I've Eaten at Almost Every Restaurant at Disneyland — Here are my 10 Favorite Dining Experiences | ShermansTravel
I've Eaten at Almost Every Restaurant at Disneyland — Here are my 10 Favorite Dining Experiences
Megan DuBois | February 13, 2024
Courtesy of Disney
Disneyland's food scene is as magical and creative as the park itself. For foodies, it's a culinary wonderland where dining options range from simple but delicious pizza and gourmet burgers to high-end meals and tasty cocktails. And with over 120 different dining options across its two theme parks, three hotels, and Downtown Disney District, there’s truly something for everyone.
As someone who’s been going to Disneyland regularly for many years, I’ve eaten at a majority of the venues, from outdoor carts selling the latest churro creation to over-the-top meals in intimate settings that are perfect for date night. If your Disney crew is looking for a new restaurant to try, or just wants to return to an old favorite to enjoy iconic Disneyland dishes, keep reading this list for my favorite 10 restaurants at Disneyland.
Best Character Dining
Character dining is limited at Disneyland, but there are a few spots to see your favorite pals while eating breakfast, lunch, or dinner.
Plaza Inn’s Minnie & Friends – Breakfast in the Park
Price: $46 per adult, $27 per child under 9 at breakfast
Meal style: Buffet, character dining
Credit: Courtesy of Disneyland
Located at the end of Main Street, U.S.A., the Plaza Inn is a great spot inside Disneyland Park to dine and mingle with characters. At breakfast, the restaurant hosts “Minnie & Friends – Breakfast in the Park,” which is a buffet-style meal featuring a range of breakfast staples like eggs, bacon, biscuits and gravy, pastries, and, of course, Mickey-shaped waffles. During breakfast, Disney characters will greet you at your table, take photos, and sign autographs. After breakfast, step out onto Main Street and snap a photo of Sleeping Beauty Castle before the park gets too busy.
Napa Rose’s Disney Princess Breakfast Adventures
Price: $135 for adults and children
Meal style: Character dining, signature dining
Credit: Courtesy of Disneyland
If you’re looking to celebrate a special occasion with the Disney Princesses, head over to Napa Rose at Disney’s Grand Californian Resort & Spa for the Disney Princess Breakfast Adventures. While you may have sticker shock at the $135 price tag, it does include quite a bit. Once you arrive at the restaurant, you’re taken out to a private patio to take photos with the Disney Princesses, which is often followed by story time by Belle from “Beauty and the Beast,” and every child gets to pick a special keepsake to bring home (usually a princess necklace or a shield and sword).
For the actual food part of the dining experience, everyone gets to enjoy a three-course meal that starts with your choice of pastry and an appetizer tower. The main course includes options like princess waffles, braised short ribs, and barbecue beef sliders. Dessert is a delightful mix of cake pops, macarons, and other baked goods.
Best Date Night Restaurants
If you’re looking to slip away with your partner for a romantic evening, consider one of these two restaurants. Both require reservations, but it’s worth the trouble.
Napa Rose
Price: $17 to $70 per dish, or $125 for a prix fixe menu
Meal style: Elevated table service
Credit: Courtesy of Disneyland
Napa Rose is the crown jewel of signature dining at Disneyland. The restaurant is located at Disney’s Grand Californian Resort & Spa and features a seasonally inspired dinner menu. While dining here, you can enjoy two different types of meal experiences: The first is a traditional a la carte meal, where starters and main courses are ordered separately (the pillowy soft herb potato gnocchi are a must), and the second is a four-course prix fixe menu for $125 (plus the option of adding a wine flight for $60). Each of the courses on this menu has two different dishes to choose from so you can create your perfect meal. This menu also includes dishes that are not available on the a la carte menu, so there’s some added incentive there.
Carthay Circle Restaurant
Price: $14 to $70 per dish
Meal Style: Fine dining, table service
Credit: Flickr/Steven Miller
Towering over Buena Vista Street at Disney California Adventure Park is Carthay Circle Restaurant, a reproduction of the Carthay Circle Theatre, where Walt Disney’s first feature-length movie, “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,” premiered. The menu is inspired by Southern California flavors and features locally sourced ingredients, with some must-tries including the gochujang fried shrimp, mushroom ravioli, and the signature thick-cut pork chop.
If you want a more laid-back meal, opt to dine at the Carthay Circle Lounge, where al fresco dining offers great views of Buena Vista Street. The menu is filled with shareable plates like braised pork belly bao buns and beef lettuce wraps. Reservations are still recommended for this dining experience, but you can also join the restaurant’s walk-up waitlist.
Best Restaurants for Families
Two family-friendly spots (of which there’s no shortage at Disneyland) that are sure to bring a smile to everyone's face are both nestled inside the Disney California Adventure Park.
Lamplight Lounge
Price: $14 to $29 per adult dish, $10 to $11 per child dish
Meal style: Table service
Credit: Courtesy of Disney
Lamplight Lounge is one of the most talked about restaurants at the Disneyland Resort. The fun eatery is filled with nods to Pixar characters and movies and features great views of Pixar Pier from the outdoor patio.
Even though the menu is small, there’s plenty for both picky and adventurous eaters. One must-try dish is the lobster nachos, which piles all of the traditional nacho toppings high onto a mountain of chips, then goes a step further by adding warm lobster on top. For kids, the burger slider is a classic. For picky kids, the peanut butter and jelly “roll” is a fun twist on the iconic sandwich as it comes in the form of a sushi roll.
Flo’s V8 Cafe
Price: $8 to $19
Meal style: Quick service
Credit: Courtesy of Disneyland
If your kids can’t get enough of the Pixar movie “Cars,” then you’re going to want to make a pit stop at Flo’s V8 Cafe. The cute, quick-service restaurant located in Cars Land is known for its shareable, family-friendly meals. While you can sit inside the restaurant, the best place to be is on the outdoor patio that overlooks the track for Radiator Springs Racers so kids can watch the cars speeding by.
One of the best dishes on the menu is Flo’s fried chicken, which gets you three pieces of juicy chicken, plus mashed potatoes and veggies. This is an easy meal to split between kids or even an adult and a child. The towering club sandwich and massive Cobb salad are also not to be missed. For kids, chicken tenders and macaroni and cheese are favorites.
Best Quick Service Restaurants
These quick-service restaurants don’t require a reservation and are often cheaper than their table-service counterparts, which is great for families on a budget.
Credit: Courtesy of Disneyland
Tiana’s Palace
Price: $4 to $19.50 per plate
Meal style: Quick service
One of the newest restaurants to open at Disneyland Park is Tiana’s Palace, which is themed after the Disney animated movie, “The Princess and the Frog.” The cajun and creole menu is filled with delicious dishes like chicken and sausage gumbo, shrimp and grits, and a beef po’boy sandwich. For something sweet, try the lemon custard-filled beignets, which are a truly delightful treat.
The restaurant also takes mobile orders through the Disneyland app, which can save time. All seating is outside, though it’s mostly covered which is nice on hot and sunny days.
Bengal Barbecue
Price: $3.50 to $18.50 per dish
Meal style: Quick service
Credit: Flickr/Loren Javier
One of the most iconic quick-service restaurants at Disneyland Park is Bengal Barbecue in Adventureland. The menu is filled with meat skewers and veggies, plus an abundance of snacks. The line here does get long, especially at peak meal times for lunch and dinner, so it's best to place a mobile order before arriving.
A few of the best dishes to try include the hot and spicy beef skewer, the pork belly skewer, and the bacon-wrapped asparagus. If you’re looking for a larger meal, the rice plate is the way to go, with two meat skewers of your choice, plus rice and slaw. This is also where you can get the iconic spicy dill pickle that everyone seems to be walking around with at the park.
Best Immersive Dining
Disney is known for its storytelling and immersive environments. While most people think this just means theme park lands and attractions, the magic extends to some restaurants. These two choices for immersive dining are always high on my list of places to eat.
Credit: Courtesy of Disneyland
Blue Bayou Restaurant
Price: $9 to $53 per dish
Meal style: Table service, themed dining
Credit: Courtesy of Disneyland
One of Disneyland’s most iconic places to eat is Blue Bayou Restaurant. Once you're seated under its colorful lanterns, you’ll immediately feel like you’re on a New Orleans patio. Besides the food, the highlight of this restaurant is enjoying the view as boats filled with riders from the “Pirates of the Caribbean” attraction float by.
The menu here is filled with New Orleans staples like chicken gumbo and a Creole roasted chicken, as well as sustainable fish. A personal fave is the fried Monte Cristo sandwich, which is loaded with cheese and sliced deli meats.
Wine Country Trattoria
Price: $8 to $38 per plate
Meal style: Table service, themed dining
Credit: Flickr/Loren Javier
Wine Country Trattoria at Disney California Adventure Park is an idyllic, Tuscan villa-themed restaurant and the perfect spot to enjoy shared plates and a glass of wine. The restaurant has over 25 wines by the glass, and you can create a wine flight to sample different options. And if you’re not into wine, there’s also a full cocktail menu with Italian favorites like Aperol spritz and frozen limoncello. The menu leans into Italian favorites like chicken parmesan, spaghetti aglio olio, and vegetable lasagna, and for dessert, a silky tiramisu.
