Eat This: Sebastian’s Bistro at Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort

I’ve been so excited to get to Sebastian’s Bistro at Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort since it opened about a week ago. Something about the theming made me think of something you’d find on a Disney cruise ship. A sort of “animation chic”.

We finally got to go today and it was fantastic. And not just opening week, still ironing out glitches but “we see the potential” (said in my best Dame Judi Dench voice) good. But legit excellent.

For starters – I’m going to acknowledge that I don’t think I’ve set foot in Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort in well over a year – before the move, when we stayed there for a night or two during a quick trip down for house-related stuff. At the time the resort was so heavily under construction that it seemed like not much was left. The main pool was closed. The food areas were shut down and a make shift tent had been erected to house a sort of buffet. We weren’t there for a vacation but after seeing it that weekend it hadn’t exactly been on my short list.

Today was the first time I’ve seen it since and it was gorgeous. The lobbies, the bathrooms, the gift shop, the grab and go quick service – all airy and immaculate and brightly colored. The Fuentes del Morro pool looks amazing and the Banana Cabana has got to be one of the nicest pool bars on property. While we were there, pirate-dressed musicians were singing at the Banana Cabana and the music was wafting into the pool area and I was so down for a staycation.

But all of that said, we were there to try the new Sebastian’s Bistro and I am beyond excited to tell you about it.

For starters, like all of the main buildings at Caribbean Beach post-renovation, the space is lovely. It’s spacious, with ample room between the tables, on the water, and full of light. I loved not feeling anywhere close to on top of the other tables in the room.

The wait staff and other cast were well educated on the menu and enthusiastic about the food and we got a great run down on all of the options. I all but let our waiter choose my meal because absolutely everything on the menu looked wonderful.

We started with the cocktail list. I will say that if anything at Sebastian’s isn’t stand out at this early stage, it’s the drink list. They were fine but for a menu this creative the drinks could have been more all-out.

The Mai Tai, which looked at tasted a lot like…

The Gold Medallion

Though I will say that, priced at $15, the rum flight might just be the best deal for alcohol on property. My mother ordered it for the sake of variety at the table, wet her lips with all three, and then asked for a glass of pineapple juice to mix into them. Poof: 3 drinks.

But let’s move on to the important stuff: The apps and entrees.

After talking with the waiter, we started with the Marauder’s Snack and the Caribbean Pull-Apart Rolls.

The Marauder’s Snack is tostones, arepas, and house-made crackers with black been hummus, guacamole, and pico de gallo. The tostones and arepas were served warm and tasted freshly made. The black bean hummus and guacamole were good but safe. The pico de gallo was wonderful.

These pull-apart rolls are where it’s at. Also freshly baked, they pull apart into flat pieces perfect for transporting the guava butter, mango chutney, and Jamaican Jerk Oil into your mouth. I could take a bath in the guava butter and might have also put it all over the tostones from the Marauder’s Snack. The mango chutney is also excellent and the Jamaican Jerk Oil tastes like the love child of olive oil and olive tapenade. I could have made a meal out of this.

All of the main courses sounded so good that I all but flipped a coin to order. We ended up with the slow-cooked pork shoulder, the sustainable fish, and the jerk butternut squash.

The pork shoulder is served with black beans and cilantro rice, corn tortillas, and mojo sauce. This was phenomenal. The pork is melt in your mouth tender. The cilantro rice is my new favorite thing. Piled together into a tortilla, they were a match made in heaven.

The sustainable fish was lovely. It was served with mashed plantains and escovitch sauce, and I’d tell you how it tasted but I blinked and the plate had been all but licked clean. So I’m just going to show you this gorgeous picture and trust that it was fantastic.

And last but not least, the jerk butternut squash served with black beans and cilantro rice, collards, and honey-chili sauce.

This was so well done. I’m a sucker for good butternut squash – especially this time of year, even if it is still 90 degrees outside in central Florida. The butternut squash itself was smoky and spicy and served with that same incredible cilantro rice. And the collards taste fresh off the farm. Everything about this dish tastes fresh and clean and hearty. It’s a good call whether you’re a vegetarian or not.

Needless to say, we didn’t have much room left at this point but we did get one dessert to share in the name of research.

We went with the Banoffee Tart – banana custard, chocolate ganache, and caramel sauce. It was wonderful. A sort of banana pudding tart with a touch of chocolate.

That thing on top that looks like a pringle is actually a pretty sliver of decorated white chocolate.

I cannot say enough good things about this restaurant. Disney’s Carribean Beach Resort looks absolutely gorgeous after it’s semi-recent massive remodel and this new addition is icing on the cake. It’s spacious and relaxed and full of light and the food is fantastic. You might usually only think of traveling to various deluxe resorts for ADR meals, but I’m putting my money on Sebastian’s being on the short list for many people in the near future.

Are you planning to check it out? What’s currently your favorite resort restaurant on property??