Narcoossee's or CA Grill??

[disneyquilter]

Hi there Everyone,

I am making ADRs for my mom & dad's trip in December on Wednesday. They are torn between Narcoossee's & CA Grill. It is just the two of them and they have never been to WDW. Which would you choose? I have never eaten at either so I am abosolutely no help to them.

Thank you so much for your help

 

[silverarrowknits]

I vote for CA Grill; however, it is because I had a great experience there recently and a horrible one at Narcoossee's. I am not sure how Wishes works at Narcoossee's (I think the music gets pumped in), but at CA Grill the music to the fireworks are pumped into the restaurant and the lights are dimmed. The last time I went to the CA Grill I was with my parents, but I can imagine that the restaurant can be a romantic place to eat.

 

[BCV23]

California Grill is a must do for my family. The food and service are great. The views are wonderful. We prefer to go on the early side and miss the Wishes mayhem.

Narcoossee's was another long time favorite of ours. The view is also wonderful although I actually like it better in daylight I think. In past years, lunch was served there and it was so peaceful.

But Narcoossee's has a more limited menu than CG so be sure to have them take a look at the menus.

 

[punkin413]

something you may want to consider is that there's a rumor that they no longer dim the lights and pipe in the music to wishes at cali grill. i don't know if that's absolutely true or not.....just what i heard.

i've never eaten at cali grill, so i can't contribute to any thoughts there.

we ate at narcoosee's this past may and it was very good...the best meal of the trip (with kona cafe coming in a close second)! the service and food were excellent and the view of wishes was really good. they dimmed the lights and piped in the music, as well. and the restaurant wasn't overly-busy like a lot of WDW restaurants. of course we had to wait to be sat (maybe 10 minutes - we had 8:10 ADRs), but it wasn't loud or chaotic at all. here's some pics of the food, etc.

 

[vickalamode]

I was actually torn between the two as well, because I wanted a signature experience for my last vacation night since we didn't want to waste our last day at a TS restaurant. Consider the type of restaurant you are going to and the atmosphere and what is best for your party.


I made somewhat of a list of the pros and cons of each for my party.

Atmosphere: I like that at CG you are in the top of the Contemporary and have a nice view of the fireworks and the surrounding area, but I prefer the nice waterside area of Narcoossee's, and it is also a nice plus for me that although I can see Wishes, I can also see the water pageant, I made sure that I booked a time when I could catch both of them.

Food: I've heard a lot of great things about the food at CG, including the sushi, which is something I only sort-of like and I'm sure that my dining companion will never even consider trying. The steaks are nice, I suppose, but we are already dining at a steakhouse on our trip. Besides, my friend and I both LOVE seafood and she is looking forward to the lobster (me, I HATE lobster! But love other seafood <3)

But generally when it came down to it, being from New England, we prefferred the waterside seafood restaurant to the more contemporary (hehe) restaurant that seemed to be more of a steakhouse. The view and food both fit what we wanted, never having been to either of them before.

So..what I am saying is take into account the things that the group you are dining with will enjoy. I asked DBF which he would prefer if he was going and he said CG...for the exact same reasons as why I picked Narcoossee's, but the reasons pertaining to CG. So it really is up to the food and atmosphere preferences you have.

 

[DeterminedOne]

Definitely California Grill

 

[disneyquilter]

Is it much louder at CA Grill then Narccoossee's? It is just the two of them so they may prefer the quieter atmosphere I will e-mail this thread to my mom, so she can see the responses Thanks so much everyone! Keep the responses coming!

 

[jjatwdw]

We just returned and tried CG this trip. It was wonderful. We plan on making it a must do on our next visit.

 

[disneyquilter]

Punkin413,

Thank you so much for the pictures. Everything looks great and I am thinking we may have to try Narcoossee's when we go in Dec 2008

 

[Uncleromulus]

California grill is the "louder" of the two spots--tho Narcoossee's isn't what I'd call romantically quiet.
And although they don't dim the lights at CG any longer, the fireworks are easily seen from the observation deck. And the deck is where you may need to go at Narcoossee's as well. As you can see from punkin413's photo, the table is level with the outside deck. That railing in the pic is where folks usually stand to watch the fireworks. And if the deck is crowded (which it has been every time we're eaten at Narcoossee's), the people outside will block any view you have from the window table.

 

[suzimar57]

we'd chose narcoosees

ate there twice last september - was the best meal all week!

went early dinner - got window seat - quiet, relaxing, beautiful to look out onto the water and scenery

had the crabcakes, scallops, lobster and that incredible almond crusted cheesecake dessert

will be going back again this coming october - twice during the week!

 

[Princess Amy]

Ate at Narcoossee's on our honeymoon last October. It was the best meal of the trip. I have not ate at CG yet. But booked ADR's for California Grill and Narcoossee's for this December.

Wanted to try CG since we have never been there. But we could just not get over not eating at Narcoossee's. So we'll just get the best of both worlds..while dining in the World.

 

[WishesWishes]

I don't think you can go wrong with either. Both have wonderful food and service. I would look at the online menus to make a decision based on the the kind of food you like.

 

[tink606]

DH and I loved Narcosees. We ate there the night before our disney wedding and thought it was super romantic. The atmosphere was very quiet and the scenery was beautiful. The waitress was awesome, she was very knowledgable and knew what she was talking about when it came to the items on the menu. Her attitude was great also. I would definitely recommend this restaurant over CG. We also ate at CG for our honeymoon and it was awful. It was really noisy and the waiter was awful. He had a nasty attitude and the food that he recommended for us to order was disgusting. I would definitely never go there again, I mean for the type of restaurant it was suppose to be it really didn't match up foodwise and servicewise. Then again everyone has a different opinion, this is just our opinion definitely go with Narcosees.