California Grill

[Stef831]

Can anyone give me any review of the California Grill?? I have always wanted to try this restaurant but never have. Considering it for our upcoming trip. thanks so much!

 

[PrincessAurora]

I know I'm going to be in the minority but I found it over rated. I desperatly wanted to break the pattern of "let down restaurant on our last night" trend. I had heard such great things so I went. Now to be fair, I was feeling gross that night and the staff did go to great lengths to make me a bicarb even though they didn't know what one was (those poor young things) and had to track down baking soda.

The place is noisy. There were no fireworks when we were there. The food was good but just not as good as Artist Point or Jiko or Citricos. I am a HUGE sushi fan and eat things that most white people wont touch with a 10 ft fishing rod. I heard raves about their sushi and found it sub-par. It was unimaginative, the ginger was stale, the fish was not real fresh tasting (a requirement for sushi) and nothing in particular stood out.

Maybe my choices were off. I would go back but just not right away. I think you should still try it. Enough people have had good experiences that I think its worth the try.

 

[Uncleromulus]

Here's one I did from a recent trip:
http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=12668026&postcount=1

 

[Lindamary123]

We just returned from a great trip last week. We all enjoyed our meal at CG, we were a party of four, me, my DH and my boys, age 15 and 19. We were seated right away for a 7:20 ADR and were lucky to be seated right by the window! What a lovely view! The fireworks that night were not until 10PM but we enjoyed a beautiful sunset.
We ordered the four cheese flatbread and the smoked salmon flatbread for appetizers. I was pleasantly surprised how much I loved the salmon, it was fantastic! My DH had a salad as a first course but I don't remember what kind.
The main course:
I had the scallops which melted in my mouth! My DH had the Halibut and the boys each had the filet. Everyone loved their meals. We shared two desserts, cheesecake and something chocolate, I can't remember.
Our server was excellent as was the entire experience. You will love this place, it is worth the money!
Have a great time!

Linda

 

[jonimce]

We loved our visit at CG in 2004. One of our most magical moments. We were at two tables, one for 8 and one for 6. The Host came up to me and asked if my 5yo DGS would like to help Tinkerbell start the fire works. What a great memory, Jordan turning on the music and turning down the lights. he truely believes he helped her start them. Oh, and the food was pretty good too.

 

[dnbent]

I just have to post. We had been to Disney 6 or 7 times before we found the Californian Grill. I doubt that we will do a trip again without one very memorable meal there. We loved it.

The first time that we went we were just a party of 3 adults. A window table with a perfect view of the fireworks and boat parade. Everyone's meal was perfect and the service was the best.

The next time we went we took our daughters, 14 & 16. They each had friends with them. One of these girls had never been to a high end restaurant and she could not get over it. She still says that was the best meal she has ever had. Again, a great table and a great view of the fireworks.

 

[Goofy4]

Just a quick note on the view... We also were fortunate to get a window table on our last trip (we called the night before Mother's day and asked for any available seating in any of the resort restaurant. A 5:30 seating was available at CG, and we were happy to get it!) Okay, back to the view... The sun can be quite bright in the early evening and the shades are typically lowered. We still enjoyed it, just thought I would point out that if you have a choice, you might enjoy it more later in the evening.

 

[Lindamary123]

. The sun can be quite bright in the early evening and the shades are typically lowered. We still enjoyed it, just thought I would point out that if you have a choice, you might enjoy it more later in the evening.

That is true. Once the sun started to set the shades came up and the timing was perfect!

 

[noseybuddy]

CG is one of my favorites! Getting the widow seat during the fireworks is the absolute best. I did this for my 40th birthday and just loved it. Food was always good.

 

[Hopkins]

Has anyone ever been to the California Grill and never gotten "Magic Kingdom View"? It seems the view is the thing here. I'm with the above poster, Jiko and Artist Point are better, but these things are subjective. I'd go back, but only if I'd get the wind to view MK.

Tina
OKW in September

 

[Dizneydaz]

We liked GC last Sept. and are planning on going back this Sept. Another thing to mention regarding the view: we were lucky enough to get a window table but there was no view that night! It had rained earlier in the day (as it does almost every day) and the windows were completely obscured by condensation . And when I say completely, I mean it was like looking through obscure glass. I've never read another comment regarding this so I'm sure it was an unusual occurance. We did have an excellent view of the fireworks from the observation deck-just watch out for the gnats-they didn't bite but the did fly in your face. If you stay away from the lights you should be fine.

I hope when we go back in Sept. that the windows will be clear. I would love to take some pictures from inside looking out. Our ADR is 7:30 that night. I just checked a website and sunset that night is 7:33, twilight is 7:56 so our timing should just be perfect. The shades should be going back up as we get seated.

Happy Dining!

 

[jonimce]

We were seated in the center of the room so we had to go out on the observation deck to watch Wishes. It was great. Did I read somewhere that they no longer lower the lights and pipe in the music? This would be sad.

 

[WDW LOVR]

We were seated in the center of the room so we had to go out on the observation deck to watch Wishes. It was great. Did I read somewhere that they no longer lower the lights and pipe in the music? This would be sad.

We were there a week ago and I'm not sure about the lights, but they definitely piped in the music. We went out on the observation deck for Wishes, but our youngest DS doesn't like wind blowing on his face (he's 14 and hasn't like it since he was a baby) so he stayed inside. I asked him if he heard the music and he said yes. I failed to ask about the lights though.

For a restaurant review. Yes it's kind of noisy and I've had better meals, but overall the food is very good and the setting is fantastic.

Enjoy.

 

[Ron from Michigan]

California Grill is our second favorite place to dine at WDW, just behind Jiko's. We ate there twice last year and enjoyed it both times. We always split a flatbread and then are entrees. I had the Pork tenderloin w/ creamy Polenta on our last visit and it was fantastic.

 

[singingpixie]

Do they pipe the music onto the observation deck as well as inside the restaurant? I don't want to count on a window table, I'm fine wiht going out onto the deck, but Wishes without the music wouldn't be the same!

 

[JustHolly]

We ate there a couple of weeks ago. We hadn't been in over a year.

You have to check in at a special desk set up on the second floor of the Contemporary. From there, a guy will take you up a separate elevator just for the California Grill.

The view is wonderful, but the restaurant is kind of loud. The sushi chef at California Grill is one of the top THREE Sushi chefs in the country! DH had her sushi and said it was amazing! We tried a cheese sampler.... different cheeses (none I could pronounce) were paired with things such as a honeycomb, a fig cake, and apple chutney. It was good, and a neat thing to try.

The night we went, the fireworks were at 10pm. They told us when we checked in at 7:00 that if we were finished eating and wanted to leave for a while, we just had to show our receipt to the elevator guy, and he'd let us up to the observation deck for the fireworks. (We didn't).

Yes, the music is piped in on the deck, too!