Blue Bayou or Carthay Circle? Anniversary Dinner

[spankyone]

Hello, this is my first post ever. I'll be visiting the parks in september and my wife and i actually get an anniversary dinner to ourselves while grandma is watching the kids. We've been to blue bayou before and loved the food and the ambiance, but i'm wondering if i should try something new like carthay circle, never been there before, or stick with what we love. Any suggestions, opinions? Thanks, james

 

[PinkBudgie]

Welcome!

I haven't been to BB in about 10 years due to the rising price seemingly exceeding the quality of service and the food. But if you've been recently, then you know what you are getting. I do love the atmosphere!

Carthay Circle is now a must do for us. We love the quiet setting and the food. How long is Grandma watching the kids? Long enough for you to do the WOC dinner package and see WOC from prime viewing? This is what we usually do.

In the end I guess you have to decide if you feel like trying something new. If i makes a difference, you can have wine with your meal at CC.

 

[whoever]

I would be wary of Carthay. The service is horrible, the food ill prepared and cold by the time it gets to you. Blue Bayou blew Carthay away on our May 13 trip. The drinks were great though.

 

[DisneyJamieCA]

I would be wary of Carthay. The service is horrible, the food ill prepared and cold by the time it gets to you. Blue Bayou blew Carthay away on our May 13 trip. The drinks were great though.

We have the complete opposite experience at our two trips to Carthay Circle. We ended up with the same table both times, great service, delicious food and in the end, fairly affordable (compared within Disney). I do also love Blue Bayou and have had great experiences there as well.

 

[figment_jii]

I think it's a matter of which one you want to go to. I've dined at both Carthay and Blue Bayou several times and I've enjoyed both venues. You said you've been to Blue Bayou, so you already have a sense of what it is like. Carthay is "roughly" DCA's equivalent, but I think it has a little more emphasis placed on food. I've found the house biscuits to be outstanding and most of the entrees I've tried have been pretty good. It's hard to recommend a specific entree because Carthay has a seasonal menu, so what is on the menu now, might not be there in September (it depends on when they go to a Fall/Autumn menu).

Personally, for me, I would probably opt to try Carthay Circle because it would be something new.

 

[chrisaman]

I feel carthay is more of a special occasion type of place where blue bayou is more of a gimmicky every trip kinda place.
My only thing with carthay is I have never gone there and enjoyed everything they put in front of me. I really liked parts of my meal every time but every time there was also something I disliked. For example, last time I went I got a fish dish which I can't remember exactly what it was. However the fish was outstanding. I did not like the curry rice that came with it. It was so heavily spiced I could barely eat it.

Personally I would rather go to napa rose if it will be open when you go or steakhouse 55. But between the two you picked out go with carthay.

 

[JasonShannon76]

Steakhouse 55 Food is awesome! And their Creme Brûlée is the best I've ever had.

 

[crystal1313]

DH and I love BB! But, our last trip without the kids, we tried CC and fell in love! Our food was wonderful (and hot!), service was great, and being able to have a cocktail was really nice too. We also loved the lounge. The fried biscuits were incredible! We sat on the balcony as the parade went by. It is our new favorite spot =)

We also love Steakhouse 55 and almost went there instead of CC but decided we should be more adventurous and try something new!

 

[Nonsuch]

Steakhouse 55 Food is awesome! And their Creme Brûlée is the best I've ever had.

I second your suggestion
Steakhouse 55 would also be my choice over BB or CC, for a special occasion dinner.
Service at CC has been variable (as the positive and negative PP confirm) and seating location can be a factor. The side rooms, leading to the outside patios, can be quite noisy.

 

[AustinTink]

We visited Carthay Circle for the first time last month. I will definitely be adding it to our "must do" list every trip from now on. Everything we had was spot on... my husband's fish dish, my chicken and spinach ravioli in a light corn broth and my son's new york strip were all cooked to perfection. And the jalapeno cheddar biscuits were addictive.

Service was spot on with the wait staff and the manager came by as well to chat. We sat up on the balcony and it felt like such a respite from the hustle and bustle down below. We enjoyed a glass of wine (or two) from the "Disney family of wines" on the menu. That was an interesting touch and fun to try.

We tried two desserts that night. One was a sundae-ish concoction with house made marshmallows and caramel popcorn. That was my son's and I think I might have gotten one bite. He loved it. DH and I had a creme brulee. Also quite good.

So, in my opinion go for CC. It feels a little more special for an anniversary dinner. We dressed nicely for the evening and didn't feel out of place. We would have at BB. It just feels a little more upscale. Have fun wherever you go and happy anniversary.

 

[dcraythorn]

We did our anniversay dinner at Carthay Circle in May. We had great service from the time we got there till we left. The food was so good and it came out hot. Will do this one again.

 

[kaci]

I'm going to go ahead and let my inner wino show... I wouldn't consider any dry restaurant anniversary worthy But that's just me

 

[DisneyJamieCA]

I'm going to go ahead and let my inner wino show... I wouldn't consider any dry restaurant anniversary worthy But that's just me

I actually agree with this. If we had the chance for an adults only dinner it would be some place that served alcohol!

 

[rentayenta]

Have you considered Napa Rose?

 

[BriannaRuth]

Napa Rose is closed for a good part of September.

DH and I did CC last time we were there for our anniversary, with WOC after. I wasn't all that fond of it. Maybe my expectations were too high, but it just wasn't that special to me.

Really loved the ambience -- we're art deco fans and the art deco style there is beautiful. However, we didn't find the setting to be all that romantic for the simple reason that because it's still in the middle of a Disney park, there were people there with obviously overly tired kids who let them run amok, talk loudly enough to disturb others nearby, climb on the furniture, etc. It's like the parents decided because they were at DCA, bad behavior was ok. I don't mind so much at the more casual restaurants, but to me a nice restaurant is a nice restaurant and people should let their kids know they need to act accordingly. I have kids of my own, so it's not that I dislike kids, but sometimes they need to behave!!

The food was hit and miss. The service was friendly but totally inept. Our server knew nothing about food/wine pairings, was unable to answer questions on the menu, and it took FOREVER to get a drink.

If you do end up going, don't let them seat you in the side rooms. Those are not nearly as nice.

We did enjoy having a cocktail in the bar area before we went to dinner. The cocktails are great, the ambience is great, and there were no kids.

We're celebrating our anniversary again this year and I'm thinking of going to Brennan's Jazz Kitchen in DTD, or possibly elsewhere in DTD, then possibly going to CC just for a drink. Wanted to do Napa Rose, but they're closed.

I love BB too, but we always do it for lunch.

 

[spankyone]

Thanks for all the advice, well be there september 8-12 so im not sure when napa rose is supposed to reopen. I think we'll prob try carthay circle, i didn't realize the prix fixe menu changed with season cause i looked at it now and it sounds a lot more tasty than when i looked at it 6 months ago, lets hope it stays the same till september.

 

[hjgaus]

My husband and I ate @ Napa Rose & Carthay Circle for our special occasions and were both exceptional!!!

A few years ago our family of 4 experienced dining @ Blue Bayou and found it to be just okay. The service was fine but the food was average by our standards and really did not enjoy eating "technically in the dark". Although we have ALWAYS wanted to know what it was like to dine while the riders passed us by and that was interesting!

Definitely try a nicer place for your anniversary would be my suggestion! Enjoy whichever you choose!