Disneyland Restaurant Musts?

[Andrea0710]

We are going to DLR in July, and I am hoping that we can get some restaurant recommendations! Any would be greatly appreciated!

 

[Pluto468]

Are you looking for fancy sit-down places, or just any good restaurant?

Blue Bayou is a unique place and most people like to try it at least once.
Lamplight Lounge in DCA is nice, too, and they have brunch on the weekends.
Oga's in Galazy's Edge is great for a snack and drink. It's Star Wars themed and really cool.
Carnation Cafe on Main Street has burgers etc and a good breakfast menu.

For non-reservation places you have lots of choices.

Jolly Holiday bakery has sandwiches, pastries and a breakfast sandwich.
Plaza Inn- great fried chicken!
Red Rose tavern
Hungry Bear
Cafe Orleans

DCA
Pym's has a great menu.


You could look through menus ahead of time to get some ideas of what you might like.

 

[glocon]

I asked the same question a week or two ago- and I’m excited to try the barria tacos at Cocina cucamonga!

 

[ImarriedGrumpy]

At DCA we like Lamplight Lounge and Pyms best. Over at DLR we love Bengal BBQ and always have to stop there. Ronto Roasters and Docking Bay in Galaxy's Edge also rank high on our list. We also always get a Dole Whip, Mickey Pretzel, and a Mickey ice cream bar at some point in our visits!

 

[GoofyGoofyGoofy]

Check out the menus at the Disneyland site. Many here have taken pics of their meals and they are happy to share their experiences with the restaurant; service, food, best time to go, etc. Carnation Cafe has some good food that Walt ate. (I hate they took the meatloaf off). Plaza Inn has good chicken. Pooh's Corner has a Tigger Tail that is a good treat to share.

 

[road2disney]

fried chicken or pot roast meal at Plaza Inn is a must for our family.
and most definitely dole whip!

 

[sgrap]

Cafe' Orleans is our favorite and you do need a reservation there.

 

[chezcurrie]

My faves which I consider somewhat iconic Dland food (many have been listed by PP):
Dland:
- Jolly Holiday Combo (grilled cheese and tomato bisque) with a red rose macaron. I am not a grilled cheese person and I love this
- Plaza Inn Fried Chicken
- bengal BBQ Skewers
- Little Red Wagon Corn Dog
- Blue Bayou (reservation) Monte Cristo (although I had their filet a couple weeks ago and it was really good!)
- Carnation Cafe (reservation) for real Dland nostalgia

Not necessarily iconic but so good:
- Tots at Red Rose Tavern
- Ronto Roasters Ronto Wrap (regular or plant based, so yum)

DCA:
Quesabirria tacos at Cocina Cucomongo
Lobster Nachos (reservation) at Lamplight. I also love their ”not so secret menu” drinks. The sea witch is a fave.

And don’t forget about Trader Sams at the Dland hotel!

 

[Kit Jackson]

Lobster Nachos (reservation) at Lamplight. I also love their ”not so secret menu” drinks. The sea witch is a fave.

Please explain the "not so secret menu" drinks. Are any of them non-alcholic? Will the wait staff know what I want? This sounds like something worth looking into for my next trip.

 

[chezcurrie]

Please explain the "not so secret menu" drinks. Are any of them non-alcholic? Will the wait staff know what I want? This sounds like something worth looking into for my next trip.

The secret menu drinks are very well known, and to my knowledge are all alcoholic. Ones I’ve tried are: the fun wheel, sea witch, never land tea, black pearl. A google search will bring up plenty of pics. The bartenders know them well, its become a bit of a thing with locals.

That said, lamplight has great non alcoholic options (goofball island and 2319 come to mind), and the bartenders especially if you sit at the bar or boardwalk dining are widely creative. This is one of my favourite places to eat when I’m there solo. I would happily ask them for their most colourful and fun mocktail and would be confident they would deliver.

One of my fave non-alch drinks you can get at most sit down restaurants is the no-jito. Very refreshing!

 

[Kit Jackson]

The secret menu drinks are very well known, and to my knowledge are all alcoholic. Ones I’ve tried are: the fun wheel, sea witch, never land tea, black pearl. A google search will bring up plenty of pics. The bartenders know them well, its become a bit of a thing with locals.

That said, lamplight has great non alcoholic options (goofball island and 2319 come to mind), and the bartenders especially if you sit at the bar or boardwalk dining are widely creative. This is one of my favourite places to eat when I’m there solo. I would happily ask them for their most colourful and fun mocktail and would be confident they would deliver.

One of my fave non-alch drinks you can get at most sit down restaurants is the no-jito. Very refreshing!

Thank you. This was helpful. I am a huge fan of the no-jito in general. I am looking forward to trying the mocktails at Lamplight.

 

[MillauFr]

The only must do is Napa Rose.

 

[DizMe]

The only must do is Napa Rose.

Up until recently I would have agreed with you. The last 2 times I was there (most recently in Dec), it was overpriced and extremely underwhelming. Even the service was bad. My experience was echoed by many others.

However, I read a somewhat recent review that was glowing, so here's hoping they've returned to what they were.

 

[MillauFr]

Up until recently I would have agreed with you. The last 2 times I was there (most recently in Dec), it was overpriced and extremely underwhelming. Even the service was bad. My experience was echoed by many others.

However, I read a somewhat recent review that was glowing, so here's hoping they've returned to what they were.

Who was your server? You have talked to the GM about your experience. We always have Rodney who does a great job. Wendy is great too.

 

[TexasJedi]

If your party includes kids and you're looking for a quintessential Disney character dining experience, I highly recommend Goofy's Kitchen at the Disneyland Hotel. There are some really fun Goofy-style mixed up entrees on the buffet and plenty of things for everyone to enjoy.

You can take the monorail from Disneyland Park to Downtown Disney, and it's about a 4-5 minute walk from the monorail to the restaurant.

 

[DLgal]

Please don't waste your time and money at Blue Bayou.

Other than that, most people have hit on the best places.

Not sure I saw it listed, so shout out to Hearthstone Lounge at the Grand Californian. Great food, although service can be slow.

I also love Naples or Napolini for pizza ONLY. Don't go ordering any other menu items. The pizza is divine. Also, the bartenders make EXCELLENT cocktails.

 

[DizMe]

Who was your server? You have talked to the GM about your experience. We always have Rodney who does a great job. Wendy is great too.

I don't know. We had an older woman but I don't recall her name. There were others, including a man who came to take our dessert order when our waitress failed to show up after a long, long wait.

We just wanted out of there. The food wasn't good, the service was worse, and the prices worst of all. I did leave comments with Disney after I got back home.

We always loved Napa Rose and it was a must for my sister and me, but our experiences were not good post-Covid. Not just NR, though; almost all of the fine dining places including Club 33 were disappointing. I do hope things are better now. I've heard that they are so fingers crossed.

 

[nlenguyen]

Since Napa Rose is a Disney Property, are you able to use Disney Gift Cards? I was traveled there and there were quite a few places in DTD that would not accept Disney Gift Cards

 

[LKing]

Up until recently I would have agreed with you. The last 2 times I was there (most recently in Dec), it was overpriced and extremely underwhelming. Even the service was bad. My experience was echoed by many others.

However, I read a somewhat recent review that was glowing, so here's hoping they've returned to what they were.

We've been to Napa Rose twice this year (2023). In is a little pricier than Blue Bayou but, in my opinion, the food is much better. Blue Bayou wins out with respect to ambiance. Napa Rose's ambiance is a slightly upgraded version of Storytellers. At our first visit this year, our service was good. The waitress was informed, did things like pre-split our salad and tried to engage in social conversation with us. The second time we went it was HORRIBLE. It took hours for our order to be taken and for us to be served (3+ hours w/o drinks). There were multiple mistakes with our order, which the waitress blamed on a confused chef. The funny thing is that the mistakes were with the Vintner's Table order so should have been pretty straight forward.

If you are done with the parks and ready to relax and enjoy a nice meal, definitely try Napa Rose. However, if you intend to go back into the parks after dinner, I would eat elsewhere.

 

[LKing]

Since Napa Rose is a Disney Property, are you able to use Disney Gift Cards? I was traveled there and there were quite a few places in DTD that would not accept Disney Gift Cards

Yes you can use gift cards. If you have them in your Apple/Google wallet on your phone, you either give the server your phone or walk up to the register with them so they can scan your phone. This applies to any restaurant at the resort. Personally, I always walk to the register with them.

The last time I was there, the server was a little confused how to enter a gift card. She mumbled that there was a different process for Apple Pay which apparently they just started taking.