Rainforest Cafe or California Pizza Kitchen?

[Maddie2]

We will be at DLR in January and I am making dinner plans by ordering gift cards. So, what is better? Rainforest Cafe or California Pizza Kitchen? I am guessing that they are comparable in price, if not, please tell me otherwise. Our family is myself, DH and 2 teen boys. Is RFC really a 'destination/experience' kind of place? Your thoughts? We've been to neither before.

We will be staying across the street at a non-DL hotel. So I don't think either option is far to walk. I haven't looked at a map yet, but thinking Garden Walk is only a few blocks away, right?

Thanks, in advance!

 

[sonnyjane]

As far as atmosphere goes, obviously RFC is better. CPK is just a regular old restaurant. That said, I have eaten at RFC and wasn't impressed with the meal at all, but CPK is DELICIOUS I'd just say to look at the menus of both places and see what you and, more importantly, two teen boys would be more interested in. CPK has great food and much, much more than pizza.

 

[Goofy_Mom]

I wasn't impressed with RFC, the atmosphere was cool but thats all. The food isn't great, on par with your nieghborhood Applebees, definatly not worth the price you pay. I really enjoy CPK. IMO, eat at the pizza kitchen and shop at RFC. You'll get the better food and still be able to enjoy the decor.

 

[pixiewings71]

Depends on what you like, they are totally different places to eat in both atmosphere and food. We really like both but I wouldn't compare them really. If you go with CPK try the BBQ Chicken Pizza, OMG soooooooooooo good! At RFC we have the Maya Combo and DBF and I share it. Yummy!

 

[squidlet]

I've only been to RFC once -- the food was marginal, the restaurant was dirty. The atmosphere, however, was fun -- so I still think it's worth trying at least once.

CA Pizza Kitchen is yummy! I've been there lots of times and the food and service are always great.

Can you do both?

 

[RedRosePrincess]

I would choose CPK over RC. The decor in RC is cute but the menu is pretty limited, IMO, and the food wasn't that great. I don't know if teen boys would enjoy the decor in there as much as younger kids. CPK is so good and what teen boy doesn't like pizza?

I would suggest looking at both menus if they are picky eaters and seeing if they would prefer one menu over the other.

 

[Funball]

im soo not a RFC fan, i was so not impressed last time i went! I'd go with CPK , they have yummy pizza!! and well other stuff too! Alot of places in DTD are really as good as CPK, and there is a mimi's across from disneyland also!

 

[spacemermaid]

I'd go with CPK...and be sure to get the honey/wheat pizza crust...if you've not had it before, it sounds kind of gross, but it is SO yummy!

CPK is just a regular restaurant; there's no special atmosphere. But the food is really good! I'm not a huge fan of RFC...the AA animals/jungle atmosphere are neat, but you'll already get to see stuff that's even better in the Park, IMO. And the food is really nothing to write home about...a previous poster compared it to Applebee's, but I wouldn't even put it on par with Applebee's. The portions are small and the food is, IMO, gross except for the Volcano dessert.

 

[SplashMo]

We ate at CPK when we were there over Veterans day week.

I really like the BBQ Chicken salad or the BBQ chicken Pizza. However I had the Thai Pizza which is my favorite Pizza there. Everyone enjoyed their food. Highly recomended

For RFC we sometimes go just for dessert and split an earthquake or two...

 

[Maddie2]

Can you do both?

Probably not as we have most of our meals planned in the parks and a couple of days away from the DLR area (with relatives). There are SO many restaurants ... so much food, so little time.

Thanks for all of your responses! Thinking CPK for a meal and if we have time, maybe just dessert at RFC. As another poster mentioned my teen kids may not appreciate the ambiance of RFC, but I would like to see it.

Does anyone know much about their desserts? Their website mentions a volcano dessert, but the regular menu does not feature any desserts.

 

[spacemermaid]

Probably not as we have most of our meals planned in the parks and a couple of days away from the DLR area (with relatives). There are SO many restaurants ... so much food, so little time.

Thanks for all of your responses! Thinking CPK for a meal and if we have time, maybe just dessert at RFC. As another poster mentioned my teen kids may not appreciate the ambiance of RFC, but I would like to see it.

Does anyone know much about their desserts? Their website mentions a volcano dessert, but the regular menu does not feature any desserts.

It's here on this menu:
http://allears.net/dlr/din/menu/men_rfc.htm

The volcano dessert is really good...it's pieces of brownie made into the shape of a volcano, with icecream inside & caramel sauce on the outside, and is big enough to be shared by several people.

 

[lapdwife]

Check the CPK website. I got a $10 gift card in the mail, and I think it was for signing up for their emails. We love CPK

 

[SplashMo]

That is what I meant the Volcano. That is the one to go for! You can share. Sounds like probably 2 because of the boys

 

[SplashMo]

You also need to get to KPC somehow...

 

[mommy2allyandaveri]

I think CPK has MUCH better food! Both will be around the same price but RFC is in DTD and has a pretty cool atmosphere...

Sorry, I don't think that helps you very much

 

[LavenderPeach]

If you don't want to take the time to do dessert at RFC you could easily just go in and look around at the animals, etc. They have a big store there in front so it wouldn't feel weird to walk in and just look without eating there.

 

[beautyqueen]

We ate at RFC twice last week, my 5y/o dd LOVED it and that is why we went back for lunch! The experiance of the place was awesome! My ds 15y/o had fajita's and ribs, I had a steak with shrimp for dinner and a burger for lunch, my mom had chicken parm for dinner and burger for lunch, my dd had little hot dogs that were very cute and also popcorn shrimp. For every meal there was tons of food, way too much for all of us to eat. I should also say that I got this drink in a take home glass, and it was AWESOME!

Steak and shrimp dinner

Chicken Parm.

fajitas and ribs

 

[Miss Peach]

Hi!

I do not like RFC, I haven't been in a long time, because last time I went (with out of town relatives--they just HAD to go) everybody fell ill.

On the other hand, we really like CPK and go there (the one near us) fairly often!

If you choose CPK--our local Costco usually has discounted gift cards for CPK--it will even taste better at 20% off!!

Cathy

 

[pixiewings71]

We ate at RFC twice last week, my 5y/o dd LOVED it and that is why we went back for lunch! The experiance of the place was awesome! My ds 15y/o had fajita's and ribs, I had a steak with shrimp for dinner and a burger for lunch, my mom had chicken parm for dinner and burger for lunch, my dd had little hot dogs that were very cute and also popcorn shrimp. For every meal there was tons of food, way too much for all of us to eat. I should also say that I got this drink in a take home glass, and it was AWESOME!

Steak and shrimp dinner

Chicken Parm.

fajitas and ribs

mmmmmmm that looks delish!

Hi!

I do not like RFC, I haven't been in a long time, because last time I went (with out of town relatives--they just HAD to go) everybody fell ill.

On the other hand, we really like CPK and go there (the one near us) fairly often!

If you choose CPK--our local Costco usually has discounted gift cards for CPK--it will even taste better at 20% off!!

Cathy

Meh, we've eaten at RFC a lot of times and never gotten sick. but I hear what you're saying. We ate at Tortilla Joe's once and got sick the next day (and for a few days after we still felt ill) and we haven't been back. Sorry you got sick.

 

[stevejanelle]

FYI: You can get a $100 gift card from Costco.com for $80.