California Grill - lately?

Did they still have the cowboy cut rib-eye on the menu? It is off the menu on the Disney site but still on AllEars, so hoping it is still there. DH was really hoping to try it next week.

No, they removed this from the menu early November sadly. I had it late October and it was fantastic, so I was looking forward to our follow-up visit a week later - but it was gone! :(

However, the new duck dish on the menu is very different, fun and tasty!
 
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Can't say I saw the rib eye ...but I always have the tenderloin so maybe just didn't notice? DH said he doesn't recall seeing either.
 


The ribeye was replaced with Bison. My husband had the bison last week. It came with mac and cheese and he thought it was amazing. I had the filet and changed it out to mac cheese. It was a delicious meal!
 
I am President of the Cali Grill Defenders Club - so take my input with a grain of salt (pink Himalayan, and on butter) ...

But for all the reasons people get upset with Cali Grill, I LOVE it. I love that they change the menu quarterly. I love that service is coursed and allows for you to enjoy your meal at the pace you choose. I love a two-hour dinner where my table can relax, converse, look at the amazing view we have and ultimately enjoy fireworks.

The best restaurant in your city back home will keep changing the menu, so why can’t Disney? I know people get committed to certain menu items - but you can’t keep great chefs, sous chefs and line cooks if they’re constantly cooking the same thing ... they want to create and do something different and better.

Anyway, if you want the menu to never change - go to Yachtsman or Le Cellier or maybe even Citrico’s. If you’re looking for great dining in a one-of-a-kind location, go to Cali Grill.

And ask for Jim as your server. He’s been my same server for years and is amazing.
 


I am President of the Cali Grill Defenders Club - so take my input with a grain of salt (pink Himalayan, and on butter) ...

But for all the reasons people get upset with Cali Grill, I LOVE it. I love that they change the menu quarterly. I love that service is coursed and allows for you to enjoy your meal at the pace you choose. I love a two-hour dinner where my table can relax, converse, look at the amazing view we have and ultimately enjoy fireworks.

The best restaurant in your city back home will keep changing the menu, so why can’t Disney? I know people get committed to certain menu items - but you can’t keep great chefs, sous chefs and line cooks if they’re constantly cooking the same thing ... they want to create and do something different and better.

Anyway, if you want the menu to never change - go to Yachtsman or Le Cellier or maybe even Citrico’s. If you’re looking for great dining in a one-of-a-kind location, go to Cali Grill.

And ask for Jim as your server. He’s been my same server for years and is amazing.


Agreed!! Change is good .. a lot of Disney could use an upgrade!
 
I dined there a week ago on the 9th for dinner. My experience was "alright".

We watched the fireworks and I think the server forgot to put in our order. The table next to us got their food first but they ordered it after we did. When it finally came out (it was getting late cause we had a 930 adr, watched fireworks at 10 and the food came out around 1045-11) the steak was good but my wife's pizza was very under-cooked and floppy in the center (a product of rushing it out). We didnt want to say anything cause we just arent those kind of people and it was getting late, maybe we should next time? For desert we got the peppermint creme brulee and it was extremely overwhelming on the peppermint and the chef should dial it back a bit. It was hard to eat and my mouth felt like I just chewed a menthol brick.

Would I go back? Sure. The atmosphere is great and its an amazing spot for a romantic "adult" dinner (it was our anniversary which we got free champagne for) but they could do with tightening up the quality of the food for what you are paying. For the flaws we did have my wife still had a great time.
 
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It was meh in early November. Second time in a row its not been very good for us. Probably gonna be out of the rotation for a few years for us.
 
The ribeye was replaced with Bison. My husband had the bison last week. It came with mac and cheese and he thought it was amazing. I had the filet and changed it out to mac cheese. It was a delicious meal!
So glad to hear this! This is my child's signature meal (filet and mac and cheese) and I was worried the mac and cheese would be gone with the ribeye !
 
What is the bar situation if you just wanted to order sushi, is that possible since we dont have reservations?
 
What is the bar situation if you just wanted to order sushi, is that possible since we dont have reservations?

Still possible- we did that a couple of months ago, however, we went around 5:30pm so we had our choice of whatever seat at the bar we wanted. I'm not sure how it works if you go later
 
ate there last week and it was excellent in every way Service was excellent food great total experience was excellent
 
What is the bar situation if you just wanted to order sushi, is that possible since we dont have reservations?

Easy peasy - just tell them you want to go to the lounge, sit at the bar and order what you want! The tuna three-way is my FAVORITE.
 
We ate there on 12/11 and it was a delight. Made an Adr hoping for a window seat to see the sunset at 5pm and got exactly that without even asking. Our server was lovely and the food was really good. I got the bison and mac and cheese and Dh got the filet. His steak was AMAZING and I wish i would've ordered it with my fantastic mac and cheese. The bison was good but compared to his knock out filet...and the molten chocolate cake was great.
 
We just ate there last week and we enjoyed it. It was definitely not the greatest meal and my sushi was just good, but overall the experience, ambiance and service keep us coming back to California Grill. Some menu items can be hit or miss, but we have never had something there that we thought was bad. I definitely think it is one of the better restaurants on Disney property.
 
I went to the bar last July during the monorail crawl. It was our last stop, and we had the farmer pizza, which was SO good. We also had the charcuterie board, a side of the gouda macaroni and cheese, and the chocolate cake, and all of that was delicious.
 
My daughters and I went mid December. We had a fireworks view which was very nice. However, I was expecting better food and service.

I had the filet which was just "OK", daughter had the bison which she liked and other daughter had a fish dish that she said was "OK". We had the dining plan and for a two credit restaurant we all agreed we would not visit again. Service was fine, not excellent, and my daughter ordered a dessert that was not as described and did not touch it. Server mentioned that she did not try it and daughter replied it was not to her liking. No replacement was offered which was fine for my daughter (she was full at this point), but unexpected even for any restaurant. Most, even the local Applebee's, would ask if she would like something else.

Would not go again as the worth of two credits was not there for us. Your mileage may vary however.
 
We were there on the 21st and all felt this was an outstanding meal. In the family we had the bison, the filet, the pork. We skipped appetizers in order to be sure we had no leftover food. I loved the filet, it was cooked properly, seasoned well, and cut like butter. The folks who had the bison liked it as well, and my daughter said her pork was delicious.

Our server did have one stumble when he decided that adding no butter to my nieces steak was the same as an "allergy" and then brought her mashed potatoes with nothing. She wanted the mac and cheese and was specific that the "no butter" was preference, and not an allergy. It was awkward, but was corrected promptly.

Service was otherwise impeccable. We did not stay for the fireworks, however we were invited to relax and stay if we desired. I will plan this one for our next trip, and felt we had stayed away too long.
 

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