Chef Art Smith’s Homecomin’ review + info

The atmosphere

The inside is nice and light with big windows.  The emphasis at Homecomin’ is on comfort food made with fresh, local ingredients.  The decor, along with the food, has an obvious southern influence.  

There is a large dining area as well as a bar. The restaurant also has an open kitchen, leaning into that “feels like home” atmosphere. You can also opt for outdoor seating on a nice day.

When you first come in they even have a small section with their own merch! Most of it is centered around their chicken logo or something to do with Florida/Southern cooking (think “You had me at fried chicken” and “Florida Farm, Southern Charm”).

Fried chicken is their featured dish, and there are a few different ways you can get it. Some of the highlights on the menu include thigh high chicken biscuits, deviled eggs, fried green tomatoes, fried chicken sandwich, fried chicken salad, shrimp & grits, chicken fried steak, and hummingbird cake.

The “Rise and Shine” brunch menu, which is only available on Saturdays and Sundays from 9:30am-1pm. Some of the items are the same as the regular menu, but there are some that are exclusive to brunch. These include more of a focus on breakfast foods, such as a blueberry buckle, hash, eggs benedict, breakfast sandwich, steak & eggs, and avocado toast.

Finally, Homecomin’ has a large drink menu. They have a number of craft cocktails, plus a fair amount of wines and beers. But they are really known for their moonshine and whiskey. There are many different varieties, and both a moonshine flight and a whiskey flight are available if you’d like to try several.

Take a look at the most recent version of all menus here.

Drinks (and Moonshine!) at Homecomin’

We have sampled a few drinks during our time at Homecomin’! During the 2021 Disney Springs bar crawl I did with Jenn, we really focused on that moonshine (and I think we need to do it again sometime…)

So that was my opportunity to try the moonshine flight. You can try any three moonshine on the menu, which are served with candied pecans and a spiced pickle juice chaser.

I can’t recall which 3 I picked for my moonshine flight (and my guess is some of the menu has changed since then!). But I know I went for one that was a higher proof without flavorings to try some “real” moonshine, and the other two were probably fruity flavors:

We had a fantastic bartender that evening, and when I mentioned I wanted to try one of their “Shines on Tap” but couldn’t decide which, she actually gave me samples of all of them!

These are cocktails that have moonshine in them – so they’re a little less aggressive than the plain moonshine like we had on the flight. They include:

• RumShine punch (Strawberry RumShine, blackberry brandy, banana liqueur, pineapple juice, and grenadine)
• Blue Hooch (Blue Flame moonshine, lemon-infused moonshine, blue curacao, simple syrup, lemon juice, and soda water)
• Strawberry lemonade (Strawberry moonshine, muddled strawberries, lemonade, and strawberry puree)
• Moonshine Margarita (Tequila, moonshine, fresh squeezed orange and lime)
• Sweet Tea Shine (Sweet tea, fresh- squeezed lemon, and American Born Dixie moonshine)

It was fun to try all of these, and I was leaning towards the Sweet Tea shine, but was afraid it was a little too sweet. That’s when our bartender told us that we could also mix them together to make some fun combinations! She recommended some of her favorites, which we also tried.

I ultimately got a combination of the sweet tea and margarita moonshine:

Jenn went with the Blue Hooch and margarita moonshine combo:

On our most recent trip, we tried some of the cocktails on the menu.

I had to go with the Woodford Blues (Bourbon, blueberry puree and agave):

Bourbon is probably my favorite hard liquor (at least top two), and blueberries are my favorite thing. So this drink had “Becky” written all over it! And it definitely fit the bill. You could taste the blueberry, but it wasn’t sweet or overpowering. A really nice drink!

Jenn ordered the Tropical Itch (Bourbon, Rum, Cointreau, passionfruit, pineapple and lemon juices garnished with your very own bamboo back scratcher):

She was hesitant to order a drink, this being her Dopey Challenge weekend. But her husband really wanted a(nother) back scratcher, and being the good friend I am, I volunteered to help her if she didn’t want to drink it all. While she enjoyed it, this was a strong one – so I did probably consume at least half of it.

I was a little concerned it would taste like a sugary cruise drink, given the pineapple juice, but that didn’t turn out to be the case. It was delicious and went down pretty easy. It packs a punch!

We had some companions on this trip, and Erika went with the white peach sangria (Peach moonshine, Moscato and fresh peach puree muddled with orange and mango):

I had a sip, and this was a drink that definitely was too sweet for me. But if that’s your jam, this was a fun twist on a white sangria! The peach flavor was very prominent.

Finally, our friend Kate went with the margarita:

I’ll be honest, I don’t remember too much about this one other than it being a somewhat typical margarita. Kate, if you’re reading this, feel free to chime in below in the comments!

Food at Homecomin’

Comfort food isn’t always my #1 choice, but there was actually a lot on the menu that sounded appealing to me, so I’d love to go back and try more.  

Jenn and I are on a mission to try every charcuterie board in Disney World, so we were all in on the Jasper Board (An array of Southern charcuterie. Shaved honey ham, smoked sausage, country ham, pimento cheese, tomato-bacon jam, B&B pickles, candied pecans, crostini and crackers):

This was a great southern twist on a charcuterie board! It was much heavier on the meats, with the only cheese being the pimiento. But it was quite good! A highlight was definitely the tomato-bacon jam. It had lots of great flavor and paired well with the meats. We did pretty good work on this one, and it’s a great option for something a little different.

I’ve also gotten the cheddar drop biscuits:

These are available as a side, but they make for a great appetizer too. They are everything you’d want from a cheddar biscuit – warm, cheesy, and buttery.

Another great side dish – Momma’s Mac and Cheese:

I love mac and cheese, and with the 10k the next day the need to carb load was a good excuse to order this!  And yes, in case you can’t tell by the picture, it was everything that a good mac and cheese should be.  Plenty of delicious melted cheese, very rich, soft noodles… mmm.  

Now onto the mains! The first time we visited, my friend had Art’s Famous Fried Chicken (Buttermilk-brined for 24 hours then perfectly fried and served with creamy mashed potatoes, cheddar drop biscuits, and love).

She really enjoyed it and it was excellent fried chicken.  The mashed potatoes made a really great impression too.  I tried some and they were honestly some of the creamiest, most delicious mashed potatoes I’ve ever had.  If you like chicken and potatoes I don’t think you can go wrong with this dish.

I went with a similar but slightly different dish, preferring to have my fried chicken in sandwich form (Buttermilk-brined for 24 hours and double-battered, dressed with hot sauce, aioli, iceberg lettuce, tomato and bread and butter pickles).

I was really pleased with this.  I got the tastiness of the fried chicken but in a form that I find is easier to eat.  The “hot sauce” dressing wasn’t all that hot (some people might prefer more but I was happy with it).  There wasn’t too much on the sandwich so you could really taste the fried chicken.  It was served with potato chips drizzled with a ranch type dressing.  The chips were barbecue and were very seasoned.  

For another variation on the fried chicken, our friend Kate ordered the Fried chicken salad (Crispy fried chicken over mixed greens, pecan-smoked bacon, egg, heirloom cherry tomatoes, red onion and cucumber tossed with icebox dressing, cheddar biscuit croutons and fresh herbs):

A salad with fried chicken is always a good way to convince yourself that you’re being healthy! I do like a nice, fresh salad, and this looked great. You get the fried chicken and the the cheddar biscuit croutons!

For another salad option, Jenn went with the Harvest Salad (Mixed greens tossed with fire-roasted red peppers and corn, shredded white cheddar cheese, heirloom cherry tomatoes and house-made balsamic dressing. Topped with grilled chicken, avocado and hushpuppies):

This was another good looking salad! And she seemed pretty pleased with it. There was a lot of grilled chicken and a generous about of avocado. And hush puppies in place of the croutons? Yum!

On my more recent trip, I also tried Addie Mae’s Chicken and Dumpling Soup (Simple, delicious and filled with house-made dumplings, chicken and veggies. Just like Momma used to make):

I think the menu describes this one pretty accurately. It is simple, but it is also delicious! It was chilly that day so a warm soup was really nice. And it was the perfect size to have as your main course if you want something a little lighter (or you’re enjoying a few appetizers as well!).

Finally, Erika ordered the Skillet-fried Chicken Paillard (Art’s spin on piccata. Buttermilk-brined chicken is pounded thin, hand-breaded and skillet-fried, then topped with lemon butter, garlic and capers. Served with roasted potatoes and grilled asparagus):

She kindly offered me a bite, and I thought this was delicious! It’s also a huge serving. Lots of great flavor and the chicken was still crispy with the sauce.