I don’t typically write restaurant reviews here. But after a few of you have written me and asked about my recommendations?
You shall receive.
I was moved to write about 50’s Primetime Café in Hollywood Studios for a number of reasons.
- We hadn’t eaten there in a very long time.
- There was a reason we hadn’t eaten there in a very long time.
- We (finally) had an amazing experience again.
We first went to 50’s Primetime Café when in first opened in 1989. It was fantastic.
The premise is you are having dinner with family. Your servers are cousins or aunts and uncles. Mom, dad and grandma are cooking in the kitchen. The décor is vintage 50’s with Formica countertops and televisions playing classic I Love Lucy and Leave It To Beaver episodes.
Our server was fun and engaging. The food was fabulous. We vowed to come back.
And so we did.
But it wasn’t the same. With each successive visit, the service became more and more okay and the food just so-so.
On our latest visit to Walt Disney World my sister asked about trying something new. We were eating Italian the night before so Mama Melrose’s was out. She was tired of Sci-Fi Diner. Brown Derby was a bit out of our price range for this trip. My boys would be mortified to eat with the Disney Junior characters at Hollywood & Vine.
50’s Primetime Café it is.
We arrived 10 minutes before our reservation and the place was packed. We waited. We waited some more. We were finally called about 15 minutes after our initial reservation. The hostess (Cousin Amy) guided us to our table but it was too small. We stood there, confused and she realized the mistake right away and led us back to the lobby.
We waited again. About 15 more minutes. This was not ideal as we were hot, tired and hungry. We get that these things happen. But not a good start.
After our initial impression, my expectations were not high.
All of that went away when we met our server. Uncle Tim.
He was engaging. He chided us for waiting so long to visit. He teased and joked and had fun with every table he was taking care of. And he seemed to instinctively know who wanted to join in on the fun (my sister and my youngest son) and who wanted to be a spectator (my middle son and my niece.)
And the food? I’m drooling just thinking about it.
My sons and niece loved their Chicken Ceasar salads and stuffed pork chops. My sister and I couldn’t decide so we each got salads (iceberg lettuce wedges, yum!) and split Mom’s Favorite Recipes. Mom’s Favorite is a sampling of Golden Fried Chicken (perfectly lightly fried, not greasy at all), Pot Roast (lean and flavorful) and Traditional Meatloaf (perfectly seasoned). It came with green beans and mashed potatoes. It was perfect to share because we got to try three of 50’s Primetime’s signature dishes and not feel stuffed.
All of us loved our entrees. It was my niece’s birthday so they brought her a special sundae. Because it was her birthday, we all wanted to get dessert, too. Well, all of us but me. I got a spoon. One son got Pineapple Upside Down Cake (decadent) and the other, the sugar free cheesecake (couldn’t even tell.) My sister got Dad’s Brownie Sundae. And it was the only dessert we were ambivalent about. The toppings (caramel popcorn) looked pretty but didn’t add anything to the dessert. I tried each and every dessert. Loved them all but agreed about the caramel popcorn. (And I like caramel popcorn.)
So, there you have it. Mouseterplanner’s first restaurant review.
But don’t just listen to me. Try it yourself.
And say hi to Uncle Tim for us!
