JCMCM
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Mar 18, 2015
This is certainly not a proper dining review, but I find (mostly lurking on) these forums to be so helpful and wanted to share some info from our recent trip that might benefit others. I haven't seen many reviews on California Grill since they went to the prix fixe menu and I've seen even fewer reviews on Toldeo. In short, we are longtime California Grill fans, but with the new prix fixe menu we found Toledo to be much more enjoyable.
Our first night, we dined at Toledo. This was our first time here so we weren't sure what to expect, but we were pleasantly surprised with the setting, food and service. We walked out onto the not-at-all-busy terrace to take in the sights while waiting for a few minutes for our table to be ready. Honestly, I wish we spent a little longer out there (and we did after dinner) as seeing the new effects on Spaceship Earth from that perspective was fantastic. Between my husband, my 16-year-old son and I, we had the Pan con Tomate (which I thought was just okay, but my son really enjoyed and said we should try to replicate at home), the Spaniard cheese and charcuterie (which was huge!), Braised Lamb Shank, Rioja-braised Chicken, Grouper and 2-3 cocktails. We thoroughly enjoyed everything we ordered. Sadly, none of us had room left for dessert. The service was also excellent -- with solid recommendations on food and cocktails and a great combination of being both friendly and professional. Toledo "all in" for the 3 of us was $233.
In contrast, on our last night we dined at California Grill. We checked in and were directed to the back of a loooooooong line to take the elevator to the top floor (we were arriving shortly before fireworks began). We received our table is ready text and continued to wait. After a bit, we and another family checked back with the host stand to be sure they knew we were there and just still waiting on the elevator and then they said "Oh, if you've gotten the text your table is ready you should just get on the next elevator" and pointed in that direction. Umm, okay. Since they did not have anyone staffing the elevator, we and the other family effectively "line jumped" everyone which felt awkward and could be alleviated by just having 2 separate queues and/or better staffing/signage/directions. This was our first time dining during fireworks (we're usually the sunset crowd) so maybe this is how it always is??? Seeing the fireworks from our table at CG was lovely, so that part was great. However, a lot of the food was simply not as good as it has been in previous experiences. It suddenly felt like a quantity over quality situation. Notably, my filet was larger but lesser quality compared to previous visits, my son said his chicken dish was not nearly as tasty as what he had at Toledo, and my husband did not even order any of the sushi appetizers as his personal favorites are no longer offered. The "mandatory" desserts were another disappointment as the Lavender Sugar Doughnuts are sadly NOT the tiny warm doughnuts of the past and were instead bigger doughnuts served stone cold . . . they reminded us of Dunkin Donuts and we're a Krispy Kreme "Hot Now" or die family.
One positive on the food . . . I knew I would not be hungry for dessert so I ordered the cheese plate and asked for it to be delivered at the beginning of the meal for all of us to share and they were happy to oblige. The service was also slow and disappointing. Our server was often MIA and they tended to just leave things sitting on the table that should be removed -- like excess wine glasses and my son's empty tea glass/simple syrup. Not tragic, but not what I expect or what we've experienced in the past. My impression was that our server must have been new and a bit overwhelmed. CG "all in" for the 3 of us was $413. Yikes.
Even if you account for the 2 extra glasses of wine we had at CG for a more apples to apples comparison, that's a HUGE difference in price. We ❤ dining and are definitely not "I'll just have a cupcake and water" folks, but I don't WANT that much food and I especially don't want a lower quality experience for a higher price.
All that to say, I'd recommend giving Toledo a try if you haven't yet. It and Citricos are our new favorites and I'm afraid we won't be back to CG until and unless they change the menu. Obviously YMMV and I'm certainly hoping Toledos can be consistently great and we had a one-off night at CG.
It's also inspired us to check out other off-property dining next time we visit. Anybody tried Bull & Bear? Or Christini's?
Our first night, we dined at Toledo. This was our first time here so we weren't sure what to expect, but we were pleasantly surprised with the setting, food and service. We walked out onto the not-at-all-busy terrace to take in the sights while waiting for a few minutes for our table to be ready. Honestly, I wish we spent a little longer out there (and we did after dinner) as seeing the new effects on Spaceship Earth from that perspective was fantastic. Between my husband, my 16-year-old son and I, we had the Pan con Tomate (which I thought was just okay, but my son really enjoyed and said we should try to replicate at home), the Spaniard cheese and charcuterie (which was huge!), Braised Lamb Shank, Rioja-braised Chicken, Grouper and 2-3 cocktails. We thoroughly enjoyed everything we ordered. Sadly, none of us had room left for dessert. The service was also excellent -- with solid recommendations on food and cocktails and a great combination of being both friendly and professional. Toledo "all in" for the 3 of us was $233.
In contrast, on our last night we dined at California Grill. We checked in and were directed to the back of a loooooooong line to take the elevator to the top floor (we were arriving shortly before fireworks began). We received our table is ready text and continued to wait. After a bit, we and another family checked back with the host stand to be sure they knew we were there and just still waiting on the elevator and then they said "Oh, if you've gotten the text your table is ready you should just get on the next elevator" and pointed in that direction. Umm, okay. Since they did not have anyone staffing the elevator, we and the other family effectively "line jumped" everyone which felt awkward and could be alleviated by just having 2 separate queues and/or better staffing/signage/directions. This was our first time dining during fireworks (we're usually the sunset crowd) so maybe this is how it always is??? Seeing the fireworks from our table at CG was lovely, so that part was great. However, a lot of the food was simply not as good as it has been in previous experiences. It suddenly felt like a quantity over quality situation. Notably, my filet was larger but lesser quality compared to previous visits, my son said his chicken dish was not nearly as tasty as what he had at Toledo, and my husband did not even order any of the sushi appetizers as his personal favorites are no longer offered. The "mandatory" desserts were another disappointment as the Lavender Sugar Doughnuts are sadly NOT the tiny warm doughnuts of the past and were instead bigger doughnuts served stone cold . . . they reminded us of Dunkin Donuts and we're a Krispy Kreme "Hot Now" or die family.
One positive on the food . . . I knew I would not be hungry for dessert so I ordered the cheese plate and asked for it to be delivered at the beginning of the meal for all of us to share and they were happy to oblige. The service was also slow and disappointing. Our server was often MIA and they tended to just leave things sitting on the table that should be removed -- like excess wine glasses and my son's empty tea glass/simple syrup. Not tragic, but not what I expect or what we've experienced in the past. My impression was that our server must have been new and a bit overwhelmed. CG "all in" for the 3 of us was $413. Yikes.Even if you account for the 2 extra glasses of wine we had at CG for a more apples to apples comparison, that's a HUGE difference in price. We ❤ dining and are definitely not "I'll just have a cupcake and water" folks, but I don't WANT that much food and I especially don't want a lower quality experience for a higher price.
All that to say, I'd recommend giving Toledo a try if you haven't yet. It and Citricos are our new favorites and I'm afraid we won't be back to CG until and unless they change the menu. Obviously YMMV and I'm certainly hoping Toledos can be consistently great and we had a one-off night at CG.
It's also inspired us to check out other off-property dining next time we visit. Anybody tried Bull & Bear? Or Christini's?
I hope you can report back that your meal was ~MAGICAL~ 
