California Grill

[ImDownWithDisney 342]

We dined at CG on 4/20 to cure the munchies...j/k....no munchies. I haven't been to CG in about 30 years...just a kid the last time. We arrived about an hour before our reservation time and with an additional child, but we were seated immediately. 

I initially wanted a soup and salad combo, but I talked myself into the filet. My wife had the steak Flatbread appetizer for an entree. It was very tasty according to her and plenty filling. The little one had a cheese pizza, which looked and tasted much better than the typical kid pizza. My filet was prepared perfectly medium rare and was served atop white truffle risotto and asparagus. This dish was one of the best I've had at Disney. The risotto was unbelievable and the asparagus was just right with a little crunch but not too much. 

 

We'll definitely visit again.

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

15 minutes ago, ImDownWithDisney said:

We dined at CG on 4/20 to cure the munchies

I see what you did there. LOL

Great review.  Were you there around fireworks time? If not, was there any offer made for you to come back to watch the fireworks from the observation deck?

TCD

[ImDownWithDisney 342]

We were there before the fireworks. They said to show our receipt and we could go up 15 minutes before it started. 

[shoreline99 137]

We ate there in February, one of the best meals I've had on property ever. It was a Cioppino bowl (basically a seafood stew) and it was amazing. I think it was one of the specials that day. We were also seated where we could see the fireworks while eating - didn't even have to go out side, although the kids did.

[ImDownWithDisney 342]

We would have been able to see them but we went early. We were too hungry to wait. We did have a great view of the MK. We were seated next to the windows.

[h2odivers...Ray 952]

Glad you had a good experience.  Thanks for sharing. 

[Katman1356...Jason 1,140]

Sil and I went on 4/8 as our special dinner night before out friends and their kids would arrive the next day. We had a 7:30 pm reservation for the 9pm wishes. We had the Roasted Tomato flatbread for an appetizer which was really good. then we both had the same Filet as Blake did. Sil thought the truffle risotto tasted weird to her but she had never had truffle anything before as far as I can remember. I loved it and our asparagus was also cooked just right. We had dessert as well. They were both good. I know mine was a creme brulee but cant remember the exact composition. She had the Chocolate pudding cake. Both were delicious. 

We had timed our meal to finish just before the 9pm and finished about 8:50. We relaxed for another couple of minutes before heading out on the balcony to watch Wishes. A major goal for me last week was to see it from a few places. This was one of them and I recorded it on my GoPro using a stabilizing gymbal. I apologize for the rocky start with it in the video but it smooths out quickly. Not the best recording of it and I was wishing the people around me would quiet down but I am glad to have it. 
 

The view in person is of course better. :-)

[GaDawgFan.....Kelly 799]

It's well documented that we are big fans. But I do have a new favorite Disney restaurant..... too bad it will be 10 years before I dine there again.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[keith_h 420]

We like the California Lounge. We don't even bother with reservations and just go to the lounge and eat there. The full menu is available and it has a great view of the fireworks.

[h2odivers...Ray 952]

1 hour ago, GaDawgFan.....Kelly said:

It's well documented that we are big fans. But I do have a new favorite Disney restaurant..... too bad it will be 10 years before I dine there again.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

What's your new favorite?

[h2odivers...Ray 952]

We've eaten at the CG before but have never tried the lounge.  And I don't remember much about it.  We want to eat some sushi and have a cocktail as we watch the fireworks  

So I have a few questions.  

1.  I know it's Disney but is the lounge "appropriate" for a 12 year old.  Or is it an adult place?

2.  What are the chances of getting a table/ seat to eat and see the show?   What time should we get there?

3.  Is the seating at the "bar" kid appropriate, just in case we can't snag a table?

4.   The only menu I can find is the CG  and it has a limited sushi selection. 6 items if you consider a tofu roll as sushi.   Is there a bigger selection in the lounge?

5.  If we go early to the lounge.  Can we come back for Wishes later with our receipt and watch Wishes outside?  

 

thanks. 

[keith_h 420]

11 hours ago, h2odivers...Ray said:

We've eaten at the CG before but have never tried the lounge.  And I don't remember much about it.  We want to eat some sushi and have a cocktail as we watch the fireworks  

So I have a few questions.  

1.  I know it's Disney but is the lounge "appropriate" for a 12 year old.  Or is it an adult place?

The lounge is open to the full restaurant. I've seen families in there when we have gone. It was mostly adults but it is not a
bar bar IMO.

2.  What are the chances of getting a table/ seat to eat and see the show?   What time should we get there?

We try to get there and hour and a half before the show but we are also there for a night out so how long we sit is not
a concern. The times we have gone there were still some seats and tables available though not by the windows. Even
towards the back you can still see the fireworks.

3.  Is the seating at the "bar" kid appropriate, just in case we can't snag a table?

I've seen families with younger children eating at the bar.

4.   The only menu I can find is the CG  and it has a limited sushi selection. 6 items if you consider a tofu roll as sushi.   Is there a bigger selection in the lounge?

Not sure if you can order from the Sushi bar. We order off the CG menu and stick to the sushi and appetizers (we do a lot
of appetizer meals at WDW).

5.  If we go early to the lounge.  Can we come back for Wishes later with our receipt and watch Wishes outside?  

Yes just keep your receipt.

 

thanks. 

I've embedded my responses above. Let the corrections begin.

[h2odivers...Ray 952]

1 hour ago, keith_h said:

I've embedded my responses above. Let the corrections begin.

Thanks.   I was hoping we could seat/ eat at the sushi bar and thy had a bigger selection than the CG menu offers. 

[BradyBzLyn...Mo 2,023]

14 hours ago, keith_h said:

We like the California Lounge. We don't even bother with reservations and just go to the lounge and eat there. The full menu is available and it has a great view of the fireworks.

Agreed!  We rarely sit anywhere else besides the bar/lounge.

32 minutes ago, h2odivers...Ray said:

Thanks.   I was hoping we could seat/ eat at the sushi bar and thy had a bigger selection than the CG menu offers. 

You can order off any part of any menu no matter where you sit.  Fair warning though - if you order a bunch of sushi while sitting in the lounge, you may need to drag another little table over to fit it all. 

[BradyBzLyn...Mo 2,023]

We sat in the lounge for dinner in February.  It was relatively early (6ish?) and had no trouble getting a table right by the windows.

View out the window

Here you can see the lounge area setup in the foreground and bar behind. Everything is open to the dining room areas on either side.  If you follow the bar further to the right you run into the sushi bar.

I can't count how many charcuterie boards I've ordered at various WDW restaurants (if there's one on the menu, I generally order it) and there are some really good ones.  But  is the best I've had so far...

Similarly, THE best sushi roll on property (IMO), the Spicy Kazan...

If they offered the spicy scallops in the center in a bucket with a spoon, I'd order that. 

[h2odivers...Ray 952]

40 minutes ago, BradyBzLyn...Mo said:

We sat in the lounge for dinner in February.  It was relatively early (6ish?) and had no trouble getting a table right by the windows.

View out the window

Here you can see the lounge area setup in the foreground and bar behind. Everything is open to the dining room areas on either side.  If you follow the bar further to the right you run into the sushi bar.

I can't count how many charcuterie boards I've ordered at various WDW restaurants (if there's one on the menu, I generally order it) and there are some really good ones.  But  is the best I've had so far...

Similarly, THE best sushi roll on property (IMO), the Spicy Kazan...

If they offered the spicy scallops in the center in a bucket with a spoon, I'd order that. 

Great pix. 

So the sushi bar does not have a different/seperate sushi menu than CG?

[BradyBzLyn...Mo 2,023]

18 minutes ago, h2odivers...Ray said:

Great pix. 

So the sushi bar does not have a different/seperate sushi menu than CG?

I can't remember if there was a whole separate menu for sushi vs the main dining room menu, but I know you can order off the full sushi menu from anywhere.  If you don't see more than a couple of sushi items on whatever menu they give you, ask if there's a separate listing.  But they don't have a ton of items on the sushi menu - it's not like a normal Japanese restaurant with a long list of a la carte sushi, sashimi, maki, etc. It's pretty much a set menu of a handful or so of items, mostly rolls, although there's also the Tuna 3 ways (yummy!) and usually at lease one sashimi selection. They do change it up occasionally also, like the main dining room does, but thankfully the Spicy Kazan is always on there.

[BradyBzLyn...Mo 2,023]

Forgot to mention - if you're looking for a bigger selection of sushi, check out Kimonos at the Swan.  Very cool atmosphere, and the traditional full sushi menu that's way more than just rolls.  We've been once and it was good, but we're big maki roll people and in our opinion, CG blew it away. 

Oh but don't forget Kona either!  Either at the sushi bar or in the restaurant.  They've actually expanded their sushi menu - I think at this point it's about a dozen items. Again mostly rolls, but consistently good.