Ok I have one night I am not sure where to go. Here are the choices:
Cali Grill
Jiko
The Wave
I wanted Citricos but I dont think it will suit my 4 year old son. The other 3 places seem a bit more relaxed. Any thoughts on either of the 3 with a foodie toddler. LOL. He loves sushi, shellfish, steak, salad and rice. Not much else. I know weird kid. Or if you think Citricos is kid friendly let me know that too!!
I have actually eaten at all four restaurants that you mention in the past year. Right away I would throw out the Wave. It is a nice meal, but no where near in the class of the other three restaurants you mention.
Of the other three, my first comment would be that while I have seen children at all three, Cali Grill is by far the most "kid friendly" of the three. It is a little noiser, has an amazing view, and is more conducive to children and people moving about the restaurant. Cuisine-wise, you can get all the food items you listed - sushi, shellfish, steak, salad and rice - on the Cali Grill menu. The sushi is actually really good - probably the best on Disney property. I love this place and you cannot go wrong based on your criteria.
Jiko would be my second recommendation. The filet with mac and cheese might be a perfect dish for a steak loving child (unless of course he doesn't like mac and cheese!), and the AKL is a great place to walk through, both for adults and children. Jiko is a little more subdued that Cali Grill, but no where near stuffy or pretentious. The spices and flavors here are a little more unique than you might be used to, which is great for a foodie but might throw off a younger palate.
Citricos is arguably the second most elegant meal at WDW (after V&As, of course). I love their menu, a great combination of unique and adventurous with traditional, sophisticated fine dining. I would certainly recommend this restaurant without reservation, except maybe with a younger child. My recommendation would be to save Citricos for when he is a little older or for when you have baby-sitting available.
Hope that helps! Maybe you can check out allears.net for the menus and go through them with your four year old and see if he gets excited over any of them. I know my four year old nephew loves to talk about food and gets excited about going out to eat! Then again, he'd be more of a T-Rex fan than a sushi kid!!
I lucked out.
