Grand Floridian Cafe Brunch at Citricos Review

Sometimes a refurbishment takes something away for a while. And sometimes it gives us brunch at Citricos!

While Grand Floridian Cafe undergoes a major refurbishment (the cast members tell me that it’s currently “totally gutted”), its breakfast-and-lunch operation has temporarily moved upstairs into one of the prettiest dining rooms at Walt Disney World. So, naturally, I had to try it.

Grand Floridian Cafe Brunch Logistics

Location and Transportation

Grand Floridian Cafe Brunch is currently relocated to Citricos until a massive refurbishment of Grand Floridian Cafe wraps up, probably later this fall. But you’ll still book online or in the MDE app like you’re booking at Grand Floridian Cafe. You’ll see a note when you book that the meal will actually be located at Citricos.

But when you check in for your reservation in the app, it’ll still look like you’re headed to Grand Floridian Cafe – there’s no reminder that you should be going to Citricos instead. So make a mental (or physical) note for yourself!

Citricos is located on the second floor of the main building at the Grand Floridian. It’s in the same corner of the building as Victoria & Albert’s, and it’s roughly above Grand Floridian Cafe.

Dining at the Grand Floridian can be tricky from a transportation perspective. If you’re staying at a monorail loop resort, you have it easy. Just walk over or take the monorail and enjoy your brunch! If you’re at another Disney resort, you can bus or boat to Magic Kingdom and then take the resort monorail, resort ferry, or walk to the Grand Floridian. If you’re driving, you’ll be directed to a parking lot across the street from the resort, so build in a little extra time to walk to the main building.

Reservations and Availability

Grand Floridian Cafe brunch reservations can be made online or through the My Disney Experience app. Walt Disney World dining reservations generally open up to 60 days in advance, but this experience isn’t usually booking up completely, so you should have some flexibility.

That makes this a particularly useful option if you’re putting together a trip relatively late or suddenly decide that tomorrow morning would be improved by biscuits and Eggs Benedict. Walk-up availability is also theoretically possible if you want to make very last-minute plans, although I’d still make a reservation if you know you want to eat here.

Cost

While relocated to Citricos, Grand Floridian Cafe is offering a modified brunch menu, so if you’ve been in the past, it’s possible that some of your favorites (like the club sandwich or stuffed French toast) may not be available. Still, there are plenty of excellent options to choose from.

Prices for entrees range from very reasonable (The Grand Breakfast for $16) to a slight splurge ($31 for Miso-Glazed Salmon), with plenty of choices in between. For a table-service meal at a Deluxe resort, there are several options here that feel surprisingly affordable.

Grand Floridian Cafe … At Citricos Atmosphere

The atmosphere inside Citricos in the morning makes me wish this dining room isn’t always open during the day! The bright sunshine really showcases all of the beautiful upholstery, colors, and details throughout the restaurant. Citricos is an upscale restaurant, and it really shines in the morning sun – literally and figuratively. It’s a completely different feeling from dining here at night, when the restaurant feels elegant and intimate. In the daytime, it’s still beautiful, but much brighter and more relaxed.

You’ll find plenty of people dressed for a long day in the parks after breakfast, but also parties who are clearly embracing the opportunity for a fancy brunch. All are welcome! You don’t need to dress like you’re headed to dinner at Citricos.

The Cast Members here do wear the regular Citricos costumes, which are a little fancier than what you’d normally see at Grand Floridian Cafe. Combined with the dining room itself, that gives the whole meal a slightly more upscale feeling even though the food and pricing are still very much Grand Floridian Cafe.

Honestly, the temporary location might be my favorite thing about this whole experience.

Grand Floridian Cafe Brunch Food

During our brunch, my daughter and I enjoyed the following:

House-Made Buttermilk Biscuits with Citrus Butter

I love a good complimentary bread service! And honestly, I could eat just these biscuits and a cup of fruit and be perfectly content. My daughter says that they’re the best biscuits she’s ever had, which is high praise from a 10-year-old who dined at Victoria & Albert’s on this same trip.

They’re perfectly crumbly and buttery without being dry, and the citrus butter adds just enough sweetness and brightness to make them feel very Grand Floridian. Should you make a brunch reservation just for free biscuits? I wouldn’t blame you …

Fried Chicken and Waffle ($27)

Hand-breaded Chicken Breast and Malted Waffle with Sriracha-Honey Drizzle

When we ordered this entree, our server told us that it was his favorite dish on the menu. And I can see why. I’m a spice wimp, so I was a little concerned about the Sriracha-honey drizzle. I didn’t need to be. It’s mostly sweet, with just the tiniest amount of heat. If you’re looking for serious hot honey, you’ll have to look elsewhere.

The chicken is the real star here. It was juicy and perfectly cooked, with breading that had plenty of flavor and stayed remarkably crisp. The malted Mickey waffle pales a little in comparison with the chicken, but that’s mostly because the chicken is so good. It’s still a very respectable Mickey waffle.

This is also a very substantial portion. If you’re trying to fuel up for several hours in Magic Kingdom, it’ll do the job.

Traditional Eggs Benedict ($17)

Two Poached Eggs, Canadian Bacon, and Hollandaise on a Toasted English Muffin served with Marinated Tomato Salad

I judge every breakfast restaurant at least a little bit based on its Eggs Benedict, and this version was telling. The eggs were perfectly runny. The Canadian bacon was easy to cut through. The English muffins weren’t so tough that everything slid off when I tried to use a knife, nor so crumbly that the entire dish fell apart.

There aren’t any cutting-edge ingredients here or any inventive spin. As advertised, it is simply a very well-executed traditional Eggs Benedict, and I would absolutely order it again.

The accompanying marinated tomato salad was too onion-heavy for my taste. But if you’re somebody who believes breakfast should contain significantly more onions, might I suggest beginning with the Caramelized Onion Soup Gratin ($13) and following it with this? You will be extremely well taken care of.

Citrus Old Fashioned ($20.50)

Michter’s Small Batch Rye Whiskey, House-made Orange Syrup, Aromatic Bitters, Orange Bitters

You know I’ve got to try an Old Fashioned. Especially if it’s a breakfast Old Fashioned! The Michter’s Small Batch Rye Whiskey was a welcome departure from some of the other whiskeys used across property for on-menu Old Fashioneds, and the rye worked especially well with all of the orange flavors.

There’s plenty of citrus here, but not so much sweetness that the drink stops tasting like an Old Fashioned. And there was enough orange throughout to convince me that this was basically the same thing as drinking a very sophisticated glass of orange juice with breakfast. Please do not consult a nutritionist about that claim.

Is Grand Floridian Cafe Brunch at Citricos Right For You?

1. If you love Citricos at night and want to experience it in the morning, it’s worth stopping by for brunch. The restaurant feels completely different filled with daylight, and you get to enjoy one of Disney World’s prettiest dining rooms without committing to the price of a signature-dining dinner. In some ways, the temporary location makes Grand Floridian Cafe brunch more interesting than it was before.
2. If you want a quick table-service breakfast before starting your Magic Kingdom day, this can be a great choice. Reservations begin at 7:30 a.m., and our meal moved along very efficiently (in and out in well under an hour) without ever feeling rushed. An early reservation gives you time for a real sit-down breakfast and still lets you get over to Magic Kingdom relatively early.
3. If you are looking for the full Grand Floridian Cafe menu, you’ll need to wait until the original location reopens. The temporary menu has enough variety that I don’t think most people will struggle to find something appealing, but this isn’t simply Grand Floridian Cafe transported upstairs. Several familiar dishes are missing. If there’s one specific Grand Floridian Cafe favorite that is the entire reason you’re making the reservation, call for the menu before you go. The one that Disney has online isn’t accurate.

Grand Floridian Cafe’s home at Citricos is, obviously, temporary. Eventually the refurbishment will wrap up, Grand Floridian Cafe will reopen downstairs, and Citricos will go back to being a dinner-only destination. And I’ll be just a little bit sad about it.

The modified menu means this isn’t quite the Grand Floridian Cafe experience you may already know. But the food we tried was very good, service was efficient, prices are reasonable by Disney table-service standards, and getting to eat brunch inside Citricos is incredibly delightful.

If you’re already staying around the monorail loop, planning a Magic Kingdom morning, or just want an excuse to see Citricos in the sunshine, I’d take advantage of it while you can.