Ballast Point Brewing Co., a San Diego-based brewery which was founded in 1996, has been open in Downtown Disney since January of this year. Their location in Downtown Disney is a beautiful 4,000 sq. ft. glass-enclosed bar and a traditional sit down dining area in addition to a 3,000 sq. ft. outdoor beer garden featuring seating that evokes lounging near a pool, and they’ve even made it a place where you can bring the whole family despite the prevalence of adult beverages.
Ballast Point reached out to us recently and hosted us as we tried several of their food items and a flight of beers. We also have a few items from other trips we have taken to Ballast Point (when we were not hosted). All of our opinions are based on our eating and drinking experience during all of our visits – the most recent one included.
Beer – Flight of Beers (4 for $13 or $3.75 for 1)
Ballast Point is known for their vast beer selection. In fact, they are currently having a ‘Summer of Sculpin’ celebration (runs until September 2nd, 2019). You can get a flight of beers featuring all 4 of their Sculpin’ brews for only $10. The flights are 4 ounces each.
Beer #1 – “Easy Seas”
Beer #2 – “Piper Down Scottish Ale”
Beer #3 – “Fathom”
Beer #4 – “Pineapple Sculpin”
Appetizers
BP Wings ($15.00) – Dry Rub W/Southern Style Comeback Sauce & Sculpin Buffalo Glaze W/Bleu Cheese Sauce
Entrees
Ballast Point Burger ($17.00)
This juicy burger is 8-oz of Kobe and Chuck Blend Patty, Sharp Cheddar, Lettuce, Tomato, Red Onion, Pickles, Rémoulade on a Brioche Bun, served with Fries (regular or garlic-parmesan). Nicole ordered it with the gluten friendly bun rather than the standard Brioche Bun for allergy reasons. For those who are concerned with cross contamination the french fries would be a no-go as they are not fried in a dedicated fryer. Nicole loved this burger quality and the Rémoulade sauce.
Chipotle Southwest Chicken Wrap ($16.00)
This wrap screams CALIFORNIA. It has grilled chicken, crisp romaine lettuce, grilled corn & black bean salsa, tortilla strips, queso fresco, avocado, and spicy comeback sauce, and comes served with fries (regular or garlic-parmesan). They were liberal with the avocado and I loved it. There’s something magnificent about a little spice in your food when coupled with avocado. Definitely recommend this to anyone who loves grilled chicken, avocado, and a little spice (it’s not overly spicy though).
Baja Style Fish Tacos ($18.00)
The Baja-style Fish Tacos have corn tortillas, beer-battered fish, cabbage, crema, pickled onion, cilantro, and come served with chips and salsa. Any fan of fish tacos will probably find these to be quite delicious. I enjoyed them but thought $18 was a little steep for this item because you only get two tacos and it comes with chips and salsa. I felt like it was a few bucks more than it should have been. That, however, is a small quibble. These were really tasty! The fish was high quality, and they had a nice touch of spice.
California “Kölsch” Steak Burrito ($18.00)
Kids Chicken Tenders ($10.00)
The kids meals comes with a main dish (in this instance it was chicken tenders), a choice of side (french fries, fresh cut apples, chips, avocado, or raw carrots), a choice of drink (fountain drink, “Honest” Kids Fruit Drink, or milk), and for dessert they are given Animal Crackers. Our daughter ate two of the chicken tenders which means that she liked them because she is a very picky eater. I took a bite being the good dad that I am and thought it was a good quality chicken tender.
Kids Cheeseburger ($10.00)
The kids meals comes with a main dish (in this instance it was a cheeseburger), a choice of side (french fries, fresh cut apples, chips, avocado, or raw carrots), a choice of drink (fountain drink, “Honest” Kids Fruit Drink, or milk), and for dessert they are given Animal Crackers. Our other daughter ate her entire cheeseburger and said that it was “yummy” when I asked her about it. I’ll have to take her word for it, because I didn’t get my dad bite!
Dessert
Spring Berry Cheesecake ($9.00)
This cheesecake was made with goat cheese rather than cheesecake, toasted pecan and brown butter crust, sour wench berry compote with rosemary, and lemon creme fraiche. Dad loved this one while the kids took one bite and said “no more please!” I love goat cheese, so maybe that’s why I was more inclined to love this. It was rich, creamy, and a delight to eat (to me). If you have kids, maybe this won’t be the best thing to buy if you’re sharing with them, but if you love cheesecake and are ordering just for yourself then this is definitely a great dessert option.
Crème Brûlée Cheesecake ($9.00)
This Crème Brûlée Cheesecake caramelized pears, toasted pecans, brown butter crust, and is topped with vanilla sauce. I thought the tomato on top was random, but the rest of this was fantastic. The caramelized pears were woven in seamlessly to the cheesecake. Of the two I preferred the previously featured cheesecake above, but this one was no slouch.
All in all, we recommend Ballast Point. The food and drinks are high quality. As with all Downtown Disney locations the good food and drinks don’t come cheaply, but you are at least getting good quality with a great atmosphere. The service staff has been dynamite every time we’ve visited, including this more recent trip when they hosted us. As mentioned in the opening, we were hosted and given some of this food complimentary, but we have gone when we weren’t hosted. Our experiences have been good every time. Below are some pictures we snapped during our visits. Thanks for reading and check out Ballast Point if you haven’t been there yet!
