Today we are excited to try Homecomin’ brunch at Chef Art Smith’s Homecomin’ Restaurant at Disney Springs. This is the start of our day at Disney World. To read more about our full day, see our separate post: Candlelight Processional, Homecomin’ & More! To read more details about our experience at Homecomin’ Brunch, read below.
One restaurant that we have wanted to try but never could was Chef Art Smith’s Homecomin’ restaurant at Disney Springs. We knew we had an early dinner reservation at night, and were looking for something late for breakfast or early for lunch. And we were able to book Homecomin’ for brunch at 10:00AM!
Getting into the Homecomin’ Restaurant
Chef Art Smith’s Homecomin’ Restaurant is one of the hardest reservations to get. Homecomin’ is also very popular for brunch which they serve every day. The last time we were at Disney Springs in the morning, we checked to see if we could get in. However, there was a long line just to get to the hostess stand. The line was moving slow and we overheard someone say there was a 3 hour wait without a reservation! But this time we were able to get a reservation by checking often and getting one a few days before our trip.
Another option is to get here early. They open at 9:00AM, an hour before the shops open at Disney Springs. Our reservation is at 10:00AM, and it’s recommended to check in about 15 minutes early. We are a little early and there is no line for Chef Art’s restaurant. However, there is a huge line for Gideon’s Bakehouse prior to its opening at 10:00. If you’ve never been, check out our post: A Unique Experience at Gideon’s Bakehouse. We check in and are seated right away. We also see people walk up and get seated fairly quickly, so early is best.
The Menu and Drinks
Once seated, the menus are available on a QR code to scan. There is one side for lunch and the other for brunch, but decide to stick to brunch. We also find the menu items a few dollars more than on the Disney website. However, there are many unique comfort food items on the menu that sound amazing. You can read more about this restaurant at: Chef Art Smith’s Homecomin’ | Disney Springs Dining | Walt Disney World Resort.
We wanted to experience the full brunch experience, so we order a brunch cocktail, their Southern Mary to share. This version of a Bloody Mary has a seasoned salt rim, bacon, fried green tomato and pimento cheese stuffed olive. We also ask the waiter what options our daughter has. One of the options was orange juice, so we order that.
The Southern Mary looks great, but was a little spicy for us. The bacon and fried-green tomato are also cold. We’ve had better at Disney unfortunately. And our daughter’s orange juice came in a cocktail glass with a straw instead of a kid’s cup. A kid at the table next to us has a kid’s cup, so we don’t know why it wasn’t served in one. We learn later they charged us $4.75 for it. We assumed it came with her kid’s meal when asking the waiter what they have for kids. So far, not the best experience with the drinks, but we are looking forward to their brunch food.
Homecomin’ Starters
Homecomin’ Brunch has 4 starters on the menu. Normally we wouldn’t think about a starter, but the first one was the cheddar cheese drop biscuits which would be nice to have for the table. However, many of the entrees come with a biscuit, so we decide not to get them. The waiter tells us Homecomin’ is known for their fried chicken and doughnuts, and there is a menu item for exactly that. Though it sounded like a good entrée, there were others on the menu that caught our eye. However, they have a starter for House-made Doughnuts, so we order that to try the doughnuts.
You can pick them with a pecan and bacon caramel topping or sugar frosted with syrup. We pick the caramel topping and they come on a plate with 3 mini-doughnuts and some fruit. The fruit was not fresh and the doughnuts were cold except for the caramel on top. However, the caramel topping made the doughnuts really tasty and was a nice start.
Our Homecomin’ Brunch Entrees
Even though we could have picked from the lunch or brunch menus, we stick with brunch. Having a hard time narrowing down our entrees, we settle on the Hallelujah Biscuit with a side of ham and the Short Rib Hash with a side of bacon. They have 2 kids’ options and our daughter choses the French toast with a side of bacon.
Our daughter’s French toast is excellent and it came with a cheddar-cheese drop biscuit. The bacon is really tasty but we would have preferred crispier. Becky orders the Short Rib Hash with scrambled eggs instead of a fried egg on top. It also comes with a biscuit and she also got bacon. It would probably be better with a fried egg over the hash, but still good. However, Paul’s open-faced Hallelujah Biscuit is excellent. The open-faced biscuit had their famous fried chicken, pimento cheese, bacon, two over-easy eggs and covered in sawmill gravy.
These are all heavy entrees and we are sorry we ordered a starter. All three came with a biscuit and we couldn’t finish them though we tried. We actually left ham and bacon on the plates! In retrospect we also shouldn’t have ordered our daughter a kid’s meal and could have shared 2 meals between the 3 of us.
Summary of our Homecomin’ Brunch
After we paid our bill, there was a line at the entrance. We were glad we were able to get a reservation and get here early. Overall the food was very tasty, though we ordered too much. We didn’t eat again until dinner that day. Though sometimes you have to try out a restaurant before you know what you need. And that is exactly how we felt after leaving. We now know their Hallelujah Biscuit is an excellent choice with just a glass of water or a cup of coffee. But we enjoyed our Homecomin’ Brunch and hope to come again in the future.