Chef Art Smith's Homecomin' is one of the newer restaurants in Disney Springs. It opened in 2016, and is located in the Town Center area of Disney Springs. This area is part of the extension added on to Downtown Disney when it was being transitioned into Disney Springs. Chef Art Smith is in a great location, near a bunch of shops and right on the Sassagoula River that runs through the newer section of Disney Springs.
Chef Art Smith's Homecomin' is a restaurant that I have wanted to try for awhile and I am so happy we finally got to go on our most recent trip to Disney World. It is a good ole' fashioned Southern restaurant and you'll feel like you're in Georgia or the likes when eating here. Homecomin' is pretty casual, so don't feel the need to dress up. The restaurant offers both outside seating and indoors seating.
On a nice day, the outdoors seating looks absolutely beautiful. The area in the back of the restaurant overlooks the water, and surrounding greenery. It is a gorgeous backdrop to enjoy your meal. There is also seating in the front of the restaurant, overlooking the walkway, which is perfect for people watching.
The inside of Homecomin' is very open and lit up. It feels very homey, like you are enjoying a meal with your family at home. We chose to sit inside to get a break from the heat, and it was very nice and had a welcoming atmosphere.
Homecomin' is open from 11am-11pm every day, offering lunch and dinner. Brunch is also served on Saturday and Sunday from 9:30am-1pm. We chose to have lunch at Homecomin', and it does strike me as more of a brunch or lunch spot rather than dinner. It has such a light ambiance that, at least to me, it seems more appropriate to enjoy the restaurant during the day. However, it may be just as enjoyable at night with the lit up river and lights of Disney Springs outside the floor to ceiling windows.
The lunch and dinner menu are the same at Homecomin', while the brunch menu does feature different options. Whatever meal you are eating at Homecomin', it is sure to be some authentic southern food. One of the few problems that I had with this restaurant, is the prices are a bit high. Not crazy for a Disney World restaurant, but higher than you would see at a similar restaurant in the "real world." However, the portions were large and at least you got a good bit of food for the prices you paid.
To start, the menu has appetizer options including deviled eggs, fried green tomatoes, hushpuppies, and fried pickles. Appetizers average around $20. We chose to try the hushpuppies. These are homemade and served with pimento cheese and red jalapeno jelly. This particular appetizer cost $15, and we got a very generous portion of hushpuppies. It was more than needed for 2 people to split, and could've easily been shared by 3-4 people. The hushpuppies themselves were spicier than I expected, as there seemed to be jalapeno peppers mixed into the dough. My husband and I agreed that the jelly was a much better dipping sauce than the pimento cheese and despite the jelly supposedly having jalapenos in it as well, it helped cool down the spiciness of the hushpuppies. While it was fun to have a classic southern snack of hushpuppies, I do not know if I would order these again. They were a little too spicy for me and were dense, so I didn't like filling up on them before the main course. I would give them a 5/10.
The entrees at Homecomin' were what stole the show for us. The menu features Southern items like fried chicken sandwich, meatloaf, chicken & doughnuts, shrimp & grits, and country fried steak. The sides menu is also amazing and all homemade, including cheddar cheese biscuits, mac & cheese, mashed potatoes, grits, broccoli & bacon salad, slaw, and fries. The entree menu even has an option called the "kitchen plate" which allows you to order 3 different sides as your meal. Sandwich entrees are $20 and plated entrees are around $30.
For my entree, I ordered the fried chicken sandwich. WOW! It was very good and quite honestly might be the best fried chicken sandwich I've ever had. Chef Art Smith is known for his fried chicken and his process of buttermilk brining the chicken for 24 hours. The chicken did not disappoint. The fried chicken sandwich was dressed with hot sauce, aioli, and butter pickles. Although I was stuffed, I made sure to finish this sandwich because it was so good. The sandwiches are all standardly served with housemade bbq chips drizzled with icebox dressing. However, I chose to pay the upgrade my side to mac and cheese for an upcharge. Boy am I glad I did, because again the mac and cheese was amazing. SO delicious. If you go to Homecomin' I highly recommend mac and cheese be part of your order.
K.C. ordered the country club sandwich. This was grilled chicken topped with white cheddar, pecan smoked bacon, and red jalapeno jelly on a bun. He really enjoyed this, but I personally think my sandwich looked better. He opted to have the standard side of the homemade chips. I did not think the chips or the icebox dressing were very good, and you are much better off upgrading to one of the sides listed on the menu.
We did not have room for dessert after this meal. I was disappointed about this because I had really wanted to try the shine cake, a dessert that Chef Art Smith is know for. It is a dessert that only adults can order because the cake is soaked with moonshine syrup. The moonshine cake is served with seasonal fruit sauce and vanilla ice cream. Next time we go I will make a point to save room to try this signature dessert. The other desserts offered are a hot fudge bourbon brownie, doughnuts, chocolate pecan pie, and the southern specialty hummingbird cake.
We had such a great time at Chef Art Smith's Homecomin'. The ambiance was light and comforting and the food delicious and bountiful. The wait staff was also friendly and knowledgeable about the menu. I will mention that service was a bit slow when we were there, and I think the reason is that there was not enough staff to service such a large dining room. Our waitress seemed like she was waiting on quite a few tables. I wouldn't recommend eating here if you are in a rush. We were in no hurry and enjoyed lingering, so we did not mind much.
Homecomin' is definitely a popular restaurant in Disney Springs. The reservations tend to fill up pretty much at 60 days out, especially for prime meal times. If eating at Homecomin' is a priority to you, I would recommend booking it on your reservation day. If not, you may still be able to book more obscure times, like a 3pm lunch, in the weeks approaching your trip.
I am happy that we have started trying new restaurants in Disney Springs, rather than sticking to our tried and true choices. Every restaurant I have tried in Disney Springs has been amazing so far. I'm not afraid to say that I tend to stick to the safer option of going to restaurants I know we like. However, this is a reminder to you and I that there are so many new amazing things to try at Disney World and maybe your new favorite will be then next thing you try for the first time. If you've never been to Chef Art Smith's Homecomin' I highly recommend you trying it next time you visit Disney Springs.
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