California grille brunch-is it pretentious?

[married2mm]

I found dinner to be uninspiring and basically felt uncomfortable.
It may well be a ‘ just me’ thing.

I’m most certainly not a fancy Nancy nor are my taste buds fancy.
I have various digestive and particular food issues-but I’m really rather easy to cater for..
Definitely more of a plain Jane!
Additionally, I don’t drink alcohol nor do I eat dessert, however dh, dd1 & her bff eat& drink enough for the 4 of us

Essentially, I’m wondering what your experiences have been at brunch?
Especially if anyone else has intolerances/vegan or vegetarian.

 

[tinydancer312]

I’d say the activity itself is pretentious. It’s expensive, exclusive, but the food is amazing as is the ever-flowing mimosas. It is my favorite thing we’ve done. We have done it twice now and plan to do it again.

Its expensive if you don’t drink or will eat a lot on the buffet. The atmosphere is more appealing I feel at brunch than dinner. Much airier and brighter. You can also bring your brunch receipt for fireworks viewing if that matters.

 

[married2mm]

I’d say the activity itself is pretentious. It’s expensive, exclusive, but the food is amazing as is the ever-flowing mimosas. It is my favorite thing we’ve done. We have done it twice now and plan to do it again.

Its expensive if you don’t drink or will eat a lot on the buffet. The atmosphere is more appealing I feel at brunch than dinner. Much airier and brighter. You can also bring your brunch receipt for fireworks viewing if that matters.

Thanks for your reply.

 

[L&Lfan]

We’ve tried 3 different trips to get ADRs at the California Grille Sunday brunch and failed. We’ll just have to keep trying! We’re much more interested in brunch there than having dinner.

 

[auntfrannie]

I've been able to do it three times and it never felt pretentious to me. It always seemed pretty relaxed with friendly service. I can't speak to the food issues but the Disney restaurants are always willing to accommodate diners that have dietary restrictions.

i think you should give it a try. Although I would imagine that after everything reopens the ADRs will be even harder to get because I think they're going to have to remove some tables to allow for some sort of better social distancing. Which could be a good thing with Disney trying to crowd in tables so you're practically sitting on each other! I'm looking at you, Le Cellier!

 

[LovesTimone]

We had talked about this for Mother's Day this year... With everything going on I think we will skip it for this year... Not unless I can score ADR.. which I might try for... just for fun... you never know.... Last year we did Jaleo, and that was just fabulous... Really a wonderful meal...

I would just look at it like a nice meal, where you can spruce up a bit, and enjoy food and whoever your with...

 

[gillep]

I found dinner to be uninspiring and basically felt uncomfortable.
It may well be a ‘ just me’ thing.

I’m most certainly not a fancy Nancy nor are my taste buds fancy.
I have various digestive and particular food issues-but I’m really rather easy to cater for..
Definitely more of a plain Jane!
Additionally, I don’t drink alcohol nor do I eat dessert, however dh, dd1 & her bff eat& drink enough for the 4 of us

Essentially, I’m wondering what your experiences have been at brunch?
Especially if anyone else has intolerances/vegan or vegetarian.

I have tried dinner at CA Grill 3 or 4 times and I just don't like it, I have found the food to be not very good, just basic boring and bland, and there are so many other better restaurants for dinner.

That said we really like brunch, I think the brunch food is much better and there are a lot of options, although we don't have intolerances so I am not sure how much variety you will find given your limitations. Also, brunch is much more casual, there are significantly more people in basic park attire than dinner. That said, it is quite expensive so if you aren't sure you will enjoy it then it may be best to just do a nice breakfast brunch somewhere a la carte. If you are in Disney Springs I highly recommend the brunch at Wine Bar George.

 

[mmackeymouse]

I didn't find it to be pretentious at all. It feels very luxurious, yes. And, it does feel like you are sort of splurging/spoiling yourself a bit.

But, not pretentious. It seemed pretty casual, if anything. I felt perfectly comfortable to get up, go to the buffet, explore the space, go out to the balcony.

If you've ever done Palo on DCL, I would compare it to that; although Palo may even be a slight bit more upscale and formal than Cali Grill, as far as brunch goes.

 

[rwdavis2]

Have you looked at the menu? When you mention “plain Jane” what do you mean? If you find that you will not eat several items on the buffet the it’s probably not worth the cost. The mimosas are nothing special and neither is dessert. The rest is excellent. Pretentious? No, but relaxing with a great view of MK.

 

[marcyleecorgan]

If you don't drink, don't bother IMHO. Part of the experience from what I understand is the alcohol pairings.
If you just want a satisfying meal and no expectation to drink, there are many other restaurants on property that don't have a sommelier.
I'm not a huge drinker myself but when the hospitality includes mimosas, matched wine and cocktails, I'll experiment!

 

[elaine amj]

We don't drink much but we really enjoyed it. Loved the mix between appetizer buffet and AYCE entrees. Very indulgent in a lovely atmosphere

 

[mkla2015]

We had brunch at CA Grill for the first time on our last trip in February and really enjoyed it. I am not fancy by any means and am pretty plain.

Brunch was very nice, service was fantastic, food was awesome, the whole experience was just really great. I was worried because my kids (9 and 8 at the time) don't each much but they loved it. My 8 year old ate his weight in pancakes and cheese biscuits. Look at the menu- you can ask for things to be left off or subbed with no issues.

This isn't something we'd do every trip but I would definitely do it again for a special occasion. Give it a try.

 

[DisneyJColeMom]

Ive never been to California Grill, but we have a trip planned end of September & I booked dinner there late enough that I think we’ll be able to finish off dinner with fireworks. Its just me, my husband & our 7 year old son. This post is the first im hearing of negative feedback. Is it an uncomfortable atmosphere? Will it be enjoyable for us there with our young son?

 

[married2mm]

Thanks very much for all the responses.
Fingers tightly crossed we nab an adr;
we shall be there.
My dd has now watched 4 different vlogs and is not just planning food but also her outfit ..
as suggested by a previous poster I shall do the same.

 

[rwdavis2]

Ive never been to California Grill, but we have a trip planned end of September & I booked dinner there late enough that I think we’ll be able to finish off dinner with fireworks. Its just me, my husband & our 7 year old son. This post is the first im hearing of negative feedback. Is it an uncomfortable atmosphere? Will it be enjoyable for us there with our young son?

The atmosphere is great. When our kids were 4 and 7 we took them and did fine but that was a long time ago. But what would make you uncomfortable? Dinner there restaurant is not a quiet, formal event. But moderate noise levels and lively. The night view is amazing.

 

[DisneyJColeMom]

This sounds great to me! I worried that it was too formal or more adult-date oriented.

 

[bluejasmine]

To.us brunch was much more laid back then dinner...

 

[mmackeymouse]

Thanks very much for all the responses.
Fingers tightly crossed we nab an adr;
we shall be there.
My dd has now watched 4 different vlogs and is not just planning food but also her outfit ..
as suggested by a previous poster I shall do the same.

Yeah, definitely check once you start getting like within 30 days out. We got lucky that way. Just checked availabilities every day, and about 3 weeks out, something opened up.

 

[tinydancer312]

I didn't find it to be pretentious at all. It feels very luxurious, yes. And, it does feel like you are sort of splurging/spoiling yourself a bit.

But, not pretentious. It seemed pretty casual, if anything. I felt perfectly comfortable to get up, go to the buffet, explore the space, go out to the balcony.

Luxurious is a better word and this description is better than my answer. I never once felt out of place or uncomfortable. It's casual, but at that price point for breakfast, the experience lends itself to be a different caliber. While there was park attire, it was more of a country club vibe in terms of dress- put together but relaxed. The service our first trip was on par with that of any high end restaurant. There was live music that added to the ambiance. We did joke that it was the "snootiest" thing we've ever done in Disney- and we've dined at V & A numerous times.
But to be clear- no other diners or the staff made us feel out of place, it's just a luxurious meal.

 

[married2mm]

I think we all deserve a little luxury in our lives.