Saratoga Springs' Turf Club Lounge Traded a Window in the Wall for a Real Bar, and All but Two of Its Cocktails Are New
The bar at The Turf Club Lounge was not really a bar. It was a service window cut into the wall beside the restaurant entrance, the kind of pass-through you order at and walk away from. It is gone. In its place is a full bar that juts out into the room with seating wrapped around it, and WDW News Today reported Monday that the lounge at Disney's Saratoga Springs Resort and Spa is open again with an overhauled menu behind it.
The lounge is running 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. The Turf Club restaurant next door is not: it is closed for its own refurbishment, with construction walls across the entrance, and is expected back in late September.
The corridor into the lounge, with the venue's framed menu on the brick at right. The Turf Club restaurant next door is still closed. Image: WDW News Today
What actually changed in the room
The bones are the same. The framed jockey silks are still mounted high on the wall and the wrought iron chandeliers still hang from the vaulted ceiling. Almost everything under them is different.
The walls keep their light cream base, but the wainscoting and the ceiling beams are now dark brown, matching the supports on the new bar. The carpet has been replaced with a bridle pattern, and the floor immediately around the bar is white tile with a gold chain motif. The bar itself has decorative tiling on its supports, lighting tucked under the counter lip, and a back wall set with horseshoe-patterned tiles.
The seating turned over too. The chairs that used to be upholstered in green are now beige and brown armchairs at square tables, with blue tall chairs at round tables. Along the new bar are faux leather stools with dark legs. The green curtains are gone, replaced with black and white ones patterned in horseshoes.
The new bar runs down the right side of the room, where guests can now sit. The framed jockey silks and the chandeliers survived the refurbishment. Image: WDW News Today
A cocktail list rebuilt around two survivors
The resort takes its name from Saratoga Springs, New York, the upstate spa town known for its mineral springs and its racetracks, and the new list reaches for that in its names. Per WDW News Today, every cocktail is new except two: the Mint Julep and the Blood Orange Margarita.
The new pours: The Saratoga Cocktail at $21 (Michter's single barrel rye, Courvoisier VS cognac, Carpano Antica sweet vermouth and The Bitter Truth decanter bitters), the Winner's Circle Margarita at $21, the New York Old Fashioned at $20 built on Hudson Bright Lights Big Bourbon, the Grandstand Martini at $19 with blue cheese olives and olive brine, the Colt Cooler at $19, and the New York Sour at $25, which combines Widow Jane Bourbon, Disaronno Originale, sweet-and-sour and Francis Ford Coppola Diamond Collection Merlot. Rounding out the new list: the Pineapple Mule at $19, the Espresso Martini at $18, the Raspberry Mojito at $17 and the Piña Colava at $17.50.
The survivors: the Mint Julep at $19, still Woodford Reserve muddled with fresh mint and agave, and the Blood Orange Margarita at $18.
At $25, the New York Sour is the priciest drink on the list. It is also priced exactly level with the Turf Club Burger, which is a fair summary of where this menu sits.
The wall art that used to include old board games is now framed Saratoga racing paraphernalia. Visible here: a 1965 Saratoga Raceway program, a 1975 New York Racing Association program, a Greetings from Saratoga postcard, a pair of Saratoga Harness pins and old grandstand and raceway ticket stubs. Image: WDW News Today
Two items came off the food menu
The lunch list moved in the same direction. The Giant Pretzel has become an $18 Pretzel Charcuterie, built out with prosciutto and salami, three cheeses (pimento, New York white cheddar and beer cheese), grain mustard and pickled vegetables. The Buffalo Chicken Dip and the Onion Ring Tower are simply gone.
Also on the reworked lunch list: Lemon Butter Shrimp at $18, Sweet-and-Spicy Brussels Sprouts at $13, Crispy Chicken Wings at $16, the Herbed Grilled Chicken Sandwich at $19, French Onion Soup at $11 and a Vanilla Bean Cheesecake at $11. The Turf Club Burger is $25, topped with New York white cheddar, onion straws, house-made pickles and applewood-smoked bacon.
One small detail sits on the $12 Wedge Salad. Its menu description credits the marigold garnish to The Land pavilion at EPCOT.
The pool table moved out
One casualty of the reshuffle: the billiards table is no longer in the lounge. It has moved across the building to the check-in side.
The billiards table in its new home near check-in. The sign behind it points to The Carriage House check-in, The Artist's Palette and The Turf Club Bar and Grill. Image: WDW News Today
If you are heading over: the lounge is serving 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. now, but the restaurant next door is not expected to reopen until late September, so a Turf Club dinner reservation is still off the table for a few more weeks.
Sources
Image credits: all photos by WDW News Today.
