A Very Magical Birthday Dinner
Day 7 – Part V
I was super excited about this meal. Anika and I had not been to the California Grill since our original sister’s trip in 2012 as the restaurant was under refurbishment on our last trip. I was looking forward to seeing the redesign and also looking forward to the surprises to come during the meal!
We made it to the Contemporary Resort in no time thanks to Wade’s car. I know it’s not everyone’s cup of tea, but I really love the Contemporary Resort lobby:
I know it’s not as “Disney” themed as some of the other resorts, but it had so many cool touches!
We made our way up to the California Grill check-in desk a full fifteen minutes before our reservation. I checked us in with Wade and Anika and then had them take a step back from the check-in desk. I quietly confirmed that the special dessert I’d ordered was noted on the reservation – it was! We were all set.
We waited all of two minutes before we were ushered up in the elevator. The redesigned restaurant was really cool and I especially liked the light fixtures!
We soaked up some of the amazing Magic Kingdom views before being called back to our table:
Just five minutes later we were seated. Rather than the main restaurant we were seated in the back section (I think it’s the wine room?) which is a smaller room.
Rather than views of Magic Kingdom, you can see Bay Lake, the Wilderness Lodge, and all the way to Epcot and Hollywood Studios. I shoved my disappoint aside as I thought it was a pretty neat dining space!
I was also excited by our table. Not only did we have the usual Mickey confetti to signify Anika’s birthday, but they even included a special birthday card from the California Grill:
I was impressed.
Our dinner at California Grill is where my illness (and lack of being able to smell, and hence taste, anything) really caught up with me. Our breakfast at Crystal Palace and lunch at Liberty Tree Tavern were hardly fine dining and the flavors are tasty but pretty average. Since we were at the California Grill I knew I wanted a glass of wine. Our server offered to bring a few to sample, which I appreciated. I chose two different ones (although no memory of which ones, beyond them both being white wines) and tried them.
I honestly could hardly tell a difference between them. I know multiple wine studies have shown that “wine tasting” is not nearly as nuanced as the “experts” make it seem – but I can usually at least tell which wine I like better!
I think I drove our server nuts with my commentary on the wine. I don’t remember what I said, but I could tell she was a bit pained. I didn’t mean to cause issues – I just seriously could not taste the wine! I just picked one (a wine called Conundrum, which is a California white wine blend) and went with it.
I figured since I could hardly taste anything it was not the night to attempt great cuisine. Instead, I decided to split sushi with Anika and get two appetizers for my entrée. This is one plus of forgoing the dining plan – you can order whatever you want!
Our servers, bless them in dealing with my cray ramblings about wine, soon brought out our bread basket:
Wade was excited for more opportunities to use butter!
Our sushi followed shortly after:
We ordered the Spicy Kazan roll, which includes crab, shrimp, scallops, tuna, and fireball sauce. Anika decided to take advantage of the fact that I had no sense of smell or taste, and could hence handle such a spicy sushi roll! Generally spicy is not my thing so Anika was excited to order it!
For our main dishes, I chose to get the Sonoma Goat Cheese Ravioli appetizer, which includes a tomato-fennel broth, crispy mushrooms, basil, and olive oil:
It’s a shame my taste buds weren’t working this evening as this is an excellent dish. I actually ordered it again in 2016 to properly taste it and it is delicious! Highly recommended if you’re looking for an appetizer!
I wasn’t sure if the ravioli would fill me up, so I also ordered a flatbread:
I was not as good at taking pictures of the menu at California Grill as I was at Narcoossee’s, so I don’t remember exactly what I ordered! I know it was a mushroom flatbread (I LOVE mushrooms!) and also seemed to include onions and microgreens. It was very tasty!
Wade ordered the filet:
While Anika ordered the fish, which was Halibut:
Again, I don’t know the exact accompaniments as I’m without the menu and the California Grill lineup changes regularly, but both of them enjoyed their meals.
Next up was dessert, which I was most excited about. When I knew we’d be having Anika’s birthday dinner at the California Grill, I knew I wanted to order a special dessert. I needed to throw her off, though, so I also ordered this dessert:
What is it? I have no idea!
It was some sort of rich chocolate dessert and it was very good, but in no way compared to…
The Glass Slipper dessert!
Anika was very excited (and quite surprised!) when this was set down in front of her! I was SO excited (and relieved!) that they spelled her name correctly. I confirmed the spelling of her name about five times when I’d placed the order. Anika has a fairly unusual name (and with a slightly unique spelling), so I wanted to make sure it was right!
Let me tell you, this Glass Slipper was SO good! It was also amazingly detailed, which was awfully neat. Isn’t the “picture” of the castle with the cocoa powder and the candle great?!
I also ordered a cappuccino for fun:
It came with this lovely plate of accompaniments, including these brown sugar cubes:
I don’t tend to put sugar in my coffee (I’m strictly a cream gal), but even I added one as they were fun and different!
I was so happy with our entire experience at California Grill. Between the decorations and the card and their great service, they really exceeded our expectations!
We were more than an hour away from the fireworks and were pretty tired, so we decided to forgo staying to watch them on the balcony. Anika and I were both okay with that since we’d watched them from the balcony on our last visit. We did walk out on the balcony before leaving to soak up the Magic Kingdom views before calling it a night:
My favorite detail was the top of the bus depot at Magic Kingdom, which was outlined with lights:
What a cool detail that probably goes unnoticed by many people!
I got a few additional pictures of the restaurant on our way out:
Final Thoughts – California Grill
We loved our evening and it was the perfect place to celebrate Anika’s birthday. She loved that the attention came in the form of some confetti and a card and a tasty chocolate dessert, rather than a crooner singing to her! Everything we ate was delicious (even if I couldn’t taste all of it!) and our servers were great. We would absolutely return to the California Grill!
Up Next: Morning in AK
I like that Disney seems to be making more of an effort in that department.
But please post a link to the TR here... or else I'll miss it!
I know that guy! He was our server when we had lunch there this summer! I absolutely understand her discomfort. 
