We’re taking you along with us today as we visit the newly reopened Disney Springs.

Welcome Back to Disney Springs

Disney released a new set of safety procedures prior to the reopening and we are here to find out how these new protocols impact guests’ dining experiences. Come along with us as we explore dining at Wine Bar George.

Reservations

Wine Bar George opened today, May 20th, at noon. We made a dining reservation shortly after Wine Bar George announced they were reopening, so there was a table waiting for us when we arrived.

Wine Bar George

Wine Bar George is checking in all guests with advance dining reservations digitally so once we arrived, we texted Wine Bar George to be seated. Walk-up guests were instructed to wait in line on special markers until the next available table was ready.

Standing Outside of Wine Bar George

We also noticed Wine Bar George is offering a full to-go food and beverage menu if you don’t feel like dining in.

Wine Bar George Food To-Go

A plexiglass shield has been installed on the hostess’ stand.

Wine Bar George

And hand sanitizer was left out for guests to use at the bar.

Hand Sanitizer

Once we were seated, our server provided us with a brown paper bag to store our masks in while we ate. We were also given some individually wrapped hand wipes.

Wine Bar George

As we looked around, we noticed the tables were all spaced out accordingly while we saw managers wiping down each table and chair after each set of guests left.

Menu

Wine Bar George announced before reopening that they would be using a contactless, digital menu — which requires guests to view menus on their own devices. You scan a QR code provided at your table and can view the menu on your own personal electronic device.

Wine Bar George QR Code for Digital Menus

Before visiting, we noticed the White and Dark Chocolate Trifle and Teriyaki Salmon Salad had been taken off the online menu, but there didn’t appear to be any additional menu cuts. We ordered the Saganaki on Fire and Burrata Cheese apps — two of our absolute Wine Bar George FAVORITES!

Service

Before the restaurant reopened, Wine Bar George announced some of the additional safety measures it would be following. These included ensuring all team members are certified in safe food handling, strict kitchen sanitation standards, requiring all team members to pass a health check before their shift, and strict handwashing policies.

Wine Bar George

The restaurant also said that all place settings, tables, chairs, utensils, and condiments in both dining areas and common areas will be sanitized after each use. We found this was most certainly the case with our dining experience today. Normal glassware is still in use with disposable straws…

Glassware at Wine Bar George

…and paper disposable napkins are being used with regular cutlery rolled up inside.

Paper Napkin and Cutlery at Wine Bar George

When our Burrata came to the table, our server was wearing gloves. After not seeing this small plate of wonderful cheesiness for some time, it was a sight for sore eyes.

Service at Wine Bar George

Read more about Wine Bar George’s Burrata HERE!

And when our Saganaki on Fire showed up, the food runner who brought it to us was also wearing gloves. Look out for those flames!

Saganaki on Fire

Check out our FULL REVIEW of Wine Bar George’s Saganaki on Fire here!

Normally the server squeezes a fresh slice of lemon over the top for us, causing the flames to grow even higher, but we were instructed to do our own lemon-squeezing.

Saganaki on Fire

Payment

We noticed our server switched gloves before bringing us our check which he said is standard practice for them now. We asked him if he felt comfortable being back and he said yes — “they’ve had a lot of training and feel safe.”

Today’s Lunch at Wine Bar George

All of Wine Bar George employees were very welcoming, especially THIS Wine Bar George employee, George Miliotes himself!

George Miliotes

George told us he is very happy to be back! He also said it feels weird not being to smile at his guests but the master sommelier made it a point to tell us he is, IN FACT, smiling beneath his face mask.

Overall Experience

Overall, the restaurant felt clean, calm, and welcoming. The staff informed us that they felt well-trained and excited about being back. The entire process ran smoothly. Reservations for Wine Bar George are currently available on the My Disney Experience app starting the second week of June as well as available earlier on OpenTable.

Check out ALL of our live coverage from Disney Springs here!

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Would you visit Wine Bar George with these new measures in place? Let us know in the comments!