Is Cali Grill overrated?SideSA

Paulines

Mouseketeer
Joined
Sep 10, 2017
Putting aside the view, is the ambiance quiet and refined and the food fabulous? After reading the reviews, I find CG either described as amazing on all points or a setting like a school cafeteria with food that was meh. This would be for an evening meal @ 7:10.

Interested in your take!
 
"Quiet" is not part of the deal. This is a loud, bustling restaurant that, for the most part, delivers an excellent dining experience. Servers are efficient and knowledgeable and the food is creative while still being crowd-friendly. Anyone who compares it to a school cafeteria must have gone to a REALLY nice school!

It isn't my favorite WDW restaurant, but it's up toward the top.
 


What are the portion sizes like? $26 for a sushi roll seems like it would be okay if it's actually 3 sushi rolls. Or is it a situation where you're paying for the experience and not the food?
 
I have never been a fan of California Grill dinner, we have been about 4 times and every time has been just OK. I have consistently had an issue with what I have found to be overly salty entrees there as well. That said, I love California Grill brunch, have had no issue with overly salty food for brunch, and it is much quieter.
 
I've had some terrible experiences with dinner and I don't think we'll ever go back. But their brunch is phenomenal and I can't wait to go back to that. I always recommend that people try a restaurant themselves before judging. A lot of Disney restaurants have off nights and awesome nights. The firework view is nice, one plus is if you go on a party night you get to see the special fireworks without paying the party ticket.
 


I've done dinners there and no brunch. IMHO it is indeed overrated when considering the cost vs. what you get. I'm not eager to go again, and would rather go to The Wave or somewhere else with moderate prices.
 
The food is good. We go more for fireworks viewing than for the food. Three years ago, we stayed at the Contemporary, and we booked the California Grill since the menu was more to our liking than The Wave. We were given a table away from the action way over at the end which we didn’t really like, but we didn’t complain. Our server was rude and less than accommodating. The food was fine. We came back later to view the fireworks on the left deck, which was the highlight of our evening, maybe even the highlight of our entire trip.

We are returning this July in hopes that we get a better waiter.
 
What are the portion sizes like? $26 for a sushi roll seems like it would be okay if it's actually 3 sushi rolls. Or is it a situation where you're paying for the experience and not the food?

We thought the entrees were amazing and a fair value, but the sushi was really not worth it. It was a fairly large roll, but the fish did not taste to be very good quality, and it relied heavily on the "toppings" rather than tasty fish.
 
The food is pretty good. The fireworks viewing there is probably the most overrated thing at WDW, imo.

Yeah, considering there's another deck at CR (is it the fourth floor?) where you can go watch for free, I'm not all that enamored with the fireworks viewing from CG.
 
Yeah, considering there's another deck at CR (is it the fourth floor?) where you can go watch for free, I'm not all that enamored with the fireworks viewing from CG.

I hate the angle. It's terrible. We prefer to watch it from the TTC, if we're actually not in the park.
 
IMO, the experience of dining there is fantastic. I didn’t love the food I ordered—the whole menu was not appealing the night we dined there—but I think it’s some place that every WDW dining lover should try at least once. The view is unmatched, and if you get a good server, it is truly a one-of-a-kind experience IMO.

That said, I agree that the brunch is utterly phenomenal. I enjoyed the food served for brunch far more than the dinner I had.

I would try the dinner again if I had the deluxe plan or I couldn’t get a brunch ADR. I feel like if I chosen better—tho the menu choices would need to be better too—the dinner could be outstanding.
 
Funny thing, restaurants that I really enjoyed for their cuisine and better ambiance, I find to be disappointing lately and California Grill happens to be one. We ate there a few months ago and my scallops were disappointing. I can certainly forgive one disappointing experience, having had so many good ones in the past. So, we were there this Friday night, I skipped the scallops and opted for the Black Grouper and it wasn't great, it was just OK but I don't go there for just OK. The next day we ate at one of my favorite lunch spots, the Hollywood Brown Derby, and again it was OK, not as good as before. I don't like the latest menu, they took away my favorite pork dish so I had the Black Grouper & Lobster Ciopino, well 1st, no broth/sauce, therefore it's not a ciopino, lobster small but sweet and tender, fish, salty. Sunday night, Jiko another favorite, gone is the wild boar appetizer, replaced by Berkshire pork tenderloin, same price, disappointing, the star, the African grits, $19 for grits. The elk, tender but needed salt in the worst way, the lamb same thing, needed salt and a bit of acid, I ended up squirting lemon onto the dish. Are the signatures going to hell and hand basket. Spend $$$ this weekend and I'm left disappointed in all 3.
 
Sunday night, Jiko another favorite, gone is the wild boar appetizer, replaced by Berkshire pork tenderloin. The elk, tender but needed salt in the worst way, the lamb same thing, needed salt and a bit of acid, I ended up squirting lemon onto the dish.
Oh nooooo!!! They got rid of the wild boar?! That is tragic. And the elk and the lamb shank were our favorite entrees in April, I wonder if it was just an off night? We were planning on 2 meals there in August, boo!
 
Oh nooooo!!! They got rid of the wild boar?! That is tragic. And the elk and the lamb shank were our favorite entrees in April, I wonder if it was just an off night? We were planning on 2 meals there in August, boo!
Let’s hope it’s an off night and as far as the appetizer, without the wild boar, I wouldn’t get the it again.
 
I love Cali Grill, but I only eat there when we're doing DDP. I think it is worth the 2 table credits. Also, I've gotten the same entree every time I've gone for the past 20 years (that pork over the goat cheese polenta) and I'm obsessed with it. We usually get good fireworks-view seats and have never had any issues with the service.

That said, you have to set your expectations and different people will like different things. I don't mind my entrees on the saltier side. Once I went with friends and one of them ordered a sushi appetizer that was so spicy it was inedible. (I couldn't try it to confirm that - I'm allergic to raw fish - but others at the table agreed, way too spicy.) Also, once I dined there and made the mistake of letting the waiter suggest a glass of wine for me. I'm a wine ignoramus and made the mistake of not asking the price - shame on me, and that was a $31 glass of wine. Which I guess is a thing, but not being a big wine drinker, I definitely wouldn't have chosen a $31 glass for myself!
 
Its been a while since Ive had dinner there but we were not all that impressed in 2015/2016 I think it was the last time Ive had dinner there. We are going to give it another shot in the fall. I will say, I was not impressed at all with their brunch in Oct so Im not going into dinner this fall with very high hopes.
 

GET A DISNEY VACATION QUOTE

Dreams Unlimited Travel is committed to providing you with the very best vacation planning experience possible. Our Vacation Planners are experts and will share their honest advice to help you have a magical vacation.

Let us help you with your next Disney Vacation!





Top