Hey, everyone! Chrissa here!
And today I'm going to show you why the California Grill is one of my
all time favorite restaurants in Disney World and why
you’ll want to dine here during your next trip.
So let's get into it.
The California Grill is one of Disney's fine dining signature restaurants
and is located on the 15th floor of the Contemporary Resort,
which is right next door to Disney's Magic Kingdom.
You can actually walk over to the Contemporary
from the Magic Kingdom, which is only about 15 minutes.
Or you can hop on the resort monorail and exit at the first stop
where you'll exit the station located within the Contemporary Resort
Checkin for the California Grill is located on the second floor,
and once your table is ready, you'll ride up to the top floor
of the Contemporary to the 15th floor in a private elevator
that is exclusively reserved for guests of the California Grill.
When you exit the elevator,
you'll check in at the front desk and they'll walk you to your table.
You'll immediately notice the huge wine room as you walk in.
Here they have over 1600 bottles of wine
on full display in a climate controlled showcase.
After walking through the wine room,
you'll enter the elegant dining area where you'll enjoy an exquisite
panoramic view of the shimmering Seven Seas
Lagoon and Cinderella's Castle.
The entire outer wall is a full floor to ceiling window
that gives you a truly magnificent view while you're dining.
If you are seated next to the kitchen, you'll get to enjoy
the sights and sounds of the lively, open air kitchen
where you can watch the chefs prepare the food.
We were lucky enough to be seated right next to the window
and enjoy the amazing view of Cinderella's castle while we dined.
During our visit, the California Grill
was offering their 50th Anniversary Celebration menu.
So the menu will change once the 50th Anniversary ends.
But during our visit, we paid one flat price of $89 per
adult and $39 per kid for a full three course dinner.
We each had the option to pick one
appetizer, one entree and a dessert.
But again, this may change after the 50th Anniversary ends.
As the name implies, the California Grill offers
delicious California cuisine with fresh, seasonal ingredients
inspired by the international melting pot culture of the Golden State.
The 50th Anniversary menu evokes the spirit of 1971
celebrating California Grill’s past, while also
offering a nod to the incredible future ahead.
The first thing that they start you off with
is this delicious, fresh baked bread with dipping oil.
And this bread is just so good.
We had to be careful because it was so easy to just fill up on bread alone.
We were here with our entire family who are visiting from out of town,
so we were able to try a variety of different things on the menu.
For our appetizers, I had to try the California Grill Sushi
Classics Trio, which included a blue crab California
roll, a shrimp tempura roll and a spicy kazan roll.
My family ordered the
Housemade artisanal style duck a l'orange pizza.
This pizza is just beautiful with duck prosciutto and confit,
pickled shallots, orange black mission
fig jam, aged blue cheese and arugula.
Everyone else started with the Florida blue crab bisque,
which is this delicious bisque with Zellwood triple
sweet corn, popped sorghum, popcorn shoots, and lump blue crab
For our entrees, I ordered the cast iron
grilled pork tenderloin which comes with goat cheese polenta,
beef barigoule, forest mushrooms, spring onions,
lacquered pork belly, and a zinfandel glaze.
And my husband, Noah, got the oak fired filet of beef with roasted Yukon
gold potatoes, San Joaquin Valley asparagus,
golden raisin vinaigrette, that also had
a zinfandel glaze.
My family also ordered the wild Alaskan halibut with chipotle
heirloom carrots, charred avocado, mole verde and salsa macha.
The last entree that we got
was the Florida black grouper with herb basmati rice,
cashew chutney, bok choy, baby shiitake and green
curry coconut nage.
One of the absolute best things about the California Grill
is that it offers one of the best fireworks dining experiences
at Walt Disney World.
We made sure to schedule our dining during the Magic Kingdom fireworks show
We actually visited during the Halloween season,
so we were treated to the Halloween fireworks
from Mickey's Not so Scary Halloween Party.
The lights in the restaurant will dim as the music is piped into the
restaurant, immersing all of the guests into the magic of the fireworks.
Get ready for this is Halloween!
If you are lucky enough to be seated next to the window, you'll get this
amazing view that will be an experience that you'll never forget.
If your table is not next to the window, you do have the option
to step outside onto the balcony area to watch from the observation deck.
Whether you watch from the observation deck or your table,
it is truly an awesome way to experience the fireworks.
At this point, all of us were absolutely stuffed, but
we still had to finish off the meals with some delectable desserts.
I ordered the Five Magical Bites 50 Years in the Making,
which is a collection of five different bite sized flavors
that includes honey, lemon, carrot,
strawberry and chocolate.
Noah ordered the Earidescent Grand Marnier creme brulee,
which is a pineapple mango compote with hibiscus
textures, toasted coconut and white chocolate.
Oh, and we were also celebrating our birthdays at the same time.
So both of our desserts came with a birthday candle.
Some of
our other family members also tried the Valrhona chocolate torte
with candied peanuts, salted caramel, nougat, and whipped panna cotta,
and the kids enjoyed some seasonal fruit with boba pearls.
The combination of fine dining food while being able to
to watch the Magic Kingdom fireworks makes the California Grill
one of my favorite Disney restaurants that I have tried so far.
It is a little pricey, but I think it's definitely worth
trying at least once for this amazing experience.
If you are planning on eating at the California Grill
here are a few things to keep in mind.
The California Grill, is one of Disney's fine dining
signature restaurants, which means that there is a dress code.
They do say on the website that attire should respect
the restaurant’s sophisticated and upscale aesthetic.
Clothing should be clean, neat and in good condition and no swimwear.
As with most Disney restaurants, reservations
can be hard to get, especially during the fireworks.
So you'll want to try early
and often to try to get reservations until you succeed.
With that being said, to get the full experience,
you should definitely try
to schedule your reservations during the Magic Kingdom firework show.
It really is an amazing sight.
If you are having trouble getting reservations, then
there is a bar and lounge available without a reservation.
So visit the check in desk any time after 5 p.m.
to see if there is room available there.
You'll still get access to the full menu
as well as the firework observation deck.
So this is still a great option if you can't snag reservations.
If dining high on the 15th floor just isn't quite
a good enough view for you, then you'll want to watch this video
to try dining from outer space at Space 220 in Epcot.
It's an absolutely out of this world dining experience.
Until next time, everyone!
I hope you have an amazing day and go out and
enjoy some Florida sunshine.