Andrew loves a good steak dinner and a certain restaurant at Disney Springs had been on our list for awhile: STK Steakhouse. STK describes itself as a chic and modern steakhouse offering a fine dining experience. This location happened to be participating in Visit Orlando’s Magical Dining promotion which offers a special three-course prix-fixe dinner for only $35. With Andrew’s brother Chris, wife Kelly, and niece visiting us in Orlando we decided to book a reservation for us to enjoy a nice dinner together. Read on to hear more about this unique spot at Disney Springs…

The Atmosphere

We have to admit we were a quite surprised upon walking into the restaurant. While the outside fits the Disney Springs theming with brick and an old fashioned vibe, the inside is quite opposite with sleek and modern styling. The restaurant has lower lighting and has a hip hot pink glow as you enter, while the rest of the restaurant is a sharp contrast of blacks and whites. There is a mixture of textures throughout the dining space like snakeskin leather, shiny mirrors, and large white floral arrangements. STK certainly feels more like an upscale nightclub than a typical fine dining establishment. Urban nightclubs aren’t usually our scene so we admit to feeling a little uncomfortable at first (especially as we had brought our niece), but we soon settled into our comfy leather seats and found the service to be very warm and friendly.

It’s good to note that other STK locations can be found in spots known for nightlife such as Las Vegas, New York, and Miami. The style certainly fits with those places, and almost felt like a shock at family-friendly Disney Springs. This happens to be the only STK location that allows children, but we can say that the atmosphere still feels more adult focused. While there was a children’s menu for our niece it is definitely seems a better spot for a date night or drinks with friends. We also noticed right next to our booth was a DJ booth. Luckily it was empty while we were dining, but we saw someone setting up while we were leaving, and we both noted we would be a little concerned of listening to loud club music while eating.

The restaurant features an interesting mix of decor textures.

STK features a large bar that looks perfect for a night out.

The Drinks

With the large bar we weren’t surprised that STK offers a wide range of adult beverages. We decided to order a couple drinks from their cocktail menu:

Cocktail: Rendezvous $15.00
Barcardi 4 rum, Barcardi Oakheart, pineapple, orange, grapefruit, cherry

Andrew loves run and this was one of the only options on the menu. Sad to say it was just ok. It was a pretty average rum punch kind of drink with a higher price tag. It also didn’t look that cool, it looked more like a non-alcoholic drink with a lot of grenadine to be honest.

Cocktail: Flawless $15.00
Grey Goose vodka, lemon, raspberry, prosecco

On the other hand Julie loved her drink. Grey Goose is her fave and the fruity flavor was refreshing without being too sweet and the prosecco gave a nice sparkle. The price seemed fair for this particular cocktail.

We imagine ordering some drinks to enjoy outside might be a nice experience too!

The Menu

The regular dinner menu at STK features a range of starters including oysters, a long list of steaks with sauces, and other entree choices. We happened to visit during Magical Dining Month and ordered off a special limited menu pictured below. While some restaurants offer items from the regular menu, for the most part all of the choices seemed to be developed purely for this promo.

The Food

The Magical Dining promotion featured a special three-course menu for $35 (not including tax or tip). This included a choice from three different appetizers (plus one uncharge option), a choice from three entrees (plus three uncharge options) , and three dessert options. We made sure to try a few different options within the group.

Bread Service (Complimentary)
with blue butter and pesto

Ok this bread was amazing. Shaped like a pull apart monkey bread it was so flavorful with or without the pesto sauce. Andrew doesn’t like blue cheese but had no issues with the flavored butter. We loved having this to start.

Starter: Lil’ Brgs $21.00
wagyu beef, special sauce, sesame bun

While the presentation wasn’t super impressive, this item ended up being a favorite item from the night. This starter can be found on the regular menu and was delicious. The quality of beef and sauce was awesome.

Starter: Toy Box Tomatoes (Not listed on regular menu, but for reference an average salad here is $17.00)
stracciatella, baby rocket, blood orange, tiny basil

Julie ordered this lighter starter. The fresh greens and variety of tomatoes were delicious in the creamy sauce.

Main: Pan Seared Salmon (Not listed on regular menu, but for reference an average entree here is $43.00)
watermelon, pineapple, lychee, cucumber, basil mint salad, tan chili lime vinaigrette

This salmon dish was light and delicious. The way that the fruit and sauce was incorporated made for a unique and memorable recipe.

Main: Coffee-Spiced Dry-Aged Ribeye Steak (Not listed on regular menu)
wild mushrooms, cafe au latte, yucca frites

So Andrew came to STK for steak. Unfortunately this Magical Dining steak was not good. It was a large piece of meat but didn’t seem a good quality, was pretty chewy, and the rub on the meat was kinda weird. A steak on the regular menu here will cost anywhere from $40.00-$253.00 (wow!). So It seems that perhaps it wasn’t possible to offer the same quality of steak for the promo price. But it ended up making our first steak experience here not great. We think a better solution would have been to offer a small cut of better meat.

Main: Angry Fried Chicken (Not listed on regular menu, but for reference an average entree here is $43.00)
korean spiced, brussel sprouts, sriracha honey

This entree was a favorite of the night. The flavor of sweet and spice was AMAZING! The fun presentation and roasted brussels added to a great dish.

Dessert: Key Lime Dreamsickle (Not listed on regular menu, but for reference an average dessert here is $10.00)
vanilla panna cotta, lilikoi popping boba pearls

This dessert certainly wins for a fun presentation and it was good. While it was unique we probably would have preferred a typical key lime pie to this concoction.

Dessert: Warm Chocolate Fudge Brownie (Not listed on regular menu, but for reference an average dessert here is $10.00)
salted caramel, cookies & cream chantilly

This dessert was a letdown too. The brownie was very standard, and even a little dry. We have had better brownies from a box to be honest.

Dessert: Nutella Banana Cream Tartlette (Not listed on regular menu, but for reference an average dessert here is $10.00)
banana rum foster sauce

Now this dessert was delicious! Nutella and Banana foster are two of Julie’s favorite desserts and pairing them together turned out deliciously.

The Service

The service was outstanding! Our server Paul was seriously one of the best we have encountered. He was knowledgeable when it came to the menu, drinks, and even random facts about this and other STK locations. Our glasses were never empty and the timing of each course was perfect. He was friendly and very welcoming too.

Final Thoughts

We both agree that STK ended up being a little different than what we expected. While the club feel could be really fun for drinks, we think we prefer other atmospheres for a nice dinner out. We did like that this restaurant would most likely have less kids dining and the service was phenomenal. And it seems we certainly got a good deal with our Magical Dining promotion. (We estimate the value of some of our meals could have been double the value of what we paid.) The only problem is our experience was very hit or miss. While a couple items were delicious and a great value, a few selections honestly weren’t great. We can imagine a restaurant with higher price points may have a hard time getting items to fit within the promo pricing, but adding on a lower quality of meat or a cheaper dessert option can lead to a lackluster first experience. While we could come back to try a higher-end steak we are a little hesitant to pony up more money when the first experience didn’t completely wow us. However we think we would love to come back and enjoy Happy Hour on the patio and enjoy more delicious Lil’ Brgs though!