and kettle chips. Several of the sandwiches were really good.

We never enjoyed eating inside. It was an oddly shaped space, too small and too loud. Conversely, eating outside on a comfortable night as the sun was setting was an experience that few Disney owned restaurants could match.

But the food slipped the last few years, especially after the Covid shutdown, and never recovered.
 
Doberge

Doberge

True Bayou Magic
Premium Member
JohnD said:
First, Boardwalk lost ESPN to a bakery. Now it's losing Big River Grille. Hopefully, they can retain the spot as some kind of sports bar.
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A sports bar is maybe the biggest gaps in existing offerings. People travel from all over and ask where they can watch a game or event and the best advice is "maybe X lounge if you ask" or "maybe splittsville." We'll soon have people asking for good spots to watch the Super Bowl.
 
JohnD

JohnD

Well-Known Member
bhg469 said:
The best, but sadly most expensive sports bar I've ever been in is a very short Uber ride away at the Gaylord palms. Having said that there are plenty of places off site that are still very good. And a couple that are ok on site.
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I have a BJs and Millers Ale House near me. Both are outside DS also. Doesn't have to be those brands but won't take much to make it into a new sports bar.
 
bhg469

bhg469

Well-Known Member
JohnD said:
I have a BJs and Millers Ale House near me. Both are outside DS also. Doesn't have to be those brands but won't take much to make it into a new sports bar.
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Kitty O'Sheas is really the best of everything. Best wings in Orlando, cheap drinks and I would bet that they are the best bar staff in the area as well. Hugely popular with service industry folks too
 
UNCgolf

UNCgolf

Well-Known Member
bhg469 said:
Ravenous pig is vastly superior. Polite pig is just slightly better than chain bbq
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I think you're underselling the quality of Polite Pig. It's the best QS on WDW property, unless it's declined since I was last there (which was admittedly a few years ago).

It's definitely not as good as true high quality BBQ, but it's vastly superior to chain restaurant BBQ and it's better than a significant number of small local BBQ places I've been to as well. I eat BBQ pretty regularly and I was very pleasantly surprised by how good it was; I was expecting it to be chain BBQ level and it was much better.
 
Hakunamatata

Hakunamatata

Le Meh
Premium Member
UNCgolf said:
I think you're underselling the quality of Polite Pig. It's the best QS on WDW property, unless it's declined since I was last there (which was admittedly a few years ago).

It's definitely not as good as true high quality BBQ, but it's vastly superior to chain restaurant BBQ and it's better than a significant number of small local BBQ places I've been to as well. I eat BBQ pretty regularly and I was very pleasantly surprised by how good it was; I was expecting it to be chain BBQ level and it was much better.
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I would say Cooks of Dublin is the best quick service on property.
 
A

altmetalpunk

New Member
Worked there briefly just over a year ago. Manager said that disney hadn't been a big fan of them for years. They wanted to take over the ESPN space when ESPN was starting to go down hill, so they could have more room, especially with all that brewing equipment, but disney wouldn't even give them a second thought. Shame, food and beers were solid. They do have a couple other locations though.
 
Smiley/OCD

Smiley/OCD

Well-Known Member
I’ll put this out there again…at the Boardwalk, you have boardwalk food…
 

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erstwo

erstwo

Well-Known Member
UNCgolf said:
I think you're underselling the quality of Polite Pig. It's the best QS on WDW property, unless it's declined since I was last there (which was admittedly a few years ago).

It's definitely not as good as true high quality BBQ, but it's vastly superior to chain restaurant BBQ and it's better than a significant number of small local BBQ places I've been to as well. I eat BBQ pretty regularly and I was very pleasantly surprised by how good it was; I was expecting it to be chain BBQ level and it was much better.
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If I'm not mistaken - Polite Pig received a Bib Gourmand from the Michelin Guide as well? I know it's not a star - but it's still quite an honor.

For what it's worth - I used to frequent another Big River Grille location on travel to Chattanooga pretty often. But it's probably been nearly a decade since I set foot in there. It was once sort of a novel experience - brewing beer right near the tables. Now there's a brewery or twenty in every town it seems - some of which serve great food. I just wasn't motivated to visit the Boardwalk location at any time when I'm in Orlando. Seems I wasn't the only one.
Doberge said:
A sports bar is maybe the biggest gaps in existing offerings. People travel from all over and ask where they can watch a game or event and the best advice is "maybe X lounge if you ask" or "maybe splittsville." We'll soon have people asking for good spots to watch the Super Bowl.
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I do agree about the need for a sports bar. However - I've been to WDW several times on Super Bowl weekend but all pre pandemic. Back then, all the WDW resorts offered a few ways to watch - in the bars that had tvs - a big tv on the beach or poolside that showed the game, etc. Hopefully they still do that.
My son was just talking about the time we watched the Super Bowl on the beach at Yacht Club and then saw Eli Manning the parade at MK the next day.
 
JohnD

JohnD

Well-Known Member
altmetalpunk said:
Worked there briefly just over a year ago. Manager said that disney hadn't been a big fan of them for years. They wanted to take over the ESPN space when ESPN was starting to go down hill, so they could have more room, especially with all that brewing equipment, but disney wouldn't even give them a second thought. Shame, food and beers were solid. They do have a couple other locations though.
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I was touring the Christmas trees in the various resorts over the holidays and needed to duck into Big River Grille after getting off the boat at Boardwalk during a downpour. I agree its tight in there.

I noticed the termination letter showed a variety of brands under the management company. There was a Logan's Steakhouse in Tallahassee. It also closed. Also Seven Bridges. Probably only in Jacksonville as its named after the 7 bridges that cross the St. Johns River in Jax. Didn't know about Krystals fast food.
 
mf1972

mf1972

Well-Known Member
i’d rather see them put something original in there instead of some kind of chain. although originality seems to be lacking at times.
 

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