So tell me your thoughts on Carnation Cafe

[toni1227]

Okay, just wanted to get your thoughts on the food here.
The menu appeals to me. I am a sandwich girl and the menu and the prices seem great.

 

[mechurchlady]

It has been five years since I ate there but it is outdoors and a nice place to eat on Main Street. Friends loved the sandwiches. I used to try to eat there every time I was in DL way back when it was an indoor restaurant.

 

[eduk8r26]

We love to eat there. The salads are really good. Sometimes we have breakfast. The sundaes are great, as is the apple pie ala mode. I've never had to make reservations. I just go at a time when there isn't much of a line.

 

[WebmasterMaryJo]

It's small, tucked between the candy store and the bakery on Main Street. I really like it there, and the food is pretty good.

 

[toni1227]

yum yum yum! i just called for PS there at first lunch seating one day next week!

 

[21yankees]

Not just the sandwiches. When we were all there last week we tried the pot pie and sheppards pie. They were great and very filling.


steph

 

[prettyprincessbelle]

When we went I had the half veggie medley sandwich and a cup of the loaded baked potato soup. It was fantastic! DBF had the cafe steak melt and he really liked it.

We also love Carnation for breakfast!

 

[bumbershoot]

Had the veggie sandwich with a green salad the other day. It was good and filling!

 

[Sherry E]

My friends and I have eaten at Carnation Cafe a bunch of times over the years - I can't even count how many times because we started going there back in the early '90s, I think, when the menu was very different and when there was inside seating as well as outdoor seating. We seem to now have a Carnation meal (sometimes two) on every DLR trip, so just since 2007 alone we've probably been there 6 times (over 4 DLR trips). And we also have done breakfast, lunch, dinner and dessert-only at Carnation.

Now, all of that said, I will definitely recommend Carnation Cafe to you while saying I am personally a bit burnt out on it. The menu is good, but it is limited - especially in comparision to what it used to be years ago. A lot of the reason we have continued to go back is because it's familiar, it's habit, one of my friends really likes it, etc. But I could have stood to skip it on the last DLR trip and try something else. I think Carnation Cafe has a lot of quaintness and charm to it. It's a perfect location for people watching (and sometimes parade watching) - in fact, one thing I did do in October was request a table alongside Main Street, instead of getting put in the back or on the side of the restaurant where we normally are and can't see anything. Of course, it took much longer to be seated while we waited for a Main Street-view table to be cleared, but it was a great spot to be in once we sat down. That's the other thing, though - the seating is very limited in general so a line forms rather quickly with people waiting for tables. In fact, the people in line waiting can look right down at you while you are eating (the line is right next to some of the tables), which is always awkward! I think making a PS for Carnation is essential, because whenever we have gone there without a PS, we have waited a long time (once we waited about 40-45 minutes). Sure, they must have slower days here and there, but I wouldn't risk doing it without a PS again.

As for the food, I think we established we like Carnation better for lunch or dinner than for breakfast, but it's all pretty good. The meat loaf stack is great (usually). My friend got sick from the pot pie, however. The dessert meal was great because a few of us ordered the apple pie a la mode - which comes with, of course, ice cream, lots of whipped cream and a couple of strawberries sliced to perfection - and the Matterhorn sundae and shared them between all of us, along with some coffee drinks, and watched the part of the parade that we could see. We have also seen a giant bowl or dish of something ice cream-y sail past us and onto another table, and I am not sure if it was a banana split (they serve those too) or some other evil concoction. Whatever it was, it was ENORMOUS, and everyone in the restaurant pointed, stared and gasped as it made its way into the hands of the young couple sharing it. (They didn't even get through half of it, by the way.) To this day, I still don't know what that dessert was, but it was big enough for four people.

 

[Kayla's Mom]

We went there for the first time last month and I LOVED the Loaded Baked Potato Soup. It was great! Oscar (the chef) was out and about (from what I have heard, this seems to be a common thing), he was playing around with my daughters and offered the recipe for the soup. We really enjoyed it there!

 

[zakerdog]

The fully loaded potato soup is the best I have ever tasted.

 

[drag n' fly]

The baked potato soup and the ambience are absolutely delicious!

 

[jolynda]

Sounds like we need to give it a try for lunch. We had bkfast there once and while it wasn't horrid, we decided it wasn't worth repeating.

 

[MommyWithDreams]

It's my favorite place to eat in DL, I refuse to miss it. THat being said, another vote for the loaded baked potato soup. Mmm mmmm

 

[ScooterL]

I like Carnation Cafe better for breakfast than lunch/dinner.

If you're a sandwich person, try La Brea Bakery Cafe in Downtown Disney - they have a really nice selection of hot and cold sandwiches (much more of a variety than Carnation Cafe), and everything I've tried there has been quite good.

 

[Sherry E]

Sounds like we need to give it a try for lunch. We had bkfast there once and while it wasn't horrid, we decided it wasn't worth repeating.

That was my experience as well. Exactly what you said. I didn't think the Carmation Cafe breakfast was horrid, and it'll do in a pinch if you need to eat, but it was just so-so to me on both occasions when we tried it recently. I prefer going there for lunch/dinner or dessert over the breakfast.

 

[redsox721]

Do you abosolutely need to make a PS or can you walk up the day and time you would like to eat? I have no problem making a PS but I have already made PS' for other places. We are not sure what day we will be going back to DL.

 

[Sherry E]

Do you abosolutely need to make a PS or can you walk up the day and time you would like to eat? I have no problem making a PS but I have already made PS' for other places. We are not sure what day we will be going back to DL.

No, you are not required to make a PS, but take my word for it - it is an infrequent occurrence that you can walk up and get a table right away or even within 5 minutes, especially during Spring and Summer when the weather is nice and people like sitting outdoors to eat. As I said in my first post, the seating is limited, so a line of people waiting for tables builds quickly. We have never been there where we didn't have to wait for a table when we didn't make a PS. We waited up to 40-45 mnutes on time. The PS does not guarantee you will be seated instantly, as it is not a reservation, but you will be seated before people who have NOT made a PS.

 

[wvnative]

Hmmm.. since the first time we went there for breakfast, we've done breakfast there every trip. It's normally the only breakfast we do in the park. We've not been there for lunch or dinner though. I suppose at some point we ought to do that.

 

[pixiewings71]

When we went I had the half veggie medley sandwich and a cup of the loaded baked potato soup. It was fantastic! DBF had the cafe steak melt and he really liked it.

We also love Carnation for breakfast!

Courtney, are we twins? Seriously, this is exactly what I had! LOL I loved it!!!!!!! I can't remember what DBF had but honestly, it was probably the steak melt!

Do you abosolutely need to make a PS or can you walk up the day and time you would like to eat? I have no problem making a PS but I have already made PS' for other places. We are not sure what day we will be going back to DL.

No not absolutely but it is very recommended. We did walk up and get seated right away once but that was in Jan and during the week and the park was dead. They didn't even have fastpass machines up for most of the rides that trip. lol

Get the baked potato soup, it's sooooooo good!!!!!! And if it's cold (a friend of ours was cold but she didn't send it back) send it back and ask them to reheat it! They will and it will be the best potato soup you've ever had! LOL Seriously...and I know my potato soups.....I lived in Idaho for a long time. LOL