6:56pm ET
Spoiler: Donkey Sauce is good. VERY good.
After more than a year of construction and numerous delays, Planet Hollywood Observatory at Disney Springs quietly reopens. On its first full-day of operating, the restaurant riddled with setbacks showed growing pains of a transitioning eatery. With an extremely narrow seating area upstairs, waiters had trouble navigating the floor and seemed to be guessing when describing menu items.
The ambiance of the restaurant is virtually the same as any other Planet Hollywood, let alone the one that was in the same exact spot more than a year ago. The movie props match what used to be draped around the inside of the restaurant, the layout of the dining area is virtually the same and many menu items have carried over through the re-imagining.
The Food Network's Guy Fieri collaborated with Planet Hollywood to take guests to "Flavortown" when
sinking their teeth into his signature burgers and knuckle sandwiches. These choices aren't horribly over-priced, but they are also far from gourmet burgers. Having tried the Cajun Chicken sandwich, I'm led to believe that many of these foods taste the same--- seeing they all have similar ingredients. In all honesty, nothing screamed "greatness" from this selection, but Guy Fieri's Donkey Sauce saved the day.
Donkey Sauce is a staple at Guy's restaurants; it's a condiment/dipping sauce featuring mayonnaise, Worcestershire Sauce, garlic, salt and pepper. This sauce could make a piece of tree bark taste good, no word of a lie. The Donkey Sauce is featured on a number of offerings and goes great with the fries.
Each sandwich and burger comes with a side of seasoned fries. While the portion may be small, the BBQ seasoning is high-quality. It's reminiscent of fries coated in dust made from ground Lay's BBQ Chips. The mixture of waffle and standard fries also adds to the overall enjoyment of the side dish.
As stated earlier, the menu did in-fact keep many items that were available prior to the renovations. I.e: LA Lasagna, World Famous Crunch Chick, etc. As for the drinks and desserts, they're a bit pricey.. but the desserts are visually enticing. The strawberry milkshake comes with a piece of cake on top, other than that it's a standard shake. Certainly worth a try, but probably won't keep you coming back.
Here's a full menu below:
MAJOR DISAPPOINTMENT: One of the things I was really looking forward to was the 12-flavor Ice Cream
Gelato Challenge. For $16 you can order this dessert featuring a dozen different flavors but aren't told what they are. With your dessert comes a form that you fill out and if you can guess all 12 flavors, you are given a $10 merchandise gift card. On the first day of being open, waiters told me they had no Gelato in stock. When asked why, they said they "didn't know we were opening today"-- simply a shame. It's bewildering and unacceptable to not only advertise a menu item but not have it ready to serve, let alone on the first full day when everyone wants to try new offerings. Hoping to return for the challenge soon. OVERALL VERDICT: Between 2015 and 2017, the restaurant hasn't changed too much. Pricey foods feature a new twist and the restaurant is using a celebrity chef to lure in customers. The food was good, but once again pricey. Planet Hollywood Observatory is not a bad restaurant by any means.. but certainly not a must-do while on vacation.
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