Dining @ Downtown Disney & DL Hotels ~ DISers Reviews

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<font face="Comic Sans MS"><font color=navy>Please post your reviews of the various restaurants and eateries at Downtown Disney, Grand Californian Hotel, Disneyland Hotel, and the Paradise Pier Hotel.

What's your favorite place? Which place has the best ambience for your family, and why? Share your memorable experiences with us.
 
Storytellers -

We were there in the middle of the week in September and they did not offer any buffets because the hotel was not at capacity. They said the next buffet might have been on the weekend. We had one breakfast (on sad Sept. 11) and one dinner on Sept. 13. The breakfast was very good. The only thing we did not like was a 2.75 charge for a coffee - seemed excessive. We both had eggs, potatoes and a spicy chicken sausage, with toast - the portion was large and the potatoes and sausage were very good - might be a little too spicy for some. Our dinner was even better. I started with an excellent corn chowder with bacon and cilantro, and then helped DW with her Caesar salad, which was also very good. I had a very fresh and well-cooked blackened swordfish and DW had a very good chicken dish. I would recommend Storytellers.

Hook's Pointe -

We also had an excellent meal here. We started with bruschetta, which included dried tomatos - it was a large portion and we enjoyed it very much. I had a glass of red wine and it was very good. They offer quite a few selection by the glass for around $5 to $7. We then split a Caesar sald, which was also very good. DW had a vegetable dish for her main entree and she enjoyed it very much. I had a bbq chicken pizza with corn and cilantro, drizzled with sweet bbq sauce and lots of frsh mozzarella - it was a little heavy on the cheese (too filling) for me, but tatsed excellent. They have an open grill at the bar and it looked like they were grilling some fine steak and fish entrees. The bar is also good for a single diner not wanting a table. I would highly recommend this restaurant.
 
Tuesday, October 9, 2001

We left the room at 8 a.m. in search of food before heading to early entry at DL. We decided on the La Brea Bakery Cafe, which is buffeteria style. I had the smoked salmon ($7.75) which had a very generous portion of salmon, choice of bagel (plain, seeded, or onion, I chose onion), a small block of cream cheese, red onions, and 3 olive/pepper like things. Aaron had a danish ($3.25) and a bear claw ($3.50). I had fresh orange juice ($3.00) and Aaron had a small drink ($2.25). Total was $21.23. Everything here was excellent.
 

Tuesday, October 9, 2001

We headed towards Downtown Disney and the Disneyland Hotel. We decided to have dinner at Hook's Pointe. The bread was interesting, 2 soft bread sticks, 2 dill rolls (which I really liked), and 1 sour dough roll. We each had iced tea ($2.75). I started with a 1/2 Caesar Salad ($4.25) with slices of fresh parmesan cheese and a great dressing. The salad consisted of whole romaine leaves, and was a pretty generous portion. Aaron started with a Seafood chowder ($6.75) which was excellent as well.

I had the scallops ($22.50) which had about 5-6 large scallops in a creamy mustard sauce with red pepper garnish. It came with a cumin basmati rice which I did NOT like because it was kind of powdery and left an aftertaste. I can't remember what the vegetable was. The scallops were good though. Aaron had the pork loin ($18.75) which was a very generous portion of 3 pieces. My only complaint about his was it was a tad overcooked or perhaps undertenderized, making it a bit tough. The taste was excellent though, it came in a nice sauce, with roasted potatoes, green beans, and apple chutney. I finished with a cup of coffee ($2.75) since it was cold outside. I forgot how everyone here recommended the warm chocolate souffle, and we were much too stuffed to order it! Maybe next time! Total here without tip was $65.10.
 
Wednesday, October 10, 2001

This was not an early entry day, so we took our time getting up. We had a bite to eat at Whitewater Snacks. We each had a fruit/cheese pocket (basically a danish) ($2.25), a large soda ($2.19), and a large coffee ($2.19). The prices here seem to be pretty reasonable by comparison. Our total was $9.54.


Thursday, October 11, 2001

We started with breakfast at Whitewater Snacks. This time I ordered from the menu. You tell the cashier what you want, pay for it, and they bring it out to you. I ordered the Biscuit & Egg ($4.95) which turned out to be an excellent choice! It was a huge biscuit with a fried egg, 2 slices of great smoke-flavored bacon, and cheese, topped with green onions, and 2 strawberries on the side. I couldn't finish it! I also had bottled orange juice ($2.95). Aaron picked up a fruit/cheese pocket ($2.25) and a brownie ($1.50). Total $12.52. (I realized later that they forgot to charge us for Aaron's drink. I thought the total seemed low!)
 
Wednesday, October 10, 2001

We went to Naples in DD for lunch, which was excellent! They have a great flavored iced tea ($3.50). I had a side salad ($6.75) which Aaron and I shared. It was mixed baby greens with a nice vinaigarette dressing. Aaron had the pizza Capriciossa which had prosciutto, roasted red peppers, marinated olives, and artichokes ($13.95), and was quite big. He ended up taking half of it back to the room. I had the lasagna which was SO good!!! ($12.50). It had pieces of pork (or beef, hard to tell), not ground, but actually pieces. Also a generous portion, but I ate almost all of it since it was so good! Total without tip, $43.22. The waiter let me keep the menu when I asked.

(Edit) I forgot to mention that they serve their bread with olive oil here.
 
Wednesday, October 10, 2001

We were looking for a place to eat in DD. We were looking at the menu at Y Arriba Y Arriba, and the hostess was talking to us about the food and entertainment. We were convinced, and were not disappointed. We had a great waiter, who was the bartending manager. (He was cute too, even my boyfriend thought he was good looking!) He suggested 2-3 tapas was a good amount of food to share. We ordered the Churrasco ($10.95) which was a perfectly cooked steak in a nice sauce, with marinated tomatoes, very tasty!, the Entremeses ($9.95), which could be described as an antipasto platter with 2-3 slices of prosciutto, a few pieces of a pepperoni-like sausage, 3 slices of marinated whitefish anchovy, 3-4 pieces of goat cheese, a bunch of marinated olives, and something like cold scalloped potatoes with melted cheese on top. Again, very good. I didn't care much for the anchovies though (I normally like them), I think because they were marinated. We shared a side salad ($5.95) of baby mixed greens with tomatoes and vinaigarette, and a side order of Totopos ($4.95) which was VERY fresh torilla chips with guacamole and salsa. Total without tip, $38.38.

(Edit) I liked the atomsphere here. They had mostly regular tables, but we were seated at high tables near the bar, which was fine by us. There is a very decorated stage, and every 15 minutes, dancers would come out and dance various latin-themed dances. Another note here, this is not a Mexican restaurant, but more South American. The different tapas dishes here represent various South American countries.
 
Thursday, October 11, 2001

We headed to ESPN Zone for a late lunch and to get our free $10 game cards. They said it would be a 10-20 minute wait (which we thought was strange for 3:45 p.m.). They gave us a pager, in exchange for a driver's license or credit card (which I thought was strange), and we went upstairs to get our game cards, each with 40 credits. Most of the games we played were 8 credits, the Nascar race (8 credits each person), jet ski (8 credits each), and air hockey (8 credits per game). It seemed to be taking a long time for them to page us, so we went to check. We waited a couple minutes longer and were finally seated. Though our waitress was excellent, I didn't care for the service from everyone else. There were some guys who I assume were managers, wearing long sleeve shirts and ties, and all they did was look around, but didn't bother to check on anyone themselves. The food was okay. We both got a Zone Burger ($9.79) which was a HUGE burger with choice of cheese (American, Swiss, Cheddar, Mozarrella) and choice of side (this day was either cucumber salad or baked beans). It also came with lots of seasoned fries. On the burger was sauteed mushrooms, onions, and bell peppers. The burger was dry, but it helped to have the veggies on it. The cucumber salad was excellent, with tomatoes, basil, red onions, and mozarella cheese in a light dressing. We each had a soda ($2.39). Though the whole experience was okay, I don't know if I'd return. Total without tip, $26.19.
 
Thursday, October 11, 2001

We went downstairs to the Storyteller's Cafe for a light dinner, or at least it was supposed to be light! Our server was great, Tim. We each had an iced tea ($2.25). I ordered the Corn Chowder ($5.75) which was excellent!!! The hotel tour guide said they were known for it, so I ordered it based on that recommendation. It had smoked ham, turkey, corn and potatoes, with a hint of cilantro. I also ordered the Farmer's Market Field Greens ($7.25) with baby mixed greens, sliced pear, pecans, and blue cheese in a vinaigarette, which was also excellent. (I could have stopped after the chowder, but had already ordered the salad, which I enjoyed anyway!) Aaron ordered the ribs whic he really liked ($19.95). It had about 6 pieces of ribs, fries, and green beans with red pepper and artichoke. The bread was great too, 2 typs. One like a cornbread muffin, and a loaf of white bread which was excellent, crisp on the outside, soft on the inside. Total without tip, $41.34. Definitely recommend!!! This restaurant also has a lot of detail in it, making it even more interesting.

(Edit) I forgot to mention that they also have a dinner buffet, but we didn't feel like having that much food. I didn't think to look at it until we were leaving, which was pretty late, and they had taken most of the food away. What was there looked good though, and if our dinner and breakfast here were any indication, my guess is the buffet would've been a good choice too.
 
Friday, October 12, 2001

On our last day we had a reservation for the breakfast with Chip, Dale, and Pluto at Storyteller's Cafe. We had vouchers with our package which included either the full breakfast buffet or an entree off the menu, a beverage, and tax and gratuity. We gave the vouchers to our server who closed out the check immediately since the costs were all taken care of. We received excellent service here.

Chip, Dale, and Pluto were in the entryway greeting the kids (I think we were the only childless adults in the place, but it was fun anyway). Dale was especially "playful," making rounds around the restaurant after greeting those in the entry. He came by us and made a funny face. This seemed like a great place for kids, they round them up and go around the restaurant with the characters.

I really enjoyed the food here. I think the buffet is normally $18.95. There was eggs benedict, some Mexican-type thing on an English muffin (I wanted to try it, but was too full!), scrambled eggs, potatoes w/ onions, bacon, sausage, an omelet station (looked really good-again, didn't have room in my tummy), fruits, muffins and breads, ad some desserts including a really good chocolate cake which I made room for! We had orange juice which was refilled. We were also offered coffee.
 
I found the Storyteller's Cafe to be outstanding. I had a big bowl of spaghetti (came with garlic bread) and it was about the same price as any italian restaurant anywhere. I split a brownie dessert with a few friends and it was good also. The service was excellent, I would recommend this to anyone who wants a nice sit down dinner or who wants to get out of the park for a while.

Another place I ate at in Downtown Disney that wasn't too expensive at all was at Ralph Brennan's Jazz Kitchen. I didn't sit down in the restaurant, just went to the take-out window, but it was very good. I had a cajun turkey sandwich, a coke and a bag of beignets (mmm, very good) and it came to around 10 bucks. It was definately better then park food, and about the same price ;)
 
We ate at Tortilla Joe's this trip, DTD's newest restaurant.
Tortilla Joe's offers a Cantina, indoor full service restaurant & a taqueria(walk up window with a few outdoor tables). They are owned by the same company that owns Catal & the Uva Bar and also Naples.

We had the Mexicone, which is a corn tortilla shaped like an ice cream cone. I choose the Picadillo filling, which is ground beef & potato. It's filled with the picadillo filling, rice, rice beans, cilantro, onions & cheese. I thought it was sooooo good! At a good price at $5.95

Also ordered was the Chicken Sandwich. Grilled chicked, iceberg, tomato, pickled jalapenos and red onion on a roll. The sandwich was HUGE! My eating partner said it was delish!!!

We also split an order of chips & salsa & fresh guacamole for $2.25, which was more than enough for the two of us!

You cant now get 10% your order at Tortilla Joe's if you have an AP!
 
Everytime we go to DL we stop at Uva Bar for a Martini. This trip we decided to have lunch also.

Although we were upset that the chips and salsa had been removed from the menu, we ordered lunch.

We ordered the Onion Rings with a Trio of Sauces but were surprised to see that it was also just a trio of onion rings! The onion rings were HUGE, but for $6.95 I would prefer more than 3.

Also, ordered the Angus Beef Philly Cheesesteak with carmelized onions, sauteed mushrooms & swiss cheese, served with garlic fries. This was delish!! And it was a very large portion. The beef was tender and flavorful and the garlic friend were perfectly seasoned!! Good Value at $10.50

To top it off the Melon Raspberry Martini's made with Chambord were a little taste of Heaven!! :wave:
 












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