Hey, folks!  There’s a new “star” in “downtown”, and it’s name is Paddlefish!

Whilst in Disney last week, Mrs. All in WDW and I took the opportunity to visit Disney Springs’ new “crown jewel”, not once but, twice!

Yes, my friends, the restaurant is that good.  First things first, though.  The staff is fantastic!  Shout out to Peter behind the bar!  Great guy!

In fact, the Executive Chef – Mark Boor – actually took the time to visit with us and serve us lunch on our second visit!

Paddlefish, to our two experiences, is a class operation, everyone.  Let’s take a look at the decor … and scenery!

Hang in there with me, folks!  The restaurant is huge, so the pics I have for you go on without end … it seems!

Open just one month, exactly, on the day of our second visit, Chef Boor expressed great pride in the restaurant and its team.  In addition, he is very proud of Paddlefish’s menus …

We told him that we were really impressed with their unique presentation of, what they call, Point Judith Calamari.

It is served with shishito (sweet) peppers and starfruit – both of which are battered and fried.  He explained that ‘everyone does calamari’.  He wanted Paddlefish’s version to stand out as being ‘different’.

If that’s not enough, here is an example of how serious Chef Boor, and Paddlefish, are about quality … on our first visit, we asked about the restaurant’s ‘Catch of the Day’.

We were told that there was no ‘catch’ that day.  The chef didn’t approve of the quality of fish that their vendor had delivered.

And, what about the food?  What did we eat?  Well, I have to confess … we didn’t sample these two “gems”.  We snuck pictures from unsuspecting Guests!

The Bloody Mary is made with King crab, jumbo shrimp, and candied Neuske’s bacon.  Gotta love loaded cocktails. Don’t you agree?

This Tower includes Dutch Harbor King crab, jumbo Gulf shrimp, market fresh oysters, lump crab ceviche, and Ahi tuna poke.  It’s a feast!

For us, though, we dined on two separate occasions.  First, for dinner, we shared two appetizers (including the, aforementioned, calamari) and one entree.  All were fantastic!

Paddlefish’s version of a Bacon & Egg is made of braised Kurobuta pork belly and a panko-crusted 5-minute egg.

Mrs. All in WDW wasn’t too sure that it was a great idea to select it when I ordered it, but, after sampling her half, she agreed that it was utterly phenomenal!

Having been filled up on the two apps, we decided to share Paddlefish’s Jambalaya as our meal.  It was a bunch of Gulf shrimp, Andouille, chicken, and crawfish “goodness”.  Delicious!

All of that wasn’t enough for us, though.  Three days later, we were compelled to stop back for lunch!  We selected separate meals for each of us that day, however.

Mrs. All in WDW enjoyed the Half Chicken.  Served with a Carolina mop sauce, edamame bacon succotash, creole mustard, and pickled watermelon, she loved it!

I, on the other hand, stayed with seafood.  Their Faroe Island Salmon, served with heirloom beets and kohlrabi-green apple salad, was outstanding.  It was of the best pieces of salmon I have ever had, and the slaw tasted great!

Fans, I don’t know what to tell you other than Paddlefish is worth all that time we waited for its arrival.  It opened several months later than originally planned, but it opened in an epic fashion!

It provides an absolutely beautiful setting.  It serves original and delicious food.  What more can you ask for?  Take it from us, schedule your ADRs today!

• Note:  Hear me rave about our Paddlefish experiences on … WDW Main Street – Episode #336 – Our Weekly News!