The Best Southern Comfort Food is at Chef Art Smith’s Homecomin’ in Disney Springs!
Disney World is a great place to find some delicious food, from classics like Dole Whip to more adventurous items at the restaurants in EPCOT. There are so many options to choose from!
Wailulu Bar & Grill Lunch
Disney recently invited us to a media event at Chef Art Smith’s Homecomin’ in Disney Springs, where we got to try a bunch of food, so come along with us for our review!
Chef Art Smith’s Homecomin’
Inside the Restaurant
Homecomin’ is a down-home kitchen and shine bar that’s serving up some southern comfort food!
Chef Art Smith’s Homecomin’ at Disney Springs
The restaurant’s food is inspired by Florida agriculture and the recipes of Chef Art’s family table.
Outside, there is a Southern Shine bar.
Photo: Homecomin’
But inside the restaurant, you’ll find a cozy, casual atmosphere.
There is a ton of wood around the space, including exposed beams on the ceiling and these giant barrels next to the host stand.
You can see a Florida-inspired mural in this part of the restaurant.
And, the seating is comfy, filling up the open floor plan of the space.
There are some larger tables in here…
…as well as an indoor bar area.
Now, lets’ try some food!
What We Ate
We started with a spread of appetizers, including the Church Lady Deviled Eggs, Fried Pickles, Bee Haven Bay Fried Green Tomatoes, and the Bunch of Puppies.
Starting with the Church Lady Deviled Eggs, these are southern-style deviled eggs you can get for $14.
The deviled eggs are a staple here and we can understand why! They have a tangy mustard taste and are definitely served southern-style. We were huge fans of these!
The Fried Pickles are hand-cut spears pickled in-house, crispy fried and served with remoulade for $16. These were perfect! They had a great crunch to the them with a crisp pickle inside and the remoulade was a great accompaniment.
Next up were the Bee Haven Bay Fried Green Tomatoes with shaved ham, remoulade sauce, and dressed local greens for $17. We got the ham on the side because one person in our group is a vegetarian!
The tomato inside was a little soggy compared to the pickles, it just didn’t hold its shape as well. But, they were still really tasty!
Finally, the Bunch of Puppies are house-made hushpuppies served with pimento cheese and red jalapeño jelly for $15. The pimento cheese paired great with these!
However, the red jalapeño jelly has a decent amount of kick to it, so watch out if you’re averse to spicy food!
Now for the entrees! First up is Art’s Famous Fried Chicken, which is buttermilk-brined for 24 hours then perfectly fried and served with creamy mashed potatoes, a cheddar drop biscuit and love for $34.
This chicken was fried perfectly and some of the best we’ve had — it’s an iconic dish here! The mashed potatoes were creamy and you can’t go wrong with the cheddar drop biscuit.
Next, we tried the Skillet-fried Chicken Paillard, which is Art’s spin on piccata. It’s buttermilk-brined chicken pounded thin, hand-breaded and skillet-fried, then topped with lemon butter, garlic and capers. Served with roasted potatoes and grilled asparagus for $30.
This chicken was also perfectly cooked and crispy, and that lemon butter sauce on top is delicious! The potatoes are great, but we’d personally substitute it for Momma’s Mac and Cheese.
Speaking of Momma’s Mac and Cheese, we got an extra side of it, which is $10! This is just absolutely phenomenal. It’s baked but still cheesy, ooey, and gooey.
Our next entree was the Shrimp & Grits, which is pan-seared shrimp with tomato gravy and Tasso ham served over creamy Bradley’s grits with a cheddar drop biscuit for $29.
The creamy grits are sooo good and sooo cheesy! The shrimp also has some wonderful flavor and isn’t spicy.
Finally, we got the St. Augustine Mahi-Mahi, which is fresh-caught mahi, grilled and drizzled with a lemon-garlic butter sauce, served with roasted potatoes, carrots, squash, and snap peas at Market Price. This is more of a lighter dish as it isn’t super heavy, so if you want something light that’s still super tasty, get this!
Overall, Homecomin’ is a great spot for some good ol’ southern comfort food to share with others or have all for yourself! Just make sure to come hungry and you’ll definitely leave happy.
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