Reviews of California Grill
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Menus at California Grill
Reviewed by mangoman18 Review Date: 09/30/2018
Rating: (5) Not Recommended
After hearing all of the positive reviews for this place, I have to say we were really disappointed with this meal. I will say the view is amazing from the top of the Comtempory. The restaurant itself looks a little dated and sterile for my tastes. I ordered the cowboy ribeye and my wife got the filet. Probably not the best place to get a steak, but we had heard good things about the steaks. I will say that some of the other entrees we saw other people get looked really good such as the pork tenderloin. Our server was friendly but he did mess up are order, which is kind of annoying, especially at those prices. He did get it fixed and was apologetic about it. Our desserts were both good. My wife really enjoyed the chocolate lava cake and my creme brulee was fine. Overall I don’t think this restaurant is a good place to spend your money. There are much better signature restaurants on property.
Pros:
View of the Magic KingdomCons:
Food, service, costReviewed by sand935 Review Date: 10/01/2018
Rating: (8) Recommended
We like the pork tenderloin here although if you cant get used to having your pork pink inside you should let the sever know. The view is great. Sometimes we go up early evening and have go to the bar for a drink and a flatbread and still get to see the fireworks. You don't need a reservation for this.
Pros:
viewCons:
noneReviewed by tiffynicole1984 Review Date: 12/29/2018
Rating: (9) Recommended
My boyfriend and I ate here for dinner Sunday night, December 2, 2018 for dinner. Excellent! Expensive if not on dining plan. It's neat seeing Illuminations from high up top the Contemporary. Plus there's an outdoor balcony. Good food and service. Would return. I appreciated that people being allowed into the restaurant were following the dress code. The only ones in casual wear were those that ate at the restaurant earlier and came back only to watch the fireworks.
Pros:
Good food, good view of fireworks, dress code followedCons:
Expensive if not on dining plan, hard to get a reservationReviewed by aileens2284 Review Date: 12/31/2018
Rating: (10) Recommended
6 of us dressed up and went "fancy" for one meal during our 9 day trip. I give it a 10 star rating, it was so amazing. First you check in downstairs and they come get you and you go up in a private elevator right to the restaurant. When we arrived, our table was waiting for us, they brought us right over. The first thing you notice is the amazing view! We arrived at 6pm, our meal lasted 2 hours, then afterward we watched the fireworkd/Happily Ever After show at Magic Kingdom from the observation deck. It was breathtaking. We used the dining plan, prices would be over our budget otherwise. Our server was amazing, and it felt like he was just there for us. After taking our drink orders, ( my mom ordered coffee, they grind it tableside and serve it with real sugar cubes), they bring out sourdough bread served with warm herbed oil, this was so good we had to force ourselves to say no when our server asked if we wanted more ( we knew we had a lot of food to eat!) We all ordered the Cowboy Cut 19oz ribeye steak. We have different tastes in how well the meat is done, but they all came out perfect. You could cut the steak with a fork. It was so juicy and seasoned just right. It was served with honey saffron-glazed carrots and aged Gouda macaroni and cheese. Wow, the mac n cheese was so good! There was so much food, only one of our group was able to finish the whole steak. For dessert we ordered Warm Valrhona Chocolate cake, and i had the carrot cheesecake. Was very good and even though we were so full, we at least tried it! We were not rushed at all during our meal, and we also didn't feel like we were waiting for food either. It was just the perfect experience. We finished up just at the fireworks and Happliy Ever after was starting. We watched from the Observation Deck and it was so amazing. My mom is afraid of heights, so she stood inside and watched through the floor to ceiling windows, all of a sudden our server walked up behind her with a chair for her to sit in! If we use the dining plan we will definitely visit again. This was an amazing experience.
Pros:
Food, view, service, everythingCons:
was hard to get an ADR, i started exactly 180 days out, and i signed up for 2 different ADR help sites. We actually got our ADR one day before we ate there using the Touring Plans app.Reviewed by Anonymous Review Date: 04/15/2019
Rating: (3) Not Recommended
Overpriced, average food, no dress code. Despite stating that they have a dress code, there were plenty of diners dressed in shorts and t-shirts. Add screaming kids to the equation and there's no way California Grill is a serious contender to be upscale dining. Won't be back. Can get better meals on 192
Pros:
Excellent server, good viewsCons:
Average food, expensive, over-rated, noisy, no dress codeReviewed by Joskiemom Review Date: 04/18/2019
Rating: (10) Recommended
We had dinner at California Grill to celebrate my son's 21st birthday, there were 3 of us. Our server was Nancy whom we will request every time we return. She made great menu recommendations and I have to say her wine recommendations were stellar. We started by sharing three appetizers - the maki roll was skillfully prepared and melted in my mouth (yes, even the nori); the cured meat selection in the charcuterie provided a nice array of flavor and texture balances; we ordered a hand-formed pizza with hot hot peppers we all enjoyed, but the maki was so good I had to look at the menu just now to recall our third appetizer. My grilled pork tenderloin paired elegantly with the 2017 Clark and Telephone Pinot Noir, as did the bison and the beef my companions ordered. All three cuts of meat were tender and prepared skillfully, the seasoning of all three dishes elevated the meat. For dessert we enjoyed a port wine with the cheese platters, and shared a glass of 2013 Royal Tokaji among us. The cheeses were paired with individual accompaniments; the pairings, amplified by the port, were heavenly and we were laughing about how full we were and how conflicted we were about being so full. Oh, and did I mention the fireworks? Because the experience of watching the fireworks over MK was impeccable.
Pros:
We had an awesome server, which makes the experience that much better. Great wine cellar - we had the best wines we'd had on property at California Grill. We were on the Deluxe Dining Plan, so anxiety about the price of the meal was not an issue. We bought a bottle for the table out of pocket.Cons:
We had no complaints or disappointments about California Grill.Reviewed by shelleyjones84 Review Date: 06/12/2019
Rating: (9) Recommended
California Grill is my family's (husband and I) favorite restaurant on property. The views are spectacular, food always excellent, and service top notch. I like that the menu changes seasonally also. My husband always has sushi and a flatbread as his meal. Weird combination but he loves it. I have had the pork entree, roasted chicken and the "Vegetarian Unplugged" several times. (Vegetarian Unplugged is a separate menu comprised of vegetarian and vegan options, usually directly from or altered from the main menu. You can select 4 of the options to comprise your entree. The price is usually around $36 dollars.)
Pros:
Staff are very attentive. Food is of excellent quality. Views of the Magic Kingdom are spectacular.Cons:
I wish they enforced the dress code. I also wouldn't mind an "adults-only" section or time period. Although the view is great, the fireworks are askew. And with the new projection show, it loses a little since you can't see that as well.Reviewed by allec999 Review Date: 08/30/2019
Rating: (9) Recommended
Always a must-do. Food is always good, great wine list, top-notch service, and the atmosphere can't be beat. Only downside, which is not at all the restaurant's fault, was that the fireworks show at the Magic Kingdom was disappointing.
Pros:
Food, atmosphereCons:
Fireworks show not as good as it used to beReviewed by tiffynicole1984 Review Date: 01/04/2020
Rating: (9) Recommended
Love it here. We ate here last year on our first night of our trip as well. Beautiful fireworks view. They change the menu here often and we liked our entrees better last year but it was still good this year. Last year I had salmon which I loved but they didn't offer it this year. We had a late dinner Sunday 12/01/19. Deluxe dining plan for two adults $213.
Pros:
Fireworks view, foodCons:
Expensive if not on dining planReviewed by sanopa10 Review Date: 02/24/2020
Rating: (8) Recommended
my husband and I went here for our fancy dinner to celebrate our marriage. the view is amazing tho we sat farther into the restaurant which is still good but if you want a window view make sure you let them know beforehand. the pork chops are great as well as the steak and lobster combo. the stand out of our dinner was the pepperoni pizza its amazing. we also go 2 free glasses of champagne for celebrating getting married.
