California grill..worth it?

[wallawallakids]

Just wanted to know what you all think of CG? Worth the price? My husband and I LOVE sushi and the menu looks great for us. (Also my oldest is a huge Sushi fan as well) We would be taking our kids (10,9,4,and 4) but the menu for them looks good too. I am not sure how kid friendly it is? What are your thoughts? I would be doing an AR for the first seating offered...so earlier dinner. Not during the fireworks. Our plan is to go to MK that night. Thanks!

 

[catheren]

Just wanted to know what you all think of CG? Worth the price? My husband and I LOVE sushi and the menu looks great for us. (Also my oldest is a huge Sushi fan as well) We would be taking our kids (10,9,4,and 4) but the menu for them looks good too. I am not sure how kid friendly it is? What are your thoughts? I would be doing an AR for the first seating offered...so earlier dinner. Not during the fireworks. Our plan is to go to MK that night. Thanks!

Cali Grille is great! And yes kid friendly too! I recommend it for u and your family! PS every TS (except V & A) welcome kids!

 

[Pakey]

CG has very good sushi. We don't think the other food offerings are nearly as good as the sushi but it's definitely worth multiple visits for the sushi.

CG is also one of the most kid friendly signatures. While all welcome children, some of the restaurants are quite quiet, offer no views of anything, etc. CG is not that way. It's noisier than most due to all of those glass windows and the popularity of watching fireworks from here has made it a packed busy restaurant from opening up until after the fireworks.

One thing about CG is that there is really no place to take your kids if they need a break. You can't walk outside, there's no lobby to speak of. If you have restless children, it could be tough. The servers do a great job of keeping younger diners engaged but it's usually still a bit of a longer meal than the more casual restaurants.

 

[BLTLDZ]

I think it's worth it! One of our must-do's!

 

[hooch11bear]

We LOVE CG!! It is definitely kid friendly. My husband always orders sushi here and he really enjoys it. I have to say that their goat cheese ravioli is amazing!! We have also gotten their flatbread, which is also very good. I do have to say that their filet is absolutely delicious!! We always go to CG twice each trip because we enjoy it so much.

 

[jedi jen]

We love it and I think it is very kid friendly. The view is great and we always watch Wishes from there. We always go twice per trip.

 

[Corwin]

Just wanted to know what you all think of CG? Worth the price? My husband and I LOVE sushi and the menu looks great for us. (Also my oldest is a huge Sushi fan as well) We would be taking our kids (10,9,4,and 4) but the menu for them looks good too. I am not sure how kid friendly it is? What are your thoughts? I would be doing an AR for the first seating offered...so earlier dinner. Not during the fireworks. Our plan is to go to MK that night. Thanks!

Yes, it's worth it. In fact, out of the 27 table-service restaurants at WDW that we've eaten at, CG is our favorite.

The sushi is fantastic, too. I liked it more than the sushi at Tokyo Dining (which is also good).

On our first visit, our then 10-year old son got a Rice Krispie treat sushi roll in a bento box, complete with Swedish fish on top!

 

[minnie mum]

Yes, the sushi is good, and the kids menu is pretty good too. As PPs have noted, it is one of the more kid friendly signatures. However, it really depends on your children. As one PP mentioned, it is at the top of the tower so if one of the kids has a meltdown, there's no place to take them other than the observation deck. But you know your children best, and can make that decision for yourself. Hope you really enjoy your meal there.

 

[goofyintoronto]

Cali Grill ROCKS! I loooooove that place. Delish food. And its very kid friendly. Give it a try, you wont be sorry!

 

[olecow]

My wife and I went there for the first time this past January and the entire meal experience was very good. The food and service was very good, and watching Wishes from the observation deck was another "Disney Magic" experience. It also seemed kid friendly, for a finer dining experience.

All that being said, I would not go again if I was paying OOP. We were on the free dining plan and it was worth the four credits. The meal was close to $160 with tip for the two of us. If we had our three kids with us (14,11 and 4) I shudder to think what the total bill would be. I don't think any restaurant is worth that in my opinion. Then again, I'm a frequent visitor to the Buget Board on Disboards and my wife occassionally calls me cheap. I prefer thrifty.

I guess the bottom line is if you're comfortable paying the prices at CG then it's definitely worth it.

 

[DemoBri1]

We have been to CG on two different trips, both times we were celebrating our anniversary. We had a wonderful experience the first time, and a so-so experience the second time around. To me it is not a place to go to if you are looking to get the value of food that you are going to pay for. While the food is very good it is quite expensive for the portions that you get. That being said I think you have to experience the ambiance of the CG at least once, and so even though I don't believe the value is that great, I do think it will be a great experience for you.

With the size party you have you may not be able to get a seat by the windows, but hopefully you can get a table near a window looking out towards MK. Being that you are looking for an early seating I'd request that if possible.

 

[Karlzmom]

Cali Grill was fantastic for our family in Dec. Our Ds [then 5] thought it was one of the best meals of the week. Granted, Our DS is not a Holy Terror...I can't imagine if I had one that has trouble sitting in his chair or needs to scream, but he's a typical 5 boy...and it all worked out just fine. We took a walk while waiting for our meals and that helped any wiggles. We all are looking forward to going again soon...

 

[MagicKingdom4Ever]

We have been to CG twice. The first time we were very hesitiant but we loved it much more than we expected to! The food is delicious and the view/atmosphere is amazing. Eating there is magical! I think it would be fine for kids. The kids homemade macaroni and cheese is wonderful. Also, my dad loved the sushi (he had the Spicy Kazan roll). Have fun! CG is my favorite now.

 

[allshookup]

For us it is a must-do every trip. We brought the kids when they were small & they gave them goldfish crackers to snack on & crayons to draw on the paper tablecloth. Not sure if they still do since my kids are teens now, but DS still loves the rice krispi sushi for dessert!

Stand outs for me...Spicy Kazan roll, filet mignon & the chocolate valrhona cake. They will substitute anything that does not appeal...i.e. mashed potatoes instead of polenta, vanilla ice cream in place of coffee ice cream...ask me how I know.

 

[crisi]

I was going to say "I like CG, but I wouldn't go for the sushi, which isn't very good," but apparently I'm outvoted.

For signature dining, it isn't the best at Disney. I like both Flying Fish and Jiko better.

 

[LynneyPooh]

We ate at Cali Grill in June and Oct. Def. worth it to us!! our DD9 voted this as her fav and choose cali grill over the castle in Oct.
She shared my sushi ( which I thought was really good)and our waiter was great about it bringing her a set of chopsticks and giving her a quick lesson with them

Very kid friendly especially if you have children who are use to sitting through long resturant meals. About the time DD finished a course, our waiter (in Oct) did something to make the wait ok. (ie Confetti showers, gave her a resort ink pen, and even personal conversations with her about things like foreign languages, MK, etc.) In June our waitress was good and didn't forget about DD, but DD was in love with Ron from Kentucky by the time we left in Oct...

Also the kids menu was really good and they allowed us to sub their famous mac and cheese in place of the mashed potatoes with her steak. I loved the sea bass, DH like the cheese raviolo, and corn ? chowder. The filet was pretty good too....Don't even get me started on the dessert that wasn't on the menu that was delivered to our table
Our course there was only 3 of us, but soooo worth 2 TS IMHO!!!