Yesterday was the official soft opening of Six Ravens at Disney Springs, and I was able to swing by after work to try it out. The title gives an idea of what my experience was like, but I want to walk you through it from start to finish so you can draw your own conclusion.
Virtual Queue
Being that this is the sister location to Gideon's Bakery, they understood how to handle the high demand with a virtual queue. The system was similar to Gideon's, in that you give your name and number to a cast member by the entrance and then wait for a text to come back to the official line later. They send an initial text with a link to track your place in line, which makes it convenient to make other plans during that time. They gave me an estimated virtual wait time of two hours, but I only waited a little over an hour. Little pamphlets with the menu items were passed out at this time too, so you could look through the menu while you wait.
The Menu
It's a little weird, but the pamphlet they give you is the only menu to look at the throughout the whole experience. There is no menu board or display inside showing anything about the food. The only source about the food is the pamphlet (and the My Disney Experience app, but that kind of ruins the mood). More on this later when I talk about the interior, but its a divergence from Gideon's, in how they present the food options before you as you go through the line. I get that the food items here are more perishable, but it seems like there should be some sort of text menu or display with images somewhere along the way.
As you can see, the menu features four menu groups: Coffyns, sides, Sweet Nothings (dessert), and refreshments. If you have ever eaten a hot pocket, then you have eaten a Coffyn, but these are a lot larger. The Coffyns are yeast rolls stuffed with different ingredients paired with a specific dipping sauce. This is the main offering of the location, as the rest are pretty expected items. You have the only side available, “Tell Tale Tatties”, which is french fries paired with a honey mustard dipping sauce. There is one dessert, “The Tarts Tempest”, which is from Gideon’s Bakehouse. Then lastly, you have the refreshments, both alcoholic and non-alcoholic. I will touch on the specific items I ordered later, but first lets talk about the theming!
Theming
The outside facade is quite nice. Wood paneling covers the bulk of the exterior, with iron looking awnings extending over the front windows and door. You have the giant Six Ravens crest mounted at the top of the facade squarely above the entrance. Mirrored on the sides you have windows with stylized medieval art. These windows are lit up with LED strips around the outside, and with lights placed within the actual art, so they really stand out when observing them at night.
Once inside, you are greeted by a royal skeleton with text above that states, “May Thy Hunger Find Rest”. One thing to note, is that the interior at Six Ravens is much smaller than the interior at Gideon’s Bakery. The space feels even smaller since it is exclusively lit from lanterns and candles. I didn't spot another light source, but I could have just missed it. You are really cramped into this little hall until it is your turn to order. There is a cast member waiting with you, who will tell you which register to go to once another person leaves.
While waiting in the hall you can hear medieval sounding music, which turned out to be instrumental covers of popular songs. I had “Cool for the Summer” by Demi Lovato and “Still Loving You” by The Scorpions play while I was waiting.
Once I was able to get to the main area where you actually order your food, you are presented with four focal areas. The area behind the register had a hand painted mural of ravens and who I assume is the raven leader (I don’t really know the lore, or if there really is any that has been released).
On the opposite wall behind me, there was a large relief of six figures. I again don’t know the lore, but I do know that the name of the big guy in the back is “Empathy”. I was given a sticker of him, which I assume is part of a set that you can try to collect.
The wall to my right featured a large cabinet filled with candles, pins, leather binded books, and other items. I assume some of these will eventually be available for purchase, especially the pin and candles. The girl behind the register pulled out one of the candles to let me smell it. These are definitely not just for looks, so be on the lookout for merchandise soon (I could be wrong).
Finally, the wall to the left of the counters has a faux fireplace and a mantle. Above the mantle is a banner of a raven crossed with a sword and a staff. The staff, of course, has a raven at the head of it. To the right of all this is a framed painting of a medieval scene. I couldn’t get too close to the painting due to where I was ordering and where other people were standing, I think the photos below give a decent idea of the space.
The Food
I decided to order the Wizard's Wonder, which is basically a huge hot pocket filled with mac & cheese, BBQ pulled pork, pickles, and peppers. For my side, I got the best one they had, the Tell Tale Tatties. I didn't get anything to drink which was a bit of a mistake, because my water bottle was empty when I actually sat down and started eating.
It came in this cute little box with cool graphics on all the sides. The food also came in custom containers that repped the brand's raven logo and typography.
The food itself was good! It's hard to not like BBQ pork mashed with mac & cheese inside a hot shell of dough. The Coffyn came with this smoke and cherry BBQ sauce, which I didn't really care for, but the hot pocket was still good without it. You have to have the mindset that you are eating a hot pocket that is bigger, tastier, and not mouth-burning hot. The french fries with the honey mustard was great! The crisp was there for the potatoes, even when the wedges were pretty thick, it still had a nice crunch. The honey mustard was the true hero here. It made the whole meal. I dipped the french fries in it, I dipped the hot pocket in it, it was great. If I had to rank the best item I had, it was the honey mustard. Just bottle it up and sell that, please!
I don't know if it is completely fair to compare this to Gideon's Bakery, but it just felt like this new location is missing something. The cute characters at Gideon's are not present here, and the characters that are presented, just don't have quite the same charm and excitement. The decor is okay, but not having the food presented at the counter is a real miss. You need to see what you are about to get. At Gideon's you see all the options and are really given a chance to see how grand the cakes and cookies really are. Here, it is too mysterious. There needs to be insight to what is being sold at the counter. The pamphlet doesn't count either, you need an actual presentation for the guest. If there were pots of mac & cheese, the smell of BBQ in the air, fire and kitchen noises coming from the back, it would really integrate the food into the environment. Okay, that is all. Thank you