Where to gourmet dine?

[abitjaded]

We will have four days at Disneyland in April. We haven't been since DCA was just a bunch of huge dirt holes. Have to lunch at Blue Bayou for old time's sake. But what next? Have to do Napa Rose for dinner once, or is lunch as good? Need opinions, The Vineyard Room, Avalon Cove, ABC Soap Opera? Monorail out for lunch at DCA from the MK or back to Hook's at DH? Is it a big deal to walk from DL to DCA just for lunch or dinner? If our whole party has NEVER watched a soap opera is ABC still worth the scenery and food?

Good meals have always been an integral part of our Disney treks. At WDW we do Brown Derby, Calif Grill, Spoodles, Bistro and Cafe France, etc. At old Disneyland we did Hook's, PCH Grill, Gepetto's, etc. So we want to get out of the hectic, the heat and have a NICE meal.

TIA
Carla

 

[LuvTigger]

I think some of the restaurants you mentioned have closed, but best for someone who's been there recently to answer that (I'm referring to the ones you mentioned in DCA).

As for Napa Rose, it looks terrific! We stayed at GC in Oct. 2001 and wanted to dine there, but didn't have time. However, we took the hotel tour, which included Napa Rose, and it looked great, as did the menu. Also, I'm not sure if they're open for lunch on a regular basis. When we were there, they were only open for dinner.

We enjoyed Hook's Pointe too. There are some great places in DD too, though maybe not so gourmet, like Naples if you like Italian. It was excellent, we had lunch there, and the portions were quite large. There are some other restaurants in DD that sound great too. We had a nice breakfast at La Brea Bakery, lox and bagels, yum!! You order at the counter and sit down outside. I'm really disappointed that Y Arriba closed, we ate there and it was terrific!

Also, consider Storyteller's Cafe in GC. It's not really fancy, but I thought the food was wonderful! You can either order from the menu or go to the buffet. We had breakfast (buffet) and dinner (off the menu) there. Both were great, but for dinner, BF had ribs, which he LOVED, and I had a great salad (spring greens, pears, feta cheese, pecans), and if you go there you MUST try the corn chowder, it is absolutely to die for!!! Nice smokey ham, and fresh corn!

And I don't think it's a big deal to go over to DCA from DL (or even go to DD) for lunch. We often left DL to eat lunch at DD. If you're going back to DL afterward and you're in DD, you could always catch the monorail back.

The only restaurant I did not care for was ESPN, for many reasons. The service was just okay, and the food was just okay. They were large portions, but I wouldn't return.

There is definitely a great assortment of restaurants at DLR now, and I don't think you'll have any problems finding great places to dine!