Your favorite California Adventure dinner spot?

Lane308

Earning My Ears
Joined
Mar 21, 2016
What would you recommend for table service dinner at CA? 2 adults, 3 kids, pretty open on the style of food as long as it’s tasty!
 
Check the menus for both to see whether your kids will be happy. Some posters have mentioned that the kids menu at LL is too small and that the portions are too small as well. We love LL and Carthay, share everything and never leave hungry, but we're not huge eaters either. WCT might work well -- kids seem happy with that menu -- but the service can be slow, so don't plan a meal there if you'll be rushed.
 


Check the menus for both to see whether your kids will be happy. Some posters have mentioned that the kids menu at LL is too small and that the portions are too small as well. We love LL and Carthay, share everything and never leave hungry, but we're not huge eaters either. WCT might work well -- kids seem happy with that menu -- but the service can be slow, so don't plan a meal there if you'll be rushed.
This is partially why I suggested Carthay. LL does have some yummy offerings, but it's not a large variety. It's more of a sharing food and drinking place.
 


I didn't understand the enthusiasm here for Carthay, till we went (for lunch). It's hard to explain why the atmosphere is so engaging. Just really good service, elegant surroundings but they don't make you feel weird for being in shorts/tennis shoes. Great food. Feels like a movie star restaurant in a classic black and white movie, with Bogey and Bacall or something. If you enjoy classic cocktails, they're really good here, also. DH said it was the best martini he'd ever had, and he's had a few, in elegant places.
 
Everything comes down to how picky your kids are.

DCA only has a few options when it comes to table service.

If your kids are open to anything and aren't picky ( like mine are ), then going to Carthay may not be the best option. They do have a kids menu, but it's more of the healthy kind of options that not all kids may want to eat.

I haven't tried LL yet, so I can't comment.

If you consider the GC restaurants an option as well, then you can look at Napa Rose or StoryTeller's as an option. The kid's menu option at Napa Rose is in the same vein as Carthay. There are options but it may not be to all kid's liking. StoryTeller's has more variety for kids that may appeal to kids.

Wine Country Trattoria is another option. They have a kids menu that should cater to most kids assuming that they are ok with spaghetti and italian food.

I would consider StoryTeller's and Wine Country Trattoria as the safer dinner options for most kids. If they are not as picky and will eat whatever options there are, then Carthay is worth it. Of course, the other option is to go wherever you want and then get the kids a Corn Dog at Corn Dog Castle or a Burger at Smokejumpers before or afterwards.
 
This is partially why I suggested Carthay. LL does have some yummy offerings, but it's not a large variety. It's more of a sharing food and drinking place.
Yes, it's just such a toss up when it comes to kids. Some kids do really well at one place, while other kids refuse to eat off the exact same menu! Best for the parents to look at all the menus, then go with whichever place seems to be the best fit. (But I also like the suggestion above to go with whatever the parents want and just get the kids corn dogs!)
 
It goes beyond menu though....we ate a LL in February with a not too picky kid eater, checked out menus ahead of time and felt a good choice.

The kids pasta was fine but -- it was the size of a small fruit cup. Even the couple next to us that we didn't know commented on the small size of the kids meal and how it must mean kids no older then 3yrs old.

Our overall experience was just ok at LL. I might have built it up too much from all the reviews but it didn't make our top 5 meal list from our visit.
 
It's not table service, but we enjoy eating at Flo's at sundown and watching the activities as we eat. The food is simple but good.
 
My kids thought LL was pretty good, but are more adventurous eaters for the most part. However, they probably talked more about the bacon Mac and cheese cone from the cozy cone more than anything they ate at LL. Service was just ok there and it’s probably a one and done for us, although it was good, but not worth the price good to me (actually I don’t think many places are all that great there, especially given the prices—don’t shoot! There are plenty of good places, but nothing that is worthy of getting hyped up over.) We have enjoyed Flo’s (as someone else mentioned it) in the past and will probably go back there if/when we go to DL again.
 
I have to completely disagree with Carthay lovers. We went there once because I wanted to try it and let my kids experience it. None of us liked it. Very pricey and the food was just too....too. If you want something smallish and fancy and different, that's you're place. But no one in my family has ever asked to return there. We're just as happy going to Flo's V8 or heading to the Wharf and picking from Mexican, Chinese, or those yummy bread bowls. All at half the price! If I HAD to choose a sitdown restaurant, I'd walk right out of DCA to the Jazz Kitchen or even hoof it down to California Pizza Kitchen or McCormick & Schmicks.
 
It goes beyond menu though....we ate a LL in February with a not too picky kid eater, checked out menus ahead of time and felt a good choice.

The kids pasta was fine but -- it was the size of a small fruit cup. Even the couple next to us that we didn't know commented on the small size of the kids meal and how it must mean kids no older then 3yrs old.

Our overall experience was just ok at LL. I might have built it up too much from all the reviews but it didn't make our top 5 meal list from our visit.

The small portions on the kids menu was mentioned above -- see post #4. That is probably one of the most frequent comments/complaints about the kids menu at LL. I think with all the hype and novelty accompanying LL's opening, people forgot that it's essentially a bar lounge, not a full service restaurant. The downstairs menu is small and the upstairs menu is even smaller. CC Lounge is another place where sometimes people forget that it's a bar lounge menu. That kitchen is small and cannot serve the same things that the upstairs kitchen serves. We've seen guests chew out the servers because they thought the meals in the lounge were too small (like the servers could do anything about it). DCA can be a bit odd as a theme park when it comes to food.
 
I have to completely disagree with Carthay lovers. We went there once because I wanted to try it and let my kids experience it. None of us liked it. Very pricey and the food was just too....too. If you want something smallish and fancy and different, that's you're place. But no one in my family has ever asked to return there. We're just as happy going to Flo's V8 or heading to the Wharf and picking from Mexican, Chinese, or those yummy bread bowls. All at half the price! If I HAD to choose a sitdown restaurant, I'd walk right out of DCA to the Jazz Kitchen or even hoof it down to California Pizza Kitchen or McCormick & Schmicks.
yeah I guess it just depends on what your kids are willing to eat. When I was a kid and even a teenager I was very picky. That’s probably why my parents never took me to a sit down restaurant at Disneyland. I was perfectly happy eating burgers, sandwiches and pizza. I didn’t start going to table service restaurants until I was an adult and paying for it with my own money lol
 

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