Help: Debating between California Grill or Narcoossee's

[gorjus121]

We are planning ahead for our Summer 2019 vacation as our ADR booking window approaches. We have always made an ADR at Be Our Guest on our MK day. Unfortunately, we are not impressed with the new Prix Fix menu and have decided to grab dinner nearby. We wanted to try something different. We have narrowed our choices down to California Grill and Narcoossee's based on menu and possible fireworks viewing.

Which is your favorite and why? What is your favorite item on the menu? Favorite cocktail or dessert?

 

[JZCubed]

We are planning ahead for our Summer 2019 vacation as our ADR booking window approaches. We have always made an ADR at Be Our Guest on our MK day. Unfortunately, we are not impressed with the new Prix Fix menu and have decided to grab dinner nearby. We wanted to try something different. We have narrowed our choices down to California Grill and Narcoossee's based on menu and possible fireworks viewing.

Which is your favorite and why? What is your favorite item on the menu? Favorite cocktail or dessert?

We stay at Bay Lake Tower/Contemporary and almost always eat CA Grill for the convenience. We purposefully eat 'small'ish' meals that revolve around ordering sushi - because we have had too many entrees which were inconsistent-for-the-price. Otherwise, the menu changes frequently. Regardless, the most consistent elements of a meal here are high-prices and a priceless-view of Magic Kingdom. Personally, even though it's a bit expensive, we find 'value' in the Sunday brunch. Take notice, the ambiance is 'upscale', but there is no need to feel pressure getting 'dressed-up' (as much as many of us would appreciate it). You can see the fireworks from the outside observation area; seeing fireworks from inside is more luck than planning.

Narcoossee's is a charming upscale New England'y waterside setting with wood-paneling to match. By and large, the seafood-centric menu is 'more approachable' for most people since the menu offers few 'exotic' ingredients. For instance, the calamari & steamed lobster are our most frequently order dishes here. They also offer a view of the fireworks. My family found that the view of the fireworks (just fireworks) is better here than at CA Grill because you are more centered to Main Street inside Magic Kingdom. Also, the Grand Floridian is a charming place to relax before/after a meal at any restaurant. If planned appropriately, you can enjoy a cocktail @ Mizner's while listening to the live jazz band that can be heard throughout the main hotel, or simply enjoy the upscale grandeur of the surroundings.

We stay at Contemporary, so we always go to CA Grill for the convenience. We travel to Narcoossee's because we prefer eating at CA only once per vacation.

I hope this assists in your calculus.

 

[RRZJ]

CA Grill is a must do restaurant for us because of the quality of the food, the service, and the phenomenal view. We love their flatbreads, sushi, filet, bison, fish, and desserts. It is high end without being stuffy.
We tried Narcosees on our last visit thinking about how the fireworks view would be great. We had a window seat - thought it would be perfect. Until we realized that the wraparound porch directly in front of the tables is completely open and available to anyone. Completely blocked view of the fireworks. And food was just fine. Nothing that left a lasting impression for us.
My vote is always for CA Grill.

 

[Cramden]

The porch at Narcoossee's is only open to guests dining at Narcoossee's. That said we prefer the view from the porch over the view from CG. The food is good at both but definitively more creative at CG. I'd have to give the edge in service to CG. All 3 times I've eaten there it's been topnotch. This last trip in December to Narcoossee's our server was MIA for most of our meal which was a bit of a downer. It was a night and day difference from the last time I ate there.

So in my opinion...

Food a tie
Service CG
Fireworks View Narcoossee's

 

[Nancyg56]

We like both. If I had to choose, I would choose Narcoossees. I like the atmosphere there better. If you are stuck, look at the menu for both restaurants and choose the one that has the food most appealing to you.

 

[evilqueenmindy]

I prefer the view from CA Grill, it feels more special to me than the porch/deck area at Narcoossee’s for fireworks viewing, and is impressive to check out even if you don’t stay for fireworks.
It’s also a harder reservation to get, in my experience. so if Narcoosee’s is less stressful to get, go for that, the food is still great and the view is nice

 

[Lisa F]

I would definitely pick CA Grill. We've had consistently good meals there and and meh to horrible experiences at Narcoossees. Also I have never gotten a good table for two at Narcoossees - even when I booked right at opening, I always have my back to the aisle/windows (it is laid out in concentric circles) and it seems like the nice tables at the windows are the 4-tops and 6-tops. Last time it was a disaster being up against the aisle with servers dropping things several times during the meal (like entire trays of food more than once... it was a rough night for them and I sympathized but for a $250 meal...eesh). I hate having all of that activity going on behind me during a meal (I let the kiddo sit facing the windows) and being startled by stuff clattering when I can't see it to anticipate it is not my idea of a good meal. It would have been a minor annoyance if it hadn't been such a horrible meal but it made me remember I hated being seated there the first time I ate there too (which was not horrible but also not spectacular).

You can kind of see here the way the two tops are turned with backs to the aisle and only larger tables are up against the windows. If you're a larger party it may not matter but I really do not like the 2-top situation here.

At CA Grill when I book my typical 5pm adr, I always get a lovely window table as requested, but even when we had a later ADR and were seated more in the middle of the restaurant, I didn't feel like I had my back right up against the major pathway there. Maybe I'm nuts but the seating really puts me in a bad mood at Narcoossees.

 

[DisneyHardin]

That's a tough one. We really like them both. CG seems a little "fancier" because it is up on the high floor and the decor is more sleek and modern, but Narcosees is definitely cozier. The first time I walked into CG, I was a little overwhelmed by how bustling it was for a signature restaurant.

The food is excellent at both.

 

[DisneyHardin]

You can kind of see here the way the two tops are turned with backs to the aisle and only larger tables are up against the windows. If you're a larger party it may not matter but I really do not like the 2-top situation here.

I hadn't even noticed those 2-tops with their backs to the windows. When we've eaten there we've always gotten a table that is positioned at an angle so that both people can see out. Like the one in the lower right corner of this picture.

 

[Lisa F]

I hadn't even noticed those 2-tops with their backs to the windows. When we've eaten there we've always gotten a table that is positioned at an angle so that both people can see out. Like the one in the lower right corner of this picture.

View attachment 374657

I've (both times) been in the table I posted and both times had any requests otherwise ignored even when I was there right at opening. It's the only restaurant I've had that issue with!

 

[DisneyHardin]

I've (both times) been in the table I posted and both times had any requests otherwise ignored even when I was there right at opening. It's the only restaurant I've had that issue with!

That stinks. Usually Disney restaurants are very good about accommodating requests.

 

[goofy4prez]

In the past, I have always preferred Narcoossee's over CG both in service and in the menu and it has always been our first night restaurant. This is not to say that CG is bad, I enjoy that place as well. As for the view, they are unique and very different, but I will admit there is something about seeing an unobstructed view from the CG. Our last visit to WDW in 2016 we did both of these restaurants and I will admit I was disappointed in our service for the first time ever at Narcoossee's and the service at CG was incredible.

I know that probably didn't help, but I just booked all my ADR's yesterday for our upcoming trip and June and I couldn't make up my mind between Narcoossee's and CG so what did I do? I booked them both.

 

[KellyHonos]

I I didn't vote because personally I've never dined at Narcoosses, but man oh man, I dined at CG for the first time in July '18 and the food was just fantastic!!! Not to mention, the view! Only thing I'd do differently is schedule a later dinner so we could utilize the balcony for the fireworks viewing. They told us to just keep the receipt and we could use the balcony for the fireworks later in the evening, but we dined at 5/6ish and we didn't want to wait. Anyways, CG all the way!

 

[gorjus121]

Thanks everyone for the feedback and the photos!! We are a party of 4. I still have some time to decide before our booking window opens up. Gives me a lot to think about and consider. I appreciate all the info!

 

[NYCgrrl]

I would definitely pick CA Grill. We've had consistently good meals there and and meh to horrible experiences at Narcoossees. Also I have never gotten a good table for two at Narcoossees - even when I booked right at opening, I always have my back to the aisle/windows (it is laid out in concentric circles) and it seems like the nice tables at the windows are the 4-tops and 6-tops. Last time it was a disaster being up against the aisle with servers dropping things several times during the meal (like entire trays of food more than once... it was a rough night for them and I sympathized but for a $250 meal...eesh). I hate having all of that activity going on behind me during a meal (I let the kiddo sit facing the windows) and being startled by stuff clattering when I can't see it to anticipate it is not my idea of a good meal. It would have been a minor annoyance if it hadn't been such a horrible meal but it made me remember I hated being seated there the first time I ate there too (which was not horrible but also not spectacular).

You can kind of see here the way the two tops are turned with backs to the aisle and only larger tables are up against the windows. If you're a larger party it may not matter but I really do not like the 2-top situation here.

At CA Grill when I book my typical 5pm adr, I always get a lovely window table as requested, but even when we had a later ADR and were seated more in the middle of the restaurant, I didn't feel like I had my back right up against the major pathway there. Maybe I'm nuts but the seating really puts me in a bad mood at Narcoossees.

I feel some of your pain.
The first time we ate at Narcoossee's was for brunch and it was truly nice and made better Bloody Marys than CA; food wasn't bad either.
Finally ate there for dinner this past December and the hit or miss aspect of the food rings a familiar bell. Our appetizers were properly cooked and well seasoned: mussels in a cream sauce and chilled shrimps. Big failure with the entrees though. I had the scallops and they were quite tender and well matched to the accompanying sides . My husband's salmon seemed to come from another kitchen and was severely overcooked and looked so unlike wild caught salmon I thought it might be swordfish instead. Just large flakes of chewy fish that I hope had a great life since it was definitely wasted in death. Interesting wine list and the man had a well made vodka martini. We opted out of dessert and were not charged for his entree.

There are 2 wanted restaurants that I keep cancelling for dinner: CA Grill and Msr. Paul. Hopefully I can venture an opinion on either of them next trip.

 

[ginny65]

We have eaten at CG a couple times, and it has been great. This next trip, I was thinking about just going up to CG Bar for a drink but not eating there or maybe just having an appetizer with our drink. Is that possible to do if you do not have dining reservations at the restaurant? I know when we had reservations previously, we had to prove we had reservations before they gave us access to get to that floor.

 

[goofyintoronto]

I've eaten at CG several times since the refurb and I have to say, each time the food has been a disappointment. I doubt i'll go back any time soon. (Each time i've always ordered a different entree, never the same). So my vote goes to Narccoossee's.

 

[NoSoup4U]

Narcoossee's for sure.

 

[Lisa F]

I feel some of your pain.
The first time we ate at Narcoossee's was for brunch and it was truly nice and made better Bloody Marys than CA; food wasn't bad either.
Finally ate there for dinner this past December and the hit or miss aspect of the food rings a familiar bell. Our appetizers were properly cooked and well seasoned: mussels in a cream sauce and chilled shrimps. Big failure with the entrees though. I had the scallops and they were quite tender and well matched to the accompanying sides . My husband's salmon seemed to come from another kitchen and was severely overcooked and looked so unlike wild caught salmon I thought it might be swordfish instead. Just large flakes of chewy fish that I hope had a great life since it was definitely wasted in death. Interesting wine list and the man had a well made vodka martini. We opted out of dessert and were not charged for his entree.

There are 2 wanted restaurants that I keep cancelling for dinner: CA Grill and Msr. Paul. Hopefully I can venture an opinion on either of them next trip.

I think all of the restaurants are hit or miss so I try to keep that in mind, but it just sours you on the place to have a bad experience.

We had an awful experience. The apps were not awful but not great (prepared I mean, properly prepared they probably would have been fine.. but soup with a skin on it in a scorching hot bowl and burned shrimp) but my son's steak, ordered medium with no sauce was served black and blue with sauce. Instead of replacing it they threw it (sauced) back on the grill and the sauce burned even more and it returned barely edible for him around the edges and rare on the inside... dropped unceremoniously by a food runner with no followup by the server. In the meantime after sending his back I discovered that my lobster was undercooked (yuck) but no server to complain to and then our dishes mostly full were cleared by a bus person without asking if we were done or why we were sending back full plates of food. I was just over it at that point and while the server did return to take the dessert order (we were on DxDDP) and I really was so annoyed I would have not been able to control my emotions if I started in, so we ordered dessert and left... but not before I was denied use of the bathroom for over 10 minutes because they had the women's room down for remodeling and the person in charge of running it just kept letting one male after another into the men's room rather than cutting them off and letting us have a turn. After an unsupervised group of 6 little boys under 12 were let in I just gave up, figuring I might not want to see the state of the bathroom anyway after they were all done, paid the check and got the heck out of there... took the boat to the MK where I used the bathroom after nearly exploding, but I really wanted to just get out of that place.

That said I sent a letter to Disney afterward and they were properly apologetic about it. Great customer service.

But being that my experience before that was nothing special, I just can't bring myself to give it another try regardless of other glowing reviews. It's too soon

 

[armerida]

We've dined at both on multiple occasions and enjoy both restaurants, but I have to give the edge to Narcoossee's for a few reasons:

Atmosphere
Cali Grill has a sort of "stuffy" feel to it, whereas Narcoossee's is a bit more relaxed/less pretentious. We love getting dressed up for dinner and dine pretty much exclusively at Signatures at Disney, but something about the atmosphere there is off-putting. The noise level at Cali Grill is pretty ridiculous - my husband was very irritated that neither of us could hear each other without practically shouting for the whole meal (and we are young and have a high tolerance for noise/loud spaces). That pretty much ruined the evening, despite the food being good. Narcoossee's noise level is much more subdued and the overall vibe is more laid back and conducive to conversation.

Seating
We have always been seated at the banquette in the very back of Cali Grill (all the way to the left around the sushi bar and open kitchen), so no views except the roof and exhaust vents, and very close to our neighbors. Every time we've been to Narcoossee's, our request for a window seat was granted, even though they are all 4-tops and it is just 2 of us. Next time we visit Cali Grill, I think we will just try to sit in the lounge area.

Service
We have had good and bad service at both restaurants, so I think that's a wash, though Narcoossee's does have the most engaging and professional bar staff ever!

The Food!
The food at both is very well-executed. The pork tenderloin dish at Cali Grill is probably one of my all-time favorite meals - every ingredient works perfectly together. My husband said his filet was "just ok" last visit. On the other hand, the filet at Narcoossee's is a thing of beauty, only rivaled by Jiko's. And the signature mashed potatoes are ridiculously good. My husband would eat their surf and turf drenched in butter every day if he could! The cocktail list at Cali Grill had some really great-sounding drinks, and we both enjoyed a specialty Old Fashioned and Manhattan from their menu. Narcoossee's cocktail list was pretty boring so we just ordered Manhattans off-menu. We have not had dessert at Cali Grill (well except for at Brunch at the top), but the chocolate coconut creme brulee at Narcoossee's is on point.

Fireworks
We have only viewed fireworks from Narcoossee's (husband was too irritated after our unbearably loud meal to stick around at Cali Grill), and the experience was wonderful. We stayed in our window seat and had a great view, while some other guests did go out onto the porch. We didn't have any problems with people blocking our view. And later, you can catch the Electric water pageant!

Transportation
Both restaurants are a little bit of a pain to get to if you're not staying on the monorail. After our first time visiting each (by boat from MK to GF and by foot from MK to CR), we've decided any repeat visits will require ubering for time's sake. I actually don't mind taking the boat etc. but it's a turn-off for my husband for whatever reason.

Both are great choices, enjoy!