Am I the only one who doesn't like Cali Grill?

[Lesverts]

I think it's true of restaurants across the board. I've never had a good meal at Olive Garden, but I have family members you can't pry out of the place for love or breadsticks. Taste by nature is subjective.

Taste is trained. If you've had Mama's home cooked Italian food, going to a place like Tony's or Olive Garden is underwhelming to horrible. If you haven't, it might be a good experience.

There is also the slight issue of view distortion. What North Americans consider Italian, Chinese, French, Mexican etc and what is actually from those countries can be wildly different. Even one so ubiquitous as Italian can produced dishes and food styles that most wouldn't think was Italian. Especially if the food is from the Lombardy, Piedmont or Liguria regions.

 

[maxiesmom]

Big disappointment. Great view but seated too far away to enjoy the window. Most unprofessional waitress we have ever had. Two nearly raw-rare steaks in a row after ordering medium. Noisy, casually dressed patrons with no regard to dress code. There are so many other places that we prefer. We will not be wasting our money there.

As an FYI the California Grill does not have a strict dress code. Park attire is considered fine, as long as it is not tank tops, cut offs, swimwear, or ripped up clothing.

 

[crabbygal902]

What time do you usually arrive? Have you ever been told the lounge is full?

Our experiences are that we arrive before 6 and are immediately taken upstairs the lounge. Granted, we have never been during Christmas week but I would expect that if you arrive early enough you shouldn't encounter problems. We have also been at 9 pm and taken directly to the lounge. I have never made a reservation for CG and I prefer it this way. Apps and beverages works great for us.

 

[JerseyJanice]

I wouldn't say I don't like it. We had one dinner there while on the deluxe plan, and it was a last minute ADR.

The service was excellent, and of course, the view was sublime. A heavy thunderstorm came through while we were eating and it was a magnificent sight all the way up there. But the food...

From my first glance at the menu, I was stumped on what to order. We ate at LeCellier for lunch and at the Yachtsman for dinner the night before. So I did not want to order the filet, but it was the most appealing entree.

Our waiter explained that the menu was changed frequently to include the freshest ingredients. I was sitting there thinking that it would be a shame if I had made an ADR months out, then got there to find an unappealing menu.

Anyhow, one of us ordered sushi for an appetizer. I got a really bad tasting zucchini flower Oscar dish. Our main courses were a porterhouse lamb chop that was seriously undercooked and salmon served over a bland pea risotto. The salmon was served with a hideous skin on top. I grew up eating green peas and rice, so how a pea risotto could be awful, I don't know, but it was.

Dessert was very disappointing. The menu choices were poor. My companion got the cookie plate served with an itty-bitty "milkshake." The tiny glass that milkshake came in was the size a Barbie doll would drink, if Barbies could in fact drink milkshakes. My choice was a rock-hard "lava" cake minus anything resembling lava and strawberry ice cream that was alleged to be housemade, but tasted just like Breyers.

I'm in no hurry to go back, and probably never will unless I hit the lottery. I'm glad I got to experience it once though.

 

[Eastern]

Our experiences are that we arrive before 6 and are immediately taken upstairs the lounge. Granted, we have never been during Christmas week but I would expect that if you arrive early enough you shouldn't encounter problems. We have also been at 9 pm and taken directly to the lounge. I have never made a reservation for CG and I prefer it this way. Apps and beverages works great for us.

I'm going to try that this time. If it doesn't work, it will save me money! Can't lose.

 

[nugov2]

Weird...somehow my post got on the wrong thread....sorry