California Grill or The Wave?

[Kara315]

For people who have been to both, or just really love one, or really disliked one. Which do you prefer? I'm planning on going to one for my mother's birthday, and having a cake sent to us from the Contemporary, so figured it'd be easiest to eat there as well and these two restaurants jumped out to me more then Chef Mickey's.
Which one do you prefer? or if you haven't been to both, did you enjoy the one you went to?
Thanks.

 

[Patty3]

Hands down, California Grill. It is my favorite restaurant at DisneyWorld. We ate there again this past December and it was wonderful. We had a widow table and loved looking at the Magic Kingdom, Poly and the GF. The food was wonderful as usual. I had the sonoma goat cheese ravioli and the steak, daughter had flatbread and the desserts are great as well. We also dined at the Wave, used to really like it, but this time neither of us liked our meal and will not be going back. If the food had not taken so long to be served, I definitely would have sent it back. We were going to MVMCP and left plenty of time so we would not have to rush but the service and food that night were terrible.

 

[Kara315]

Hands down, California Grill. It is my favorite restaurant at DisneyWorld. We ate there again this past December and it was wonderful. We had a widow table and loved looking at the Magic Kingdom, Poly and the GF. The food was wonderful as usual. I had the sonoma goat cheese ravioli and the steak, daughter had flatbread and the desserts are great as well. We also dined at the Wave, used to really like it, but this time neither of us liked our meal and will not be going back. If the food had not taken so long to be served, I definitely would have sent it back. We were going to MVMCP and left plenty of time so we would not have to rush but the service and food that night were terrible.

The view at California Grill is definatly winning us over!! Never been there but the pictures we have seen are amazing. Thanks for explaining your experiance with both restuarants. California Grill is really winning me over. And I know my mother would love it.
Thanks again! It really helped, especially to hear about both.

 

[Sunstar]

Cali Grill definitely. We ate at both on our honeymoon in August and we both really disliked The Wave. The food there just wasn't very good. Cali was better, and the view is amazing.

 

[iloveeeyore]

We've been to both, and while we all liked The Wave, we LOVED Cali Grill! We can't wait to go back in August! We watched the fireworks on the observation deck between courses, and our entire dinner took about 3 hours. We had a beautiful birthday cake prepared by chef Brian delivered to our table.

 

[Kara315]

Cali Grill definitely. We ate at both on our honeymoon in August and we both really disliked The Wave. The food there just wasn't very good. Cali was better, and the view is amazing.

Thank you! With two reviews or The Wave not being so great, I'm not taking a chance! Definatly going to the California Grill, Does anyone know if you can request a window table? Or do they not accept requests like that? Even if it's not guaranteed it's ok, but I might mention it's for a birthday and would like a window if ones open.

 

[aggiegirl1234]

I've been to both. I LOVED California Grill. The menu has several great choices and I remember having a hard time deciding on what to order. Everything that I ended up ordering was not only delicious but also presented very well. The service could not have been better and our waiter was very attentive. The view was to die for.

The Wave on the other hand felt like any old restaurant, so not much of an experience there. I had a hard time deciding what to order there, but that was because nothing really jumped out at me on the menu. I was underwhelmed with what I ordered. The food was pretty bland. And from what I remember, I don't think there were any windows in the restaurant. The waiters seemed overworked and the host was rude. So pretty much the opposite of California Grill

Here's a link to my dining review with reviews of both restaurants: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2480101. Hope that helps!

 

[Tamar]

Thank you! With two reviews or The Wave not being so great, I'm not taking a chance! Definatly going to the California Grill, Does anyone know if you can request a window table? Or do they not accept requests like that? Even if it's not guaranteed it's ok, but I might mention it's for a birthday and would like a window if ones open.

Yes, you can request a window table. If you have a first seating and a celebration, it's a good bet you will get one. For a second seating, you'll probably have to wait (maybe up to 1/2 hour after check in) for a window table to become available.

 

[Kara315]

Yes, you can request a window table. If you have a first seating and a celebration, it's a good bet you will get one. For a second seating, you'll probably have to wait (maybe up to 1/2 hour after check in) for a window table to become available.

Probably a stupid question lol....but just for first seating, do you just call and ask for that, or I suppose ask for the time right when they open?

 

[DonaldDoleWhip]

I love the idea of The Wave - healthier, more seasonally inspired food than the typical Disney casual restaurant. But I received a very bad piece of fish there - my knife couldn't even cut it. Plus, The Wave has no ambiance - it feels like you're dining in a box with generic hotel music playing in the background.

California Grill is definitely a better option for a special celebration, and the food overall is much better.

 

[Kara315]

I love the idea of The Wave - healthier, more seasonally inspired food than the typical Disney casual restaurant. But I received a very bad piece of fish there - my knife couldn't even cut it. Plus, The Wave has no ambiance - it feels like you're dining in a box with generic hotel music playing in the background.

California Grill is definitely a better option for a special celebration, and the food overall is much better.

Thanks,
and Thanks for everyone else who reviewed, after reading them and looking more into the California Grill, I think it's a given lol. I really appreciate the help guys!!

 

[sly1971]

100% for sure...California Grill.

 

[Tamar]

Probably a stupid question lol....but just for first seating, do you just call and ask for that, or I suppose ask for the time right when they open?

The restaurant opens at 5:30, so yes, any time in the first hour they are open would definitely be first seating. I don't even know if they take any reservations between 6-6:30.

 

[Kara315]

The restaurant opens at 5:30, so yes, any time in the first hour they are open would definitely be first seating. I don't even know if they take any reservations between 6-6:30.

Ok thanks, I'm definatly going to try for around 5:30.

 

[MichaelForbin]

Ok thanks, I'm definatly going to try for around 5:30.

If I were you I would make a reservation for 1 hour before Wishes is scheduled to start. This was you can enjoy the fireworks during your meal

 

[gabzee]

California Grill.... hands down!

 

[minniebeth]

If I were you I would make a reservation for 1 hour before Wishes is scheduled to start. This was you can enjoy the fireworks during your meal

If you have dinner early, you can always go back up to see the fireworks. I've eaten dinner there where it's first open and also during fireworks. Both are great times to go, but it's so nice and quiet/peaceful early, a wonderful time to really get the appreciation of the restaurant. Eating during the fireworks is much more crowded, busy, and noisy. A lot of people just go up for drinks at that time and gets super busy. It almost takes away from the ambiance in my personal opinion.

If you go early and then go back for the fireworks, you get the best of both worlds...just our experience and is all up to what kind of dinner atmosphere you are looking for.

 

[vanillarum]

For us, it's not even close. We LOVE the California Grill and have eaten there a few times. Our last trip in Dec we tried the Wave for the first time, and we will not return. At the wave we had s l o w service, very small portions, food was over or under cooked. And did I mention the service was slow ?! We are usually pretty easy going as a family, but the Wave definitely did not do it for us. Good luck.

 

[Kara315]

If I were you I would make a reservation for 1 hour before Wishes is scheduled to start. This was you can enjoy the fireworks during your meal

What time do they start? That does sound like fun.

 

[Kara315]

If you have dinner early, you can always go back up to see the fireworks. I've eaten dinner there where it's first open and also during fireworks. Both are great times to go, but it's so nice and quiet/peaceful early, a wonderful time to really get the appreciation of the restaurant. Eating during the fireworks is much more crowded, busy, and noisy. A lot of people just go up for drinks at that time and gets super busy. It almost takes away from the ambiance in my personal opinion.

If you go early and then go back for the fireworks, you get the best of both worlds...just our experience and is all up to what kind of dinner atmosphere you are looking for.

That probably does sound best, have dinner then go back since it gets busy for the fireworks. I'm sure it might be busy when they first open but probably not as loud and relaxing when they have the fireworks. Thats a great idea!