Fairytales and Fitness: Frontera Cocina at Disney Springs

Last week I had a casual day at Disney Springs. I was there around lunch time, so I decided to go to lunch at Frontera Cocina. Frontera Cocina is the Mexican Restaurant at Disney Springs.

It is located in the Town Center of Disney Springs, not the Market Place.

From the Disney Website: Dip into a lively atmosphere and savor authentic Mexican cuisine by Chef Rick Bayless, a seven-time James Beard Award winner.

Although it is a casual restaurant, the website highly suggests making reservations. I would imagine that is for peak times though, and if you have a larger party. I was by myself and I did not make a reservation.

Looks like there would be plenty of room, for reservation-less me!

Since I was by myself, the hostess asked if I wanted to be seated at the bar and said that I would probably get quicker service. I wasn't sure if I should sit there or not because I knew I wasn't going to order a drink from the bar, but she said it was okay.

The restaurant had a colorful vibe on the inside and an open kitchen, yet it was kind of basic. It reminded me of an elevated Chipolte.

They also have a nice patio with outside seating. The day that I went was particularly chilly. They did have the heaters on, which was a nice touch.

I was pretty hungry when I got there, so I couldn't go to a Mexican Restaurant without ordering guacamole and chips. It was pretty good. However, there were a bit too many red onion for my liking. It also had pepitas in it, which I did enjoy. I did add a few dashes of salt, which I hardly ever do to anything.

For my entree, I decided to order the Butternut Squash & Mushroom Red-Chile Enchiladas. The entree included corn tortillas with oyster mushrooms and butternut squash with grilled red onions and dried cranberry filling, with queso chihuahua and pepitas.

I thought it was something different opposed to the normal chicken or steak entrees. It definitely had a unique flavor to it. The server said it was a limited time entree and that it wasn't going to be on the menu since it was a fall feature. I would agree the flavors reminded me of fall. However, this was in the middle of January when I visited, so I was surprised to see a fall item. To me, I would consider January to be winter. It definitely had a unique taste. I did enjoy it enough to eat it all, but I wouldn't order it again. I guess it doesn't matter anyways, since it won't be on the menu much longer. I think the entree would have been a bit better if it was in a white cream sauce, rather than a red-chile sauce.

This would be considered a moderately priced restaurant, by Disney pricing standards. Chips and Salsa start at $6.00 and most starters are $12-$16. There are some salads on the menu, as well as Tacos. Full entrees are in the $20 and $30 range, with premium steak dishes being much more expensive.

After a full belly, I had enough patience to wait in the line at Gideon's. The lady in line said it was about a 45 minute wait, however, I only waited approximately 30 minutes. They always have signature flavors and then every month they have a limited edition flavor. The month I was here was January and their feature flavor was the Banana Box Pie Cookie which is made with real bananas, filled with white chocolate and candied vanilla wafers. It was pretty good. Very sweet of course, but rather salty I thought for a cookie. I also ordered the pistachio toffee and the cookies and cream. The cookies and cream was delicious but the pistachio had more chocolate chips in it rather than pistachios.