Reviews of California Grill
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Menus at California Grill
Reviewed by Anonymous Review Date: 02/07/2025
Rating: (9) Recommended
California Grill is one of our Favorite restaurants. We love visiting on our Arrival day. Seeing fireworks after dinner makes the Magic start
Pros:
The food. Love the Goat Cheese ravioli and I'm willing to try the new dish as I love Goat cheese & Mushrooms.Cons:
NOT ON DINING PLAN ?Reviewed by shageek77 Review Date: 12/27/2024
Rating: (5) Not Recommended
This pains me to give a restaurant a lower rating but ….
The view and watching the fireworks was the best part. Beautiful view! The hostess was also very sweet and helpful. I really appreciated her. (Checkin area)
We had coffee for our beverage(I was surprised that it was not included in the price :/.. or this was not explained to us)
We got the surf and turf sushi/ravioli, Halibut/Sweet potato Gnocchi; Hazelnut chocolate/Apple Carmel Tart.
appetizers: husband liked the surf and turf but nothing special he said; I enjoyed the ravioli and it was the best part of the meal.
Main: The Halibut was good but husband felt like it was not as fresh as it should have been. The gnocchi was way too sweet. It was sweet potato on sweet potato and the crispy bits tasted burnt/dry. I only ate a few bites and our waiter took it away without asking about me not eating it ..
Dessert: the Carmel apple tarts was very very good and the chocolate was too (but husband said it was a little too rich (and he loves chocolate)
Our waiter seemed rushed and he seemed a little frustrated that we didn’t order faster. I’m sure he was just over worked. It was Christmas Eve but coupled with not enjoying the meal and the shock of being charged $30 for coffee (10 each plus a refill that he asked if we wanted and I said yes not realizing it would be another $10) it was the best coffee we had had in property though.
It was a one and done unfortunately and makes me not want to try any of the other more expensive dinning experiences on property 🙁
Pros:
Fireworks viewingCons:
Food/server 🙁Reviewed by Anonymous Review Date: 08/17/2024
Rating: (4) Not Recommended
We were very disappointed with this restaurant. We waited an extremely long time to be served and got a lame excuses from the waiter and no apology for the wait. The prix fixe menu is very overpriced, portions are small, and the menu choices are very limited. Our food was fine, but for the price and the poor service, it was not a good experience. We won’t be back. It’s no wonder it is so easy to get reservations here now. Just go somewhere else.
Pros:
Unusual location and good fireworks viewsCons:
Poor service, overpriced, mediocre foodReviewed by Anonymous Review Date: 06/17/2024
Rating: (1) Not Recommended
The prix fixe menu killed this place, which used to be great. Now, the food quality is mediocre, the portions are small, and the service is lacking, as the restaurant lives off of its reputation and location. Our sushi tasted fishy, the steaks were lukewarm, and the desserts were average at best. If you want a steak, go to Le Cellier. If you want seafood, go to Narcoosee’s. I can’t recommend this restaurant for anything, unfortunately, and it used to be one of the great dining spots at WDW. It’s a shame.
Pros:
Good view.Cons:
Everything else but the view.Reviewed by DVCSammy Review Date: 01/15/2024
Rating: (10) Recommended
JUST AN UNFORGETTABLE DINING EXPERIENCE!
How can you beat a rooftop restaurant that overlooks all four Disney Parks .. ..
Their top-notch staff started me off with thei RAVIOLO that was subtle and delicious .. ..
The came their PORK SKILLET which was delicious and the smoothest polenta you will ever fave and topping it off was their CALIFORNIA CHEESE TRAY with a Bleu Cheese that blew my socks off .. ..
Most shocking was trying some of the families dishes and they were amazing >>> Their PIZZA appetizer was easily the best pizza I've ever had and their KIM CHI FRIED RICE was the best fried rice I've ever had too!
And, as fireworks started, our server directed us to the outdoor patio to view the fireworks and had fresh coffee awaiting us when we returned to the table .. .. We were seated at 5:00PM and didn't leave the restaurant until after the fireworks at 8:30PM .. .. An unforgettable night!
Pros:
everything.Cons:
nothing.Reviewed by LindaQ Review Date: 11/24/2023
Rating: (3) Not Recommended
My husband and I were so disappointed in our Thanksgiving 2023 dinner at the California Grill. Before the pandemic, we had visited the restaurant for Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners when we weren’t traveling north to visit family. We are not fans of price fixe dinners – we like to share our appetizers and do not order dessert often. However, we had always love our meals at the California Grill, so we decided to give it a try this Thanksgiving for what would be our 23 yearly visit. We had the perfect table for 2 by the window and the view was spectacular at sunset. The appetizers were delicious. My husband ordered the Sonoma Goat Cheese Ravioli, which was excellent with a very tasty sauce. I ordered The Cascade Sushi Roll, which while very tasty, the rolls very small. In the past I often ordered from the sushi menu for my main course. For our main courses my husband ordered the holiday special turkey, asking for dark meat. What he received was a plate with a mound of small pieces of meat over mashed potatoes. Accompanying the turkey was something that resemble stuffing, but cut into a round cake, string beans and cranberry sauce. The gravy was bland and tasteless. I ordered the venison - I thought I’d be adventurous, but was so disappointed. It was supposed to come with Hasselback potatoes, but instead I had one very small potato. The meat was not what I had envisioned and again, disappointing. I have to say that the dessert Crème Brûlée was outstanding, but not worth the $200 plus we paid for the dinner. Adding to our disappointment was the feeling of being rushed. We had to order all three courses - including the dessert - when we sat down, and the courses were served one after the other with very little time to sit back and savor the moment. The California Grill is not what it used to be and we don’t plan on going back.
Pros:
Beautiful View Courteous StaffCons:
Food Quality and Presentation Rushed Through DinnerReviewed by Anonymous Review Date: 10/08/2023
Rating: (2) Not Recommended
Dated. Dirty carpets. College cafeteria style chairs and tables. Same decor from 40 years ago.
Pros:
Food good. Service good.Cons:
Atmosphere. Decor. Noise. Cleanliness.Reviewed by Anonymous Review Date: 07/27/2023
Rating: (4) Not Recommended
Our waiter was rude and snapped at our party for asking to speak with the chef about allergies the way we have done at every other Disney restaurant. He then took it out on us by never taking our drink orders and delaying our main order. After 1.5 hours we had only received appetizers. The full meal took over 3 hours. For a supposedly fine dining experience, this was the worst meal of our trip.
Pros:
The view is amazing! The food (when we eventually received any) was also really good.Cons:
Our waiter was really rude and seemed to be punishing us for asking questions about allergies. It shouldn't take over an hour and a half just to get appetizers for a table of 5.Reviewed by Anonymous Review Date: 05/31/2023
Rating: (4) Not Recommended
The California Grill certainly stuns with its amazing views and rooftop fireworks, however the price point is not at all worth it for vegetarians especially. Despite discussing no mushrooms for our dish with 4 dining staff members, the main entree arrived with whole mushrooms mixed in. They did offer, after a few conversations, to substitute tofu for fish on one entree. It was not well seasoned and bland and seemed an afterthought placed atop the dish with mushrooms. I would absolutely not recommend for vegetarians at this price point unless they begin to offer an on par outstanding vegetarian course.
I would add that the meat eaters with us did not think their meal was worth that price as well.
Simple standard Beverages (except water) are an also extra charge on top of the fixed price.
Pros:
View and deck to view fireworks but you can find good views elsewhereCons:
Vegetarian offerings and had to send back a meal which contained food we specifically asked to leave out and were assured this was not an issue.Reviewed by Anonymous Review Date: 05/14/2023
Rating: (5) Not Recommended
Visited here recently for my husbands 60th birthday. The set meal was not brilliant very very expensive and I think they should introduce a more simple option on the set menu for more fussy eaters. We spent around 500 dollars and we were rushed to pay the bill before we'd even finished eating our cheese and crackers. Well that's what they called it but it seriously wasn't what we call cheese and crackers. Its an absolute rip off. Please if you are looking for a special meal do not go to this restaurant they are getting away with charging silly prices because you get to view the fireworks from the roof top. Always wanted to visit this restaurant but especially since they introduced set menu, definitely not worth the money. They need to stop set menu and let people choose what they want. I would never recommend this restaurant to anyone and the waiter just ruined it even more by asking us to pay the bill while we were still eating... just bad manners and not trained well. He actually came up twice to our table to ask my husband to settle bill while my husband was still eating...unbelievable. Just such a shame was so looking forward to this special evening.
