REVIEW: It’s Time For Dinner at The Cake Bake Shop on Disney’s BoardWalk!
Have you been following along with us today? If so, you’ve probably seen all The Cake Bake Shop news!
The Cake Bake Shop is Disney’s newest addition to the BoardWalk, replacing the former ESPN Club restaurant.
Helmed by Gwendolyn Rogers, this new spot features two different components — a sit-down restaurant and a separate bakery for grabbing sweets on the go. It’s bound to be a popular destination spot outside of the parks.
After a lengthy construction timeline, we stopped by The Cake Bake Shop Bakery this morning to check out the soft opening, and the restaurant opened at 4PM — so we’re here to tell you all about it!
Hours & Info
The Cake Bake Shop Bakery will be open daily from 7AM to 11PM, while the restaurant is open for breakfast from 7AM to 11AM, and from 11AM to 11PM for lunch and dinner.
Click here to read our review of the bakery!
While anyone can stop into the bakery to grab some sweets, the restaurant is a traditional sit-down location. For now, the restaurant will be taking walk-ins only, but it will eventually be listed on the My Disney Experience app so guests can make advance reservations.
If you’ve never been to Disney’s BoardWalk, it’s located just outside of the back entrance to EPCOT (aka the International Gateway, next to the Skyliner station).
Home to a variety of hotels, restaurants, shops, and more, the BoardWalk is a great place to stroll when you need a break from the parks.
We arrived before the restaurant opened at 4PM, and a line was already forming. This spot is bound to be popular!
Atmosphere
The restaurant opened around 4PM, and we were first in line! It was finally time to go inside. We checked in at the host stand.
We’ve already shown you how beautiful the bakery is, and the restaurant did not disappoint. In fact, it may be even MORE breathtaking than the bakery!
The restaurant itself is somehow both demure and ornate, decked out in pastel colors, gray tones, and sparkling chandeliers.
If you remember from our review of the bakery, Cake Bake is ALL about the glitter!
There are a variety of seating types available, including tables…
…combination booth/tables…
…booths…
…like this spectacular booth!…
…and bar seating.
There are several different dining areas you may be seated in, aptly named Garden, Lavender, Lily Lounge, Rose Crown, and the Bar.
There is also a special events room known as the Champagne Room. It’s gorgeous!
Our table was located in the Lavender Room!
Let’s talk about the menu.
Menu
The Cake Bake Shop menu is quite expansive, offering tons of options for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
Today we’re exploring the lunch/dinner menu! Don’t worry, though — we’ll be back to get breakfast another day.
In addition to the menu located outside the restaurant, we were also given a physical copy of the menu!
Choose from a selection of hors d’oeuvres, salads, soups, quiches, sides, sandwiches, signature dishes, and a full children’s menu. You can also choose from a wide array of drinks, including tea, lemonade, soda, coffee, cocktails, wine, and beer.
For $26.99, you can order the “Choose Two” option, which includes your choice of two half portions from a selection of sandwiches and soup or salad.
The menu price ranges are as follows:
- Hors d’Oeuvres: $17.99 to $28.99
- Salads: $24.99 to $26.99
- Soups: $10.99 to $13.99
- Sides: $5.99 to $14.99
- Quiches: $23.99 to $24.99
- Sandwiches: $23.99 to $34.99
- Signature Dishes: $23.99 to $49.99
- Children’s Menu: $12.99 to $18.99
Click here to see the bakery/dessert prices!
But how does it taste??
Review
Let’s start with the drinks! We started with the nonalcoholic Petunia Punch ($8.99, pink) and the Sparkling Lavender Lemonade ($8.99, purple).
The Petunia Punch is made with lemonade and lemon-lime soda flavored with guava. It was sweet and refreshing, with a slight tartness from the lemonade but also some sweetness from the guava.
The Sparkling Lavender Lemonade is made with lemonade and lavender essence. It was very light with a slight hint of sweetness.
And maybe best of all — these drinks are sparkly! Yes, that’s edible glitter floating in these drinks.
We also ordered an Old Fashioned ($18.99), which came with an ice cube shaped like a rose. It was smooth and went down nicely!
This is Gwendolyn’s Famous Cosmopolitan ($20.99), which was light and delicious. It had fruity notes and we loved the light pink color.
The Cake Bake Shop Shake Up ($18.99) was made with Tito’s Vodka, freshly squeezed lemon juice, lemon, lemon bitters, and topped with fresh mint. We found it more tart than sweet and very refreshing! It was also served in a chilled glass.
And this is the Black Swan ($19.99), an espresso martini that comes with glitter on top! We thought it was incredibly creamy and rich, and the espresso wasn’t too overpowering. There was a nice cocoa aftertaste that would make this a delicious drink to go with dessert!
Now it’s time for the food! We started with the Truffle Pommes Frites ($17.99). This was a huge portion, made perfectly with white truffle oil and just the right amount of salt. The creamy garlic aioli on the side was also delicious paired with the fries!
This is an easily shareable dish.
We also ordered the Pesto Burrata ($28.99), which came with super buttery bread that was toasted just right. The burrata was PHENOMENAL — it was lightly salted and literally melted in our mouths.
The pesto was very fresh, with a prominent basil flavor, and the tomatoes were beautiful and very light. The oil on the plate was great for dipping!
We also ordered the Chicken & Andouille Gumbo ($26.99), which we really enjoyed! The roux was nice and dark, made with butter. There was a great amount of Cajun seasoning and a hint of spice — so it wasn’t too overpowering.
This is such a comfort dish!
The gumbo was served with toasted bread, butter, and crystal hot sauce.
Yes, there is edible glitter on the butter!
For our entrees, we ordered the New Orleans Shrimp Po’ Boy ($34.99), which was absolutely delicious. The bread comes from Gambino’s in New Orleans, and it was crusty on the outside and super soft on the inside.
The shrimp were perfectly fried and the sandwich came together beautifully with pickles, lettuce, and tomatoes.
It was a nice, large portion served with seasoned fries, and it was definitely one of the best po’ boy sandwiches we’ve ever had!
Next up is the Three Cheese Cavatappi with Basil Breadcrumbs ($23.99), perfect for the cheese lovers out there! The cheese sauce was velvety and rich without being too heavy, and the bacon was very crispy, adding a bit of saltiness.
It was served with a baguette and butter, which is some of the best bread we’ve ever had in Disney World. It was extremely fresh — crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, and the butter tasted homemade.
You can add a warm baguette on the side with any dish for an additional $8.99!
The Classic Burger with Pommes Frites ($26.99) was served as ordered (medium rare) and very juicy and flavorful.
It had the perfect amount of lettuce, tomatoes, pickles, onions, and mayo, and the bun was toasted and buttered. We would definitely order this again!
Next, we decided to try the “Choose Two” option for $26.99, which allows you to choose two half portions from a selection of sandwiches and soups or salads. We opted for the Chicken Salade Croissant with the Blackberry Avocado Salade.
The Chicken Salad Croissant came with chicken breast, sliced red grapes, celery, and fresh tarragon, served on a freshly baked croissant with butter lettuce. It was really light, creamy, and delicious, and the freshly baked croissant was the perfect complement.
The Blackberry Avocado Salade paired beautifully with the chicken salad. It was tossed in a light vinaigrette but the toppings were not skimped. The avocado, blackberries, and almonds were a nice touch!
Considering how much food we ordered, we asked for a to-go box!
For dessert, we received another menu to look over. There are currently 9 different cake options to choose from!
If cake isn’t your thing, Cake Bake also offers pies, homemade ice cream and sorbet, French pastries, chocolates, cookies, and bars.
You can see their bakery desserts here!
We ordered a slice of Carrot Cake ($22.99), the table favorite! It was slightly sweet as well as rich and carroty and the cream cheese icing was delicious. This is actually Gwendolyn Rogers’s favorite cake to eat with breakfast!
We also ordered a slice of Millionaire Cake ($22.99), made with chocolate cake, vanilla buttercream, salted caramel, and shortbread cookies. The chocolate cake layers were rich and moist, and you can truly enjoy this cake with or without a bite of the layers.
It gave us notes of salty, sweet, and caramel. YUM!
And finally, we finished our meal with a Unicorn Hot Chocolate ($10.99), a white hot chocolate that was good but very sweet, with cotton candy and strawberry flavors, kind of like Strawberry Nesquick (anyone remember that?).
It was super cute and unique, perfect for a young child or anyone with a serious sweet tooth.
Gwendolyn Rogers herself came up with this drink because she has so many children in her family and she wanted a drink option for kids to enjoy after dinner!
Overall
The Cake Bake Shop is a high-scale restaurant and dining experience and the service, food, and quality were exceptional — not to mention the incredibly gorgeous atmosphere! This was definitely one of the most beautiful restaurants we have ever dined in.
In many ways, Cake Bake is comparable to signature dining in Disney World, yet higher quality than many of the signature restaurants we’ve visited.
Our servers went above and beyond and Gwendolyn Rogers made it a point to visit each table, sharing her favorite dishes and bakery items. You could tell she has a lot of pride in what she does, and the experience gave us a storytelling vibe through each drink and dish.
Overall, we think this unique restaurant is definitely worth a visit during your trip. Of course, we would be remiss not to note that The Cake Bake Shop will be a splurge for many of us. In our opinion, it’s a worthy splurge!
If you have a strict budget, we recommend taking a look at the menu in advance to get an idea of what you might spend.
@mickeyblog_ Come with us to enjoy dinner at The Cake Bake Shop 🍰✨ This restaurant is gorgeous with beautiful seasonal decor featuring sparkling chandeliers, antiqued mirrors, and French inspired furniture✨ With so many options to choose from on the menu from glistening cocktails to homemade soups, salads, sandwiches and of course delicious cake slices, there is something for everyone! Stop by for a magical dining experience on your next visit to Disney’s Boardwalk ✨🎂🍰🦢 #disney #disneyworld #wdw #waltdisneyworld #cakebake #cakebakeshop #disneyfood #disneyfoodie #disneyrestaurant #thecakebakeshop #GwendolynRogers #disneyboardwalk #boardwalk ♬ La vie en rose (Cover Edith Piaf) – 田东昱
We are so excited to return to The Cake Bake Shop. Keep following MickeyBlog for more Disney World news!