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View Full Version : What's Your Favorite Restaurant in the park(s)?



Disney Crone/Kid
11-12-2001, 12:25 PM
So far, my all-time favorite restaurant is the Blue Bayou, hands down. It is pure Disney magic! And, I like the food. The fireflies get me, everytime. Since 1967 (before most of you were born?), I've returned to the BB again and again, and if anything, its magic is further enhanced with every visit.

Yamabuki at the Paradise Pier Hotel (http://mousepad.mouseplanet.com/showthread.php?s=&postid=34418&t=6134#post34418) is #2. Napa Rose at the California Grand Hotel is #3.

In DCA, Robert Mondavi's Restaurant was my favorite, rating far above Wolfgang Puck's. Alas, both are gone. I'm willing to give the "new" Golden Winery restaurant a try. Any preliminary reviews out there?

As for Downtown Disney, the Rainforest Café is a #1, but I have yet to try Catal and Naples. I love tapas and Italian, so this may change.

Here's why the Rainforest Café scored with me:

DH and I were hungry, and we drove down the freeway to DD, to the Rainforest Café, a heavily-themed restaurant that fits perfectly in DD, complete with a waterfall, rain, animatronic elephants, gorillas, and toucans. It was our first time, and my, my, it was a jungle in there. They've got the Disney thang down pat.

I was impressed with its most amazing gigantic salt-water aquarium -- two 8 foot, floor to ceiling, vertical cylinders connected by a horizontal cylinder above the entrance of the restaurant.

Although the wait was long, I didn't mind it at all. I was mesmerized by the salt water, tropical reef fish. Vibrantly colored or iridescent, each was a masterpiece of Nature's art. Seeing the fish from the bottom up, as they swam from one vertical cylinder to the other via the horizontal passageway, was trippy. Kinda like looking up girls' dresses through an acrylic floor. Trippy.

Talking about trippy: The "rainforest canopy" was definitely trippy for us plant-lovers. Maybe someone should have consulted a horticulturist? Five different species of flowers blooming from the same vine is botanically impossible. 

I especially loved the midnight sky above us. The pinpoint stars were actually twinkling with occasional meteors streaking by. I would have loved to take that sky home with me and install it on our bedroom ceiling. 'Trés romantique.

Get a load of these stars. (http://www.rainforestcafe.com/RFC/Tour.asp?vt=star)

Our server was warm and friendly Kelly, always with a smile, and unflustered in spite of the non-stop busy-ness and requests for picture-taking, at least three while we were there.

The surprisingly good crabcake sandwich and BBQ beef wraps with fries, washed down with tall glasses of cold draft beer, made for a thumbs up, tasty lunch for a Sunday afternoon. The servings were ample, and I was too stuffed to have the dessert I had anticipated, an Almond Mocha Cappuchino. Instead, we opted for regular black coffee, perfectly brewed.

We experienced three thunderstorms, once every half hour. The roar of the thunder is (very) LOUD and the streaks of lightning, dramatic against the threatening skies.

Like I said, it is very theme-y. Between the storm and the (way too) LOUD Brazilian music, this is not a quiet, romantic restaurant, and it was a challenge to talk above it all.  Blue Bayou is far superior for relaxed dining and wooing and romancing. I think the concept folks should visit a real rainforest. Except for birds singing, they are very quiet, peaceful places...

Overall, for a complete dining experience worthy of Disney, tasty food and lots of it, friendly service, and ambience, I give it :) :) :) out of 4.

Nigel2
11-12-2001, 12:47 PM
Hands down club 33, House of Blues, Brennens (if I only have time for a quick snack instead of a meal), I never got arround to Avalon Cove, The Monorail Cafe was really good too. Blue Byou is good too. I have to think about this some more.

hbquikcomjamesl
11-12-2001, 12:54 PM
1. Blue Bayou
2. Soap Opera Bistro
3. French Market
4. Plaza Inn (used to be ahead of French Market, until it changed to food court service)

Disney Crone/Kid
11-12-2001, 12:57 PM
Hey hbquikcomjamesl,

What's the food at the Soap Opera Bistro like? What makes it rank so high on your list of favorite restaurants?

I'm sooooooo not into soap operas, that it didn't occur to me to go. But if the food is good, I'll be happy to put up with the fake docs...

mspangler
11-12-2001, 03:15 PM
Blue Bayou, without a doubt.

Just thinking about it makes my mouth water!:D

zapppop
11-12-2001, 03:23 PM
I like the Pizza Port.

Ghoulish Delight
11-12-2001, 03:29 PM
For food quality, Blue Bayou. Pot roast melts in your mouth. Hard to find better.

For nostalgia, Village Haus. Food is the usual mediocre Disney burger, but, except on special occasions when we'd get dinner in NOS, that's where my family would ALWAYS eat at Disneyland. And since I've had a life long love affair with food, it was one of the things I looked forward to most when we went.

For drinks, the Uva Bar in DTD. They pour some yummy martinis and pina coladas, and all things considered, $5 a drink is not all that over-inflated in Disney terms. And the tapas ain't half bad either.

MickeyD
11-12-2001, 03:55 PM
Originally posted by zapppop
I like the Pizza Port.

ditto

mad4mky
11-12-2001, 04:10 PM
Blue Bayou

Their Pork Loin Roast and potatoes are to die for. Can't beat that and that wonderful Bayou atmosphere!:)

hbquikcomjamesl
11-12-2001, 04:24 PM
What's the food at the Soap Opera Bistro like? What makes it rank so high on your list of favorite restaurants?
I'm sooooooo not into soap operas, that it didn't occur to me to go. But if the food is good, I'll be happy to put up with the fake docs...


The food is more-or-less typical mid-priced restaurant fare, which is to say, it's a cut above the "fast food" joints in both parks, and the "Hollywood and Dine" food court, while neither as expensive nor as bizarre as what I saw on the menu of the former Avalon Cove. I'd actually put it about dead-even with the French Market, or the (old buffeteria-style) Plaza Inn.

(Or do I have it backwards? Was it the FM that went food-court, and the PI that stayed buffeteria?)

At any rate, even if you're not a soap opera fan (I'm most assuredly not; I actually watch very little television that isn't either Star Trek, History Channel, Discovery Channel, or Food Network), the atmosphere is rather amusing. The dining rooms are themed as sets in a production studio (and if you look up, you see lighting grids and large areas intentionally left unfinished, just to give it that studio atmosphere), with the busfolk costumed as grips, the front desk staff as production assistants, and the waiters and waitresses as soap opera characters, who periodically ham it up. (When I was there, my waiter was a nervous bridegroom who'd lost the ring.) Of course, some of the hamming-it-up gets to be both a bit far-fetched and a bit tasteless, but it wouldn't be realistic if it weren't, since real soap operas are both (in spades).

DisneylandKid
11-12-2001, 05:14 PM
Disneyland:
1. Blue Bayou
2. Rancho del Zocalo
3. Redd Rockett's Pizza Port
4. The Village Haus
5. Bengal BBQ
6. The Hungry Bear

DCA:
1. Hollywood & Dine
2. Cocina Cucomunga
3. Bountiful Valley Farmer's Market
(those are actually the only restaurants I've tried:))

DLR Hotels:
1. Goofy's Kitchen

Downtown Disney:
1. Rainforest Cafe
2. Y Arriba! Ya Arriba!

Gemini Cricket
11-12-2001, 05:55 PM
Nothing tops a dinner date with the person you love at Blue Bayou. Sometimes, it is hit or miss. It's awesome to sit near the water's edge but you do get the occasional nimrod on POTC who's taking a flash picture, asking you how the food is or simply screaming for no reason.

Once I was there and they had a jazz band on the balcony above us. It was so romantic. What can I say, I'm a softie.
;)

tabacco
11-12-2001, 06:13 PM
Originally posted by mad4mky
Blue Bayou

Their Pork Loin Roast and potatoes are to die for. Can't beat that and that wonderful Bayou atmosphere!:)

Mmmmmmmmm......

The Bayou is my favorite, hands-down. The pork's my favorite dish too :)

Nigel2
11-12-2001, 09:40 PM
Actaully (well thats what they said on the promo special for DCA) the sets in the SOB (Hmmm interesting anagram:D ) are the real sets from the various shows, I think they actually were taken from Disney MGM studios when they had (well I think they did) soap opera sets there.

Not Afraid
11-12-2001, 10:11 PM
In DCA:
Corndog Castle (Hot Link CDs)
Boudins (lunchtime salads)

In DL:
French Market (esp their Cajun dishes and Spinach/Arigula salad)
Blue Bayou (esp Crab Cakes and Mardi Gras pasta - haven't tried the Pork - next time)
Red Rockets Pizza Port (I love salads!)
Rancho Del Zocalo (BBQ Beef sandwich is great)

All of the DL restaurants are hit and miss depending on what you order. While FM is tops for me, I wouldn't order their fried chicken again. RDZ has some good things and some very mediocre items.

I haven't found a restaurant either inside the parks or in DTD where I know that whatever I ordered would be terrific. Unlike my fav restaurant in Long Beach - Lasher's.

blusilva
11-13-2001, 12:15 AM
Disneyland (since that's all I know - I *have* eaten at HOB at DTD, but it's pretty much the same as all HOBs):

1. Plaza Inn - I never would have thought of this restaurant before a couple of weeks ago when we sort of stumbled across it at lunch time because the Village Haus was closed and we didn't feel like walking all the way to Redd Rocketts from Fantasyland. I'm not a big fan of buffeteria scramble, but the food was excellent (I had the pasta with chicken pesto alfredo), the portions generous and the prices reasonable. What really tips the scales on this one is the atmosphere. The last time I was in there a few years back I vaguely remembered it feeling cramped on the veranda. Now it's very spacy and airy on the inside and very plush and ornate. It has real plates, real silverware and comfortable upolstered chairs. It was very nice "adult" break from an active Disneyland day. We felt pampered.

Sunday morning, my group "accidentally" stumbled upon it again, as it had been raining and our mainstay, The Carnation Cafe on Main Street, was a wee bit damp. We didn't realize until we perused the menu board that the character breakfast buffet was even available to regular park goers, but decided to suck it up and pay the 20 bucks.

Wow.

We were pleased, first off, to find that our AP discounts are good there (as opposed to, say, Cafe Orleans). The staff was exceptional, the food excellent and the atmosphere just fantastic with all the Christmas decorations up. I admit, I ate a TON, simply because I could! The selection of food was varied and even the vegetarians in our group ate well.

Then, there was the whole character aspect. Normally, I don't much care either way about characters....but the guys in the Pooh gang sure made sure I did by the end of the meal! They all came over to play, pose for pictures, hug and kiss and just be fun! I watched them work the room, as they stopped at every single table at least twice per "shift" (I think the shifts ran about 15 minutes each ) and interacted with every person in the restaurant for as long as each person wanted. It was amazing. We took tons of photos (which I almost NEVER allow. I despise having my picture taken. But with Eeyore and Piglet standing there looking so cute in front of the Christmas tree, how can you refuse??).

And we were offered free balloons. Oh my god. All you can eat, character play time and free balloons. This is what every single restaurant in Disneyland should be like all the time.

I stopped by City Hall at the end of our day and filled out a compliment form.

2. The Carnation Cafe - Nicely redone menu and generally excellent service. My only problems with this restaurant are that it's a bit pricey for the quantity of the food and that it is WAY TOO SMALL.

3. Redd Rocketts - Again, I'm not much of a fan of the scramble service buffeteria style, but I have to admit, I love the food here. It's reasonably priced and the selection is varied and quite large. My vegetarian friends in particular like Redd's and it's become one of our regular haunts. The bread sticks with marinara dipping sauce is primo!

4. Blue Bayou - I love the atmosphere in this special place and it's a once-a-year must. The past couple of times I've been there, though, the food wasn't as good as I had remembered it being about a decade ago. And it was *really* pricey. Either my memory is selective or the menu has changed significantly. I do love, love, LOVE their stuffed mushroom caps. If they're still on the menu, I highly recommend them.

Julie
11-18-2001, 09:31 PM
At DL:

Cafe Orleans
Bengal BBQ
Club 33
Blue Bayou


At DCA:

Lucky Fortune Cookery
Bountiful Valley

LIMANDL4EVA
11-19-2001, 08:52 PM
my fav is taste pilots grill, the chicken poppers meal, hands down

Uncle Dick
03-03-2002, 12:25 AM
Gotta go with Redd Rockett's Pizza Port, just for the sheer quality of the food. I visited Bur-r-r Bank Ice Cream for the first time yesterday and was impressed with the theming in the area, especially all of the neat info about the California Zephyr. Great ice cream, too, with a line no where close to the length of the Gibson Girl's.