Uva Bar and Cafe

[Calliaz]

I am going to try and write a trip report for our latest trip to DLR on Sunday and Monday this week; however, if I don't I wanted to report on our dinner at Uva Bar and Cafe.

We ended up here after finishing at California Adventure and not wanting to eat in the park. We were seated without waiting. The seating area is open air around the bar in the middle of the Downtown District walkway. It's not fancy (metal tables) but it was comfortable and nice to people-watch. It was also good for a child--we didn't feel the need to keep him extra quiet.

I was first impressed by the kids' menu. They had real food choices along with hot dogs and chicken fingers. My son had the chicken pot pie with corn as his veggie. The pot pie was nicely done (but was more of a stew with pastry top). The corn was amazingly good. It was well seasoned and my son ate it. He is not a veggie eater at all.

I had the angus hamburger with arugula, bacon, cheddar and secret sauce. It was also amazing. It was very flavorful. My father had the chopped chicken salad--a huge portion size with lots of chicken. The other two diners had the pastrami on rye with russian dressing and cole slaw. Everyone loved the food.

The bill was on the higher side, but it was in line with the table service restaurants in the park. The biggest expense was the beer. Most of the beers were in the $7-9 range. Even the Michelob Ultra.

http://www.patinagroup.com/restaurants/52/menus/Catal_UvaBarMenu.pdf

 

[lulubelle]

Thanks so much for the review on the Uva Bar & Cafe. It seems we haven't heard anything about them for a long while. I agree the drinks are expensive and the food is very good and on par price wise with most Disney sit down eateries. On a busy warm day, when in the right mood, having a drink and meal at the Uva Bar can be very, very pleasant, indeed. You have made me want to go there again soon!

 

[darph nader]

Ditto on being EXPENSIVE. Last time I was there,I bought drinks for my daughter and her boyfriend. (he bought dinner)
I had 3 glasses of beer and they had 2 Long Island Iceteas each.
The tab came to $75.00. My wife was not happy when she saw the Visa bill.

 

[mystic_path]

Thanks so much for the tip. I saw that place on my last trip and was wondering about it. But just a quick question. Do they make you tip a mandatory 15% on top of your meal, some restaurants in DTD make you do this.

 

[pixiewings71]

Thanks so much for the tip. I saw that place on my last trip and was wondering about it. But just a quick question. Do they make you tip a mandatory 15% on top of your meal, some restaurants in DTD make you do this.

I've never seen a mandatory tip at the places we've eaten in DTD, where did you find that?

OP, we've never done the UVA Bar but I want to....thank you for posting about taking your child with you, I think I'll make it a point to eat there this trip.

 

[Kayla's Mom]

Do they make you tip a mandatory 15% on top of your meal, some restaurants in DTD make you do this.

Did you have a large party? That is the only time I have seen that at some restaurants is if you have a party of 8 or more, they tack on the 15%. Here in AZ, at some places, it's 18%.

 

[l’amore bella]

Thanks for the review! I've never eaten there, but it sounds really nice.

 

[Mom of three]

Did you have a large party? That is the only time I have seen that at some restaurants is if you have a party of 8 or more, they tack on the 15%. Here in AZ, at some places, it's 18%.

I just got off the phone with Disney Dining, making our ressies. After I made the reservation for Cafe Orleans for 6 people (3 adults, 3 kids...one of which is 2 years old) I SWEAR she had said that there would be an automatic 18% gratuity.

I should have questioned it, but didnt.

 

[victorandbellasmom]

Automatic gratuity for parties over 6 is a disney thing. At least at WDW it is. Since we're a family of 4, we've never encountered the auto gratuity, but it wouldn't surprise me if DL is following suit


Thanks OP for the review. Dh and I have only had drinks there. It's good to know that it's a good place for a meal even though it's a bit on the pricey side

 

[2hapas]

Thanks for sharing your experience. I'm going to add this to my list of restaurants to try on our next trip.

 

[pixiewings71]

I just got off the phone with Disney Dining, making our ressies. After I made the reservation for Cafe Orleans for 6 people (3 adults, 3 kids...one of which is 2 years old) I SWEAR she had said that there would be an automatic 18% gratuity.

I should have questioned it, but didnt.

it's got to be your party size, DBF and I ate at CO on Sunday and no tip was added.....and we eat there with our girls and as a party of 4 we did not have added tip.

 

[Kayla's Mom]

it's got to be your party size, DBF and I ate at CO on Sunday and no tip was added.....and we eat there with our girls and as a party of 4 we did not have added tip.

I agree -- we ate there with our girls too and there was no tip added (4 of us, as well).

 

[alvernon90]

Last time I was there,I bought drinks for my daughter and her boyfriend. (he bought dinner)
I had 3 glasses of beer and they had 2 Long Island Iceteas each.

That is awesome! I only wish my parents (or in-laws) would go drinking like that with me.

 

[mystic_path]

I understand if its a large party of over 6 or 8... we did on our last trip have 8 people and were automatically told to pay the 15% tip (We were at the Rain Forest Cafe), but the few times before that we had a small party of 4 and were made to tip as well. Other on here have not had to.

My friend went to Ralph Brennan's Jazz Kitchen and were made to tip there when it was just her and her boyfriend, and she found this at the House of Blues as well.

I am hoping that maybe im wrong and that im getting ripped off. I just decided im gonna stay out of DTD for dining as I dont want to have to automatically tip, specially when I get some lousy service.

 

[Calliaz]

There was no mandatory tip for our group of 5. I may have seen one on the menu for larger groups, but I can't remember.

Thanks so much for the tip. I saw that place on my last trip and was wondering about it. But just a quick question. Do they make you tip a mandatory 15% on top of your meal, some restaurants in DTD make you do this.

 

[pixiewings71]

I understand if its a large party of over 6 or 8... we did on our last trip have 8 people and were automatically told to pay the 15% tip (We were at the Rain Forest Cafe), but the few times before that we had a small party of 4 and were made to tip as well. Other on here have not had to.

My friend went to Ralph Brennan's Jazz Kitchen and were made to tip there when it was just her and her boyfriend, and she found this at the House of Blues as well.

I am hoping that maybe im wrong and that im getting ripped off. I just decided im gonna stay out of DTD for dining as I dont want to have to automatically tip, specially when I get some lousy service.

Unless it's stated on the menu places do not add a tip unless it's a large party. When we ate at RFC with a group of 7 we did not have an automatic tip, but our greeter/seater did tell us we should tip accordingly.....I told her we would be happy to tip as we did everywhere else, according to the service we received. Which was great so we did tip well. I just thought that was very cheeky of the gal who seated us, and no she was not our server. Honestly, with a party under 8 if a tip was added I would question it, unless you're eating at a character meal where everything is included (tax & tip) you should not have an added gratuity.

 

[Kayla's Mom]

When we ate at RFC with a group of 7 we did not have an automatic tip, but our greeter/seater did tell us we should tip accordingly.....I told her we would be happy to tip as we did everywhere else, according to the service we received.

I cannot believe she had the nerve to say that! You had a great response too, by the way. That is unbelieveable, I think that would ruin my dinner.

 

[pixiewings71]

I cannot believe she had the nerve to say that! You had a great response too, by the way. That is unbelieveable, I think that would ruin my dinner.

Oh I know, we were all shocked and she's lucky I spoke up first and not the others who were with us....they wouldn't have been quite so nice! LOL Seriously tho, it wasn't worth it to let it ruin our meal, it wa DD9's 7th bday so we just wanted to have a good time.

 

[Rowlf]

You have to understand that they have a large percentage of international patrons who simply don't tip by custom; I can't blame restaurants in tourist areas for either including a tip or reminding patrons explicitly that tips are expected. If 25% of your patrons don't understand tipping as it is understood in the US, the servers won't make a reasonable wage.

 

[Gisele]

Has anyone patronized lately the UVA Bar and Café?

I have walked by it a number of times, however, have not as of yet dined there. I would like to know of recent experiences there, please. TIA And do they accept Disney Gift Cards? Thank you...