Yachtsman Steakhouse is open again. There is a new Wagyu strip on the menu, priced at $83.
Some context.
Look, fifteen weeks is a brutal stretch for a signature restaurant to sit closed. Yachtsman went dark May 10 for refurbishment, and guests around Crescent Lake spent the entire summer without one of the best dinner options in that part of Walt Disney World.
That area is loaded with places to eat. BoardWalk Inn, Beach Club, and the walk over to EPCOT's International Gateway. But Yachtsman fills a slot that nothing else nearby touches.
It is the steakhouse. Full stop.
Beef aged in-house. Steaks are hand-cut in a dry-aging room, and guests can actually watch through the glass. Signature Dining with a real dress code, which makes it the anniversary spot, the celebration dinner, the one nice night people build into an otherwise flip-flops-and-shorts trip.
It reopened Friday, August 28, with two new dishes.
The New Stuff
10-oz American Wagyu New York Strip Steak. Loaded baked potato, brandy-peppercorn sauce. $83.
Black Garlic Fettuccine. House-made fettuccine, seared baby squash, heirloom cherry tomatoes, mushroom conserva, creamy black garlic sauce. $38.
The Wagyu is obviously the headline. Yachtsman already runs a 12-oz Prime New York Strip with peppercorn-brandy sauce, so this drops American Wagyu onto the menu in a smaller cut at a considerably higher price.
And here is the part worth sitting with. The new Wagyu comes with basically the same preparation as the Prime strip already on the menu. Same sauce. No new supporting cast.
Which is a choice. Rather than building a whole dish around the Wagyu, they are letting the beef carry the entire difference. For a restaurant that puts its own aging and butchery in the window, that is a flex. Whether $45 more than the Prime feels worth it is going to be a personal call.
The fettuccine is quieter and, honestly, more useful. At $38, it is one of the few approachable entrées on a menu built around beef, and it finally gives non-steak diners a real reason to be at the table instead of picking at sides.
House-made pasta with mushroom conserva and black garlic cream is also more modern than what Yachtsman usually plays. Black garlic has been showing up all over Disney signature menus lately, and this is a clean take on it.
What Actually Changed
Refresh, not gut job.
Guests spotted that the accessible ramp outside got carpeted. Small thing on paper, meaningful in practice for anyone in a wheelchair or scooter, or anybody taking that ramp during a Florida downpour.
The furniture is back too. Blue benches, burgundy chairs, all recognizable to regulars.
The dining room did not change identity. Still New England-style with knotty-pine beams, nautical detailing, open kitchen, and that dry-aging room doing the heavy lifting.
Know Before You Book
- Disney's Yacht Club Resort, EPCOT Resort Area
- Dinner only, 5 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.
- Disney lists it at $35 to $59.99 per adult for dinner entrées, which the $83 Wagyu clears by a wide margin
- Signature Dining dress code. Clean, neat, good condition, no swimwear
- Advance reservations strongly recommended. Same-day is limited, and the reopening weekend is not the time to gamble
- Standard cancellation policy, per-person fee for no-shows or late cancels
- Disney Dining Plan users, dinner here burns two Table-Service credits per person
That last line matters if you are stretching credits across a week.
Why It Is Worth Noticing
Walt Disney World has been quietly grinding through a run of restaurant and resort refreshes.
Yachtsman is one of several projects moving around Crescent Lake and the monorail loop, landing right as the BoardWalk finally fills venues that sat empty for years.
Bringing a signature steakhouse back with two new menu items instead of just flipping the lights on says the closure was treated as an opportunity rather than deferred maintenance.
If you are staying at Yacht Club, Beach Club, BoardWalk Inn, or anywhere within walking distance, here is the short version. The steakhouse is back, there is something new at the top and the middle of the menu, and good luck getting a table for the next few weeks.
