Chef Art Smith’s Homecoming Review At Disney Springs

Guys – CONFESSION. As much as I pride myself on being a feminist, and a pseudo independent woman, I’ve been married for so long, that I’m not great at eating at restaurants by myself. However, on a recent solo work trip to Florida, where David had to stay home and engineer things (we can’t all blog full time), I decided to check out Homecoming at Disney Springs. I’ve heard such great things about this new Southern Kitchen, that I couldn’t resist checking it out, even if I was rolling solo like DeRulo. I’ve seen Homecoming several times, but have never had time to eat there – I loved the vintage, shabby chic decor it had, as well as the white lights strung up outside.

20170116-LJP_265920170116-LJP_2663Since I was eating alone, I decided to eat at The Shine Bar, which has its own entrance, but you can also access from inside the restaurant. I spent a long time bartending, so I feel a special kindredship to bartenders (especially if I’m eating alone). The service at Homecoming is fantastic – which I really important to me when I’m deciding what I think about a place.


20170116-LJP_2658Homecoming has some of the best cocktails I’ve had at Disney Springs (or maybe Disney in general). They have a whole list of moonshine cocktails (their speciality), and the bartender recommended the seasonal drink, which was an Apple Pie Moonshine cocktail. It’s not something I would normally order, but it was phenomenal. If I hadn’t had an early morning flight (and been driving myself), I would have had several more, as I’m sure the whole cocktail menu was amazing. 20170116-LJP_266520170116-LJP_2667

At the recommendation of the bartender, I tried the Fried Chicken Sandwich with Hot Sauce Aioli. Fried Chicken is one of the house specialities, as is hot sauce – they told me that they make their own hot sauce in house, and are thinking of selling it. I am normally not a hot sauce fan, even though I love spicy food. I find hot sauce too vinegar-y. This was FANTASTIC though, and I ended up adding extra to my sandwich, which was great. The sandwich came with housemade BBQ chips, which were drizzled with a ranch based sauce. It was all great, and I can’t say enough good things about it. 20170116-LJP_267120170116-LJP_2675

I was full, but, because I’m a glutton, I wanted to try the signature dessert, the Hummingbird Cake. The Hummingbird Cake is a pineapple banana cake, with cream cheese frosting. If you’re a fruit-lover, this will be one of your favorite desserts on property.20170116-LJP_2678


At the end of the day, Homecoming joins the long list of new Disney Springs restaurants that are extraordinary. We’ve loved every new restaurant we’ve tried that Disney Springs has opened, and find ourselves spending more and more time there, especially with the added fun of the great ambiance of the water and shops.