Carthay Circle Restaurant

[IandGsmom]

Has anyone tried this place yet?

 

[Argento]

Yes, and it's awesome! It's definitely catering to those who prefer haute cuisine and is priced accordingly so if that sounds like your thing, you won't be disappointed.

 

[aan1701]

I just went there Saturday. It was amazing. One of things we tried was the Pork Satay. It was so tender that I did not even have to chew it, it just melted in my mouth. We also tried the Duck Wings. I had never had duck till then. I really liked it. For entrées I got the Lamb and my wife got the Rib Eye. Both were perfect. I can't wait to go again but it is not cheep so it will be some time. Also the dining room was very elegant with a very nice mural on the celling.

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[stlm]

We were there last thursday. We consider ourselves foodies so we wanted to try this to get WOC fastpass. Reservation was at 1 and got seated at 1:30, ok no problem there. We had the duck wings and were very good. Our entrees arrived 30 minutes later, we were starving by then. I ordered the angus burger and I didnt like it, it was not good at all. DH had the Jamaican Fish and had to send it back because it was raw! It took another 10 minutes to get his fish and by the time it finally came he didn't want it anymore.
Fish was taken off the bill and we didnt get the dessert, we were dying to get out of there.
Our experience wasnt good but we did get the fastpass for WOC.
We won't be back!

 

[ImDMous]

We went a few weekends ago for lunch. We didn't have a reservation but got there when they opened and only waited a few minutes. Service was great, beer selection was ok, they don't do draft in the dining room, only in the lounge. The cheese filled rolls were pretty good but kind of heavy. I had the burger which I really liked, the house-made pickle was very good. DH had a pasta dish with chicken meatballs and really enjoyed it. Didn't do dessert, too full. We definitely want to go back for dinner.

 

[BryANDJessMom]

Duck wings were excellent!! I had the quail and DH had the lamb chop both were very good! (kids just got buttered noddles...they liked them LOL) we will be going back!!

 

[nunzia]

I've been there twice and love the decor and food. The service needs a bit of work, but hopefully that will come in time.

 

[aan1701]

Funny, our server was great. No issue what so ever.

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[RaceCar]

Good:
The food was good. Prices weren't as bad as we expected, and we liked our servers. It's a "must do at least one" place.

Bad:
Our service, including food delivery, was exceptionally slow. We sat in the corner of the restaurant that looks directly into the kitchen. My husband, who is a kitchen manager, noticed that there was no sense of ungency at all among the kitchen crew. When I asked nicely (because we liked her) why it took so long to get our food, she didn't have an answer. I guess that was normal?

The seating is also exceptionally uncomfortable. If we have to sit there for so long waiting for our food, at least they could make it comfortable.

We had to ask for ice in our water (I guess some people get ice the first time).

The special WOC seats exclusive to Carthay were more off center than the other prefered dining viewing area. This location also means you are more likely to have lighting fixtures in front of you. Not so "special".

I agree that the pork sautee was great, but it also has lots of pure fat bits that I had to pick around. The faty meat is what makes it so tender. The sauce is what makes it so yummy.

Bottom line:
Without hesitation, we won't eat there again.

 

[pixiewings71]

Yes, I've eaten there, I ate there with DD16 right after it opened, ok a few weeks after. It was amazing, service was on par with Club 33 (we had eaten there the day before), our water glasses were never empty (no ice but that was fine with me as the water from the bottle was cold) and you could have still or bubbly water. I had the bacon wrapped shrimp, DD had the burger, we shared the biscuits (which neither of us liked) and a dessert (which was amazing), I had a glass of Coppola Rose (which I loved and it paired perfectly with my meal), DD had a Coke. We ate every bite we possibly could of our entrees and only saved just enough room for dessert. We were seated next to the kitchen which was bustling and energetic the whole time we were there, the server was polite and prompt, our food was prompt and when it came out with cooked onion (that DD doesn't like) it was taken right back to the kitchen and replaced immediately with a freshly cooked burger (we could see them remaking it). We had an 11:30 am reservation, checked in at 11:20 and we were riding the lift up within 5 minutes. Our seats were comfortable (we were at a 2 person table, 1 with a booth seat and 1 with a regular seat) and the tables were clean.

Went back about a month later just for cocktails and small bites in the lounge, service again was amazing and we had a great time.

I would not hesitate to return to CCTR!

ETA~ The section we had for our reserved standing was great, we had an amazing view with no obstructions and there was plenty of room until about 10 minutes before show time, then we had to stand up to make rooms for the late arrivals. Would not hesitate to use this viewing area again.

 

[RaceCar]

Me thinks Pixiwings in on the payroll. Just kidding! Maybe our experience in all areas was unique. But I definitely can't see how the seats could be comfortable by anyone's standards. The benches have wide seats so you're far from the backrest. Then, when you finally reach the backrest, it's straight up and down. There is no back support whatsoever. I'm nearly 5'7'' and about 120lbs. Maybe different bodies fit differently but even my 5'10'', 225lb hubby found them uncomfortable. We found none of the hour-and-fourty-minutes sitting at our table comfortable. I happen to know, also, that restaurants expected to be busy INTENTIONALLY make their seats uncomfortable to discourage guests from staying too long. I know this is a fact due to positions my husband has held.

A "bustling kitchen" is in the eye of the beholder. My hubby has always worked at very demanding, high volume restaurants. What he sees in a kitchen and what the uneducated eye sees in the kitchen are two different stories. Bottom line is nobody at a Disney park should be held hostage for 100-minutes due to slow service when there are rides ready and waiting.

 

[aan1701]

I had no problem getting comfortable and I am 6'1 260.

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[RaceCar]

I had no problem getting comfortable and I am 6'1 260.

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Obviously the taller you are the easier it will be to fill the seat.

 

[DemonLlama]

Our service was pretty good but we did have empty water glasses and had to ask for water twice.

I had the angus burger and was not impressed. Daughter had the Udo Noodle bowl which had a scrumptious broth and was very tasty overall.

The desserts were $12 each and very small portions. The lemon cake was very yummy. I wasn't terribly impressed with the chocolate ice cream my daughter got but the waffle cup it was in was better. The fried banana thing my husband got, no one liked.

We came away with the preferred seating passes and won't be back.

 

[aan1701]

Obviously the taller you are the easier it will be to fill the seat.

You did say anyone's standards.

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[RaceCar]

You did say anyone's standards.

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LOL! Ok, smarty pants .

 

[aan1701]

LOL! Ok, smarty pants .

Glad you saw the humor. I was afraid you wouldn't when I posted. Honestly my wife who is shorter than me wanted to sit there but I really was comfy so I won my one battle of the year.

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[nunzia]

Does anyone know if the biscuits are available in the lounge area? Going with a son and his family in a couple weeks and won't do the whole meal thing, but those biscuits are calling.

I'm an ex restaurant manager and am glad to hear most are having good service. My first visit was a Cars Land pre opening special meal so I forgave quite a lot then as it was clear everyone was learning. We also sat by the open kitchen and servers prep area on the last visit and there was way too much chattering and slowness among the servers at that time, also servers trying too hard..like they were play acting fancy restaurant service, but not really producing. Water not filled, plates not pulled quickly, lavish attention at one table, ignoring other tables..that type of thing. As I said, I'm sure as time goes on they will get in a better swing of things.
So..can I get the biscuits in the lounge area?

 

[Eclectic Goddess]

We went twice on our last trip, once for lunch with a reservation, and the next day for dinner without one. We waited about five minutes before being seated for lunch, and only about fifteen for dinner, even though the place was packed. (It gave us just enough time to get a drink from the lounge!)

We had good service both times. My only complaint would be that our lunch server couldn't suggest anything for me, being vegetarian. In the end, I got one of the salads, though, and it was amazing. Not a plain old salad by any means. I wouldn't ordinarily fault a server just because the menu doesn't have anything veggie on the menu, but the one non-salad entree she did suggest, the fresh pasta with yellow tomato sauce, turned out not to be vegetarian.

For dinner the next night, after chatting with our server a little, I decided to order it, and she stopped me and told me there was chicken broth in the water they use to cook the pasta. I don't really care about something like that, so I ordered it anyway, but I know a lot of vegetarians and vegan who would have been really, really upset if they'd eaten it the day before without knowing.

Aside from that, our servers were helpful, quick, and not obtrusive. Our food came relatively quickly. (A bit slower for lunch than dinner.) Our water glasses stayed full and they were quick to offer us a second drink. At dinner, the server made a point of wiping off our table when she picked up our empty appetizer plates.

Food wise:

Lunch - Stuffed grape leaves appetizer was amazing! I had the Strawberry-Lemon Roasted Organic Chicken Salad, without almost everything in the name of the dish. It was also great, with jicama and haricot verts, cress, and a lemony vinagrette. My friend had the Grilled Angus Flank Steak Cobb Salad and raved about the quality of the steak. It was a pretty heavy, salad, though, so not a good choice if you're looking for something lighter. We had some sort of banana tempura cake thing for desert. Pretty good, but obviously forgettable.

Dinner - My friend REALLY wanted to try the tomato salad, and I was glad we did, because it was surprisingly good. I'm not a huge fan of raw tomato, but I'd order that again in a heartbeat. I had the Pappardelle Pasta (without meatballs) and it was delicious. The pasta was perfectly chewy and the sauce rich without being heavy. My friend had the bacon wrapped shrimp. She said the shrimp themselves were really good, but the portion was somewhat small without any sort of side dish to accompany them.

Both meals we got the bacon cheddar biscuits. We called them Balls of Love. That should tell you how much we loved them.

We're headed back to DL in January and will definitely be eating there again.

 

[lucky1]

Love the atmosphere there and the food was good.

Unfortunately, our server was on break, so we had a substitute while she was on break. He was great and really took care of us, but when she came on, things really slowed down. It took forever to get our entrees. I mean a long time and the place was not busy. For those that skipped the starters it was a long wait. We did go a couple of weeks ago, so I would have figured out they worked out the "opening day" kinks.

I will give it another shot, not sure our table guest would. They felt they wasted park time with the long wait.