Reviews of California Grill
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Menus at California Grill
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.
Pros:
fireworks from rooftopCons:
overly fussy and over priced set menu. Nothing for people who want more simple optionsReviewed by Anonymous Review Date: 04/29/2023
Rating: (5) Not Recommended
Mused to be great. They we went to a set menu and it’s gone way down hill. Got a sashimi appetizer. Worst I have had. Grouper was fishy tasting.
Pros:
View of the fireworksCons:
For 4 people got a bottle of wine and 2 after after dinner drinks. Spent $650. Wouldn’t do it again. You are playing just for the view.Reviewed by Reed2015 Review Date: 06/07/2022
Rating: (1) Not Recommended
Worst meal and dining experience I have ever had at Disney World and I have been to Tony's and Nine Dragons... I prefer a Value Resort QS over it.
Pros:
The meal is overCons:
Food, Service, experience, and priceReviewed by Reed2015 Review Date: 04/30/2022
Rating: (1) Not Recommended
Awful experience. Food was nothing. Service was horrible. They didn't enforce the dress code. Which I don't care but we were told it was mandatory and had to buy a last min over priced shirt for my husband after we realized we forgot to pack his. We show up and there are people in flip flops, shorts and tank tops.
Pros:
A few seats have park viewCons:
Everything possible other than the view.Reviewed by Anonymous Review Date: 04/19/2022
Rating: (1) Not Recommended
They comped my husband's meal it was so bad. The steak was mostly fat, cooked very uneven and practically inedible. My salmon was very dry but we did not have the energy to complain about both. Waiter did not come over after the food was served to see how we were doing, only showing up once we were ready to get out of there. The only reason we booked this was so our daughter could see the castle and we were seated in a back room, away from the main dining room, with a view of construction on the hotel. It felt very much like we were being punished for having a child with us even though she was quieter and better dressed than most other adults in that place. We have eaten at many of the fine dining restaurants in Disney and this was our worst experience, especially for the price.
Pros:
My daughter enjoyed the dessert sushiCons:
Food was very overpriced for the quality, poor cook on everything, waiter was nonexistentReviewed by EricSINY Review Date: 10/03/2021
Rating: (7) Not Recommended
Ate at California Grill for first time this evening after coming to Disney for almost 14 years. The view from the balcony was amazing and seeing the new fireworks show this way was a special experience. Sorry to say that the food was not a very special experience. Not to say it was bad in any way but for the price and compared to the ambience and decor it was disappointing. They were out of the rib eye (!) and the filet that was served was way under done. I love meat on more the rare side and ordered it medium rare and it was rare to the point where I almost sent it back. I actually loved my meal at Toledo earlier in week so much more. I also felt that for a place that seems to pride itself on a “dress code” there were a lot of people who weren’t even close to what I expected.
