Gaston's Tavern

New Fantasy Land, Magic Kingdom Park

January 2015
Overall Score:  5.6 
Ambiance:  8 
Food:  6 
Service:  4 

This is small quick serve located between Be Our Guest and the Little Mermaid ride in New Fantasyland.




Ambiance/Theming: 8 

When you walk into the doors of Gaston's Tavern, you are walking right into the scenes of the movie.   This is a highly themed quick serve restaurant, and unfortunately, I think most of it goes unnoticed by patrons.   As can be expected, this is popular, the ordering process is much akin to a cattle call, and everyone seems to be in a hurry to get in and out.   I would recommend taking the time to sit at a table and take a good look around at the details.




Food:  6 

A trip to Gaston's is not complete without a cup of LeFou's Brew.   I believe this is Disney's answer to ButterBeer found over in Universal at Harry Potter.   Like ButterBeer, be prepared for this to be a frozen (slush) drink and overly sweet.   It tastes like a really sweet caramel apple topped with a fruit whip.   Word of warning, do NOT try the foam on top without the drink... it just isn't good by itself.   Although this is a "must have" for me when I visit, I cannot consume an entire glass as the sweetness can be overbearing.

Another recommendation: refrain from spending the extra money on the souvenir mug(s).   I bought one the first time I went there, and was extremely disappointed.  They are cheaply made and instead of being printed, they have plastic stickers adhered to them that you can pull right off.  Take the money you would have spent on this and go buy a nice ceramic mug at another store and pour your drink into that if you want.

 On this visit, we came specifically for an answer to a breakfast need.   I tried the chocolate pastry which was exactly like any other found throughout the parks and resorts.  It was neither excellent nor bad, so it satisfied the need to eat.

Almost everyone else in my group got the cinnamon roll.   Although I didn't venture to try it, it received high praises from those around me.   I would say this is less a roll and more a cinnamon loaf.

This is a SNACK CREDIT VALUE if you are on the Dining Plan.  If you want a filling breakfast, but don't want to use a full meal point, then use a snack credit on this and pay cash for a small drink. 


Service:  4 

The service at Gaston's this time was slow.   It seemed there were a lot of Cast Members, but they weren't working together and efficiently.   In Quick Serve locations, CM's tend to get overwhelmed, and therefore forget to smile.   They were not off-putting, but certainly I felt a bit of an imposition to them.  I wanted to get away from the counter just as quickly as they wanted me gone.

Summary:
I think the theming and the uniqueness of the offerings off-sets any sub-standard service that comes with the environment.   This is a "must-do" in New Fanstasyland if you are already there, but not necessarily a destination.