Disney’s Hilton Head Island Food
Disney’s Hilton Head Island Food is amazing! The resort features two quick service restaurants, Tide Me Over at the resort and Signals at the beach house pool, but there is not a table service option available on property. The two quick service restaurants serve Mickey waffles and other breakfast items in the morning and basic sandwiches, burgers and salads in the afternoon and evening. At the beach house pool, there is also a bar that makes fabulous frozen alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks. At the resort gift shop, you can also purchase Mickey ice cream bars and other ice cream treats, basic snacks like cookies and pretzels and drinks. If you eat all your meals on the resort property, you won’t ever go hungry, but you might get a bit bored.
Thankfully, the resort is in the middle of an island full of great restaurants and Disney has even arranged discounts with several. Disney’s Hilton Head Island Resort is right next to Shelter Cove Marina. You walk or ride your bike across a small foot bridge at the front of the resort and you are in Shelter Cove. There are several restaurants in the marina and many of them offer Disney guests a 10% discount, you just need to show your resort room key.
We personally tried Kingfisher, which is a steak and seafood restaurant, and San Miguel’s Mexican Cafe. Both restaurants had great offerings. Kingfisher is right next to the resort and featured a variety of seafood options, including several daily specials. The restaurant offers both indoor and outdoor seating. San Miguel’s was one of the best Mexican restaurants I have been to (and that includes several in Mexico). The menu boasts that the margaritas are the best in the state and I would have to agree. In fact, I think the margarita at San Miguel’s ruined other margaritas for me. The restaurant has indoor seating as well as outdoor. The outdoor seating is close to the bar, which often features live music. It is a very laid back atmosphere and a great location to end a day.
Shelter Cove features close to 20 other restaurants with several different cuisines. The front desk will give you a full list when you check in and will also let you know which ones give a Disney resort discount.
If you want to get in your car, within a five minute drive are multiple other great restaurants. Some of our favorites included Stacks for breakfast, the Hilton Head Diner for lunch and dessert and One Hot Mamas for Sunday Brunch. One Hot Mamas was probably some of the best food we had all week and it was definitely the best value. We chose to go to Sunday brunch, which was $8.99 per adult and included a champagne mimosa. The food was absolutely fabulous. Don’t let the décor fool you – this place looks like a casual neighborhood bar, but it is so much more. The barbeque on the brunch line was worth the price alone and the biscuits and gravy were unlike any I’ve ever had. If you are a fan of the show “The Next Food Network Star” One Hot Mamas will also appeal to you because the owner, Orchid, was a contestant during the 2011 season. When we were there, she was cooking omelettes to order and taking pictures with fans.
There are also plenty of other restaurants on the island. One of the most popular and best known restaurants is the Salty Dog Cafe, which is in development called Sea Pines. If you plan to go, know there will likely be a long wait and you will have to pay $5 just to enter Sea Pines. The money is not refundable, even if you don’t eat at the Salty Dog. The restaurant is on a pier area with stores, an outdoor bar, live music and a seat-yourself area where you can get food from a window and eat outside near the bar and music. The menu features hamburgers, fish, chicken and steak.
Disney’s Hilton Head Island food has its advantages! The resort does offer two different all you care to eat dinners during the summer months, a barbeque at the pool on pirate night and Low Country boil at the beach house pool. The details and pricing of the events, if they are available during your stay, will be in the activities schedule. The pirate barbeque featured hot dogs, hamburgers, ribs, and the appropriate sides. The Low Country boil was a traditional meal boiled shrimp, smoked sausage, red potatoes, corn on-the-cob, pork tenderloin, hushpuppies, salads and desserts.
You can also choose to buy food at the local grocery store and cook in your villa’s kitchen. There are charcoal grills located around the property, if you would like to grill one evening. The gift shop has single use bags of charcoal available for purchase. If you do choose to stock your kitchen, do not go to the grocery store on Saturday. We hit up the Piggly Wiggly Saturday evening when we first arrived and found ourselves in the middle of a madhouse. It took 30 minutes to get meat from the deli counter. The store was also out of quite a bit when we were shopping. The clerk at the register told me Saturday is always the day the tourists shop and locals to know to stay far, far away from the stores that day. So, if you arrive on Saturday, hit Tide Me Over or a restaurant in Shelter Cove for dinner, go to One Hot Mamas for Sunday brunch, then go food shopping!
Disney’s Hilton Head Island Food truly offers something for everyone. If you haven’t been before, there’s no time like the present to book your trip. Your MickeyTravels authorized Disney travel agent will be happy to get your trip on the calendar and start planning! I guarantee you won’t be sorry.
Jamie Farber
Authorized Disney Vacation Planner
MickeyTravels, LL
(616) 644-7082
jamie@mickeytravels.com
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