Tortuga Tavern
Tortuga Tavern is a quick-service restaurant in Adventureland (Magic Kingdom) at Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World Resort in Florida. Standing opposite Pirates of the Caribbean, it is themed as a pirate tavern and for most of its life operated only seasonally, opening at the park's busiest times. It took its present name in 2011, having previously been the Mexican restaurant El Pirata y el Perico, and it has not operated regularly as a restaurant since June 2024.
History
A counter-service restaurant has stood on this site, beside the entrance to Pirates of the Caribbean, for much of the Magic Kingdom's history. For many years it traded as El Pirata y el Perico Restaurante — Spanish for "The Pirate and the Parrot" — a seasonal Mexican restaurant whose name already pointed at the pirates across the plaza, even though its food and decoration remained Mexican rather than piratical.
In February 2011 the restaurant was renamed Tortuga Tavern. Tortuga, the island stronghold of Caribbean pirates, features prominently in pirate lore and in the Pirates of the Caribbean films, and the new name tied the restaurant directly to the attraction opposite it. The change was one of identity more than of operation: the tavern remained a seasonal counter-service restaurant and at first continued to serve largely its previous menu, with a new colour scheme of beige, turquoise and clay red applied as the pirate theme was developed.
The tavern's seasonal pattern continued through the following decade. It typically opened for lunch, and sometimes dinner, during peak periods such as spring break, summer and the winter holidays, and stayed closed when Adventureland's other restaurants could absorb demand. A significant menu change came on 14 October 2015, when the Mexican menu was replaced by one built around barbecue sandwiches and similar American fare.
Tortuga Tavern last operated in its usual seasonal pattern in the first half of 2024. It closed in June 2024, with the closure announced as indefinite, and a reopening briefly listed for January 2025 did not take place. During its closure the building was put to other uses: Captain Jack Sparrow's character meeting place was moved there in the summer of 2024, and from August to November 2024 it operated as Tortuga Treasures, a temporary shop while the Pirates of the Caribbean exit shop was being refurbished. The tavern's future as a restaurant has not been formally announced, and it should be regarded as a seasonal location with no regular operation.
Setting
Tortuga Tavern is an open-air, partly covered counter-service location arranged around a courtyard, in the Spanish colonial style of the Pirates of the Caribbean plaza. Guests order at a counter and carry their food to shaded tables, which also makes the tavern a popular place to rest out of the sun when it is not serving.
The pirate theme is carried in the details rather than in a show or characters: weathered signage, barrels, ropes and nautical fittings, and references to Tortuga and its buccaneers, set against the stucco and tile of the surrounding buildings. When the restaurant is open, its seating fills quickly at midday.
Cuisine
Tortuga Tavern's food has fallen into two distinct eras. As El Pirata y el Perico, and under its new name until 2015, it served Mexican counter-service food, principally tacos and burritos with rice and beans, a menu that made it for many years the Magic Kingdom's only regular source of Mexican food.
The menu introduced in October 2015 replaced that offering with American barbecue and sandwich fare, including barbecued pork sandwiches and barbecued slaw-topped hot dogs, alongside novelty items that at times included a peanut butter, chocolate-hazelnut spread and banana sandwich aimed at younger guests.
In both eras the menu was short — a handful of main items — reflecting the tavern's role as overflow capacity for Adventureland at its busiest, rather than as a destination restaurant in its own right.
See also
- Adventureland (Magic Kingdom)
- Pirates of the Caribbean (attraction)
- Magic Kingdom
- Jungle Navigation Co. LTD Skipper Canteen