Savory And Sweet At The Wave

Dining at Walt Disney World is always a treat for my wife, Cheryl, and I to the point where, as locals, the vast majority of our out of the home dining occurs there. We’re Kosher at home, and out Cheryl remains Vegan in addition to having a gluten allergy, and I do my best to remain Kosher style which often means I eat Vegetarian when I eat out. It helps our budget tremendously that we’re long time members of Tables in Wonderland – in a time when Disney is constantly trying to shave a dollar in their favor, this program is a fantastic value if you for frequent park diners.

Like other frequent visitors to WDW, I have my go-to restaurants that I keep returning to like Sanaa and the Turf Club. But a personal favorite of mine is The Wave. While there are times that the service at this restaurant is sub-par, I find the food itself to be enjoyable, comforting, and consistent. Time and again I make reservations here with friends and family alike as I know that we’ll have a good meal with a great atmosphere. And, in my opinion, it has the best bread served in any restaurant on property.

Having been a few months since the last time we dined there, I used a visit by my brother as an excuse to make a reservation (as if I really needed one). We’d dined there on his last visit and he’d dubbed it one of his two favorite restaurants on property – the other being Kouzzina – so he was excited to return. We planned it as a birthday celebration for both his girlfriend and her mom.

My brother started his meal with the Citrus Duck and Fennel Salad. It was a cooked, but chilled duck served on a bed of lettuce adorned with dried tomatoes, goat cheese, and an orange vinaigrette. He really seemed to enjoy it as it’s the sort of dish he relishes in and I might try it some day sans goat cheese. My only real complaint about it is that it lacks a visual appeal – in fact, it’s not a very pretty dish at all.

Cheryl and I both tried the more basic and cleaner looking Fall Harvest Salad – though hers was without cheese. I wasn’t entirely sure what Midnight Moon Cheese was at the time, but it turns out to be an aged wheel of goat cheese, and presents more like a shaved cheese than your more standard soft goat cheeses. It’s adorned with a heirloom apple slices and candied walnuts, and is topped with an Ice Wine vinaigrette. This is a simple, great way to start your meal.

One of the birthday girls had the Cabernet-Tomato Braised Beef Short Ribs and it stood out as a fantastic choice – I’m a big fan of brussels sprouts, and it’ll definitely be a future order for me some day. Instead, as I was in the mood for dessert later, I got the Curry Vegetable Stew choosing brown rice over jade. This is a newer menu item, and is a nice modern take for a curry dis. The combination of heirloom apples and asparagus in the curry sauce was fantastic. On the side I ordered the Boniato Bread Pudding, which was good, but a little dry, so I used it to soak up my curry sauce.

My brother went for the Sustainable fish for the evening which was Grouper – this dish has not changed since the restaurant opened. A friend ordered the Chili-Soy Marinated Flat Iron Steak, and they were not completely happy with it. I have to say in looking at it, and knowing my personal palette I’d probably sub out the udon noodles for the Jade Rice or Corn Succotash found on other dishes. The other birthday girl put in a special order for a plate of Prince Edward Island Mussels, and she really enjoyed picking at them. Cheryl ordered a modified version of the Vegetable Stew that had no curry, and added tofu.

As often happens at The Wave, Desserts have recently been shifted around a bit. Two of the older desserts – the Creamy Indulgence and the No Sugar Added Desserts remain on the menu. The Freshly Made Gelato is gone, which is a shame, I really liked that one. And the flavors in the American Flavors have been changed to include a Brown Butter Almond Cake with Rum Glazed Heirloom Apples, Pumpkin Pie with Spiced Cream, and a Cranberry Walnut Bar with Fresh Berry Compote. And lastly is the the Ice Cream Trio which consists of a Maple Ice Cream with Salted Candied Walnuts, Vanilla Bean Ice Cream with Apple Crisp, and a Peppermint Ice Cream with Peppermint Bark.

Cheryl ordered a bowl of vanilla Rice Dream with fresh raspberries on the side. Of the four dessert dishes the only one we didn’t order was the No Sugar Added Desserts. I had the Ice Cream Trio, as I felt that it having apples was a great way to tie all three of my dishes together, plus you can’t go wrong with peppermint ice cream. The one item that no one seemed to like was the Cranberry Walnut Bar with Fresh Berry Compote – the compote was just way too sweet and likely belonged under the bar rather than on top of it.

It was great for Cheryl and I to get to see the always cheerful Chef Jamar again – he’s just so passionate about food, his restaurant, and the satisfaction of his customers. We also had a really great waiter that evening as well. Everyone had a great meal overall, and it was a great way to wrap up a weekend of spending time together in the parks. I still believe The Wave to be one of the shining and underrated stars of Walt Disney World dining.

What about you? Have you been to The Wave? Did you like it? Hate it? Are you planning to dine there in the future? What are you looking forward to the most? Join the wave…