Ever Been Disappointed in California Grill?

[cd&kids]

Planning a dinner here on the final night of our trip this coming August. Me, my wife and three well-behaved kids who love good restaurants. This will, unfortunately, be our last Disney trip for a very long time and I couldn't care less about price...I want a super memorable meal.
Menu looks good ( www.allearsnet.com/menu/menus.htm ) but it also mentions that the menu changes weekly. I can't imagine getting a "bad week"...but has anyone ever been disappointed? (Again, we're far from rich, but I don't care about an over-priced meal....I just want an amazing final dining experience.)
Thank you all!

 

[lillygator]

Planning a dinner here on the final night of our trip this coming August. Me, my wife and three well-behaved kids who love good restaurants. This will, unfortunately, be our last Disney trip for a very long time and I couldn't care less about price...I want a super memorable meal.
Menu looks good ( www.allearsnet.com/menu/menus.htm ) but it also mentions that the menu changes weekly. I can't imagine getting a "bad week"...but has anyone ever been disappointed? (Again, we're far from rich, but I don't care about an over-priced meal....I just want an amazing final dining experience.)
Thank you all!

I have been disappointed in that the tuna is not always available...but I have never been disappointed with service or whatever else I have chosen. They just have awesome tuna!

 

[jarrdisney]

I was extremely dissapointed during my first visit to CA Grill. The service, food, etc was definatley below average. Suffice it to say, after speaking to a manager they offered to pay for our next meal. We were setup with the best server in house and were treated like royalty. While I don't think the food is 4 star, I believe it's worth going for the experience. It's a wonderful view and as long as the other children that are there behave, you should have a great time.

 

[frndshpcptn]

I loved my meal there lat Friday night. Fantastic food, fantastic service and a fantastic view of the fireworks.

I say go for it!

 

[madalex]

I have never been disappointed in the food itself (which is wonderful), but have had problems with the service.

One trip, we had an early PS - right at 5:30 when the restaurant opens for dinner. We showed up on time, checked in with the hostess and then had to wait 15 minutes to be seated even though the restaurant was completely empty!

Same meal, they lost our order somehow, so there was a very long delay (an hour) between the appetizers and the main course (and we were there with 4 children for whom this was not easy). Although they were very apologetic about this, no effort was made to reflect the inconvenience we suffered (e.g., free dessert or something like that) (and, yes, whether at WDW or elsewhere, I believe it is incumbent on a restaurant to offer something to the customer when there is a problem of the restaurant's making).

Although there is no fireworks view, for an amazing dining experience, I would pick Jiko or Citrico's over Cal Grill.

 

[jcsbama]

DH and I went last year and was not impressed. We were there over 3 hours due to the lack of service. We waited 45 minutes after we had finished eating our meal before our waiter even checked on us. We had flatbread for an appetizer that was really good. Be warned that it is extremely hot and I burned my tongue bad. DH had the filet and he really enjoyed it. I had the pork tenderloin and kept wondering where the rest of my food was. You get about 5-6 pieces of pork sitting in the middle of a plate full of goat cheese. It will be several years before we try going back. The view was beautiful though. We had a window seat so we really got to enjoy the view since we were there for so long.

Later in the week we ate at Artist Point. That is a fabulous restaurant. Great food and excellent service. Definately our favorite.

 

[majortom]

Although there is no fireworks view, for an amazing dining experience, I would pick Jiko or Citrico's over Cal Grill.

Have to agree here. I might also consider Victoria and Albert's (although I have not been, many people really like it) and Todd English's Blue Zoo. If you are willing to go off property, you might consider Emeril's Tchoup Chop at the Royal Pacific.

My experiences at California Grill since their new management have steadily deteriorated to the point that I will not return there. Last visit had mediocre food and terrible service. At this point, if you are not going to be there to watch Magic Kingdom Fireworks, go somewhere else.

/carmi

 

[DisOrBust]

We also did not have a good experience overall here and my DH had scratched them off the list forever. V&A is THE best however its a 2.5 hr meal and it may be to much for your kids....

Jiko is great and you get to visit AKL as well.

 

[Straughn]

DH and I love Ca Grill and always eat there when we are at WDW. Our experience with the food and service has always been excellent.

However, our big complaint is the amount of time that it takes to get seated, even when you have an ADR. If you have an ADR anywhere within one hour of fireworks time, you probably won't get seated until after the fireworks are over. This creates a huge backup of people waiting to be seated. As soon as the place clears out after the fireworks, they start seating those folks who have been waiting the longest, which makes sense. We have made ADRs as late as one hour AFTER the fireworks and still have waited 30-45 minutes for a table because the backlog of folks who had reservations around fireworks time are just being seated or are still eating. The management doesn't seem to factor this backup into their seating plan and into the number of ADR's they accept when the fireworks occur during prime dining times. It probably isn't as bad when the fireworks are later in the evening, but when they are around 8PM, seating gets really behind.

 

[Lorelai]

We went last April with an ADR (called a PS back then) and were seated right on time. When we arrived, we asked if we could have a window seat, if available. And they accomodated no problem. The service was fantastic and the food was wonderful - and I am a super picky eater. The dessert was the best part (along with a beautiful sunset view of MK). Definitely try it. And have fun!

 

[cd&kids]

We are early eaters....5 pm or so...so I'm hoping the seating backlog won't affect us.
This place also has a decent wine list I believe???

 

[majortom]

This place also has a decent wine list I believe???

Reasonable California wine list. Since their main sommelier and wine buyer left a few years ago, it has certainly dropped in quality and become less competitive in price.

/carmi

 

[CindyT]

Never.

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

We had a good time and a nice dinner up there. We saw wishes from the observation deck. Magical time. I'm glad we did it. Get a wishes time if you want a real nicel evening. Bear in mind that the sky rockets will appear to go off over space mountain and the sets will go off by the castle. It's an effect of the perspective.
Don't go in expecting quiet and romantic though.

 

[Leota]

Nope, not yet.

 

[profdsny]

Everytime I read a good review about CG, the writer mentions the great view. IF there was no view, let's say the restaurant is on the concourse, would you go back for just the food?

 

[lookingforward]

I have had hit or miss here. Sometimes the food is outstanding, other times it is okay. It has never been truly bad. The service it the only true complaint I have ever had here. We had such horrible service once that the manager hosted us for a comp dinner later in our vacation. (We filled out a comment card and he actually called our hotel room and invited us...we never asked) The food does stand out by itself because it is unique for WDW.

 

[CALNEVA DISNEYFANS]

We loved the CG. We were there in Oct 2005. The service was GREAT, the suishi, however, was a disappointment. The other meals were good - We are looking forward towards our next visit.

 

[Merriwind]

Liked the food. Thought the service was ok. Fireworks were awesome. Noise level was too much, what a din! Not on our favorite list. Fine, but not great. Others love it; some really dislike it. Retaurant taste is so subjective...

 

[Lorelai]

Excellent sushi - if you like sushi. We do!