Dear Prudence
Well-Known Member
I know I give Zocalo 
, but their horchata, horchata cold brew, and beans are 
.
, but their horchata, horchata cold brew, and beans are .
-
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DLR Food: Where to eat and where not to!
- Thread starter Californian Elitist
- Start date
Gaston's gal
Well-Known Member
PiratesMansion
Well-Known Member
Here are my recent experiences in case they may be of help to anyone. Generally my visits have been a more even mix of counter and table service, but after hearing the horror stories about mobile ordering (which isn't as bad as was initially reported but I still found annoying to deal with), and seeing many of my counter service go-to's (ex. Poutine Flatbread at Red Rose Taverne, bring it back) off the menu, I kept a table-service heavy dining rotation despite occasional doubts.
Ultimately I think it worked out-fewer hassles with mobile order, more time to sit (usually) inside in the air conditioning and rest for a bit, a win-win. Here's what I thought of each restaurant:
Carnation Cafe: charming atmosphere with fine food. A nice place to eat but not mandatory IMO. Gets some demerits for the one instance of bad service we experienced on the entire trip, and it was naturally our first meal. Not the best impression.
Ronto Roasters: I wanted to like the main wrap, but the sausage to me didn't mix well with the rest of the ingredients. In retrospect, the meatless version sounds potentially more interesting and may be worthy of trying.
Ralph Brennan's: Killer beignets, though we meant to get the DL beignets to officially compare and that didn't end up happening. Oh well. We split the mac n cheese and fried chicken salad. I thought both were fine but not exceptional. If you want to try the beignets without eating at the restaurant, they have an express area where you can get them a la carte, which I highly recommend.
Carthay Circle: Great atmosphere, but my first time years ago I was underwhelmed. This time my meal was MUCH better, and we actually had exceptional service too! Not quite at Napa Rose's level, but still plenty good in its own right and the most sophisticated in-park option.
Having done both within 24 hours of each other, I'd say that of the Big Deal in-park table service restaurants, Blue Bayou wins on atmosphere (& nighttime show packaging!), but Carthay's atmosphere is no slouch either and it has much better food.
Blue Bayou: EXCEPTIONAL atmosphere, best in the parks by miles. That said (and perhaps to be expected), the food, while a lot better than I was led to believe, doesn't quite live up to the setting. Ask for a waterside table-it's completely worth the extra wait. You can also get a Fantasmic Dining Package-currently all you have to do is ask for it once you sit down, and the menu is virtually identical to the standard BB offerings), and this was 100% worth it-we were one row from the railing for the 9:00 show. We came early and got to just sit and relax in blissful ignorance of the general nighttime show prep chaos happening around us, stay seated for the show, and stay in our area for the fireworks. The fireworks view and projections were not as good as being in the hub, but were also better than I was led to believe.
TLDR: Absolutely worth it for the atmosphere and Fantasmic package, if interested; the food doesn't quite live up to either of those but isn't as bad as people say.
Plaza Inn: Still great, and one of the few counter service places not affected by mobile order. Forget trying to figure out what you'll want to eat 30 minutes from now; just walk in, get a chicken dinner, pay, done. SO much less annoying than dealing with mobile order for me, and the food remains more than worth it. The first meal was so nice I came back and did it twice!
Cafe Orleans: Great place to sit outside, people watch, enjoy the atmosphere, and have some delicious and iconic Disneyland eats. Pomme Frites, Mint Julep, Monte Cristo-what's not to love? The Mint Julep and Monte Cristo are also available at Blue Bayou, but the pomme frites are a Cafe Orleans staple-and the pomme frites specifically didn't quite taste as I remembered them, sadly. The current set-up, where you have to order both, probably works better for the budget and the waistline than before, but I'd rather pay separately and get a large basket of Pomme Frites than have both and get like ten fries. On the other hand, the new Mint Julep is actually better than the old one as advertised. You used to also be able to get the beignets here as a dessert with dipping sauce, and it's a bummer that this is not an option at the moment. Hopefully that will return soon.
Napa Rose: STILL the best restaurant on property by a wide margin, this is the place to come for the best food and service in the whole joint. I'm not entirely sure how it's still so good, but I'm not going to complain. It's pricey, but worth every penny.
Storytellers Breakfast: I didn't particularly want to do this, but my travel partner wanted a character meal and this seemed like the best option. On the upside, the quality of the food was a LOT higher than I expected, and nothing was bad. This is a VERY good breakfast buffet that I would eat at again without any characters! Additionally, perhaps because we went at the end of breakfast, we didn't feel shoved in like sardines or like there were too many people on top of each other fighting for space or time with the characters. Plenty of breathing room! That said, we only got three characters-Mickey, Minnie, Dale, so as much as I don't necessarily go out of my way to interact with characters normally, it felt a little skimpy from that perspective.
We didn't eat there this trip, but Pacific Wharf Cafe has typically been solid.
Ultimately I think it worked out-fewer hassles with mobile order, more time to sit (usually) inside in the air conditioning and rest for a bit, a win-win. Here's what I thought of each restaurant:
Carnation Cafe: charming atmosphere with fine food. A nice place to eat but not mandatory IMO. Gets some demerits for the one instance of bad service we experienced on the entire trip, and it was naturally our first meal. Not the best impression.
Ronto Roasters: I wanted to like the main wrap, but the sausage to me didn't mix well with the rest of the ingredients. In retrospect, the meatless version sounds potentially more interesting and may be worthy of trying.
Ralph Brennan's: Killer beignets, though we meant to get the DL beignets to officially compare and that didn't end up happening. Oh well. We split the mac n cheese and fried chicken salad. I thought both were fine but not exceptional. If you want to try the beignets without eating at the restaurant, they have an express area where you can get them a la carte, which I highly recommend.
Carthay Circle: Great atmosphere, but my first time years ago I was underwhelmed. This time my meal was MUCH better, and we actually had exceptional service too! Not quite at Napa Rose's level, but still plenty good in its own right and the most sophisticated in-park option.
Having done both within 24 hours of each other, I'd say that of the Big Deal in-park table service restaurants, Blue Bayou wins on atmosphere (& nighttime show packaging!), but Carthay's atmosphere is no slouch either and it has much better food.
Blue Bayou: EXCEPTIONAL atmosphere, best in the parks by miles. That said (and perhaps to be expected), the food, while a lot better than I was led to believe, doesn't quite live up to the setting. Ask for a waterside table-it's completely worth the extra wait. You can also get a Fantasmic Dining Package-currently all you have to do is ask for it once you sit down, and the menu is virtually identical to the standard BB offerings), and this was 100% worth it-we were one row from the railing for the 9:00 show. We came early and got to just sit and relax in blissful ignorance of the general nighttime show prep chaos happening around us, stay seated for the show, and stay in our area for the fireworks. The fireworks view and projections were not as good as being in the hub, but were also better than I was led to believe.
TLDR: Absolutely worth it for the atmosphere and Fantasmic package, if interested; the food doesn't quite live up to either of those but isn't as bad as people say.
Plaza Inn: Still great, and one of the few counter service places not affected by mobile order. Forget trying to figure out what you'll want to eat 30 minutes from now; just walk in, get a chicken dinner, pay, done. SO much less annoying than dealing with mobile order for me, and the food remains more than worth it. The first meal was so nice I came back and did it twice!
Cafe Orleans: Great place to sit outside, people watch, enjoy the atmosphere, and have some delicious and iconic Disneyland eats. Pomme Frites, Mint Julep, Monte Cristo-what's not to love? The Mint Julep and Monte Cristo are also available at Blue Bayou, but the pomme frites are a Cafe Orleans staple-and the pomme frites specifically didn't quite taste as I remembered them, sadly. The current set-up, where you have to order both, probably works better for the budget and the waistline than before, but I'd rather pay separately and get a large basket of Pomme Frites than have both and get like ten fries. On the other hand, the new Mint Julep is actually better than the old one as advertised. You used to also be able to get the beignets here as a dessert with dipping sauce, and it's a bummer that this is not an option at the moment. Hopefully that will return soon.
Napa Rose: STILL the best restaurant on property by a wide margin, this is the place to come for the best food and service in the whole joint. I'm not entirely sure how it's still so good, but I'm not going to complain. It's pricey, but worth every penny.
Storytellers Breakfast: I didn't particularly want to do this, but my travel partner wanted a character meal and this seemed like the best option. On the upside, the quality of the food was a LOT higher than I expected, and nothing was bad. This is a VERY good breakfast buffet that I would eat at again without any characters! Additionally, perhaps because we went at the end of breakfast, we didn't feel shoved in like sardines or like there were too many people on top of each other fighting for space or time with the characters. Plenty of breathing room! That said, we only got three characters-Mickey, Minnie, Dale, so as much as I don't necessarily go out of my way to interact with characters normally, it felt a little skimpy from that perspective.
We didn't eat there this trip, but Pacific Wharf Cafe has typically been solid.
truecoat
Well-Known Member
If RotR is down, go to it as soon as you see it's up again. They'll post a 65-minute wait time but more than likely you'll be close to the front.