yacht | Johnny Prime

Yachtsman Steakhouse overall score: 85

My wife and I went to Disney with her family for a short vacation. While there, we hit this steak joint.

Flavor: 8
We tried nearly every cut of steak, so I was able to get a good feel for the quality of the beef as well as the skill of the chef. This place can definitely hang with NYC’s greats. I wasn’t expecting much after my last experience at a Florida steakhouse, but my wife really did her research on the dining options for this trip.

First, the rib eye, which I didn’t order but I tried a good amount. It was perfectly cooked and remained tender and juicy, with a great crust on the outside as well as a creamy blue cheese butter. This was probably a nine, and it came with a beautiful, big serving of bone marrow!

My wife and I tried the porterhouse for two. This was an eight. It was cooked nicely but just fell a slight bit short on seasoning. Otherwise, top notch. Both sides were tender and juicy, with just a few areas where things got over cooked along the edges.

My brother in law had a chimichurri strip steak, which was ordered medium well (he’s not a good steak orderer), yet it still retained flavor and some juiciness despite the ruination. Eight.

My other brother in law had the filet, which was big and juicy. Also an eight.

Choice of Cuts & Quality Available: 9
They have a lot of options here, and several variants within – like aged and prime. Take a look at the menu. All that’s missing, really, is an aged bone in rib eye. Arguably the most important cut, but I only took a point.

With a few tweaks in preparation, and some longer aging times, this place could be incredible. They even have an aging room on the premises, visible to diners, where they age the beef and hang the charcuterie:

Portion Size & Plating: 9
Portions here are large; plating is nice without being overly elegant. High marks on the charcuterie board, porterhouse and pork belly with clams plating in particular.

Price: 8
The prices here are pretty steep for Florida, but then again you are at a Disney resort, so a mark-up is expected. On the other hand, the food is well worth the money here. This is comparable to a NYC steakhouse, both in quality and price.

Bar: 10
This joint has a full separate-but-attached bar called the Crew’s Cup that adjoins the restaurant. It’s a great looking country club kind of place, and the drinks are pretty good and cheap as well ($8.25 for a Beefeater martini is very fair in my eyes, being used to NYC).

Specials and Other Meats: 7
There were no specials read to us, and the menu is pretty bare when it comes to other meats aside from beef: only chicken. I don’t mind much though, because I don’t go to a steakhouse to eat any other protein but beef, and the showing of beef here is pretty excellent; it even includes prime rib and bison (which I still consider to be beef, in a weird way).

My mother in law tried this vegeterian pasta dish, which was beautifully plated:

Apps, Sides & Desserts: 8
The first appetizer that we tried was a charcuterie board. Here’s what was on it:

I’m always a bit underwhelmed by the amount of stuff on charcuterie boards at restaurants these days, but I get that this stuff is expensive and difficult to make. Anyway, this was all very good:

We also tried this pork belly and clams appetizer, which was incredible, although a bit salty.

The hunk of pork belly in the center was generous, and perfectly braised yet crispy on the outside. The fried lotus root was an elegant touch, and the broth was great to soak up with bread.

The sides here were great. Our porterhouse came with beef fat roasted potatoes and a trio of sides: caramelized onions, sautéed mushrooms and creamed spinach. I enjoyed them all. The creamed spinach was more creamy than I usually like, but it wasn’t overpowering. The beef fat potatoes were incredible – the beefy marrow flavor really took me by surprise. They were just a bit greasy, unfortunately.

The last side we tried was the truffle mac and cheese. This was made with orecchiette pasta and some fried onions. It was really delicious, and probably one of the better truffle macs that I’ve had.

Unfortunately we had to skip dessert. Too full!

Seafood Selection: 7
There’s red snapper and scallops on the menu here in the entree section. Other than that there’s just the usual shellfish apps. I was a bit surprised not to see any lobster on the menu.

Service: 10
This place is over the top and excellent. As you might expect, this kind of thing happens all over Disney. The people who work here are amazing, and they really, sincerely want you to enjoy your time there. Our waiter, Ricardo, was fantastic.

I guess I should mention the bread here. It comes with a really nice soft and salty butter, as well as a head of roasted garlic for spreading!!! You can choose onion pull-apart bread, or baguette style bread – or both.

Ambiance: 9
The building and all surrounding areas are amazing at this part of the resort. When you enter the yacht club area, you’re greeted with an amazing, huge old fashioned globe in the entryway.

The Yachtsman Steakhouse itself (which is within the club near some other restaurants) attempts to hit the mark with the country club / yacht club look. It ALMOST nails it, but not quite. Something was missing, and I can’t put my finger on it.

Allow me to introduce you to one of the coolest eating experiences in NYC.

These folks have a big ass ferry boat that has been decked out with bars and seating, where they serve up shit like lobster rolls, grilled whole lobster, burgers, and even fresh shellfish. It’s docked over on 41st and the West Side Highway.

The boat is free to ride. You can board and eat starting at noon. It takes about five or six 45-minute long rides each day, at which point you can enjoy views of the upper west side’s skyline as you approach the GWB (without actually going under it).

We tried a whole mess of shit when my wife and I went with her family. The food is just mediocre, really, but the atmosphere is awesome, especially on a nice sunny day like we had.

Here’s the lobster roll, which was more like lobster salad. I enjoyed it, but I’ve definitely had better around town. It comes with a bag of nice kettle cooked potato chips and coleslaw.

The lobster tacos are comprised of essentially the same meat/salad as the lobster roll, only with the slaw on the taco itself, accompanied by a bit of guacamole, some lettuce and a wedge of lime.

The Pat LaFrieda burger was a bit overcooked for my liking, and slightly grainy in texture, but it was a decent burger nonetheless. I wasn’t about to be a hard critic given the fact that I was eating out of a floating kitchen.

Here’s a look at the french fries. One order was regular, which came with the burger, and the other was a separate order of truffle blue cheese fries, which were really tasty.