California Grill - Orlando

Our family had a delicious dinner and, as suggested by waiter Nasser, ate our appetizers, went out on the deck to see the nearby fireworks show at Magic Kingdom, then returned to our table to resume our meal. The music and commentary from the show was broadcast at the restaurant. One of us had the grouper at this prix fixe dinner and the others ate the filet beef. The wontons and sushi trio appetizers were good and the chocolate torte, pastry bites, and peanut butter torte for dessert were amazing. Unfortunately, we were seated in a noisy, busy traffic area of the restaurant, but it was a special way to end our Disney World visit.

Fantastic food and excellent venue. The staff were really good and attentive and the quality of service was outstanding. The Tomohawk steak was particularly outstanding.

For the past several years I felt as if the magic is dwindling and things are just not as magical as they once were. After my most recent visit to the Disney World 's California Grille my faith in Disney is starting to return. My wife and I were able to get a perfect seat at the bar on a very last minute in person reservation on Valentines Day, we were lucky to say the least. Once seated at the bar we were greeted by the bartender (Christine) who was nothing short of amazing! We started out with superb cocktails followed by appetizers, we then were asked if she could choose our dinner choices, without hesitation we agreed. Christine was so excited to do so and she called it her little game . Here is a women that truly loves what she does and does it flawlessly. Christine in my opinion definitely deserves that coveted blue name tag.

It seems like many of the reviews are comparing this place to other Disney restaurants, which is fair but not really accurate. If you have been to an upscale steak and seafood restaurant in any city, the food at California Grill was mediocre at best. I would never pay $100 a person just for the food. The way I see it, I would value the food at $50 a person and then the other half you are paying for the view and access to the observation deck for fireworks regardless of your reservation time. So that's a great deal for a Disney experience, it's just that the food itself is nothing special. For example, the cascade roll was basically what we got the night before at a takeout sushi restaurant for $15. The oak filet of beef was steakhouse quality but some of its components were cold to the touch. The menu descriptions aren't always what is presented. What was called a peanut banana torte was a thick peanut butter pie filling with a few bananas on top. The top layer looked different but lacked any banana flavor. It should have been called a peanut torte and I wouldn't have picked it. The grouper was outstanding with great textures and flavors, and also well presented. The sauce on the pretty beef wonton appetizer was great, but I left all of the filling which was bland and tasteless like stew meat and did not pair well with the rest of the dish. I'd have easily preferred the bag of the frozen wontons I get for $5 and the $2 pint of wonton soup around the corner. The filling would have benefited from less reliance on salt, some kind of vegetable or pieces of ginger, scallion, etc inside. I would have literally preferred a bowl of the garnish and sauce. The chocolate torte also was nothing that you couldn't get for $7 at a local authentic bakery. They gave us some complimentary candies for our honeymoon which was nice. I would have been very upset if we had paid this price for the food we had.

The server was excellent, but the expeditor in the kitchen missed our entree, and when the pork tenderloin and filet arrived they were not good, below average for a mediocre restaurant, The appetizers and dessert were excellent, But with a pre fix menu not worth it.