Restaurant Recommendations..?

[Petit_Rose]

Hi everyone!

My dining reservation window opens tomorrow for our late April stay.

I’ve planned out a few sit down dinners and wanted opinions on them.

Character Breakfast:
Plaza Inn

Dinner:
Catal Restaurant
Blue Bayou
Wine Country Trattoria

We plan to try the Rainforest Cafe as well as Tangaroa Terrace (we will arrive late in the day and want a quick meal in our hotel.

I’ve also been told Cafe Orleans and Carnation Cafe are must dos.

What are you recommendations? Must try foods? We are a family with two young children that aren’t fussy eaters.

Thank you

 

[NDDisneydad]

I’ve only done Plaza Inn character breakfast from your list above and highly recommend it. Great character interaction. I think we met 8 characters in the 50 minutes we were there! Food is good but nothing fancy. My family didn’t like the buffet set up as you had to tell a worker what foods you wanted and they would scoop it for you..... Having said that, we would still definitely go again on our next trip!

 

[StarlitNight05]

Those are good table service options. I also think Carnation Cafe would be a good addition for breakfast or lunch. Both are very popular. Of course this depends on how long you have in the parks to dedicate to table service meals.

For quick service, I love Jolly Holiday (on Main Street). They have great sandwiches and salads, but most importantly, awesome desserts! Try the Matterhorn macaroon! It's adorable and tasty. I also like Rancho Del Zocalo (Frontierland). Their portions are very generous and I've never had a bad meal there. The atmospohere is very relaxing and there is a lot of room in the dining area (most of it outside, but a lot is shaded).

 

[figment_jii]

The Blue Bayou is one of the most iconic restaurants in DL. It gets mixed reviews in terms of food, but my family has always enjoyed our meals there. It's located inside the PotC building and you can see part of the attraction (just after the loading area) from the dining area (you cannot see any of the pirates). If you do go, I would recommend requesting a waterside table when you check in; it might mean a longer wait, but it's well worth it. I really like the gumbo (one of the starters included with the entree) and the surf and turf menu items. My family also likes the Blue Bayou Bouillabaisse. The popular Monte Cristo is only on the lunch menu. You can also get the Monte Cristo at Cafe Orleans.

My family also likes the Wine Country Trattoria, but the degree of liking is a little more mixed. I thought the food was fine, but it seemed like pretty basic Italian restaurant offerings. The wedding soup was my favorite item and I wish they offered larger portion of that. It's mostly an outdoor seating location, so I would go when the weather is good. We went once when it was raining and everyone was seated inside (kind of noisy) and we went another time when it was very cold and they had the patio heaters on high, so we ended up having to wear hats to keep our heads from feeling like they were getting burned. In good weather, the patio seating is nice and some tables offer a nice view of the park.

My family also really likes Carnation Cafe and Cafe Orleans. They are two of our must do places (CO is slightly ahead of Carnation) when we go to DLR. At CO, I really like the gumbo and pomme frites. At Carnation Cafe, the fried dill pickles, loaded baked potato soup, and meatloaf are all outstanding.

 

[OKC Disney Fan]

We tend to do one "meal" a day and the rest of the time, we snack. (Share a corndog, something from Cozy Cone, Dole Whip, etc) When we go to Carnation Cafe, we will often get the Baked Potato soup and some fried pickles to share. We do love the Character breakfast at the Plaza Inn though. It and BB are on our list every trip. Schedule your breakfast reservation for 10-10:30. You can get there at rope drop and get a lot done prior to sitting down to eat.

 

[tarheelalum]

These are some great counter service places:

Lucky Fortune cookery in DCA is a great Chinese place to eat. Also the bread bowls at Pacific Wharf are also very good. At Disneyland Rancho Del Zocalo has good Mexican food.

As far as the restaurants you pretty much picked the good ones. At Cafe Orleans be sure to get the Monte Cristo. Also the gumbo is very good. And they have the best beignets on the planet. At Downtown Disney I strongly suggest Ralph Brennan's Jazz Kitchen. It is very, very good.

Also Carthay Circle in DCA is great. Be sure to take their tour. If you love old time Disney stuff the tour is fantastic.

And don't worry about making reservations early. Just make them when you get around to it. It's not like Disney World in that respect. People are more casual about it here. Have a great time.

 

[VandVsmama]

How many days will you be there? What ages are your kids? Where will you be staying?

For example, if you'll be in the parks for 5 days, then do 1 TS meal per day.

You could do something like this:

• on whatever is your Magic Morning entry day to DL (Tues, Thurs, or Sat), that's the day that you do the character meal at the Plaza Inn. Make it a later reservation (like 10 am, if the park opens at 8 and MM is 7-8 am). Just about when your kids start to get tired and cranky, that's when you get to SIT and EAT and have characters come to you. You get to rest for an hour while all this happens. Then continue on your way. We've even done 10:30 am reservations and it's been great.
• Wine Country Trattoria - you could do this as a World of Color package (if you want to see World of Color also), but just be aware that it's still standing room only space even for the dining package viewing areas. The only way you'll get a seat is by doing the dessert party dining package, which is the same price even for kids as for adults.
• Rainforest Cafe - would be a good idea for maybe lunch assuming that you're going to do something like take a break at your GCH or DLH room right afterwards. But if you're staying at a hotel along Harbor Blvd, this is more of a pain to get to.
• Blue Bayou - prices can be slightly less on certain dishes at lunch. do an 11:30 am seating if you want a table by the water and get there at 11:15 for the 11:30 am water side table. Otherwise, plan on waiting 30-45 min for a water side table at any other time despite having a reservation. I think that everybody should eat here at least once in their lifetime.
• So that leaves you with 1 TS meal left if you're on a 5-day visit. With young kids, I'd prefer to eat in the parks in order to minimize travel time and keep the crankies/hangries away. So do Cafe Orleans or Carnation Cafe.

What I would absolutely NOT do with young children?
Have 2 table service meals per day. That's a lot of waiting around for little kids and theme parks can be overwhelming, so their tolerance level (aka time from 'I'm hungry/I'm bored' to melt down) can sometimes be lower than it normally is at home.

 

[VandVsmama]

The fried pickles at Carnation Cafe can be an acquired taste. My DH loves them. I think they're disgusting.

 

[Mike482]

The Jazz Kitchen in Downtown Disney has really good food. I recommend the Jambalaya with rice substituted for the pasta. If you sit downstairs inside the restaurant there is a piano and they play jazz music. Bananas Foster for dessert is made table side and the kids (and adults) will like the flambe as the dessert is prepared.

 

[jenniferrose]

Also Carthay Circle in DCA is great. Be sure to take their tour. If you love old time Disney stuff the tour is fantastic.

How do you take the tour? Do you just ask? Do they do them at certain times?

 

[tarheelalum]

How do you take the tour? Do you just ask? Do they do them at certain times?

I went on one a few years ago so things may have changed so you should go by and check or call. I just went by and asked one day and the guy told us to come back the next morning around 10 or 1030 in the morning ( I forget which). I do remember they only offer a few per day and the number of the people is limited. It might be one of the coolest things I've ever done at DCA. I highly recommend you check it out. Tons of history and a unique look at many Disney things. Lots of old Disney studio stuff and pictures.

 

[smartlabelprint]

I think you have too many sit down meals planned. Plaza inn food is really meh IME. If you are really in to characters go ahead.

I’ve heard not great reviews of rainforest cafe. If you don’t have kids I agree with ok to try a different restaurant.

I’d do no more than one table service a day. On our next 5 day trip we have one scheduled. Counter service at DLR is just wonderful.

My faves are Boardwalk pizza & pasta (DCA) award wieners (snack)

Bengal bbq dL & French market.
———————
I’ve also had great meals at jolly holiday and plaza inn.

Carnation cafe one and done. Wasn’t amazed. Happy we got to meet Oscar before he retired.

 

[l4dyj8]

We love Catal. Everything else you are paying for the atmosphere, not really the food. Carthay is our second choice for food and cocktails. They both have great service and food.

We have 2 kids. We’ve had dinner on the patio with a view of the fireworks. (Kids menu is the same as the UVA bar.) their Mac n cheese is actually good enough for adults to eat. (Aka it’s different enough from the rest of the park but not so different that the kids hate it.) But they have many other options. We love their paella, scallops, veggie sides. Everything. We honestly spend the same here as Blue Bayou and get wine with dinner and cocktails to start.

Wine Country Trattoria is pretty standard. Not really memorable. But popular enough that a reservation is a must. The appeal is the location and the food is approachable.

I haven’t tried Cafe Orleans new menu. But this is a nice option. Servings are huge. We usually share and make room for beignets

 

[azdisneylover]

Carnation cafe is a must for my family at least once per visit. We usually do an early lunch after spending MM and riding everything we wanted. By this time, everyone is good and hungry. Everything on the menu is delicious. Whitewater Snacks (counter service) in the Grand Californian Hotel is the perfect spot to hang out in when you want a place to chill out and either have a meal or a snack. The food is great and it is so peaceful in there or out on the patio. With two young ones, it may be better to do counter service instead of sit down meals. You can check out the menus with prices at the Disneyland website to get a feel of what food is served where. Plus, there is a food thread somewhere with great pictures (a lot by figment which are awesome) you might want to check out too.

 

[Cubbiecakes]

Plaza Inn has great chef salads that they will make fresh for you right there (especially if you're not into fried chicken!)/

Skip Rainforest Cafe - it's truly terrible and an utter waste of money.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

Carnation Cafe has great chef salads that they will make fresh for you right there (especially if you're not into fried chicken!)...

Did you perhaps mean Plaza Inn? PI will make the chef salads, and customize them, for lunch and dinner. The famous fried chicken is also offered for lunch and dinner. Not sure that either item is on the character breakfast buffet.
For the OP: if your kids really aren't fussy eaters, Rainforest Cafe might be fine. Just note that it can be pretty loud in there. If your kids are sensitive to noise (ours were), that might not be the best location for them. Look over the DLR menus on allears.net to see what will work best for your family. That website is a great resource for planning a DLR visit!

 

[felice]

+1 here for Wine Country Trattoria. Not too expensive pricing for meals and service has been great for the times we have eaten there. Yes, it's in DCA but is worth a visit, as long as you have a park hopper ticket or are visiting DCA at the time.

 

[Cubbiecakes]

Did you perhaps mean Plaza Inn? PI will make the chef salads, and customize them, for lunch and dinner. The famous fried chicken is also offered for lunch and dinner. Not sure that either item is on the character breakfast buffet.

D'oh! You're right, I'll correct my post.

 

[kengquist]

We love Catal.

What is Catal?

 

[deetman]

What is Catal?

Catal is one of the Restaurants in Downtown Disney.