Califorina Grill

California Grill - Disney's Contemporary Resort

Located at the top of the Contemporary Resort on 15th floor you will find the California Grill. This is a signature dining venue and with that comes a dress code which they do enforce. If you are planning to dine here make sure to dress nicely. You can find more specifics of their dress code on the Disney World website.

We've dined here on several different occasions and always found the food too be really good, while service can be hit-or-miss. Nothing terrible but can be improved. In order to get to the Contemporary Resort, you can do so by car, monorail or walking over from the Magic Kingdom. We highly recommend reservations, however they do take walk-up's at the bar area which is first-come, first-serve. For checking in, head up to the 2nd floor and you will go to the check-in desk. When it's closer to your reservation time they will take you in the elevator up to the 15th floor. This elevator is dedicated to this restaurant and will not have any other stops.

Again, we do highly recommend getting a reservation for this restaurant, because it does and will book up very fast. However keep checking if you don't see the day and time you want, we've gotten reservations the day-of. Many people book to watch the fireworks at the Magic Kingdom. We've done this a few times and it really is a great sight to see. Even if you want to dine before the fireworks you can still take in the amazing views. The doors open to the outside area a few minutes before the fireworks start, there is plenty of room outside to see. Also want to mention that you can also see the fireworks from Hollywood Studios and Epcot in the distance, not as spectacular but still a great sight. If you're afraid of heights we suggest maybe going during the day, I'm not a fan of them either but was fine here. Didn't walk to much outside, but it's really not too bad. Also if you do happen to dine earlier on and still want to see the fireworks at the California Grill just save your receipt and take it to the check-in desk and they will allow you to go up and watch.

Overall this is one of our favorite restaurants on property. Other than a few spotty services, the food has always been consistently good and will be coming back again!

Are you hungry? Well let's head all the way up to the top of the Contemporary Resort to the California Grill.

 Here is one side of this beautiful restaurant.

Loved walking by this open kitchen and watching these amazing chefs work.

Here is the bar that is first-come, first serve. We went during the fireworks and the bar was mainly empty. Not a guarantee, but worth a shot to dine here.

Some of the food options that they serve.

More options of food.

This is (as of Early 2018) their new bread and dip. We preferred this option from the old version (below). Great flavor and the spread was amazing!

Here is what they used to serve for bread. Just everyday rolls and butter. Nothing amazing, just very basic.

 This was the Artichoke and Truffle Pizza, it has a White Soubise sauce with a mixture of Fontina, Asiago and Parmesean cheeses, along with Artichokes, Tuffle and Black Garlic. For me this is a toss up for flavor between this Pizza and the Flatbread over at Jiko. Both were phenomenal and will get them again. This had a creamy flavor and toppings were perfect. Loved every piece of this, only bad thing was having to share this!

Above is the New Moon Roll, which is filled with Maine Lobster, Avocado, Barbecue Eel, Rice Pearls, topped with a Gochujang Dragon Sauce. Woah!!! This was amazing, couldn't believe the flavor that this had. Sushi is a bit pricey, around the mid-20's, but worth every cent.

This is the Spicy Kazan Roll, it's crab, shrimp, scallops and tuna with fireball sauce in the middle. So the sushi on it's own was just okay, nothing to write home about. Paired with the fireball sauce, amazing! Beware it is spicy, comes with a bit of heat with it. I'd get this one again. Also I put some of that fireball sauce (in the middle, under the crunchies) with a piece of the pork we had, wow!

 The Oak-fired Filet of Beef with Potato-Rutabaga Gratin, Leek-Brussels Sprouts-Manchego Cheese Fondue. The steak was topped with a Tamarind-Barbecue Sauce which tasted great with the filet. The steak was great, however the Gratin we could have done without and had something else. Wasn't bad but just not bag fans of it.

Here is the Oak-fired Filet of Beef that I ordered on another time. This time it was served with Potatoes and Vegetables. The Potatoes were very salty, vegetables did not go well with this meal at all. The Filet was cooked good, but the sauce was too much. Last time I ordered it, the dish was better. This time really made me think about the dish. My new thought, if I want a filet, I need to go to a steakhouse, not a regular restaurant that dresses it up with BBQ sauce. Wasn't a huge fan this time around.

This is the Seared Green Circle Chicken with Aji Amarillo, crispy Potato, Black Trumpet Mushrooms, Pickled Garlic, Pecana and Cilantro. This was a fairly good dish, not one of our favorites but still really good and enjoyable.

 This was the Pork Tenderloin with Goat Cheese Polenta, Button Mushrooms, Lacquered Belly and Zinfandel Sauce. On this trip we had pork at a few different properties around the Magic Kingdom, including Narcoossee's and Grand Floridian Cafe, this was maybe our least favorite of the three.

Here is the Pork Tenderloin dish again from another visit. We had several cold pieces. The Polenta was very good, the Tenderloin was good, but the belly we weren't a fan of. Need to remember not to get this or the filet again.

So after saying we'd never get this dish again, we went with this dish again. So it's what the third time? As you can see from the same dish, three times, it varies a bit between each. First two times were weren't fans of it, however this time it was a homerun, scratch that, it was a grandslam! Let's first describe the dish, it was a grilled pork tenderloin with goat cheese polenta, mushrooms, pork sausage, swiss chard, apple gastrique, with a zinfandel glaze. Every single component on this dish was perfection. Perfect balance, perfect flavor. The only thing I missed, was another one. It was amazing. Worth a trip for this. The pork was super tender. The glaze was heavenly. The polenta was silk and smooth. Even the sausage had a hint of smokie flavor, the swiss chard was a hit and the mushrooms were great. I can't describe this dish in any other way but....perfection!

Since we had this over a year ago we have no idea what it was or how it tasted. Let us know below if you can name it!

For dessert we went with the Caramel Coffee Cheesecake (no sugar added). It's a coffee cheesecake with shortbread, brown butter caramel, coffee cream and a raspberry gel. This was great for a sugar free option. I'd go for this again. That raspberry gel paired with the cheesecake was great.

Happy birthday cupcake. Doesn't look like much, but tasted AMAZING!!!

This was my birthday cake. No candles, I guess because of covid. It doesn't look like much, but it was pretty solid. No complaints.

Here is the view from the California Grill of the fireworks at the Magic Kingdom.

And here is our view without fireworks (COVID). Still beautiful.

Thank you for checking out our review of the California Grill located in Disney's Contemporary Resort! Make sure to check out the rest of our reviews both here and on our www.CruiseAddictJunkie.blogspot.com page!