StoryTellers Cafe or Blue Bayou??

[love2go2disney2]

We are going to DL in december and not sure if we should eat at storytellers Cafe or Blue bayou for dinner . They both offer delcious food. What do you guys think? I have not ate at any of these restraunts. This is our 2nd trip to Disneyland

Thanks

 

[mommy2allyandaveri]

Do you have kids? We are eating lunch at storytellers this year because my DD can build her own pizza, how cool is that? Plus I've never heard a single bad thing about the food at Story Tellers. BB on the other hand seems to have mixed reviews and it is super expensive, but it is a really cool atmosphere if that is what you are going for.

 

[InLoveWithTheBeast]

Story Tellers is delicious. It was the first table service restaurant that I ate at at Disneyland, and I have refused to go anywhere else. I love the atmosphere and the food is absolutely wonderful. I would recommend checking it out for yourself as words simply cannot do justice to the place. I will admit that I have wanted to check out Blue Bayou, only for lunch though, and I have never been able to get in.
I'm an annual pass holder, and I have been to Story Tellers probably six or seven times over the last year. I've never been disappointed in the food. Guests I have brought have been equally impressed.

 

[JenDisneylandlver]

Blue Bayou hands down. We did Storytellers for dinner once and found the food way overpriced for what we got. The food was just "okay". At least at the Blue Bayou you'll get an awesome atmosphere, and we quite enjoyed our steak!

 

[ByTheHook]

Depends on what you want, really. If you want a really good Monte Cristo, a huge bill, a romantic environment but lots of waiting and somehat indifferent service, go BB. If you prefer good Italian, a not so ridiculous bill, a more relaxed and better lit atmosphere, and moderate waiting but more friendly/ attentive service, go ST's.

Neither place wil disappoint you, really. Just take your time, enjoy, and soak up the moment.

Oh, and take me along, too. I'll have a Mint Julep at BB and a Newcastle at ST's, for starters.

 

[fairycat]

Friends of mine and I ate at ST's once a few months ago (the previous time there has been years) and none of us thought the food was very good, it also seemed very over priced (we ate off the menu for lunch). But I really enjoy BB, the food (at least what I have always ordered) tends to always be good and its so fun. But I will agree it is expensive.

 

[JenDisneylandlver]

Depends on what you want, really. If you want a really good Monte Cristo, a huge bill, a romantic environment but lots of waiting and somehat indifferent service, go BB. If you prefer good Italian, a not so ridiculous bill, a more relaxed and better lit atmosphere, and moderate waiting but more friendly/ attentive service, go ST's.

Neither place wil disappoint you, really. Just take your time, enjoy, and soak up the moment.

Oh, and take me along, too. I'll have a Mint Julep at BB and a Newcastle at ST's, for starters.

I remember our bill for ST being about the same at BB for 3 us of (a little over $100). Only at ST we had sandwhiches/burger/pizza type meal and BB we all had Filet Mignon! IMO I could have went across the street to Mimi's and got the ST meals for MUCH less and had just about the same atmosphere (ST is pretty, but not $100 pretty. Maybe if they had Characters at dinner I could start to justify the price)!

We also only waited 5 minutes for a water table at BB. So I guess it all depends on the experiences we've had an of course opinion!

 

[disneegrl4eva]

Depends on what you want, really. If you want a really good Monte Cristo, a huge bill, a romantic environment but lots of waiting and somehat indifferent service, go BB. If you prefer good Italian, a not so ridiculous bill, a more relaxed and better lit atmosphere, and moderate waiting but more friendly/ attentive service, go ST's.

Neither place wil disappoint you, really. Just take your time, enjoy, and soak up the moment.

Oh, and take me along, too. I'll have a Mint Julep at BB and a Newcastle at ST's, for starters.

if you make a PS there is really no wait...unless, however, you want a waterside table...then you will wait unless your PS is for when they first open for the day...and seeing as the OP indicated they wanted to go for dinner...you cannot get the MC unless you go for lunch anyway so I dont think using the MC as a weigh in would apply...

 

[staley7580]

We ate at both places on our last trip, and loved them both! We spent about $20 more at Storytellers.... but we had a couple "adult" beverages. Both places the food was great, service was great, and we had a ton of fun! My 2yo got a little more fussy at Storytellers, and was more entertained at the BB.

 

[Alex2kMommy]

We also did both on our last trip (two weeks ago), and enjoyed both. We attended the character breakfast at Storytellers, though we were able to order off the menu, a bonus since we aren't big breakfast-eaters. DH and I both ordered pancakes ($12 for a stack of 3 large pancakes), and DS7 ordered a bowl of cereal ($7 or $8.) He was still hungry after the one bowl, so DH ordered him another; the waitress brought out one of those tiny boxes of cereal (like you find in a variety pack at the grocery store) and poured it into DS's bowl. And yes, she did charge us about $16 for TWO tiny bowls of cereal!

Still, the boys enjoyed the character interaction, and that's why we were there.

We went to Blue Bayou for lunch on my birthday, and for dinner on the last night of our stay, and both times the food and atmosphere were wonderful. DS3 wanted "peanut butter jelly", so we ordered an unfried peanut-butter-and-jelly Monte Christo, which turned out to be a thawed Uncrustable sandwich. I don't remember what that cost us, but I'm sure it was pricey. I had the pork loin for my birthday lunch, and it was yummy; it came with scalloped potatoes and yellow and green beans, and I even loved the wedge salad. I tried blue cheese for the first time (on the salad, and I didn't know what kind of cheese it was), and discovered I like it! DH had the chicken, and liked it very much; I think that's what he had for dinner that last night, too. I had the short ribs, and they were good but a little fatty.

Again, we chose this meal more for the atmosphere than the food, although the food was very good. I'm glad we tried it out!

 

[ByTheHook]

The wait time I'm referring to at BB is the wait time to get the food, not a table (with a PS).

I had a late-night dinner at STs, and it wasn't absolutely unreasonable. TG I didn't order pancakes and/ or cereal boxes, though!

 

[honeymom]

I can't weigh in on STC (only did breakfast there and it was great), but for the money that you will spend at BB, I think that Ralph Brennan's Jazz Kitchen is much better. Still, BB is one of those places that you should do sometime - for the atmosphere, not the food.

 

[JenDisneylandlver]

The wait time I'm referring to at BB is the wait time to get the food, not a table (with a PS).

I had a late-night dinner at STs, and it wasn't absolutely unreasonable. TG I didn't order pancakes and/ or cereal boxes, though!

Ah, you must have had their wonderful "water in a glass" meal! Just kidding, but I really didn't see anything reasonably priced on their menu. Or I would have ordered it myself! LOL Not to mention that was a few years ago, I can only imagine what the prices are now. It was just wayyyy too pricey for us, when it was just pizza/burgers/sandwhiches.

I don't recall it taking very long to get our food at BB. Although I do admit to really enjoying the atmosphere, so that may have keep me better occupied!

 

[ByTheHook]

Ah, you must have had their wonderful "water in a glass" meal! Just kidding, but I really didn't see anything reasonably priced on their menu. Or I would have ordered it myself! LOL Not to mention that was a few years ago, I can only imagine what the prices are now. It was just wayyyy too pricey for us, when it was just pizza/burgers/sandwhiches.

I don't recall it taking very long to get our food at BB. Although I do admit to really enjoying the atmosphere, so that may have keep me better occupied!

I had a chicken pasta entree and a couple of Newkies (Newcastles) to go with it. No dessert. The place was just about to close but everyone who was still inside seemed to be having the time of their lives. Great staff, attentive service, and no real shocks come check time. I'm still recommending it.

 

[ByTheHook]

Ah, you must have had their wonderful "water in a glass" meal! Just kidding, but I really didn't see anything reasonably priced on their menu. Or I would have ordered it myself! LOL Not to mention that was a few years ago, I can only imagine what the prices are now. It was just wayyyy too pricey for us, when it was just pizza/burgers/sandwhiches.

I don't recall it taking very long to get our food at BB. Although I do admit to really enjoying the atmosphere, so that may have keep me better occupied!

Okay-- now at BB, we had to ask a few times for water and for bread before the entrees ever came out. At that point, our server looked a little peeved that we hadn't forgotten what he already had. Not very prompt or Magical at that point, if you ask me.

When our entrees finally arrived (35 min.+ at this point), they had forgotten one of the orders, screwed up another one, and had still forgotten the bread and some of the water for the other end of our table. Folks, this was just a lunch.

The food was good, but 2 Mint Juleps (plus all that wait time in a packed house) seeemd like a long wait by the time the food arrived. Maybe those are just short glasses.

It would be really nice, too, if BB had some kind of kid-friendly "observation deck" to watch the PoTC ride without having to squeeze between people's tables to do so.

The overall feeling just seems like a "well, as long as you're here, you're gonna have to deal with our hurriedness and our confines" kind of attitude. It's one of those places that looks so quaint and romantic from the boats' p.o.v. but feels more cramped and rushed from the inside. We thought the riders were probably having more fun!

 

[c&m]

On our last trip in July, we ate at Storytellers Cafe twice and once at BB. Here are our comments on our experiences:

Storytellers Cafe (1st time for dinner)
- Service was friendly but slow. Waitress was too busy chatting with her workmates to pay any attention to us. The restaurant was not busy, many empty tables and excess wait staff hanging around, so there really was no excuse for the lack of service.
- Chicken was dry and not appealing. We didn't do the buffet; we just did dishes off the menu.

Storytellers Cafe (2nd time for dinner)
- Decided to try this place again instead of going to Goofy's Kitchen.
- The whole family did the buffet dinner this time. What a completely different experience! The food was fantastic! Prime rib was great. And the salads and soup were good. DDs both loved the breaded pork cutlet with the apple sauce. I think adult price was about $25pp (??). Kids were half price.

Blue Bayou (for lunch)
- DH always loves this one. He always orders the montecristo.
- My meal was OK but the kids didn't think much of their kiddie meals (lack of choices). They preferred looking at the adult menu and splitting it. However, if you split a meal, there's a split plate fee.
- Service was really indifferent. Very slow in coming to our table and getting our orders. The waiter didn't really feel like waiting.
- Prices really high for what you get (or rather "don't get").

Overall, for the price of a buffet dinner, you can get a better selection of food (salads, entrees, soup, and dessert) at Storytellers, where you only get an entree at BB. Unless you really crave something at the BB (like my DH's annual craving for a montecristo), I highly recommend Storytellers Cafe.

 

[StormalongKay]

We ate at both this past Aug. We were staying at the GC and did breakfast at SC. The breakfast buffet was excellent! The restaurant is pretty large, but my kids got alot of time with the characters because people were spread out. I also thought the theming of the restaurant was really neat. Overall, it exceeded my expectations.

We had dinner at BB. Out experience was pretty much the same as everyone else that has posted. We waited about 30 min (after PS time) for a waterside table, but with 3 kids, that was definintely worth it. Other than that, the food and the service were okay. Not excellent, but not bad. The place reminded me San Angel Inn without the Mexican menu. It was as dark as San Angel, which made my kids tired at 7:30. If I go back, I think I would stick to lunch.

If you can't do both on your upcoming trip, I would recommend SC. Then save BB for the next trip.

 

[stampinshauna]

I love both Storyteller's and the Blue Bayou. If you are going for dinner, do Storyteller's buffet. If lunch, then maybe the Blue Bayou (so you can get the Monte Cristo, which isn't available at dinner). Just reading about this makes me hungry.