Help with restaurant/food choices! Where do you like to eat?

[Tiggerlover48]

We are going to DL this summer! I haven't been in about 20 years and my family has never been. We go to WDW all the time and know all the great places to eat. That's where you come in. What are you favorite places to eat at DL? We love 50's Prime Time, Le Cellier, O'Hana, Whispering Canyon Cafe, Teppan Edo, Crystal Palace for breakfast (have to get my Tigger fix!!!) just to name a few. So what do you suggest? Thanks for all of your help and suggestions!!

 

[aristocat65]

It is a little harder to find great sit down places at Disneyland. It has never had the emphasis on food that WDW does. That's one of the things we love about WDW. Having said that, we do really like Storytellers Cafe in the GCH. It is very cosy in there and GCH is worth a look-see anyway. Cafe Orleans is also a favorite, and a great way to enjoy New Orleans Square (which WDW sadly lacks). Blue Bayou is also special not for the food (expensive and not that good) but for the ambiance. It is SO pretty in there.
HTH

 

[Had2stopLurking]

Our favorite sit down is Carnation Cafe. I have yet to have my Croissant Chicken Club this trip (it's closed due to rain), so I'm going through withdrawals. My spouse loves anything on the menu.

As aristocat said, BB is great for the atmosphere, but, very pricy for the quality. You are basically paying to eat inside of Pirates.

We normally like a sit down breakfast at Riverbelle Terrace, but, with ROA closed, it takes something away for us. Like aristocat, we enjoy soaking up NOS while eating in that area.

At DCA, we actually really enjoyed the meal at Ariel's and for quick service, we enjoy White water snacks in the Grand Californian.

We tend to eat pretty healthy, so places that serve a lot of fried foods don't really appeal to us.

I normally wouldn't do this, but the place I would avoid is the Fortune Cookie (I believe that is the name) in DCA. It's over by Pacific Wharf and it serves what is supposed to be chinese. The rice was so mushy it felt like rice flavored mashed potatoes in my mouth and the chicken was horrible and dry. In their defense though, we ate there when it was brand new, so they may have improved. I just haven't been able to bring myself to eat there again.

You may want to check out menus at allearsnet.com to get an idea of prices/types of food you are interested in then ask people what they thought of those specific restaurants.?

Hope that helps.

 

[iLUVdisneyLAND]

Our favorites in December were Blue Bayou...I can't imagine doing DL without having a meal there. Lunch is great...and a nice "rest" during a hectic DL day. We also loved Ariel's Grotto...not really for the food, although it was my favorite meal on our whole trip...but for the experience. DD is 2.5 and was in absolute awe of all the princesses. She hugged and spoke with each one of them. PLUS they had cocktails!!! A huge plus after a long day with a 2.5 yr old...and dad really appreciated the cocktails during a very girly meal!

 

[nottellin']

Cafe Orleans is also a favorite, and a great way to enjoy New Orleans Square

I agree with this! My favorite is the pommes de frittes (sp?)

 

[aussietravellers]

Our very favourite is Carnation Cafe, oh that loaded potato soup and the meatloaf, YUM.

We like character breakfasts too, Storytellers, Minnies at the Plaza were great, Mickey's at PCH Grill was ok too.

Storytellers was yummy for dinner too, great menu!

We love Blue Bayou too, its such a great atmosphere, but I had the Monte Cristo and didn't like it at all, only had a few bites. I wished we had gone for dinner as we prefer the dinner menu to the lunch.

 

[radiatorsprings]

I love Cafe Orleans, and I think it is the best meal I had in DL. I also like Carnation Cafe too.

 

[mt mommy]

Cafe Orleans. Their salads are YUUMMMY! Oh, and the Beignets for dessert are to die for!

 

[sahbushka]

I really enjoy Rancho del Zocalo for the ambiance - the trick is to have your food and be sitting down at twilight time - right next to the big thunder mountain railroad...it is really neat to see the train come by and hear the soundtrack for the mining town!

I also agree about carnation cafe - and the baked potato soup - as well as Cafe Orleans and the Pommes frittes and Beignets! YUM YUM!

There are a lot of nice sit down restaurants in downtown disney. I have heard good things about the jazz kitchen and I like Rainforest Cafe and the Rasta Pasta there!

Hooks Point and Wine Cellar at the Disneyland Hotel is lovely and StoryTellers Cafe at the Grand Californian was really nice...I will be having lunch there this month!

SarahMay

 

[oc_tony]

Another vote for Cafe Orleans, Carnation Cafe, and Storytellers. At DCA, we like Pacific Wharf Cafe too. DS8 likes Taste Pilot's Grill, which is counter service (burgers, chicken sandwiches, ribs). At DLH, we love Steakhouse 55 if you are looking for a nice (albeit pricey) night out.

As PP stated, dining is not nearly as big of a deal here as at WDW, but some places are definitely better than others. BTW, some of our WDW favorites are Biergarten, Beaches and Cream (for the No Way Jose), Boma, and Sunshine Seasons.

 

[azdisneylover]

We enjoyed popping in to White Water Snacks in GC to get nachos on our way back to our room after getting off Grizzly Rapids! So yummy! We ate the Lilo and Stitch Character meal twice too! (hubby's choice). The kids loved the Tigger Tails once we got off Splash Mountain.

 

[heatherleigh]

Carnation Cafe & Cafe Orleans for the pomme frittes and monte cristo. I've heard good things about White Water Snax, and plan on trying that on our next trip.

 

[Donald is #1]

Not to hijack this thread, but I am making my first DL trip this May. I have been reading your responses to the OP's question and love all of your advice. Now my question, are PS reservations necessary for sit down restaurants in DL or can you just walk up and have resonably good luck?

 

[oc_tony]

Not to hijack this thread, but I am making my first DL trip this May. I have been reading your responses to the OP's question and love all of your advice. Now my question, are PS reservations necessary for sit down restaurants in DL or can you just walk up and have resonably good luck?

For certain restaurants (Blue Bayou, character meals), a PS is a good idea. For others, you can often just walk up, but it depends upon what time of year you are going. During the busy seasons, even making a PS for Carnation Cafe and Cafe Orleans is a good idea, especially if your "schedule" requires you to eat at a specific time.

Some of the restaurants that people have suggested are counter service (i.e. Whitewater Snacks, Rancho del Zocalo, Pacific Wharf), so of course you cannot make a PS for these places.

 

[PinkBudgie]

I didn't see Bengal BBQ mentioned. That is one of my favorites. I get a Banyan Beef skewer and a veggie skewer and I feel like I've had something besides junk food without a big sit down meal. We also love the chicken sandwhiches at Whitewater Snacks. That place is so quiet and peaceful.

 

[pose2pose]

We've been enjoying Rancho Del Zocalo and the Plaza Inn a lot during the past few trips. RDZ isn't the best Mexican food ever, but it's a nice change from burgers and fries. And like the other post said, it's fun to watch the Thunder Mountain train go by. Last visit, my son kept waving at every train that came by (many people waved back, which made him happy).

Plaza Inn has HUGE pieces of delicious fried chicken, and is good traditional-type cuisine.

And don't discount the food carts--we LOVE the chimichangas.

Also, I second the WhiteWater Snacks choice. Tends to be less-crowded than the in-park restaurants. The soup bowls at DCA and DL are a good choice too, though my kids don't like them!

I wasn't impressed by the food at Blue Bayou, and the "experience" wasn't worth it, IMO. Carnation Cafe gets RAVES from most people--the one time we tried to go, it was RAINED OUT!

 

[Donald is #1]

For certain restaurants (Blue Bayou, character meals), a PS is a good idea. For others, you can often just walk up, but it depends upon what time of year you are going. During the busy seasons, even making a PS for Carnation Cafe and Cafe Orleans is a good idea, especially if your "schedule" requires you to eat at a specific time.

Some of the restaurants that people have suggested are counter service (i.e. Whitewater Snacks, Rancho del Zocalo, Pacific Wharf), so of course you cannot make a PS for these places.

Thanks!

 

[Tiggerlover48]

WOW!! Thanks so much for all of your ideas and suggestions. I'm getting hungry just thinking about it. Little bummed that the food isn't as good as WDW, but I know we won't starve!!! Too bad they don't have 50's Prime Time pot roast!! I could eat that everyday!!!

I do remember years ago eating in NOS and having BBQ. It was really great, but no idea what the place was called.

Thanks again!!

 

[jlmarr]

Napa Rose in GCH gets great reviews - probably the best restaurant on the DLR property. And Steakhouse 55 at DLH gets good reviews also.

Offsite there's Mimi's Cafe, and at nearby Gardenwalk there's Cheesecake Factory, PF Chang's, Bubba Gumps, Roy's Hawaiian Fusion, and others. These are closer to DL than Epcot is to DHS, so don't be put off by the term "offsite".

 

[c&m]

We love going to these places on-site:

Cafe Orleans - pomme frites and chicken gumbo soup are delish. DH loves the montecristo there.
Whitewater Snacks - beef dip and chicken sandwich are yummy items.
Riverbelle Terrace - Tennesee pork sandwich is heavy (good for sharing) but very good and satisfying.
Goofy's Kitchen - fun and decent food.
Fruit cart - pineapple spears are great!

Off-site:

Mimi's Cafe - big menu, great for breakfast/lunch/dinner.
Cheesecake Factory - can't go wrong there.
Bubba Gumps - decent food.

We also love the restaurant choices at WDW and would love a Teppan Edo, Boma, Wolfgang Puck Express, or Earl of Sandwich experience too at DL. Hmmm...need to start planning another WDW vacation soon!!!