The Downtown Disney Thread

Ne'er-Do-Well Cad

Ne'er-Do-Well Cad

Well-Known Member
Maybe I'm blanking, but is there any legitimately good food at Downtown Disney? My enjoyment of these restaurants (when I go to them, which is rare) almost entirely comes from the ambiance. And I'm okay with that; it's a theme park-adjacent place and I grade on a curve.

Centrico looks successful in that regard. Jazz Kitchen redo is a failure. Ballast Point upstairs patio is a success.

Din Tai Fung and Porto's serve actual quality food, so they might change this paradigm for me.
 
PiratesMansion

PiratesMansion

Well-Known Member
Ne'er-Do-Well Cad said:
Maybe I'm blanking, but is there any legitimately good food at Downtown Disney? My enjoyment of these restaurants (when I go to them, which is rare) almost entirely comes from the ambiance. And I'm okay with that; it's a theme park-adjacent place and I grade on a curve.

Centrico looks successful in that regard. Jazz Kitchen redo is a failure. Ballast Point upstairs patio is a success.

Din Tai Fung and Porto's serve actual quality food, so they might change this paradigm for me.
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Different people will say different things, but here were my experiences with various locations:
1. Tortilla Jo's-Because Mexican food is always a safe option with my mother, who can be picky, and it was 2015. We thought it was fine, but it was 2015 and we didn't know any better. Never felt a desire to go back.
2. Earl of Sandwich-actually really enjoyed Earl when it was at its OG location, though the portions seemed to shrink a bit over time. Probably won't go back until they're in a permanent spot.
3. House of Blues-Eh, it was fine. Not memorable.
4. Jazz Kitchen-Beignet was very good, don't much remember the food. And this was pretty recent, because my friend and I went in 2022 specifically to experience the OG version before it got generified. Also tried some popcorn chicken on my first adult trip, t'was mediocre.
5. Sprinkles-perhaps one of the only people on this board who liked Sprinkles? Gone now.
6. Naples-haven't been, but have no interest, because it's basically Via Napoli, which I don't care for.
7. Salt & Straw-I've tried this twice. Maybe I've just picked bad flavors, but so far I don't get the hype. Call me basic, but I've been much happier with Ghiradelli.
8. Black Tap-haven't had here, but had it in Vegas. It was fine, but I don't feel the need to revisit based on the experience I had there.

So I haven't had that many positive experiences, and the ones I did have tended to be at places that don't exist anymore. Never had any interest in ESPN Zone, Rainforest, Catal, or any of the other places that have left. Also not helping matters is that I prefer to pay for my trips with Disney Gift Cards, which doesn't work all that well if you're eating in Downtown Disney. Still, I'd love there to be some quality options, because otherwise there's really nothing that actually draws me to DTD. For me, it's little more than a vaguely-pleasant corridor to get between the parks and the hotel restaurants.
 
chadwpalm

chadwpalm

Well-Known Member
In the Parks
No
Disney Analyst said:
Yeah, but these places have a Michelin star chef. Already some video out there from Centrico, food looks good.
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A Michelin star chef won't spend their career at Downtown Disney for very long. Most likely will be there for the first few months to train the permanent staff then move on to open their next restaurant. After that time, the food quality will go down, but by then all the rave reviews will already be in.
 
J

J4546

Well-Known Member
I don't eat in dd, I eat in the parks. But so far with exception to jazz kitchen, all the aesthetic changes have been good and Hopefully food is good too. I will be eating din thai fung when it opens though. It just seems like so many restaurants for not that many hotel rooms
 
Ismael Flores

Ismael Flores

Well-Known Member
Consumer said:
What Downtown Disney needs, more than anything, is a canal. There needs to be a flowing source of water running throughout Downtown Disney, preferably with some sort of gondola along it. Early drafts for Downtown Disney even featured an entire lagoon.
View attachment 779125

I do think something along the lines of the San Antonio River Walk would be perfect for Downtown Disney. It has that ideal quaint, intimate, and calm energy that Downtown Disney needs. The River Walk is constantly busy with plenty of foot traffic. Adding a river to Downtown Disney would change the shopping district from a pathway to Disneyland into a destination for tourists and locals alike.
View attachment 779126

Even if we can't have a river, some sort of large fountain, similar to the Americana, would greatly improve Downtown Disney. Anything to make Downtown Disney an actually pleasant place to sit, eat, and just hang out with people. The way it currently is, has been, and appears to still be, it's just a shopping mall with nothing unique or particularly "Disney."
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This would have been so much more pleasant than all that wasted space for the tram area.
The original concept They had, to move people from the structure to the parks seemed much better and aesthetically pleasing.
I hate that we can’t even get a proper fountain for the resort
 
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Ismael Flores

Ismael Flores

Well-Known Member
Nirya said:
I do agree on a need for some water features, though I wouldn't say a canal per se. The area in front of Splitzville seems perfect for a medium to large fountain of some kind, and I am honestly still annoyed that they have not bitten the bullet and changed the Esplande to put some kind of fountain in the center instead of that mosaic that they keep having to chain off because guests are theoretically slipping on it.
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That whole esplanade needs to be bulldozed. Needs to be turned into a more green space. space for crowd control during park opening shouldn’t be an issue either because removing all those ticket booths would open up lots of property. If they still need to have ticket booths then they should be moved to the entry points near the parking garages. Have them before security area both in the current and future structures
 
Nirya

Nirya

Well-Known Member
Ehh, as-is now they exist as a customer service for people wanting to make ticket changes, so having a few of them still standing doesn't seem like a bad idea. Or they keep the booths and get rid of the reservation system (lol).
 
TP2000

TP2000

Well-Known Member
Ne'er-Do-Well Cad said:
Maybe I'm blanking, but is there any legitimately good food at Downtown Disney? My enjoyment of these restaurants (when I go to them, which is rare) almost entirely comes from the ambiance. And I'm okay with that; it's a theme park-adjacent place and I grade on a curve.
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Good point. I can think of only a handful of menu items that were actually very good at Downtown Disney in the past 25 years; the lamb burger at Uva Bar, the paella at Catal, and the gumbo and banana's foster at Ralph Brennan's.

The rest of the complex had a lot of mediocrity (the whole frenzy over a decent sandwich from Earl's never ceased to amaze me, it was just a sandwich!) And then there were a few truly dreadful menus: The sushi and pretty much the entire menu at Splitsville, anything from Tortilla Jo's, the goopy and squishy food that was obviously microwaved at Rainforest Cafe, etc.

I only ate at House of Blues once that I can remember. I remember who I was with, but don't remember the food being much to write home about. And I never went back there, so... Was anyone here a House of Blues food fan? Did I miss something?

Ne'er-Do-Well Cad said:
Din Tai Fung and Porto's serve actual quality food, so they might change this paradigm for me.
Click to expand...

Those two options do show improvement. Especially Din Tai Fung, which is clearly going to set a new bar for Downtown Disney.
 
MarvelCharacterNerd

MarvelCharacterNerd

Well-Known Member
Ne'er-Do-Well Cad said:
Maybe I'm blanking, but is there any legitimately good food at Downtown Disney? My enjoyment of these restaurants (when I go to them, which is rare) almost entirely comes from the ambiance. And I'm okay with that; it's a theme park-adjacent place and I grade on a curve.

Centrico looks successful in that regard. Jazz Kitchen redo is a failure. Ballast Point upstairs patio is a success.

Din Tai Fung and Porto's serve actual quality food, so they might change this paradigm for me.
Click to expand...
I would eat more often at Black Tap if I could afford it - I like their food as well as the CrazyShakes. Beignets Expressed is always good. As is Earl's. And there is Marceline for snacks. Naples is good but I can't afford it. Nothing else interests me in DTD now or what's been announced other than the steakhouse and bbq which I also won't be able to afford. lol
 
CaptinEO

CaptinEO

Well-Known Member
TP2000 said:
Good point. I can think of only a handful of menu items that were actually very good at Downtown Disney in the past 25 years; the lamb burger at Uva Bar, the paella at Catal, and the gumbo and banana's foster at Ralph Brennan's.

The rest of the complex had a lot of mediocrity (the whole frenzy over a decent sandwich from Earl's never ceased to amaze me, it was just a sandwich!) And then there were a few truly dreadful menus: The sushi and pretty much the entire menu at Splitsville, anything from Tortilla Jo's, the goopy and squishy food that was obviously microwaved at Rainforest Cafe, etc.

I only ate at House of Blues once that I can remember. I remember who I was with, but don't remember the food being much to write home about. And I never went back there, so... Was anyone here a House of Blues food fan? Did I miss something?



Those two options do show improvement. Especially Din Tai Fung, which is clearly going to set a new bar for Downtown Disney.
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Uva Bar was secretly the best spot at Downtown Disney and service was fast food was always good.

Naples doesn't assign dedicated waiters to tables so it's a mess, never had our water refilled there.
 
TP2000

TP2000

Well-Known Member
CaptinEO said:
Uva Bar was secretly the best spot at Downtown Disney and service was fast food was always good.

Naples doesn't assign dedicated waiters to tables so it's a mess, never had our water refilled there.
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The Uva Bar was always my go-to spot for a decent meal. Acceptably good service, a sunny spot to watch all the AP's go by, and a good lamb burger and a glass of Malbec was always an easy win.

I must admit I wasn't a Naples person. When they remodeled their "Grab N' Go" section around 2018 I used it a few times, but I never bothered with their sit down patio area. I distinctly remember reading that the Kardashian girls would eat there on their Disneyland visits, and that was more than enough to turn me off from ever dining there, or steering family to dine there. I wasn't just afraid I'd lose brain cells being in the potential vicinity of a Kardashian, I was afraid I'd use one of the water glasses they had used and I'd start talking in that faux vocal fry Calabasas accent they all have.

I may not be the sharpest tool in the shed, but I'm not stupid. 🧐
 

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