dining suggestion needed

[missminniemouse]

We will be headed to Disneyland in August for our first ever trip there. We've been to Walt Disney World many times and love to have one nice table service meal each day of our trip. On our August adventure, our son will turn 12. This will be on the last day of the D23 expo, so we will not have park tickets that day. Rounding out the group will be my husband, myself and our 16 year old daughter.

For all the Disneyland Experts out there, where in Downtown Disney or one of the Disney hotels would be a great place to take our son to celebrate his birthday?

Places that our children love at WDW are: Chefs de France, Jiko, Citricos, 1900 Park Fare, Via Napoli, and Olivia's. None of us are picky eaters and we all like to try different things.

 

[katesorad]

Unfortunately, the dining at WDW really blows DL dining out of the water. But, as far as dining either in hotels or at Downtown Disney goes, I'd give you the following suggestions:

Storyteller's Cafe at the Grand Californian- they have some fun options here, along with some nicer options.. my younger brothers always enjoyed the "Make your own pizza" option on the kids' menu, which is really fun. They do also have character breakfasts.

Steakhouse 55 at Disneyland Hotel- the food here is pretty good. I've had both dinner and breakfast here and enjoyed both.

Catal Restaurant in Downtown Disney- had dinner here once with my mom back in the day. It was pretty good and don't remember having complaints. It is a nicer place, which might be good for a birthday celebration.

Rainforest Cafe in Downtown Disney- the food is mediocre at best and rather pricey for what it is, but the atmosphere is really fun and they have a fairly large variety on their menu.

 

[missminniemouse]

Thanks for the suggestions. I was thinking of Storytellers as an option. We will do Steakhouse 55 and Catal on other days during our trip. Rainforest isn't something we're interested in. Did the one at WDW when the kids were younger and it wasn't a favorite for either one.

 

[kailuagirl]

I'd second Storytellers, or what about ESPN Zone, I've never eated there but it sounds for for order kids??

 

[dlander]

I love your restaurant favorites at WDW! What about Napa Rose? Wonderful atmosphere and the food is amazing!

 

[LavenderPeach]

There's also the Jazz Kitchen in DTD. We've had some great dinners there. And I love, love, love their chocolate bread pudding. I don't even like bread pudding normally but this was so good.

 

[missminniemouse]

Napa Rose is definately on the list of places we want to go during the trip. We could put that on the day of his birthday. Since he loves Citricos, that might be a really good choice. Also, since it's the last night of our trip, we could end our dining with what I assume from things I've heard is the best of the best.

Storytellers is certainly on the list of possibilities as well. I told my daughter about it and she thinks it would make a good place to celebrate her brother's birthday.

We'll have to think about the Jazz Kitchen. That's more up our daughter's alley than our son's. However, I think they would both enjoy it.

 

[katesorad]

Ehhh.. as far as Jazz Kitchen goes, we ate there for our 2nd wedding anniversary dinner, and we didn't really enjoy it. My dinner actually was terrible and ended up not being able to eat even 1/4 of it. The waiter ended up taking it off of the bill without me even asking or mentioning that it was bad (he probably already knew but wasn't allowed to say anything), which was nice.. but we still probably won't go there again.

 

[pixiewings71]

Storyteller's is very good, we've never been unhappy with any meals there.
ESPN Zone is good, we didn't think it was great tho. We might eat there again if it wasn't so $$$$, it was very expensive for what we ate in our opinion. They do have the video game arcade upstairs and there are tons of TVs with games on so if your DS is into that it might be worth it.
We love the Jazz Kitchen!!!!!! We've never had a bad meal there. Service is always great, food is great!
There's also the CA Pizza Kitchen, Bubba Gump, PF Chang's at the Gardenwalk and down Harbor a bit further is Joe's Crab Shack, Red Robin & Outback.

 

[Halloweenqueen]

We are big WDW veterans, and like others have said, DL does not have dining options of WDW. Frankly, many of our WDW highlights were making and enjoying our ADRs. This is not the case at DL, but there are some interesting choices.

Blue Bayou is a very popular choice. It's "in" the Pirates of the Caribbean ride at DL and serves New Orleans style food. It is a must for many families. People go for the memories and atmosphere over the food.

Cafe Orleans offers more choices and less expense and it a good alternative choice. I like how CO offers apps and good desserts to share.

There is a all you can eat BBQ chicken and rib lunch/dinner offered at DL called Roundup BBQ. The food reminds me of the offerings at HDDR. They offer dessert, but it isn't part of the all you can eat.

Ariel's Grotto is the alternative choice for a princess breakfast comparable to Akerhaus or CRT. Much of the seating is outdoors though. Keep in mind that many of the dining is outdoors. This suprised me the first time we went to DL.

I can offer more choices and some CS choices if you are interested. The biggest information to pass along is that unlike WDW the focus is NOT on the dining options at DL.