Restaurants off property

[lovebug33]

Our first night there, we aren't going into the parks. We are staying at the Carousel Inn and we don't want to drive anywhere. Where would be a nice, affordable, non-chain place to eat that we could walk to with two under threes in a stroller?

 

[KellaCat]

I don't know if there are any "non-chain" but anything in DTD or Harbor Blvd should be walkable for you. Mimi's is good. Tony Roma's. Napolini. Tortilla Joes. Jazz kitchen.

 

[ehrawn]

You're smack dab in the middle of the resort district. As was said, there's mostly chains in the area. Will you have a car? There is lots of great food within a few min drive.

 

[sunflare]

Pizza Press. Hands down.

 

[Hojoanaheim]

Most restaurants in the area are chain restaurants, especially within walking distance. Was there anything specific that you were looking for? Pizza Press, I believe is on the Carousel property, and they have great "build your own" pizzas. There are also a couple restaurants that will deliver to your hotel. I have tried Carolina's Italian, Tandori Garden Indian food, and Thai Tangerine; these places have decent prices for delivery and I would recommend their food.

I hope that helps,
Kriss

 

[MommyJKM]

Is Garden Walk walkable for you all? I am pretty anti-chain restaurants (I don't know how anyone eats at Rainforest Cafe - YUCK!) and the "chain" ones they have there are better quality. We love McCormick & Schmicks and Roy's Hawaiian. Fresh food at both and they will cater to your specific needs. I dislike having a lot of sodium when visiting Disneyland and I find having a fresh piece of fish at M&S is just the perfect dinner the night before DL.

There's also Fire&Ice hibachi grill there, I've never been but Tony on the DIS Podcast loves it.

At Downtown Disney I'd try the Patina Group restaurants, they have real chefs and try to use local ingredients. Uva, Catal, Tortilla Jo's and Naples I believe. The kids will like eating outdoors there.
Enjoy!

 

[scrapshappen]

Another vote for Pizza Press. It is right there next to where you are staying and it's very good.

 

[McNs]

One of our favourite places is Uva Bar in the middle of DTD. It is open air, and a great place to relax and enjoy the rush of people walking through DTD. Our kids were 4 & 7 first visit, they had good choices for them plus really good food and drinks for Mrs McN and I.

 

[VandVsmama]

So with 2 kids under age 3, a place like Roy's isn't going to work. Plus it's really expensive so not a good option if you're on a budget.

I second the suggestions for Pizza Press. One of the DIS podcasts recently had a review of this place and said it was great food at a very affordable price. Plus you can walk there. It's super close to where you are staying. And if your little ones are especially cranky, you can easily get the food to go and eat back at your room if you have to.

 

[VandVsmama]

Pizza Press is a counter service joint. No reservations required. You, spouse, and your two kids could probably eat there for about $40-45, assuming the two kids share a pizza. You won't get that at Tortilla Joe's or Catal.

 

[Indiana Scott]

Walk through Down Town Disney and pic a place out. There are lots of great restaurants like Tortia Joes and Jazz kitchen.
It's like getting a taste of Disneyland without having to enter the park.

 

[Bubblegum1286]

You could consider just ordering a pizza to the hotel and enjoying dinner at the pool since you'll have littles.

 

[lovebug33]

Thanks! We will have a car, but my hubs doesn't want to drive after we've driven to get there. At least that was our thought for right now! A restaurant right by the hotel sounds nice! We do love pizza.

 

[tiffjoy]

So with 2 kids under age 3, a place like Roy's isn't going to work. Plus it's really expensive so not a good option if you're on a budget.

I second the suggestions for Pizza Press. One of the DIS podcasts recently had a review of this place and said it was great food at a very affordable price. Plus you can walk there. It's super close to where you are staying. And if your little ones are especially cranky, you can easily get the food to go and eat back at your room if you have to.

We ate at Roy's several times with little ones when we were in Hawaii. My girls were 1 1/2 and 3. They loved the food! My older DD snagged all her daddy's sashimi plus ate her salmon meal. We tend to eat earlier at the nice places (around 5) to avoid dealing with crowds and before the kids are tired.

I like DTD for a night before going to the parks dinner. There's a lot of great choices, and you can wander around afterwards. If it's a fireworks night, you can enjoy those from the esplanade.

 

[VandVsmama]

It's probably a sort of thing where your mileage may vary. When my kids were two years old, going to Roy's would have been a nightmare.

 

[GenGen22]

Another vote for Pizza Press. It's one of our must eat places when we go there.

 

[taffy]

Pizza press but we also like a few of the restaurants in Garden Walk.

 

[bcla]

I know chains were sort of ruled out, but if the rationale is that they're either mediocre or too expensive, then maybe the OP can reconsider.

I think Ruth's Chris would be great during their happy hour. I haven't been to the Anaheim location, but their $8 happy hour menu is a spectacular value. The prime burger is normally something like $16 and worth it at full price. The steak sandwich is made from trim pieces of filet mignon. I love their seared ahi tuna. However, I don't see the lobster roll on the current menu.

http://www.ruthschris.com/bar/happy-hour

The only issue is that the happy hour menu is only served at the bar area, and in my experience there can be a long wait. There may be some tables in the bar area. We've brought our child to one of the locations and were told that children couldn't be seated on the bar stools. Tables were OK and I believe standing or seated in a stroller should be fine. Our child is four and ate the burger with a fork.

 

[bcla]

Is Garden Walk walkable for you all? I am pretty anti-chain restaurants (I don't know how anyone eats at Rainforest Cafe - YUCK!) and the "chain" ones they have there are better quality. We love McCormick & Schmicks and Roy's Hawaiian. Fresh food at both and they will cater to your specific needs. I dislike having a lot of sodium when visiting Disneyland and I find having a fresh piece of fish at M&S is just the perfect dinner the night before DL.

I mentioned the happy hour at Ruth's Chris, but M&S has one too. However, the menu says that they require a $3.25/person drink minimum to get the happy hour prices.

http://menus.mccormickandschmicks.com/MSAN_happ.pdf

There's also a Morton's in Anaheim, which may be closer to Carousel Inn. I've ordered from the happy hour menu at one of their locations. It was fine, but I thought Ruth's Chris was a better value. Morton's doesn't have fries with any of their specials, and their burger is full price during happy hour.

http://www.mortons.com/anaheim/bar/

 

[Geemo]

Thanks! We will have a car, but my hubs doesn't want to drive after we've driven to get there. At least that was our thought for right now! A restaurant right by the hotel sounds nice! We do love pizza.

We like Pizza too.
For pizza&Italian I like Marris Pizza Restaurant for three reason. http://marrispizza.com/
1. They deliver 2. It's really really good and 3. It's inexpensive compared to other options around DLR.
Their largest pepperoni pizza was right at around $18 or $19 delivered. It fed five of us.
We enjoyed pizza lounging around the pool twice on our last trip.

Geemo