I've never eaten there, but it seems like it's always pretty crowded when we walk by, so it must be good.
Those are all tourists who don't know any better. No one local eats there more than twice before they vow not to return. Pizza is passable but very thin, salads and sides are good, wine list is okay, deserts are predictable and uninspired, but the service is slow and generally terrible. The entire wait staff is made up of surfers who busy themselves by huddling around the service counters talking about today's waves and tonight's party while they avoid making eye contact with anyone in the dining room. The hostesses are snotty local girls who busy themselves by flirting with the surfing waiters while ignoring everyone else with a big dollop of attitude. Good luck to you if you choose
Naples Ristorante.
Remember, Disneyland sits in the middle of Orange County with 3.5 Million rather affluent upper-middle class residents within a 30 minute drive of Disneyland, which is in the middle of 15 Million other Southern Californians within a 90 minute drive of Anaheim. You are going to see a
lot more locals in Disneyland than you ever seen in Orlando, if only because Orlando is a smaller city of one million less affluent folks in the middle of a giant swamp.
So let me tell you where the locals go when they hit Downtown Disney for Date Nite;
Catal Fabulous Continental/California cuisine, owned and operated by chic celebrity chef Joachim Splichal and his LA restaurant empire
The Napa Rose One of the better restaurants in Orange County, and clearly the best restaurant in the North American Disney roster. Definitely not a cheap place however, and reservations are needed far in advance for most nights.
Ralph Brennan's Jazz Kitchen Mr. Brennan's only restaurant outside of Louisiana, and a great place for dinner. Wonderful bar and always wonderful food. Live jazz in the dining room most nights of the week. When it gets very busy however, the service can suffer.
Storyteller's Cafe The mid-class "family restaurant" at the Grand Californian, but it offers surprisingly good food in a fun California Craftsman atmosphere. Full bar and solid Disney quality service to boot.
Uva Bar Has a Bistro Bar menu available out of the Catal kitchen, and everything is surprisingly good. Good bartenders, but outdoor location in the middle of the mall makes for a loud, frenzy atmosphere. Don't go here if you want a quiet table in the corner.
Yamabuki Stylish and modern Japanese restaurant offering all manner of Japanese cuisine. Has a Cocktail Lounge, two regular dining rooms, a sushi bar, and two Tatami Rooms available. Excellent sushi chefs, hip decor, and some of the most gracious CM's in Anaheim. Located in the front of the Paradise Pier Hotel, but only accesible from the street or driveway.
Hook's Pointe and
Steakhouse 55 at the nearby Disneyland Hotel are solid offerings, but you'll find better steaks at the Ruth's Chris or Morton's a few blocks away near the Anaheim Convention Center. Hook's Pointe is my suggestion out of these two, only because of the proximity of Ruth's Chris and Morton's. The big
ESPN Zone has two restaurants inside, in addition to the bar, with pretty good food and solid service, but it's loud and boisterous at all times. Unless your a huge sports fan or just want to stop in for a beer, avoid it.
Where do locals
NOT go at Downtown Disney, beside Naples?....
Tortilla Jo's. Same bad service as Naples, but with even worse food quality. No one I've known has ever had a good experience at Tortilla Jo's. It survives only by being massive and able to swallow up any unsuspecting tourist who wanders up to the hostess stand. No one ever goes back for a second visit.
Rainforest Cafe Unless you have an 8 year old who loves the idea of dining next to robotic gorillas, avoid this place like the plague. Lines are long, and the food and service are standard mall themed restaurant grade.
La Brea Bakery Cafe This chain of upscale SoCal bakeries should not have tried to branch out into regular food service with this DTD location. The entrees struggle to live up to the description, and the service is lackluster and unpolished. Stop in for a croissant to go, but avoid the real food. They also make the worst Mocha's and Espresso drinks around, so skip it and just get your Espresso from the bakery or coffee carts inside Disneyland or DCA if you need a caffeine fix. Locals demand a decent Mocha or Latte, so Disneyland coffee carts use good Deidrich's beans instead of that horrible Nescafe crap Walt Disney World uses. Due to a Companywide sponsorhip deal, Disneyland espresso carts can't mention that though and so the Nescafe logo stays. Check the bags the CM's use and see the Deidrich's logo to realize why the espresso is so much better at Disneyland compared to Disney World. The three Disneyland hotels all use Deidrich's as well in restaurants for espresso or drip coffee, mainly due to complaints from locals five years ago after they tried to pawn off the same horrible Nescafe products they still use out in Disney World for the less demanding Florida clientele.
As for the weather, don't confuse SoCal with NorCal as they are two very different climates, especially in April.
In SoCal you'll have anything from chilly, foggy mornings that turn into sunny afternoons with highs in the low 70's, to blazing sunshine with highs in the mid 80's. Expect it to cool off in the evenings regardless, so bring sweaters or light jackets to don after sundown.
In NorCal, expect much chillier weather. In San Fran proper you could have cloudy and clammy days with highs in the 50's and lows at night in the 40's, to sunny days with highs in the 60's with the same chilly nights in the 40's. You'll definitely want to bring sweaters and windbreakers or jackets to wear for San Francisco. But if you go down the Bay 25 miles to San Jose, or inland to the Napa Valley, the sun will shine bright and the temps will usually be in the 80's in April.
California is a very diverse state, and things can change dramatically just by driving 10 miles in a particular direction. In April you should be ready for anything except snow or heavy rain.
).
(his words, not mine)...Just looking at the restaurant names makes me think that will be at the top of his list. I think if I remember from looking at menus at allears there is a sit down and a quick service version of this restaurant....are they both good?
Watch the weather and talk to the CM's about what they think will happen.