Need Some Dining Advice

[Moms]

I am seriously considering cancelling our California Grill reservations and need some alternatives. We had been looking forward to dining there but this whole dress code thing has me concerned. I have posted ?? before and have been assured that our attire would be fine (capris, birkenstocks and a "dressy" t-shirt), however more recent posts make it sound as though this is really a dressy restaurant. Even if we are dressed "appropriately", I don't want to feel uncomfortable.

We will be on the dining plan so we will have to replace this ADR with two. Not much is left but we could do lunch at the Plaza Restaurant the same day (lunch might be better anyway as we have reservations for the Wishes Dessert Party that night) and perhaps a breakfast at our H&V our our studios day ... we will have dinner at BlueZoo that night (not on the plan, I know). Has anyone had any experience with these? I have had dinner at H&V and it was okay ... is breakfast any better? Worse? Or should I just keep the California Grill reservation and ask to be seated in a corner?

 

[vicki_c]

With the exception of Victoria & Albert's, the signature restaurants at Disney are not that dressy. You will see a wide variety of dress in the signature restaurants, from what I would consider dressy to what I would consider way underdressed for the dress code. As long as you follow the dress code guidelines, which are really pretty loose, I don't think you're going to feel uncomfortable.

From the CA Grill page on Disney's site:
Dress Code Guidelines:
Men: Khakis, slacks, jeans, dress shorts, collared shirts. Sport coats are optional.
Ladies: Capris, skirts, dresses, jeans, dress shorts.
Not permitted in dining room: Tank tops, swimwear, hats for gentleman, cut offs, or torn clothing. While T-shirts are now allowed, the policy remains that T-shirts with offensive language or graphics are not acceptable.

 

[csjordan]

My family and I dined there November 2009 and didn't dress "dressy". Had dinner and wore nice shorts, collared shirt for hubby and son, sun dress for DD, and I wore capris. There were people there in jeans and then some in slacks. More often than not, people were dressy shorts, skirts, or jeans.

 

[LuluLovesDisney]

California Grill is my favorite restaurant. I normally wear a dress or capris there and DH wears a button down shirt or polo with khakis/dress shorts (although there was that one time we wore a wedding dress and suit ) The food is delicious and I love the view! Sometimes we see people who might be in jeans or t shirts there. I would say 1/4 are truly dressed up, 1/2 are dressy casual and 1/4 are leaning toward the park-wear category. My point is that some people like to dress up more and some like to be as casual as they can. If you are willing to wear what the dress code states, why miss out on a meal you were once looking forward to? Yes, some people might dress up more than you, but as long as your group meets the code, who cares?

PS I also really enjoyed Bluezoo!

 

[AirGoofy]

When we go to the signatures (not been to V&A), I wear a golf shirt and jean shorts. I've seen others dressed in t-shirts.