California Grill's gone WAAAY downhill...

[jerivera]

I was so let down by our last California Grill visit, I needed to make a post about it. So here goes...

DW and I have been here about 5 times. This time we went to Disney with my parents, and had raved about the restaurant. So we all went (us, parents, kids).

Go figure, it was the worst restaurant we attended. We had Quick Service meals that were better. Waaaay better!

What went wrong? A lot of things. I'm listing them out below. While reading them, keep in mind this is a restaurant that charges $44 for a steak. The food should be unforgettable for how delicious it was, not the other way around!

1. As soon as we sat down, they brought out the water glasses. My mom's had a bright red lipstick mark on the glass rim. Clearly visible by everyone on the table. They apologized and brought her a new one. (Not a good way to start a meal when you're wondering if the glass you're now drinking from was cleaned or not.)
2. Mom ordered the pork, it was brought out undercooked. As in actually raw in the middle. We asked the waiter, she was surprised by how undercooked it was and took it back.
3. Pork came back burnt to a crisp. Charcoal looking, really. I wouldn't have eaten it, but go figure, my mom likes it burnt. So we thought we'd had the last laugh until she ate some of it and found that the middle was still raw. She settled for eating around the disgusting raw part.
4. My wife got the same pork dish, and it was cooked properly. However, she tasted it and it was cold. Fridge-like cold. She thought that it was supposed to be eaten cold, and ate it. We later asked the waiter, she said it was not a cold dish. Yuck.
5. I ate the snapper dish. Ok dish, until I started having to remove the fish scales from my mouth. Gotta say, fish scales are nasty. I actually tried to hide (unsuccessfully) the fact that I had fish scales from my parents, because I was so embarrassed by how bad the restaurant was.

At this point the waiter insisted (we were extremelly disappointed but not angry... hey, it's still in Disney!) that the manager come out. Well, we wait, and 20 minutes later he finally shows up, says "Oops, sorry", yet does absolutely nothing.

We were on the dining plan, so maybe that's why we got treated to such a horrible meal? Still, we actually PAID for the dining plan. For $44 steaks and $36 fish, this place should have been amazing.

Oh, and not food related, but they could tighten the screws on their chairs. Mine was pretty rickety. I could swing back and forth on it, and it was not a rocking chair.

Needless to say, we won't be back. What a letdown.

 

[Halle]

Wow, I am sorry to read that you had a disappointing experience. We have reservations there on 12/30, taking our kids and their spouses, party of 10 no dining plan....our treat. We have eaten there numerous times and have felt that it was better prior to the free dining or dining plans. We have noticed that at other signature restaurants to.. We are also going to Yachtsman Steakhouse, I am worried about that choice just based on the changes to the menu ( no chateaubriand). I'll be sure to post our experiences.

 

[TheRustyScupper]

1) And, people say I am crazy to say WDW food & service has deteriorated.
2) Thank you for the food review.

 

[beachclub]

wholeheartedly agree. Last year (we go twice a year) was the last time the Cali Grill will see our faces.
Our gripe is the food quailty. This used to be awesome, tasty and breathtaking.
now its mediocre....

ANother victim of DIsneys food plans and food promotions.
the more they have these the worse its going to get everywhere...

I just hope narcossisse's and Yachtmans dont get bad.

Le Celliaur is another one thats went downhill fast.

 

[Halle]

wholeheartedly agree. Last year (we go twice a year) was the last time the Cali Grill will see our faces.
Our gripe is the food quailty. This used to be awesome, tasty and breathtaking.
now its mediocre....

ANother victim of DIsneys food plans and food promotions.
the more they have these the worse its going to get everywhere...

I just hope narcossisse's and Yachtmans dont get bad.

Le Celliaur is another one thats went downhill fast.

Have you been to Yachtsman recently? Have ADR's at Narcosses in March>

 

[Sweettears]

We ate there on the 15th and thought it was fantastic.

 

[beachclub]

Yes, we were just there in October, Yachtsmans is always our last nights dinner to celebrate an ending to our trip. We save it for the last night becuase its our favorite restaurant. We;ve been so many times that we seriously have the same server every time, His name is Sam , he is the nicest server on property. He knows us personally now.
Each and every time I get the FIlet and its always cooked to perfection. Then theres the dessert...yummy

Narcosses is our favorite Seafood dining option. The staff is not as nice as the Yacht club, but the seafood makes up for it in many ways.

Have you been to Yachtsman recently? Have ADR's at Narcosses in March>

 

[DisneyFamily123]

That sounds terrible! Sorry you had a bad experience. I would have refused to eat there and insisted on being compensated for the dining plan credits.... then found someplace else to eat.

We went there earlier this month. It's not my favorite signature... but DW liked her filet there and I really enjoyed the Pacific Monchong (deep see Hawaiian fish) entree - nice to have fish that's different from what is usually offered on the East Coast. I liked the Monchong a LOT, but the appetizers and desserts were just ok. The view is nice. But the restaurant feels kind of cramped with tables very close together.

For signatures, we LOVE Flying Fish Cafe at the Boardwalk Inn. The mussels appetizer were incredible and both our seafood dishes were the best -- red snapper, and yellowfin tuna.

We also really enjoyed the Brown Derby. We were not expecting to enjoy it as much because of mixed reviews... but it was very good. We came back for an unscheduled lunch there in the same trip. Especially good was the cobb salad and these 2 dishes not always on the menu.

• Oyster and Brie Soup finished with champagne, chives and lemon aioli
• Brown Butter Almond Crusted Black Grouper with Golden Beets, Roasted Celery Root and Leeks, and a Lobster Beurre Blanc

But my favorite restaurant is Yak and Yeti in Animal Kingdom. Service is great. The Thai chili wings appetizer was really good. The ribs entree was the best ribs I've ever had (that was DW's entree). I had the Malaysian Seafood Curry which may have been the best thing I've ever eaten in my life. No kidding.

 

[Peter Pirate 2]

How ironic. You were on the ddp, which many believe is causing the Disney culinary downturn, and were victimized by the result.

Too bad. This is one restaurant which has seldom had bad reviews. What's next V&A's???



Note: No offense meant by my first comment, the ddp isn't your fault and I certainly am not wishing bad food on anybody. I just noticed the irony.

 

[Horse]

I was so let down by our last California Grill visit, I needed to make a post about it. So here goes...

...Needless to say, we won't be back. What a letdown.

I tried Cali Grill in August because a friend had told me they had several sushi items on the menu. I was extremely disappointed as well as you were. I heard this used to be a great restaurant and I wish I didn't have to remove it from my list of restaurant possibilities on my trips. I don't use the dining plan so I found it very overpriced for the quality.

 

[robinbutterfly]

So do you all think because Disney is doing so many Free Dining Promotions, that are cutting corners here and there and that the quality of the food is not as good?

 

[beachclub]

yep...

So do you all think because Disney is doing so many Free Dining Promotions, that are cutting corners here and there and that the quality of the food is not as good?

 

[Kay1]

Fish scales? Raw pork? Ghastly! Disney food used to be so good.

 

[DonaldDoleWhip]

So do you all think because Disney is doing so many Free Dining Promotions, that are cutting corners here and there and that the quality of the food is not as good?

Definitely. We really noticed it overall during free dining in summer 2008, and things haven't gotten much better.

 

[CaliforniaDreaming]

Thank you for the review. I've enjoyed the California Grill over the years, probably have been there a few dozen times, twice this year. The only thing that has stayed the same over the years is the decor. Lately I've had a lot of issues getting a steak cooked to medium, it seems to come out rare or medium rare, even after multiple attempts (and the wait staff seems puzzled when they watch me cut in and it is still underdone). Needless to say, I did not order the steak on my last visit.

Like other posters have said, this isn't unique to the California Grill. But seems to be directly related to the dining plan. I remember when the dining plans used to be thousands of dollars, and it seemed like no one really ever got it unless they opted for the luxurious Grand Plan.

 

[TheRustyScupper]

Disney food used to be so good.

1) Yep.
2) Right up until profit came before guests.

 

[OrangeCat04]

I am sad to hear this. We have a reservation coming up for Dinner here. This will be our first Signature experience. I am torn because I want to watch wishes from the deck and feel like Cali Grill is a good choice for a first Signature but at the same time the quality of the food is important to me as well. I am wondering if we should switch to another Signature, such as Narcoossees or Citricos? We do have 2 picky eaters as well and I am afraid those restaurants won't be as accomodating to them. Thoughts?

 

[tiffsix]

1) Yep.
2) Right up until profit came before guests.

I concur...Disney food has become SO bad. We used to look forward to eating each trip, now we just look for the least of the evils-darn shame

 

[Tinkerbell2B]

I am sad to hear this. We have a reservation coming up for Dinner here. This will be our first Signature experience. I am torn because I want to watch wishes from the deck and feel like Cali Grill is a good choice for a first Signature but at the same time the quality of the food is important to me as well. I am wondering if we should switch to another Signature, such as Narcoossees or Citricos? We do have 2 picky eaters as well and I am afraid those restaurants won't be as accomodating to them. Thoughts?

I am right there with you! Our March trip will be the first time we have ever been able to enjoy any of the signature restaurants. Starting to wonder if upgrading to the DDxDP was the wrong thing do to since that is what is essentially allowing us to use two credits at a lot of dinners/shows. If the food isn't good in the signature restaurants, then the upgrade is a total waste of money in my opinion! I was planning on Cali Grill for my birthday. May be changing that now!!

 

[aubriee]

Wow, I had the red snapper at California Grill when I was at WDW Dec 4th-12th and it was great. In fact everything I had that night was really good (beet salad, red snapper with risotto, and cheese plate).

Surprisingly the worst meal of my trip was at Le Cellier. At 180 days out I was lucky enough to get two ADRs for Le Cellier that week. After eating lunch there, I canceled my dinner ADR for a few nights later. I usually love Le Cellier, but not this time. It tasted like someone had dumped a whole box of salt on both my duck balls appetizer and filet/risotto entree, then forgot to add sugar to the cobbler.