Three Bridges Bar & Grill Review: Why We Ate There 3 Times in 4 Nights

We expected to visit Three Bridges Bar & Grill once during our June Walt Disney World trip.

Instead, Tracy and I ate there three of our four nights.

Table of Contents

Tracy had never been before and quickly fell in love with it. I had visited several times during solo research trips, but spending multiple evenings there together changed how we looked at both Three Bridges and Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort.

Three Bridges is not a highly polished signature restaurant. The service can move at a relaxed pace, and some interactions are more attentive than others.

But the food is very good, the drinks are excellent, and the setting in the middle of Lago Dorado makes Three Bridges unlike most Walt Disney World restaurants.

Our quick assessment: Great food, great drinks, OK service—and we are already ready to return.

Location

Three Bridges Bar & Grill at Villa del Lago is located at Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort.

The restaurant is built on pilings above the resort’s central lake. Three pedestrian bridges connect it with the Casitas, Ranchos and Cabanas areas and the Gran Destino Tower side of the resort.

Three Bridges in the lake connected to the shore by, three bridges.

This central location is a major part of the experience. You are surrounded by water, resort lights, and views across Coronado Springs rather than sitting inside a traditional hotel restaurant.

Three Bridges is open-air but covered. That gives it the feel of an outdoor lounge while still offering a full table-service menu.

What Three Bridges Bar & Grill Is Really Like

Three Bridges is casual, scenic, and deliberately unhurried. You can stop for drinks and a shared appetizer, order a full dinner, or settle in for a longer evening overlooking the lake.

The atmosphere becomes especially attractive after dark as the resort lights reflect across Lago Dorado. You remain in the center of a large Disney resort, but the setting over the lake feels removed from the lobby activity and convention traffic.

This is not the restaurant I would choose for a rushed meal before returning to a park. Three Bridges is better when you have time to enjoy where you are.

There Are No Advance Reservations

Three Bridges does not accept advance dining reservations.

Seating is handled on a walk-up basis.

You can approach the restaurant and ask to be seated, or check Mobile Dine Walk-Up Availability in the My Disney Experience app when you are close enough to join the list.

We used the app-based walk-up option once during our trip. The other times, we simply walked to the restaurant.

However, walk-up availability is not guaranteed. Popular evenings, weekends, convention periods and desirable sunset dining times may produce longer waits.

Steve Says: Do not build a tightly timed evening around being seated at an exact hour. Three Bridges works best when you are willing to arrive, join the walk-up list and enjoy Coronado Springs while you wait. We waited 30 to 40 minutes each time we dined there.

What We Kept Ordering

We tried Three Bridges more than once because the overall experience was enjoyable—but several menu items also kept pulling us back.

White Queso and Chorizo Dip

The White Queso and Chorizo Dip was our favorite shared starter.

It is served with tortilla chips and roasted peppers and has enough flavor and richness to feel more substantial than an ordinary bowl of queso.

This is the kind of appetizer that works whether you are sitting down for a full dinner or simply stopping for drinks and something to share.

Pork Carnitas Tacos

The Pork Carnitas Tacos were Tracy’s favorite entrée.

They are served with tomatillo salsa verde, chipotle-pineapple salsa, house salsa, cotija cheese, pickled vegetables, and black beans and rice.

The different salsas provide a mix of savory, acidic, sweet, and mildly spicy flavors without overwhelming the pork.

The black beans and rice were probably the best we ever had! Full of wonderful flavor.

It is a satisfying meal, but it still feels appropriate for the restaurant’s casual lakeside atmosphere.

Traveler’s Punch

Spanish Margarita and Traveler’s Punch

The Traveler’s Punch became our preferred cocktail.

It combines rum, passion fruit-orange-guava juice, lime juice, hibiscus grenadine and a float of dark overproof rum.

It is fruity, flavorful, and stronger than its easy-drinking flavor initially suggests.

Steve Says: The Traveler’s Punch fits the setting perfectly, but it is not a weak resort cocktail. Pace yourself—especially if you still need to drive back to Shades of Green. Watch out for the 151 floater on top! Stir it in before sipping without a straw.

Three Bridges Signature Pressed Burger

We almost didn’t order this.

For some reason, we kept putting it off until our final visit. Big mistake.

The Three Bridges Signature Pressed Burger is topped with bacon, white cheddar, caramelized onions, roasted garlic aïoli, and arugula, then served with smoked paprika fries.

After one bite, Tracy and I looked at each other and immediately wished we had ordered it earlier in the trip.

In fact, it instantly became one of our two favorite burgers at Walt Disney World.

The only real competition is the Stack Burger at Steakhouse 71.

We’re honestly not sure which one we’d rank No. 1—and that’s about the highest compliment we can give a Disney burger.

Three Bridges Crispy Chicken Wings and Trio of Dips

Steve Says: If you’re debating between tacos and the burger, I don’t think you can make a bad choice. Just don’t wait until your last night like we did.

What Did Not Impress Us as Much

Warm Churros

The Warm Churros were fine.

They are served with chocolate sauce and tequila caramel, but they did not stand out the way the queso, tacos, and cocktails did.

Some people rave about them, but we wouldn’t order them again. After a good meal at Three Bridges, I’d be comfortable skipping dessert and walking to another Coronado Springs lounge for a final drink instead.

“It’s Moderate Service”

During our stay, Tracy and I came up with a phrase that eventually applied to several Coronado Springs restaurants and lounges:

“It’s Moderate Service.”

We are accustomed to staying at and dining around Disney Deluxe Resorts, where service often feels more polished, proactive, and tightly managed.

At Coronado Springs, the pace was noticeably more casual.

Sometimes service was simply slower. On one occasion elsewhere at the resort, it felt disinterested. At Three Bridges, our overall impression was that the food and drinks were stronger than the consistency of the service.

That does not mean the service was bad every time.

It means you should not arrive expecting the polish of a Disney signature restaurant simply because Three Bridges occupies such an attractive setting.

Steve Says: “Moderate Service”

Not necessarily bad service. Just…Moderate Service.

It may be slower, more casual, and occasionally less attentive than what frequent Deluxe Resort guests expect.

It clearly wasn’t a dealbreaker for us—we ate there three times in four nights.

Three Bridges Is Only Part of the Evening

One reason Three Bridges works so well as a destination is that Coronado Springs offers much more than a single restaurant.

Barcelona Lounge

You can build an entire evening around the resort’s dining and lounge options:

Three Bridges Bar & Grill for lakeside food and cocktails
Toledo – Tapas, Steak & Seafood for a more upscale dinner
Dahlia Lounge for rooftop drinks and EPCOT and views toward the EPCOT and Hollywood Studios nighttime shows
Barcelona Lounge for drinks beneath Gran Destino Tower’s dramatic lobby
Rix Sports Bar & Grill for food, drinks and televised sports
Laguna Bar for an outdoor lakeside drink
Siestas Cantina near the Dig Site pool

Dahlia Lounge View

You do not need to visit all of them in one night. The point is that Coronado Springs gives you choices.

You might begin with a drink at Barcelona Lounge, walk around Lago Dorado, have dinner at Three Bridges, and finish the evening at Dahlia Lounge. Or simply visit Three Bridges for appetizers and drinks and see where the evening takes you.

Coronado Springs is large enough to become the evening’s destination rather than merely the hotel where you stopped for dinner.

Why We Would Choose Coronado Springs Over Disney Springs

Disney Springs offers an enormous collection of restaurants, stores, and entertainment.

It has also become extremely crowded.

Tracy and I are increasingly over the Disney Springs experience. We now tend to go in, accomplish what we intended to do, and leave.

Between the parking garages, security, crowds, noise, and the amount of walking required to move between destinations, Disney Springs does not always provide the relaxing evening we want.

Coronado Springs gives us something different:

A quieter atmosphere
Multiple restaurants and lounges within one resort
Relaxing walks around the lake
Comfortable places to sit and talk
Evening views without a theme park crowd
The flexibility to change plans as the night develops

This does not mean Coronado Springs replaces Disney Springs for every visitor.

Disney Springs remains the better choice when shopping, entertainment, or a particular restaurant is the main goal.

But when the goal is simply to enjoy a slower Disney evening with good food and drinks, we would now strongly consider Coronado Springs instead.

How to Get to Three Bridges from Shades of Green

Minnie Van pulling up for a pick up at Shades of Green

There is no direct resort-to-resort Disney bus connecting Shades of Green and Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort.

For most Shades of Green guests, driving or using a rideshare service is the easiest option.

Driving from Shades of Green

Driving gives you the most control over your evening and makes it easy to return to Shades of Green when you are ready.

At the Coronado Springs security entrance, tell the Cast Member that you are visiting Three Bridges Bar & Grill.

Because Three Bridges does not accept advance reservations, parking access may depend on current resort capacity and the direction provided by the security Cast Member.

Do not assume that a walk-up dining plan guarantees resort parking during especially busy periods. We’ve never had a problem being admitted when visiting for dinner, but as with any Disney resort, parking policies can change and are ultimately determined by the security Cast Member.

Steve Says: If anyone in your party plans to enjoy more than one cocktail, use a rideshare rather than driving.

Rideshare from Shades of Green

Uber, Lyft, or Minnie Van Service are the simplest options when no one wants to drive.

Use Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort as the destination. Gran Destino Tower is the easiest recognizable arrival point and gives you access to Barcelona Lounge, Dahlia Lounge, Toledo, and the walking path toward Three Bridges.

After dinner, request your return ride from the main Gran Destino Tower entrance rather than trying to arrange pickup from the center of the resort.

Using Disney and Shades of Green Transportation

You can reach Coronado Springs without a car, but it requires a transfer.

One option is:

Take a Shades of Green bus to Disney’s Hollywood Studios or Disney’s Animal Kingdom
Transfer to a Disney bus serving Coronado Springs
Exit at Gran Destino Tower or another Coronado Springs stop (the tower is usually the last of 4 stops; the other stops can be a hike!)
Walk to Three Bridges at Villa del Lago

For the return trip, reverse the process while transportation to the theme parks is still operating.

This route is workable, but I would not recommend it for most guests planning a relaxing evening. The transfer adds uncertainty, and returning late can become more complicated as park transportation begins shutting down.

TRANSPORTATION LINKS:

Can You Visit Three Bridges During a Park Day?

Yes, but it fits some park days better than others.

Animal Kingdom Day

Coronado Springs is located in Disney’s Animal Kingdom Resort Area, making an Animal Kingdom day one of the more natural opportunities to visit.

You can leave the park, take a Disney bus to Coronado Springs, and spend the evening at the resort.

Hollywood Studios Day

A Hollywood Studios day also works because the Studios are on the same road as Coronado Springs, making the resort a relatively convenient place to head after you’ve finished your park priorities.

EPCOT or Magic Kingdom Day

Three Bridges can still work after EPCOT or Magic Kingdom, but it requires more deliberate transportation planning.

For Shades of Green guests, returning to Shades of Green first and then driving or using rideshare may be simpler than building multiple Disney transportation transfers into the evening.

Is Three Bridges Worth a Special Trip?

For many repeat Walt Disney World visitors, yes.

I would especially consider making the trip if you enjoy resort dining and lounges, want an outdoor lakeside atmosphere, or are looking for an alternative to another evening at Disney Springs. It’s an especially easy choice if you’re already staying at Coronado Springs or have a car at Shades of Green.

I would be less likely to recommend a special trip if this is your first Walt Disney World vacation, your park time is limited, you want character dining or heavy Disney theming, or getting to Coronado Springs would require several inconvenient transportation transfers.

Three Bridges isn’t worth crossing Walt Disney World because it has the most elaborate menu or most polished service. It’s worth considering because the restaurant, lake, resort atmosphere, and surrounding lounges work so well together.

Steve’s Recommendation

Do not think of Three Bridges as merely a restaurant reservation replacement.

Think of Coronado Springs as the destination and Three Bridges as the centerpiece.

Arrive before dinner. Walk through Gran Destino Tower. Have a drink at Barcelona Lounge. Cross the lake to Three Bridges. Share the White Queso and Chorizo Dip, order the Pork Carnitas Tacos and try a Traveler’s Punch.

Then decide whether you are ready to leave or whether the evening should continue at Dahlia Lounge, Rix Sports Bar, or somewhere else around the resort. There is no need to plan every stop in advance.

Final Thoughts

Three Bridges Bar & Grill became one of the biggest surprises of our June trip. Tracy had never visited before, and I expected us to eat there once.

We returned three of our four nights.

That probably says more about our experience than another restaurant rating could. Three Bridges isn’t perfect, but we found ourselves wanting to go back—and we will.

Have you visited Three Bridges Bar & Grill or spent an evening exploring Coronado Springs? Share your favorite food, drink, or lounge in the comments below.

Also See:

Is Sangria University Worth It? Our Disney Coronado Springs Experience

This article was written by Steve Bell, founder of Military Disney Tips.

Steve is a retired U.S. military member who has been visiting the Disney Parks since 1971 and writing about Disney military discounts and vacations for the military community for over 18 years.

Read Steve’s Full Bio | Follow Military Disney Tips on Facebook

Get Free Disney Military Discount Updates

Stay up to date on Disney and Universal military discounts, ticket changes, resort updates, planning tips, and new guides from Military Disney Tips.

Steve’s free email newsletter helps military families stay informed about the latest Disney and Universal vacation news that matters to the military community.