California Grill's gone WAAAY downhill...

[maminnie]

We are DVC members and have been going for years. The food quality has gone somewhat down hill over the years while the prices have gone up significantly. We have done dining plan and non dining plan trips.

Certain restaurants like Le Cellier, Les Chef de France, Coral Reef, Liberty Tree, Prime Time, etc. while we still enjoy them and would even recommend them, the quality and quantity of food and sometimes the level of service has changed over the years. The menus of some restaurants are also extremely limited, some so limited we do not even select these restaurants. There are a few restaurants that have gotten better though like Mama Melroses in our opinion.

I have always wanted to try California Grill but personally I am not going to take a chance on hundreds of dollars for a mediocre meal. Rather I will have dinner at a more reasonably priced restaurant and head over to Magic Kingdom to watch the fireworks display as well as see the parade beforehand. Not a rooftop view but it will have to do for our family.

 

[sotoalf]

I wouldn't worry about Citricos -- it looks like one of the few signatures unaffected by the changes.

 

[GeorgeY]

Sorry if I missed it, but who is the current chef at CG? I know a few years ago, or maybe many years ago it was always big news whenever a chef took over.

George

 

[Peter Pirate 2]

I second everything Peter Pirate has posted!

For details on our CG visit last month:

Cheese plate -- used to be amazing. This time, it had clearly been plated hours before. The cheeses were drying on the edges! Not the quality I expect in a restaurant charging $20 for a cheese plate.

Wines by the glass -- we ordered two red wines by the glass. The waitress bought them and asked if we would like to sample them first. Thank goodness we did. Both had been opened far, far too long and had oxidized beyond the point at which they could even be served. We ordered a bottle instead. But, it was shocking to us that a restaurant that had for years promoted itself as a showcase for California food and wine was now trying to serve up old wine for prices of $20 a glass.

Upshot -- top prices for reduced quality, so it's now off our list.

As for the effect of DDP -- we see it very clearly in the desserts. There is not a decent dessert to be had at any signature restaurant anymore. They are all mass produced, plated hours ago and a spin in one way or another on a zebra dome. Yuck.

Our best meals last month were Il Mulino, Fulton's, Bice, V&A, none of which take DDP. Jiko also was good (the one signature that seems to be bucking the trend -- although the dessert there was also a cheap, mass produced disappointment (oh for the freshly made donuts they used to feature)).

Oddly, we had a couple of tasty meals at one table service credit restaurants -- Sanaa and Kouzzina.

Overall, however, Disney has reduced quality significantly but has kept prices high. This from someone who lives in NYC and dines regularly at restaurants like Gramercy Tavern, Union Square Cafe, etc. Disney's prices are comparable to these restaurants, however the food no longer is.

Thanks Elizabeth, I appreciate it, but don't be too quick to agree with me or you might not be around here too long, LOL. It seems my posts have been out of order (someone complained) as will this one be, so I'll be leaving the DIS for awhile because it just isn't any fun this way.

I hope everyone keeps complaining about food quality until Disney gets the message.

 

[happymommy]

I have to agree. We ate there on Christmas night, and my son and I each had the Machong (a fish I love). It was so salty, we asked for some plain rice to mix with it (it comes with rice and some veggies, done a stir fry type way). You couldn't even taste the fish.

The atmosphere is too bustling, and the lighting could be better. For the price, I won't be eating ANY sit down meals at disney again. It's gotten way too expensive for what you get. I can get a better meal nearby - and don't mind spending on a good meal, but ours at CG was just okay at best. We didn't even stay for the fireworks, which were just 30 minutes after we left. Total disappointment.

 

[Donald Fan 2005]

My family and I ate at GC on 12/7 and everyone had a great meal. It was my and DH 3rd time and my parents 1st. We were NOT on the DDP plan and there is no way to know if this had anything to do with our experience. Our waitress was very attentive and did not rush us at all... in fact we had to ask for our check to be brought out because it was getting late for our DD. We had the cheese flat bread, 1 steak, 2 ravioli and 1 scallop entree... i had a bite of everyone's and thought they were all amazing! And dessert was incredible... pumpkin cheesecake and the chocolate cake! Everything was fantastic.

 

[jerivera]

I will say this, as someone who has studied industrial psychology--paying with cash or a credit card is very different than paying with credits. Credits remove the customer from the monetary exchange aspect--parting with credits isn't the same experience as parting with cash, from a psychological standpoint. By having people pay a lump sum at the beginning of their trip, Disney is distancing customers from the actual amount they are spending per meal. So if you get an eh steak and are asked to pay fifty dollars for it, you're more likely to say something than if you're asked to give over two credits (especially if you wouldn't have another use for those two credits because of when you're leaving). People in the former category are more likely to demand a financial compensation than people in the latter category, because while credits represent real money one has spent, most people treat them more casually than they would actual money that they had to lay out on the spot.

That's how they got us. In our case, we just didn't have enough meals in the day for the rest of your trip to spend the credits even if we raised a fuss and they refunded the credits.

That's what annoyed me the most about the whole DDP experience. The manager just saying "oh, sorry", and knowing that I didn't really have any recourse (other than the DIS boards!). It felt like we were getting cheated.

Lets put it this way. My lesson learned here is:

(1) I am never doing a DDP again. It locks you in, and doesn't give you almost any flexibility to respond to a situation like this one. Plus, unless you eat like mad it's just not really cost effective.

Live & Learn, I guess...

 

[prttynpnk]

We ate at CG last month for the 1st time and had no issues with the food, service or atmosphere, even on the DDP and even without ordering expensive drinks. We will go again and take our chances, just like we do every time we eat out.

 

[Jungle Cruiser]

I consider the dining plan a symptom, not a cause. I do believe it is the reason many of the restaurants (especially inside the parks) are packed and the restaurant must add tables to an already cramped room, rush guests along, and change offerings to easier-to-prepare items.

One thing I do notice is that for every bad review of a WDW restaurant there is a review that is totally opposite.

How true about the reviews! We have eaten at California Grill for years, our favorite restaurant at WDW. We have never been disappointed. However, I am sure others have, but isn't that true with any restaurant, especially more expensive ones, whether they be at WDW or anywhere else? We expect perfection at Disney and don't always get it.

Again, I agree with TDC Nala, the dining plan is a symptom, not a cause. It has enabled more people to enjoy the table service restaurants, therefore they are more crowded.

Hopefully those people who have been disappointed in a meal at California Grill will give it another chance and love it next time!

 

[Planogirl]

Thanks Elizabeth, I appreciate it, but don't be too quick to agree with me or you might not be around here too long, LOL. It seems my posts have been out of order (someone complained) as will this one be, so I'll be leaving the DIS for awhile because it just isn't any fun this way.

I hope everyone keeps complaining about food quality until Disney gets the message.

To some, any implied criticism of anything "Disney" is viewed as an attack. If you see this, I hope that you come back soon. Unbiased opinions are interesting IMO.

As for California Grill, I hope that the place's fans continue to enjoy. I hate reading threads about how disappointed someone was with a restaurant.

 

[Boardwalk Tigger]

We were just there a few days ago and the food was very good.We ordered a wide range of things. Only complaint is that there are too many babies and little kids being brought there. Never use to be so many and when we were leaving at 945 pm people were coming in with little kids and babies. Ridiculous! Not fair to these children who were being dragged in tired nor to the other diners in the restaurant who would like a nice quiet expensive dinner. The dining plan has ruined Disney fine dining.

 

[PrincessAurora]

Sorry about your experience. I first ate at CA Grill in 2003. I was sooo excited because of posts on this board. It was "average". It wasn't awful. It wasn't fantastic. It was average. The sushi wasn't as good as I am use to in San Francisco and they didn't have much variety. I was also feeling ill so I thought I would give them another try.

I ate there again about 2 years ago. Again it was "average". It wasn't V&A or Jiko or Artist Point (the places I go to each and every trip). It was fine but for the price, I expected more.

I should say since I live in CA, and go to Disneyland all the time, I only get to WDW every other year. I try to add new places each year along with my tried and true favs as well as rotating through others I'm re-trying. I always used the dining plan, except for this past year on my solo trip. I did a cost-analysis and determined what I would order out of pocket (with signature dining each night and a trip to V&A) would cost less than being on the dining plan.

When I was on the dining plan, I never mentioned it to my server until I paid the bill so as far as they were concerned I was a "regular" customer. For my next trip I was going to give CA Grill one more try. Now I'm not so sure. There are a ton of eateries out there and since my time is limited, it's precious and life is too short to eat average food at that price.

As a similar example with a different result - last trip I was at Blue Zoo. They served me raw fish. I sent it back. I found out it was a new dish for the Chef. I asked the manager if the Chef test cooked the recipe (since it was a new fish for him) during prep. He said no. I said "Todd English would have. Gordon Ramsey would have." They re-did the fish, after another try the flesh was cooked but the bottom 1/4 and skin was so hard I couldn't cut it with a steak knife. It had issues. They pulled it from the menu. Since no one tested it, they didn't find out until I ordered it that the fish would "seize" when cooking. They were solicitous. Everything else was amazing. They made me an alternate dish that was incredible. They made it right. I am going there again on my next trip.

To me whether others have a great time or not, those issues you describe are unacceptable. Raw isn't the same as medium rare. I've cooked that pork dish. I love it. I cook it all the time. It is pink in the middle but it is not raw or wiggly. The char on the outside and raw on the inside is due to cooking it at too high a heat. Scales are unforgivable especially at a place of this caliber. The manager really should have made more of an effort and at least responded to your letter.

I'll give CA Grill another try but it won't be for a while. I have other places to fit in first.