I am interested to know what are the best restaurants for a sit-down dinner at DL and DCA? And which ones have another bonus (WoC priority seating, for example). What do you all like?
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Restaurant recommendations for Dinner
- Thread starter CheshireCat12
- Start date
ajrwdwgirl
Premium Member
The restaurants that have WOC packages are Carthay (for both lunch & dinner and they have their own section), Ariel's and Wine Country Trattoria. I have done Ariel's and Carthay and both were good and I would recommend them. Carthay is my favorite of the two, as it is very posh inside and the cheddar cheese jalapeno biscuits are drool worthy.
The fanciest or restaurants that are supposed to have the best dinners are Steakhouse 55 and Napa Rose, I haven't eaten at either though. Blue Bayou is nice too (it is inside overlooking Pirates of the Caribbean), and I have eaten at that one for lunch. Cafe Orleans is nice, casual but I have only done that for lunch too.
I have found that Disneyland resort offers many quick service locations with varied menus that feel kind of like sit down, examples are Plaza Inn, Flo's, French Market, and Rancho del Zocalo, so I didn't really miss having a lot of table service meals.
The fanciest or restaurants that are supposed to have the best dinners are Steakhouse 55 and Napa Rose, I haven't eaten at either though. Blue Bayou is nice too (it is inside overlooking Pirates of the Caribbean), and I have eaten at that one for lunch. Cafe Orleans is nice, casual but I have only done that for lunch too.
I have found that Disneyland resort offers many quick service locations with varied menus that feel kind of like sit down, examples are Plaza Inn, Flo's, French Market, and Rancho del Zocalo, so I didn't really miss having a lot of table service meals.
westie
Well-Known Member
Without a doubt Steakhouse 55. Best food ever. Best wait staff ever. Can you tell I really liked the place?! The prime rib was to die for. Garlic broccoli side was awsome and the fried calamari appetizer was a meal in itself. As said, our waiter was top notch and very attentive. We were seated quickly. Everything was clean and comfortable. I had no problem overtipping. Compared to Blue Bayou, which was the same cost, was a 100% difference in quality of food and wait staff. Beating Blue Bayou's ambiance is always a tough one but, it was very very close!
teacherlady19
Active Member
Our favorite place for sit-down dinner is (hands down) Blue Bayou. Every time we go to DL, we get reservations for dinner at BB for one evening. Our service was wonderful this past time, even to letting us move so that both halves of our party could eat at neighboring tables.
Our least favorite is the Wine Country Trattoria in DCA. We just weren't impressed with the food.
Donna
Our least favorite is the Wine Country Trattoria in DCA. We just weren't impressed with the food.
Donna
TuffyCatt
Active Member
On my trip last month we ate at the following table-service places:
-Tortilla Joe's (Downtown Disney) for lunch: Fresh, more authentic (than the majority of American Mexican restaurants, at least) Mexican fare. Everything was good - the variety and types of dishes you would expect at a Mexican restaurant. Yummy magaritas too (especially nice after a long cross country airplane flight)!
-Blue Bayou (DL) for lunch: As others have said, the ambiance is amazing. We really enjoyed the food too! Expensive, but tasty - we enjoyed the gumbo and salad that came with the entrees. For our entrees some of us got the chicken and some of us got the beef entrees, and we thought everything was very good. Definitely worth it for a unique Disneyland experience.
-Carnation Cafe (DL) for lunch: We went here kind of on a whim and we were really glad we did. Potato soup was DELICIOUS and we're still talking about it. Otherwise the menu was pretty straight forward with sandwiches, burgers, and chili, but it was all good. We also liked there special chocolate cherry coke, although wouldn't be something to order if you're not in the mood for something sweet.
-Carthay Circle (DCA) for dinner: We went here on our last night. I love the decor inside - very nice and lots of fun pictures of Disney and actors and actresses he worked with in the 30's, 40's, and 50's. I was glad we visited for the decor alone, but also really liked the food. We did the full menu, because we did not want to be limited to the prix-fixed menu which you have to order from if you're going to get the WOC dining package. However, if you're thinking about doing the WOC package, you can definitely ask to compare the menus beforehand if you're having trouble making a decision - we heard several other families doing this. Anyway, we had the cheddar jalapeno biscuits which everyone talks about, and they were wonderful! I also had the firecracker duck wings appetizer, which were delicious, but super spicy! They have a wide variety of entrees to choose from, which we all really liked. Also a good wine, beer, and cocktail selection which we took advantage of as well. Finally, we had a chocolate cake for dessert, which although we were all really full, was too good not to finish.
-Napa Rose (Grand Californian/DCA) for dinner: Our favorite dining experience. Really delicious food, great wine selection, wonderful, knowledgeable servers. EXPENSIVE, though, but we were prepared going in. They have a great, seasonal, ever changing menu, and we all had exceptional appetizers and entrees. I tend to order steak, prime rib, some cut of beef when eating at nicer restaurants, so I did that here and it was sooo very good. Their wine list is overwhelming, but our server was more than happy to make suggestions and let us taste selections before deciding what we were going to have. I think the shining star of the meal was the dessert, though. We split this molten chocolate cake thing with brown sugar ice cream and then a cherry tart crumble thing with marshmallow ice cream (they have more elegant, descriptive names, but they escape me right now
) and they were to die for. Just thinking about it makes me want to fly back to CA right now, just for that chocolate cake....
Anyway - those were our table service experiences. I'm happy to share pictures of food too, if that helps with your planning!
As others have said, a lot of the counter service at Disneyland is great too! Places we especially liked included the Plaza Inn, River Belle Terrace, and Flo's in Carsland.
-Tortilla Joe's (Downtown Disney) for lunch: Fresh, more authentic (than the majority of American Mexican restaurants, at least) Mexican fare. Everything was good - the variety and types of dishes you would expect at a Mexican restaurant. Yummy magaritas too (especially nice after a long cross country airplane flight)!
-Blue Bayou (DL) for lunch: As others have said, the ambiance is amazing. We really enjoyed the food too! Expensive, but tasty - we enjoyed the gumbo and salad that came with the entrees. For our entrees some of us got the chicken and some of us got the beef entrees, and we thought everything was very good. Definitely worth it for a unique Disneyland experience.
-Carnation Cafe (DL) for lunch: We went here kind of on a whim and we were really glad we did. Potato soup was DELICIOUS and we're still talking about it. Otherwise the menu was pretty straight forward with sandwiches, burgers, and chili, but it was all good. We also liked there special chocolate cherry coke, although wouldn't be something to order if you're not in the mood for something sweet.
-Carthay Circle (DCA) for dinner: We went here on our last night. I love the decor inside - very nice and lots of fun pictures of Disney and actors and actresses he worked with in the 30's, 40's, and 50's. I was glad we visited for the decor alone, but also really liked the food. We did the full menu, because we did not want to be limited to the prix-fixed menu which you have to order from if you're going to get the WOC dining package. However, if you're thinking about doing the WOC package, you can definitely ask to compare the menus beforehand if you're having trouble making a decision - we heard several other families doing this. Anyway, we had the cheddar jalapeno biscuits which everyone talks about, and they were wonderful! I also had the firecracker duck wings appetizer, which were delicious, but super spicy! They have a wide variety of entrees to choose from, which we all really liked. Also a good wine, beer, and cocktail selection which we took advantage of as well. Finally, we had a chocolate cake for dessert, which although we were all really full, was too good not to finish.
-Napa Rose (Grand Californian/DCA) for dinner: Our favorite dining experience. Really delicious food, great wine selection, wonderful, knowledgeable servers. EXPENSIVE, though, but we were prepared going in. They have a great, seasonal, ever changing menu, and we all had exceptional appetizers and entrees. I tend to order steak, prime rib, some cut of beef when eating at nicer restaurants, so I did that here and it was sooo very good. Their wine list is overwhelming, but our server was more than happy to make suggestions and let us taste selections before deciding what we were going to have. I think the shining star of the meal was the dessert, though. We split this molten chocolate cake thing with brown sugar ice cream and then a cherry tart crumble thing with marshmallow ice cream (they have more elegant, descriptive names, but they escape me right now
) and they were to die for. Just thinking about it makes me want to fly back to CA right now, just for that chocolate cake....Anyway - those were our table service experiences. I'm happy to share pictures of food too, if that helps with your planning!
As others have said, a lot of the counter service at Disneyland is great too! Places we especially liked included the Plaza Inn, River Belle Terrace, and Flo's in Carsland.
Ok, thanks everyone! After perusing the menus I think I'm leaning toward Blue Bayou (lunch), Napa Rose, and either Steakhouse 55 or Carthay Circle for TS meals, QS at Rancho del Zocalo. Since they have FP for WoC I maybe won't bother with the dinner package. Now I have another important question- how far in advance do you book? I'm a WDW veteran, I'm used to the 180 day deal, but I've read that is not the case in Cali.
ajrwdwgirl
Premium Member
Reservations can be made 60 days in advance from each day you want to make them for. The number is 714-781-DINE (3463), I think you can also email for reservations too, but I like calling. Phone lines are open from 8 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. Pacific time
westie
Well-Known Member
Yep, counting down the days till my ressies!
teacherlady19
Active Member
We tried email for our July reservations. From now on, I'll stick to calling. It seemingly took forever with email.
IndianaJones
Well-Known Member
My two favorites are some that these folks before me have already said.
At California Adventure, it was Carthay Circle. We had a late lunch there on our trip out there this past December. I thought the food and atmosphere were fantastic. Our server was top notch as well. We were able to get the WOC priority seating as stated above.
But my absolute favorite is Blue Bayou at DL. I've been out to DLR 3 times now (I'm a FL resident) and we've done Blue Bayou all 3 times. I absolutely love the theme of BB and there is something very calming about having the boats float by you as you dine. I've heard people complain about the food, but I've never had a issue.
I'll say that my wife who had both Carthay and Blue Bayou for the first time in December, did enjoy Carthay better. She thought the food was better.
At California Adventure, it was Carthay Circle. We had a late lunch there on our trip out there this past December. I thought the food and atmosphere were fantastic. Our server was top notch as well. We were able to get the WOC priority seating as stated above.
But my absolute favorite is Blue Bayou at DL. I've been out to DLR 3 times now (I'm a FL resident) and we've done Blue Bayou all 3 times. I absolutely love the theme of BB and there is something very calming about having the boats float by you as you dine. I've heard people complain about the food, but I've never had a issue.
I'll say that my wife who had both Carthay and Blue Bayou for the first time in December, did enjoy Carthay better. She thought the food was better.
coachwnh
Well-Known Member
Our favorite character meals the last two summers were at the Plaza in DL. We really enjoyed dinner at Carthay Circle in DCA this past earlier this month. We did that as our WOC for the early show. Blue Bayou was good last year, but awesome this time. Tortilla Jo's in DTD was excellent. We ate there twice this trip!! Hope this helps!
Tinkerfan4ever
Well-Known Member
We just got back from Disneyland yesterday. We were really nervous about making reservations as well... we are 6am on 180 day people... but we didn't make a single reservation for Disneyland. We were still able to eat wherever we wanted. We ate at Storytellers Cafe, PCH Grill, Rainforest Cafe, Tortilla Joes and I am sure I am missing some! We just walked up... asked if they had a table and were seated within 5 minutes. We could have gotten into Blue Bayou as well... plenty of room, but our DD didn't want to eat there. (Keeping in mind we didn't do any with WOC packages) I know it is hard... but you really can wing it.