Eating in Disney California Adventure?

[Morganificent]

Hello there. In a mere two weeks me and my boyfriend Bret will be making our 2nd trip to Disneyland. We have a few ADRs made in Disneyland, but are can't make up our minds about where to eat for the couple days we plan to spend in California Adventure.

We're major carnivores, and we love to eat. :slurp: Any suggestions would be helpful, quick and/or table service. The only thing thus far that we are really looking forward to are the Lobster Nachos at the Cove Bar!

Thanks for your help!

 

[Victoria]

California Adventure is my least favorite of the places to eat at Disneyland. Last summer I went to Ariel's Grotto and Wine Country Trattoria. Wine Country was definitely the better of the two. I might not have gotten an accurate experience of Ariel's (went for the WoC dining package and were SUPER rushed out of there) but the food was just ok.

Eating counter service in that park is quite the challenge. There are a couple of decent places I found but most serve a very specific type of food (asian, mexican, bbq, etc.). Good luck getting everyone to agree on a theme. Oh, and whatever you do, don't try to eat breakfast at DCA. Hit up somewhere in DtD before heading into the park.

 

[TP2000]

The new Boardwalk Pizza & Pasta at DCA is getting very good reviews, and the Greek skewers with lamb or beef or chicken next door at Paradise Garden Grill are also getting good reviews. For table service I would definitely recommend the Trattoria over Ariel's Grotto. The Grotto seems to be aimed at families more concerned about getting their precious-precious little angel in a picture with Ariel than it is with actual food quality or service.

I'm a major carnivore myself. Have you thought about dining one night at Steakhouse 55 at the Disneyland Hotel? Very good steaks and sides in a swanky dining room themed to Walt in the glamorous 1940's and 50's Hollywood.

Anaheim is also the only town in America that boasts a Ruth's Chris and a Morton's within one block of each other on Harbor Blvd., near the Anaheim Convention Center. The Morton's in particular does a great job with happy hour at the bar with prime sliders and other steak-based bar meals. Either Ruth's Chris or Morton's is about a 20 minute walk from Disneyland, or a 5 minute drive from any Resort District hotel/motel.

 

[Victoria]

The new Boardwalk Pizza & Pasta at DCA is getting very good reviews, and the Greek skewers with lamb or beef or chicken next door at Paradise Garden Grill are also getting good reviews. For table service I would definitely recommend the Trattoria over Ariel's Grotto. The Grotto seems to be aimed at families more concerned about getting their precious-precious little angel in a picture with Ariel than it is with actual food quality or service.

I'm a major carnivore myself. Have you thought about dining one night at Steakhouse 55 at the Disneyland Hotel? Very good steaks and sides in a swanky dining room themed to Walt in the glamorous 1940's and 50's Hollywood.

Anaheim is also the only town in America that boasts a Ruth's Chris and a Morton's within one block of each other on Harbor Blvd., near the Anaheim Convention Center. The Morton's in particular does a great job with happy hour at the bar with prime sliders and other steak-based bar meals. Either Ruth's Chris or Morton's is about a 20 minute walk from Disneyland, or a 5 minute drive from any Resort District hotel/motel.

I'm glad to hear that there are some new and decent offerings in DCA now. I had such a hard time finding a counter service I could get interested in last summer. It was the first time in a Disney Park where I stared at the map for 10 minutes and still had no idea what to eat. Greek skewers sound promising. 16 days to Disneyland!

 

[NemoRocks78]

The new Boardwalk Pizza & Pasta is awesome. I had the chicken sun-dried tomato pasta there a few weeks ago, which was great. I can't wait to try some of the other stuff they're serving up.

We also enjoy Pacific Wharf Cafe (great soups in sourdough bread bowls) and Wine Country for a World of Color dining package (the beef tenderloin was absolutely wonderful the two times I've been there in the last year). Outside of those places, it's basically the usual fare that can be found at Disney park. A walk to Downtown Disney might be good if nothing else catches your interest.

 

[TP2000]

I'm glad to hear that there are some new and decent offerings in DCA now. I had such a hard time finding a counter service I could get interested in last summer. It was the first time in a Disney Park where I stared at the map for 10 minutes and still had no idea what to eat. Greek skewers sound promising. 16 days to Disneyland!

The Paradise Garden Grill is set up kind of like Lucky Fortune Cookery where you choose your meat and sauce, and it's served with a country rice pilaf, a marinade cucumber salad, and a slice of pita bread.

Both restaurants, Boardwalk Pizza & Pasta and Paradise Garden Grill, share a large outdoor dining area with a bandstand in the middle. It's a dramatic improvement over the old Burger Invasion and Pizza Oom Mow Mow cheap-o dining area.

 

[Morganificent]

The Paradise Garden Grill is set up kind of like Lucky Fortune Cookery where you choose your meat and sauce, and it's served with a country rice pilaf, a marinade cucumber salad, and a slice of pita bread.

Looks great! Thanks for the pictures! We'll probably go here, and also probably check out that pasta place too. Thanks everybody!

 

[Mukta]

The new Boardwalk Pizza & Pasta is awesome. I had the chicken sun-dried tomato pasta there a few weeks ago, which was great. I can't wait to try some of the other stuff they're serving up.

We also enjoy Pacific Wharf Cafe (great soups in sourdough bread bowls) and Wine Country for a World of Color dining package (the beef tenderloin was absolutely wonderful the two times I've been there in the last year). Outside of those places, it's basically the usual fare that can be found at Disney park. A walk to Downtown Disney might be good if nothing else catches your interest.

I tried the chicken sun-dried tomato pasta and I really enjoyed it too.

I love a sourdough breadbowl from Pacific Wharf.

I like the chicken tacos from the Mexican restaurant.

The fortune cookery is pretty good when I am craving asian fast food.

 

[TP2000]

I love a sourdough breadbowl from Pacific Wharf.

Me too! The Boudin Cafe is my go-to easy stop for quick food at DCA. The shrimp salad in bread bowl when it's warm, and the clam chowder when it's cool. And the nearby Karl Strauss beer truck comes in handy with the Boudin meal, as well. Plus the Pacific Wharf food court area is one of the most charming food courts in American Disney parks.

At Pacific Wharf you've got the Boudin Bakery Cafe, Lucky Fortune Cookery asian food, Cucina Cucamonga hispanic food, the Karl Strauss microbrew beer truck, and the Rita's Margaritas adult beverage nook, all in one shady waterside setting with plenty of tables, and often a live band of some sort playing at meal times. You can't go wrong at the Pacific Wharf!

 

[PeterPanFan5]

The soups and sourdough bowls at Pacific Wharf cafe were great -- as tasty a counter meal as we've ever had in either Disney park on either coast. We also enjoyed our meal at Ariel's, but had a relaxing time since our ADR was hours before the light show that night. Great dessert sampler.

 

[wild01ride]

The fortune cookery is pretty good when I am craving asian fast food.

Agreed!
We were pleasantly surprised with how good the food was for Asian counter service!
Would definitely hit it again!

 

[wild01ride]

...and the nearby Karl Strauss beer truck comes in handy... Plus the Pacific Wharf food court area is one of the most charming food courts in American Disney parks.

At Pacific Wharf you've got the Boudin Bakery Cafe, Lucky Fortune Cookery asian food, Cucina Cucamonga hispanic food, the Karl Strauss microbrew beer truck, and the Rita's Margaritas adult beverage nook, all in one shady waterside setting with plenty of tables, and often a live band of some sort playing at meal times.
You can't go wrong at the Pacific Wharf!

I couldn't agree more!
Great summary of how great the Pacific Wharf is.
The dangerous part is, the Karl Strauss truck is so few steps away and the ambiance is so nice...it makes leaving difficult! :lol:

 

[dizstyle moki]

Wow! Anxious to try out some new places next week! We really like the Pacific Wharf cafe for their bread bowl soups and salads. But that's about the extent of our dining experience there. Have fun!!!