We had made ADRs for dinner at California Grill in mid-January with an eye towards the refurbishment of this Contemporary Resort establishment beginning in February. We soon learned that our friends, Lisa and Andy, were going to be at Walt Disney World that evening and so we added them to the ADR – Good news for you! More food photos to look at!
Entrance foyer at California Grill
The whole restaurant capacity is 363, keep in mind they really turn the tables here (dining isn’t what the servers are used to)
During the Epcot International Food & Wine Festival, we asked one of the California Grill chefs what was going to be happening at the restaurant that necessitated closing it for 6 to 7 months (February 3 until late summer 2013; we’ve also heard that it’s closing TODAY, Feb 1st)… he said it was to make sure the windows were hurricane proof (color us dubious on that one). That’s a lot of lost revenue for a very popular venue…
The main areas are pleasing enough with lots of neutral wood and other surfaces and a few bright splashes of color here and there.
The bar at California Grill
A view of the lounge dining area before opening, we were seated at one of the tables right next to the windows
Walkway from the Lounge area to the main dining area, note the bar on the right
The sushi bar area at California Grill
Very narrow dining area, the walkway to the main dining area can be seen on the far left of this photo
Main dining area at California Grill
There are also two private dining areas along a back hallway…
Small Private Dining Room tucked away at California Grill
Large Private Dining Room with it’s own private bar, space for 50 or so people
One of the reasons that California Grill IS SO POPULAR… is its view of Magic Kingdom, specifically its view of Wishes Fireworks. Not only can you see them through the huge bank of windows, there are two catwalks available outside for viewing.
View of Magic Kingdom from the Lounge area at California Grill
Now, on to the food!
Lisa and Andy started with a Brick Oven-fired Flatbread, Bacon Cheeseburger to be exact – nora & nick tasted it, quite nice.
We started with the Spicy Kazan Roll – it wasn’t bad sushi by any means, but it wasn’t EXCELLENT sushi that you talk about for days. Frankly, we’ve had better at a little sushi bar in Hunters Creek. There was a good quantity of tuna in the fireball sauce all in the center of the roll and this was covered with crispy panko crumbs. It was extremely difficult to eat the slippery “dip” in the center and it was very hard to get a bit that incorporated all of the flavors and textures.
Bacon Cheeseburger Brick Oven-fired Flatbread … Wagyu Beef, Tillamook Cheddar, House-made Dill Pickles, Florida Tomato Ketchup
Spicy Kazan Roll … Crab, Shrimp, Scallops, Tuna, Fireball Sauce
Full Presentation of Spicy Kazan Roll
The First Course was the most successful from our perspective.
Nora had the gnocchi and it was melt in your mouth tender, the mushrooms had a nice chewiness to them, the smoked pork was done with a light hand, and the poached egg on top was devine. Andy also had the gnocchi.
Nick had the rock shrimp salad and the dressing was amazing, overall, this salad was very well executed.
Lisa had the heirloom apple salad, quite tasty with a rather large piece of blue cheese (which she shared with Andy).
Homemade Potato Gnocchi … Wild Mushrooms, Edamame, Smoked Pork, Local Soft Poached Egg
Crispy Rock Shrimp Salad … Asian Pear, Red Onions, Soy Reduction, Wasabi Cream
Heirloom Apple Salad … Pistachio Vinaigrette, Local Greens, Artisanal Blue Cheese
Unfortunately for the two of us, the main course was a bit of a disappointment.
We ordered the black grouper (we know, we know, why are we even ordering seafood anywhere except bluezoo? silly silly people), while the grits were good, the fish was overcooked, the kale consisted of 3 leaves, and the okra was not recognizable… give us some vegetables people!
Lisa ordered the chicken, it was large and she shared with us; we were surprised by how moist and flavorful the chicken breast was (maybe we should have stuck with chicken or pork!). The sweet potato waffle bread pudding was disappointing.
Andy ordered the venison, actually Australian red deer, it looked wonderful and he cleaned his plate.
Florida Black Grouper … Creamy Corn Tasso Grits, Tuscan Kale, Fried Okra, Expellette Vinaigrette
Close-up of the Black Grouper — clearly overcooked…
All Natural Bell & Evans Chicken … Sweet Potato Waffle Bread Pudding, Signature Sausage Gravy
Cast Iron Seared Venison … Roasted Winter Vegetable Vol-au-Vent, Celeriac Puree, Cabernet Butter Sauce
We elected to skip dessert and just go with decaf coffee. Lisa couldn’t resist the chocolate molten cake.
Lisa & Andy had the molten chocolate cake with ice cream for dessert
Final thoughts…
California Grill used to be our go-to place for special occasions, we think it’s been about 2 years since our last visit. We felt like this compared very poorly overall to Todd English’s bluezoo, why?
- We felt rushed, not able to dine – maybe they just need to or like to turn the tables over more quickly
- The food was more “eh” that “wow” – the only two things that nora keeps thinking about eating… the rock shrimp salad and the gnocchi
- The noise level was better than expected but still loud – really wish that there were more places at Walt Disney World for adults without children or only with well-behaved children
We’re likely to go back when they reopen, just to check it all out. It may be that California Grill goes back to being a 2x per year place for us. In some ways, given the memories that we have of eating here before the Dining Plan, it was a wee bit sad to see what California Grill has become.