by Beth Keating
Review
DisneyBizJournal.com
April 29, 2021
I am a burger hunter. Burgers are my weakness. Take me to any restaurant, and the first thing I’m going to look for on the menu are the burgers. I may end up ordering something else, but I’m still going to peruse the burger column first. Embarrassingly, I’m also the one who goes to The BOATHOUSE in Disney Springs - perhaps one of the finest seafood restaurants in central Florida - and orders… yes, the burger. (Their signature Gibsons “Sandwich King” Award Winning Burger, with beef made just for The BOATHOUSE, is phenomenal. But I digress.)
D-Luxe Burger in the Town Center section of Disney Springs is on my list of top burger stops at Disney. Mind you, Disney has a reputation at many of its quick serve locations for serving… I’ll be generous… dehydrated meat discs on a bun (looking at you, Cosmic Ray’s!) Sometimes they’ll emboss the image of a cute character into the top of the bun, but it is still, at best, a substandard theme park burger. Despite my love of burgers, there are certain places at the House of Mouse that you will not catch me lifting a burger to my mouth. Those standard “theme park burgers” just won’t cut it.
D-Luxe Burger, though, is a quick-serve restaurant that offers a really good burger that rivals the better sit-down locations. The dining location has a small amount of indoor seating (non-COVID times), but most of its tables are located outside either under their porch overhang, or along the dock overlooking the springs. The restaurant is hooked in to Disney’s mobile order system, and using either your My Disney Experience app (MDE), or the QR code at the restaurant, you can quickly order your food online. You then pick it up at the counter when it’s ready (you’ll get a text on your MDE app or phone), and pick a seat at the umbrella tables outside on the dock or on the porch.
We placed an order at D-Luxe Burger in the late afternoon, when Disney Springs crowds were low. We chose an umbrella shaded table overlooking the blue springs, and were able to enjoy the scenery while we ate. It took only ten minutes for our order to be ready on this low-crowd day, but you can also pre-order early in the day for a certain pick-up window using your My Disney Experience app.
The menu is, with a few exceptions, exclusively burgers, but they are darn good ones. Two of our diners ordered the Barbecue Burger ($12.49), D-Luxe Burger’s signature-blend beef patty topped with a fried onion ring, Muenster cheese, bacon, barbecue sauce, grilled onions, and lettuce. The burger was juicy, the beef was a high-quality blend, it was cooked to the correct “doneness” (a rarity at Disney!), and we were able to specify any changes we wanted to the burger on the MDE app. Our other diner ordered the Classic Cheeseburger ($10.49), the signature blend beef patty topped with Cheddar, lettuce, tomato, grilled onions and pickles. They were equally pleased with their burger. The buns were soft and fresh, and added to the overall burger quality.
The burgers at D-Luxe Burger do not come with sides, but you can order fresh cut fries as an add-on. The portions of the fries were pretty large, and come in two sizes. The regular is $4.99, and the large is $7.49. The large was more than enough to split among our three diners. The fries were good on their own, well-seasoned, but the real excitement with the fries is the option for house made dipping sauces. You have a choice between Garlic Ranch; Buffalo Ranch; Chipotle Mayo; BBQ Stout; and Truffle Aioli. We opted for the Buffalo Ranch and the Truffle Aioli, which were both delicious, and were definitely worth getting again. The Buffalo Ranch had a hint of heat without being overwhelming, and the Truffle Aioli was a bit more savory and a touch smoky in flavor. There was no charge for the dipping sauce. They would make a great burger sauce as well. Just sayin’.
For those who are dining with carnivores but don’t wish to partake themselves, D-Luxe burger offers a plant-based “Pacific Island Burger” topped with cabbage and mushroom ragout, mango salsa, lettuce, tomato, and pickles for $12.49.
The kids have their own selections as well. The $7.99 Grilled Chicken Sandwich kid’s meal is a grilled chicken breast topped with lettuce and tomato, served with a Danimals smoothie and carrot sticks, and a lowfat milk or water. There’s also a kid’s cheeseburger meal option or chicken nuggets option, either of which is $7.99 and comes with the same sides.
For future reference, in non-COVID times, D-Luxe Burger sometimes has secret menu offerings on the app. Right now, though, most of the Disney restaurants have streamlined their menus to keep efficiency up and wait-times down so crowds don’t end up gathering. Keep an eye out though, because you never know when something special will pop up.
While D-Luxe Burger is known for its great burgers, it’s also a prime stop for delicious ice cream shakes. Of course, we had to sample a few to be sure. We selected the S'mores Gelato Shake, a really fun vanilla gelato blended with toasted marshmallow, dark chocolate sauce and graham cracker crumbles topped with whipped cream, marshmallows, dark chocolate drizzle, and an extra graham cracker. It was $7.50 worth of pure summertime, and while we wouldn’t order it all the time, it was a vacation worthy treat. The other shake we ordered, also $7.50, was the Strawberry Gelato Shake, a vanilla gelato blend with strawberry smoothie mix, topped with mounds of whipped cream, a strawberry sauce drizzle, and a bright red cherry. It was thick and creamy, and super cold, even on a hot day. On occasion, seasonal shakes also show up on the menu.
If an adult beverage is more your speed, you can plus up your shake with some alcohol. The Smoked Bourbon Gelato Shake ($16.00) combines vanilla gelato with Knob Creek Single Barrel Bourbon, hickory smoke, and dark chocolate sauce. Oh, and there’s a strip of bacon on top! The Bananas Foster Gelato Shake ($12.00) starts with a vanilla gelato base before adding Bols Banana, toasted marshmallow Monin, and caramel before being topped with whipped cream and an extra drizzle of caramel.
There are also a few non-shake adult drinks, including Cabernet Sauvignon ($11.00); a Chardonnay ($11.00), and a few beer offerings, including a Goose Island IPA ($10.00) and a Funky Buddha Floridian Hefeweizen ($10.00), a German style wheat beer with citrus tones. Or there’s a Bud Light ($8.25), but you are on vacation, so broaden your horizons!
If you find yourself bargain hunting the shops at Disney Springs, and looking for a quick meal, you can’t go wrong with a burger and shake at D-Luxe Burger. It will give you just the boost you need to keep perusing the myriad of stores, or let you refuel while you listen to the live music offered at Disney Springs. Plus, it definitely qualifies as one of the top burgers at Disney.
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Beth Keating is a regular contributor to DisneyBizJournal.
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