[Question] Blue Bayou or Carthay Circle?

[Tea]

We're trying to decide where to go for dinner. Which is your favorite and why?

We have 1 day to do both parks. We've been many times but haven't seen California Adventure since it's been re-done. We'd like to go for a nice dinner and can't decide which restaurant to go to. I've heard that CC can be very slow so I don't want to spend too much time waiting around. Is the food from the restaurant available in the lounge? Are children allowed in the lounge (we have a 16yr old with us)? How important are reservations? And what would you suggest to order?

[CassiefRN]

Re: Blue Bayou or Carthay Circle?

Reservations for either restaurant are highly recommended, especially if time is a factor for you, which it is. CC will probably take longer and the menus for the restaurant and lounge are different.

[Acpisme]

Re: Blue Bayou or Carthay Circle?

Frankly, the BB is hit or miss (more miss than anything in my book, and only worth the money for the atmosphere). I have not personally dined at CC, but the folks I know that have dined there have told me that the food is better that what is served at the BB. However, the service was slow and high for the quality of food. If you are not looking to take that kind of time, I would stay away from both. If you are looking for a higher standard of fare, then you might want to consider walking over to the Grand Californian and eating at the Napa Rose.

As suggested previously, having reservations for either is a MUST! Even with them, your party at either spot may experience a bit of a wait.

[14 MPH]

Re: Blue Bayou or Carthay Circle?

BB does have the best ambiance, but carthay circle has better food.

I agree though it takes a little longer to get the food in CC.

Carthay circle is nice though on the inside. You can't order entrees in the lounge, but you can order appetizers.

One advantage also with CC is they offer reserved seating for World of Color. One person has to just order appetizer and main course, and the other has to order main course and dessert.

My wife and I still prefer Napa Rose though.

I'd say pick which is more important to you.

Either way, make sure u make reservations!

[Baloo]

Re: Blue Bayou or Carthay Circle?

I prefer the Carthay now. If you can have a late dinner with a reservation for 8:00pm or 8:30pm and ask if they have a table in the room facing Buena vista street near a window or on the balcony.

Not only do they have great food but that sitting area allows you to get a clear view of the fireworks from Disneyland and they pipe in the music so that the people that are dining can enjoy the show with the soundtrack.

Once the fireworks are over if your food included an appetizer they also give you free reserve viewing for the next WOC show. so its a nice walk over to Paradise Pier to catch the show with limited waiting


As for the food i recommend the quail as the main dish. They serve two small stuffed quail per plate with delicious sauce. For the appetizers have the gorditas which are awesome and or the stuffed grape leaves with goat cheese

and if you want a non alcoholic drink you have to try their flavored lemonade


One thing i liked about the Carthay is that i was not being rushed. They served our drinks then at a timely manner our appetizers with Garlic bread and then our entree when we were ready. We asked for more bread and the server made sure that our wine glasses or drinks were refilled when asked. They also made sure we had our table properly set up at all time and clean utensils changed as needed.

The service was great

[Poisonedapples]

Re: Blue Bayou or Carthay Circle?

I prefer the Carthay now. If you can have a late dinner with a reservation for 8:00pm or 8:30pm and ask if they have a table in the room facing Buena vista street near a window or on the balcony.

Not only do they have great food but that sitting area allows you to get a clear view of the fireworks from Disneyland and they pipe in the music so that the people that are dining can enjoy the show with the soundtrack.

Once the fireworks are over if your food included an appetizer they also give you free reserve viewing for the next WOC show. so its a nice walk over to Paradise Pier to catch the show with limited waiting


As for the food i recommend the quail as the main dish. They serve two small stuffed quail per plate with delicious sauce. For the appetizers have the gorditas which are awesome and or the stuffed grape leaves with goat cheese

and if you want a non alcoholic drink you have to try their flavored lemonade


One thing i liked about the Carthay is that i was not being rushed. They served our drinks then at a timely manner our appetizers with Garlic bread and then our entree when we were ready. We asked for more bread and the server made sure that our wine glasses or drinks were refilled when asked. They also made sure we had our table properly set up at all time and clean utensils changed as needed.

The service was great

I 100% agree.


I raved about CCT till I was blue in the face because I thought it was so great and I had only had an appetizer in the lounge! So my bestie he decided to go with his friend, they ate lunch their and had cocktails, I don't know if they had the lunch in the top area or appetizer in the lounge.. but he did not and all he did was bash CCT said that it was overrated, pricey and his martini sucked. I think that he might of mistaken the lounge as the restaurant part ( he is not very smart)..and he is kinda spoiled and snobby and so he wouldn't know good food if it hit him in the face,,but it's not gonna stop me from having lunch their! I cannot wait! I had the appetizers already in the lounge, I had the Duck Confit Sliders, they were extremely yummy! I so chose CCT over BB anytime! I had great service just being in the Lounge on the ground floor! So I totally agree that CCT is gone above an beyond service and expectations in my book, and yeah it can be kind pricey, but it's Disneyland Resort!!

---------- Post added 10-01-2012 at 11:56 AM ----------

the garlic bread.. did u ask for it?

[traumwelt]

Re: Blue Bayou or Carthay Circle?

I had the Jambalaya at BB and it was so over-seasoned I asked them to take it back (something I NEVER do). It was truly awful, and I LOVE Jambalaya.

But the bite I had of the Monte Cristo sandwich my travel companion ordered was fantastic.

[PascalGal]

Re: Blue Bayou or Carthay Circle?

BB is more about the atmosphere than the food. CCR is about the atmosphere and the food. We've eaten at both and prefer CCR. The service has not be super slow for us. Our server was very competent and our food was good. I would say our pacing was relaxed. Napa Rose has better food and better service at comparable prices to CCR, if the food is your main priority. If your 16 yo likes fine dining, then eating at CCR (lounge or upstairs) shouldn't be a problem. There are usually younger children in the restaurant and lounge, and there is a kid's menu (adults can order from this, too -- but I don't know if this would count for WOC FPs or if you would have to pay more for adult portions). The restaurant menu is not available in the lounge.

To correct something posted above, for WOC FPs at CCR, everyone in the party who wants a WOC Preferred Dining FP must order either 1 appetizer and 1 entree or 1 entree and 1 dessert minimum. It does not have to be one person who orders the app and entree and the other person who orders the entree and dessert. Both can have apps and entrees or entrees and desserts. Hope this makes sense.

[jsanch2]

Re: Blue Bayou or Carthay Circle?

I would definitely recommend the CC... The food is better than the Blue Bayou and since you are seeing the redone DCA for the first time it is definitely one of my favorite new spots! Price wise you are looking at very similar bills so that is not really a factor. Oh and the drink at the CC are obviously a step up from BB just because they can serve alcohol there We sat out on the patio and even though it is not as fancy as the inside it is still a really cool environment. either way both are great so you can't make a bad choice!

[webg33k]

Re: Blue Bayou or Carthay Circle?

BB is quite expensive for the quality of the food, but some hard core Disneyland fans like myself are willing to pay for it for the environment. If you decide to go with BB, ask for a seat along the water, otherwise the tables are very close to one another. So long as you're not unlucky enough to have loud/rude people going by on the ride, it's a great view/environment that's hard to beat (even if it is "fake".)

To be fair, the food is not bad, just not quite worth that price in my opinion. When my wife order the Jambalaya (not knowing that all Jambalaya is spicy) she hated it and it nearly ruined our anniversary dinner. Disney being Disney was very graceful about this, and offered to make her a totally new meal without charging her for the Jambalaya. (They did charge us for the new meal though, obviously.)

I haven't been to DCA since BVS (and therefore CCT) opened yet, but it sounds like maybe that's the one to go with?

[gtsouthard]

Re: Blue Bayou or Carthay Circle?

i would suggest, depending on things such as budget and how often you visit, to do both. I visit annually and will try to both on my trips. Although the food is pretty pricey its not really that bad considering the amount you pay for hot dogs and pretzels in the parks

[sediment]

Re: Blue Bayou or Carthay Circle?

One day for both parks? I ain't sitting waiting for waiters to eat. I'll wait until after the park closes, hit an In-N-Out if it's real late, or, if you insist on something nice and if it's early, Napa Rose.

[Goofy Daddy]

Re: Blue Bayou or Carthay Circle?

Flame me if you want, but after several years of it, the BB atmosphere is really over rated in my opinion. Ok, so you can see the PotC boats go by...IF you are lucky enough to get a table on the water edge, which is only about 25% of the tables in the place. Also over the last two years the food has been mediocre at best, especially for what they price it at.

I want a Monte Cristo, I go to cafe orleans now.

As to the OP's question...Carthay Circle for sure.

[Cjay]

Re: Blue Bayou or Carthay Circle?

Carthay Circle without a doubt - food quality is much better than BB. Let's not forget the ability to order wine with your meal - something BB cannot offer.

[smartlabelprint]

Re: Blue Bayou or Carthay Circle?

Is it rude to make a BB rezzie for dessert only?

[Poisonedapples]

Re: Blue Bayou or Carthay Circle?

Is it rude to make a BB rezzie for dessert only?

no..But CCT is much better.

[Princess Victoria]

Re: Blue Bayou or Carthay Circle?

Personally, I feel like the Carthay is more classy with better food. The service can vary depending on who you get in the restaurant, but the bartenders at the bar have been friendly and talkative on all my visits. Blue Bayou is a classic, but compared to Carthay, I feel it's a bit more overpriced for what you get. The atmosphere at BB is hard to beat, though.

[bummerkit]

Re: Blue Bayou or Carthay Circle?

Is the food from the restaurant available in the lounge? Are children allowed in the lounge (we have a 16yr old with us)?

16 years old is considered "children" now?

[bruingrl]

Re: Blue Bayou or Carthay Circle?

CCR for sure. BB is definitely not worth the time or money. If you want to compare CCR to Napa Rose, the food quality (I believe) is pretty close to on par, but the service is MUCH better at Napa Rose. Also, the dinner prices at Napa Rose are a bit higher.

However, service at CCR can be very slow, especially if you're there during a busy time or you have a non-experienced server.

Here's the scoop, which I found out while I was dining there the other month: If you make a reservation, you will most likely get a server that has fine dining experience. If you walk up without a reservation (which is definitely possible, because I've done it the last two times I've eaten there) you will most likely get a server who has NO fine dining experience.

Don't get me wrong, every CM I've encountered there (and I've eaten in the restaurant three times and the lounge once) has been friendly and accommodating. However, the non-experienced servers have done things like forgetting to bring me things I've asked for multiple times, like bread or water, and taking silverware without replacing them between courses.

The menus in the lounge and restaurant are completely different. Technically, you can't order off the lounge menu from the restaurant, but one of my friends went and had an awesome waiter who wasn't very busy, so he offered to pick up a couple appetizers from downstairs for them. If you want a preview of the menu, they are available online.

If you want to get out of there quicker than usual, be sure to let your server know that you are on a time constraint. To be fair, I'd give at least 75 minutes for a three course meal. Less if you are skipping appetizers or dessert. Also, be sure to go during an "off" time like right when they open (which I think is around 11am) or between 3-5pm or after 8pm.

The first time we went, it was about a month after they opened and we had a 3 hour, 3 course lunch. I felt bad for our server, because she was obviously experienced and she kept stopping by our table every 10 minutes to apologize for the delay in getting us our next course. We didn't mind though because that was the only reason we were in the park that day and we'd ordered so much food that we were stuffed before the entrees came! The kitchen was WAY backed up, which is why it was taking so long. Our appetizers came out quick, but the entrees and desserts took forever.

The next two times I went, service was much faster. The fastest service I had was when we sat down after 8pm. We were out of there by 9:30pm and we took our sweet time ordering and eating. We even had 3 courses that night, too.

As for food, get the pork satay. It's pork belly on a stick and SO DELICIOUS, as long as you don't mind a lot of pork fat. Lol.

Oh, and this is Disney, so you can bring kids anywhere in either the lounge or restaurant. Though I will say it's a bit disconcerting to see kids sitting at the bar.

[Skimbob]

Re: Blue Bayou or Carthay Circle?

I would not recommend BB. I made a reservation and had a table right smack dab in the middle so I couldn't see anything. I hated the food and in my opinion it was way overrated. I will be going to CC for dinner next week and hopefully I like it better. The interior pictures look awesome. I can hardly wait.