California Grill
We were very excited to be trying our signature restaurant of the trip, Cali Grill! It had recently re-opened, but DH and I had never been before so it would be our first time experiencing it anyway. We went with two other couples.
We had a reservation but when we arrived we had to wait a bit, so we went out onto the balcony to take a look at Magic Kingdom and the castle. It was a really neat view! Even though it was February and windy up there, so even with my sweater I was a tad bit chilly.
I think we waited maybe 10-15 minutes before they brought us to our table, which had been decorated in honor of our celebrations - my friend's 30th birthday and everyone doing the races!
A side note - I really loved the napkins personalized to the restaurant. I probably liked them since orange is my favorite color
I know we started with bread, but I honestly don't remember much about it except that it was very good. DH and I decided to split an appetizer, so we went with the oven dried tomato flatbread (Beefsteak Tomatoes, Mozzarella di Bufala, Aged Balsamic):
This was very nice, if a somewhat typical flatbread. But of course, we knew that when we ordered it! Not blown away but definitely enjoyable. I'd give it an
8 out of 10.
Right after they brought our apps out Wishes was going to begin, so we headed back out to the balcony to watch. It's really neat perspective to see Wishes from up there. And they pipe the music in so you can hear everything:
For my entree I wasn't sure what to get. Nothing was really appealing to me but I decided to go with the sweet potato gnocchi (cauliflower cream, root spinach, hazelnut emulsion, minus 8 vinegar):
So I'd never had Gnocchi before, and wasn't even sure what it was when I ordered it. But the dish sounded interesting. I have to say, I loved it! There wasn't just one part of it that stood out as being really good, it was just that everything as a whole worked well together. This is the vegetarian option so if you are vegetarian I don't think you'll be disappointed here! I give it a
9 out of 10.
DH ordered the pork two ways (Grilled Tenderloin, Goat Cheese Polenta, Mushrooms, Lacquered Belly, Applesauce):
He loved this and gave it a
9.5 out of 10. He said it was absolutely delicious. I asked him if he remembered the two different types of pork and if he could comment on that, and his response was "one was delicious and the other was even more delicious." So there you go
DH opted not to get dessert, but I had seen pictures of something I had to have: the sundae sampler! (Frangelico Toffee, Reverse Root Beer Float, and "Banana Split")
So starting on the left is the banana split. This was the one most like a typical ice cream sundae, but in a mini dish. It was very nice. The real start though, was the reverse root beer float. So basically what this is, you have root beer flavored ice cream and vanilla flavored soda to pour on top. It was incredible! I don't know what made it so good but I just loved it and wished it was a whole lot bigger! I took a small sip of the vanilla soda by itself to see what that was like and it was excellent - I would totally drink it! Finally, we had the toffee. I'm not a huge fan of toffee but I ate the whole thing, so it certainly wasn't bad!
I'd give this dessert a
9 out of 10, but if they had a bigger reverse root beer float on its own it would get a 10 out of 10!
Overall we give Cali Grill a very strong
9 out of 10. We both loved our entrees and my dessert, and the app was very good too. Combine that with the nice atmosphere and the chance to watch Wishes and you've got one awesome restaurant!
Here's the price breakdown:
Soda: $2.99
Gnocchi: $32.00
Sundae sampler: $12.00
Tomato flatbread: $13.00
Pork: $37.00
Total before tax and tip: $96.99
Total including tax and auto 18% gratuity: $120.76
It was a typical chicken sandwich but everything else about it was good. He gave it a 7 out of 10.
