Review of the California Grill

[BCV23]

Oh great this was supposed to be DH and I's nice romantic night out while my parents watch DD. We have always wanted to go and though the food sounds great. The ambiance sounds a lot more casual than we were hoping. Paper table cloths for coloring is great at the Macaroni Grill, not so much at the California Grill. We are going in mid-Sept. so I am sure with the free dining crowd it has the potential to be worse. Now I wish we would have chosen Citricos, although the menu at CG appealed to us more plus the firework viewing at CG.

The paper is placed over the tablecloths if there is paper at all. Some tables have it and others don't. I've never paid attention to whether certain sections have the paper but I think it is nice for parties with children.

We love the atmosphere at CG. It always feels special to us. We all dress up a bit and that makes it even more fun IMO. It dosn't matter to me what others wear and I usually forget to notice unless there's been a recent controversy on the DIS! We request the wine room and almost always are lucky enough to get it. It is a bit quieter there and the view is so peaceful.

We enjoy Citricos too but CG is our only mustdo for dinner.

 

[Pumbaa_]

Excellant review Uncleromulous. Weird though the gathering at the bar

Glad you ended up with a lovely meal

 

[KY Derby Girl]

Truly a chocolate/ strawberry lovers delight and probably the better of our 2 desserts.
My two favorit food groups: chocolate and strawberry!

We're probably going back again in December--I can't think of a better spot to begin a WDW vacation than at the California Grill.[/QUOTE]
This is exactly how we will begin our vacation Sunday night! I can hardly wait!

 

[Uncleromulus]

BCV23 is right--that Wine Room is probably the best seating location at CG . And I should note that the table we had was on the "right" side, behind the lounge. That whole area is pretty wide open and pretty bare. In the old days almost all that area used to be the lounge. Then at some point they discovered that they could fit more dining tables in the area. Which is why the lounge is now VERY small, and right in the middle of the restaurant!!

 

[Minnie]

We arrived for our 8:00 ADR's at about quarter 'til and after valet parking the car (a DDE perk!).

Uncleromulus we had heard that "free" vallet parking is no longer a perk of the DDE card. Is this untrue

Our card has expired and we are considering if it is worth it to purchase it again. We are staying offsite this trip but will likely still dine on site quite a bit and have return trips planned.

Thank you!

 

[Uncleromulus]

It's listed as a perk in the literature I got when our card arrived (May 5). And we used it at the California Grill.

 

[John's Mom]

Thanks for another wonderful review! We had dinner in the Wine Room in Dec. 2005. It's much quieter there and not as crowded as the main room. We saw the Epcot fireworks and the Electric Water Pageant. I think the Wine Room would be perfect for a quiet, intimate dinner.

 

[dawgfan]

Great review. Thanks.

 

[Minnie]

It's listed as a perk in the literature I got when our card arrived (May 5). And we used it at the California Grill.

Thank you! We loved the savings of our DDE card last time. As we will be driving from offsite this time the saving of the vallet parking charges will really add up as we have several resorts we like to eat at.

We've never tried the California Grill but that strawberry desert sounds amazing. We are extremely picky though so I'm not sure if the CA menu is to exotic for our tastes or not

 

[TwingleMum]

Great review. Someday when my 3 boys are older and able to behave better at a restaurant this is at the top of my list. For now I'll just live through you all.

 

[ufgator]

Thanks for another great review, Uncle R! We tried to get reservations for CG while we were there last week, but it was full the night we wanted to go (I think something was available really late?). We ate at Artist Point instead, which I love so no big deal. We just haven't eaten at CG in a long time.

 

[Ron from Michigan]

Thanks for the review Uncleromulus. I'm glad you liked CG so much on this trip. We have been making it a first night choice for the last several years. It is a great way to start off our trip. We always start with one of there flatbreads also. The flatbreads at CG and Jiko are both excellent. I would think it would be a great idea to make a lounge on the 2nd floor for people to wait before they are taken upstairs to there table. They could even add more tables to the restaurant this way. We will be going again this year in December too.

 

[Dreamfinder2]

Unc, I think I'm finally at a point in my Disneygoing that I'm willing to say that CG is our favorite restaurant on property, with Jiko nipping at its heels. I think there is comparable food available, but something about that setting makes it an Event. It sounds like your most recent visit was an out-of-the-park experience, and I'm purely jealous.

I might quibble with the coleslaw and BBQ combo ... slaw should be on the side. But hey, nobody's perfect.

Next trip, I'm goin', even if I have to farm the rest of the family out.

 

[PaDisneyCouple]

An Uncleromulus review. Just the thing to make one hungry right after finishing dinner. We had early seating last fall (around 6pm), and noticed how packed the bar area got. Before we knew it, there were dozens of folks waiting.

We had Ron S as our server back in 2003. Still have the CG card he gave us with his name on it. When driving to see the parents, we often talk about things like best service ever. The experience with him always comes up.

Sean

 

[schumacher]

Thanks for the review.

We always try to make it to the CG at least every trip. I agree that the CG can get a bit overcrowded but the food generally makes up for it. We have been every year for the past five years and have always had a wonderful meal except once and I will say that Disney made it right. I emailed them when I returned and stated how I was disappointed and the manager refunded our entire meal cost.

The children thing can be bothersome but it is Disney. I will probably get flamed for this but the Dining Plan has created some of these problems. Many people would not generally spring for this meal but, with the Dining Plan many folks feel compelled to use their credits here and bring children that are probably not suited for this atmosphere. I have taken my two girls and some of the behavior that we have witnessed from unruly children had my kids "wide-eyed" and waiting for an irate parent to swoop in but never did. It always amazes me how some parents can become completely oblivious to their children's outrageous behavior. My kids are not angels by any means but sprinting form one end of the restaurant to the other or screaming at the top of their lungs looking for attention will NOT be tolerated.

We will surely go back to the CG on our next trip but we generally get an earlier reservation so hopefully I can avoid the mob scene at the "Top of the World".

Cheers,

Schuey