One of the most difficult choices to make when planning your Disneyland vacation is where you are going to eat during your park days. There are dozens of food options available in both Disneyland Park and Disney California Adventure Park, so it can be challenging to decipher which restaurants have the best quality food, atmosphere, and dining experience.
Luckily, we’ve got that covered for you. During our many trips to Disneyland, we’ve eaten at every restaurant in both theme parks, and we’ve compiled the dining locations that rank highest on our list in the above categories. Keep reading to learn which Disneyland restaurants we recommend as the best of the best!
Jolly Holiday Bakery Café
If you are arriving at Disneyland Park first thing in the morning, the best place to stop for breakfast is Jolly Holiday Bakery Café. Located just off of Main Street USA, the eatery is themed to Mary Poppins and features a beautiful Victorian-style patio where you can enjoy a breakfast sandwich or cinnamon roll. There’s also a great selection of coffees to kick-start your day, including cappuccinos, lattes, and macchiatos.
In addition to breakfast foods, there are several tasty and fresh sandwiches, salads, and soups you can find here during the lunch and dinner hours of the day. And of course, because it’s a bakery, you can always find an array of delicious desserts and pastries to choose from if you’re looking for something to satisfy your sweet tooth.
Flo’s V8 Café
One of the best-themed and most immersive areas in Disney California Adventure is Cars Land, and the eateries are no exception. Flo’s V8 Café is a great quick-service option if you’re a fan of 50s-style diners and “down home” cooking. This type of dining establishment is exactly what you’d find if you were traveling out west on Route 66 and stopped in Radiator Springs for a meal along the way.
You can pick a hot meal like fried chicken with mashed potatoes and gravy or a cold dish like a classic Cobb salad or turkey and bacon club. For dessert, enjoy a thick and creamy chocolate, vanilla, or strawberry milkshake. Once you’ve fully fueled up, you’ll be ready to head back out into the park and take on the rest of your day!
Bengal Barbecue
When you only have a limited time to spend in the Disney theme parks, you likely don’t want to waste too much of it sitting down for a lengthy meal. Whether you want a quick bite to eat or just want to try some outside-the-box theme park food, Bengal Barbecue is the best option for both. This quick-service restaurant can be found in Adventureland at Disneyland Park and is appropriately themed to a jungle expedition.
The main star of the show here are the jungle skewers. You can choose from meats like banyan or Bengal beef, chicken, and pork belly, or you can keep it simple with a fresh vegetable skewer. There’s even one that combines both options with bacon-wrapped asparagus. In addition to the skewers, there are “extra provisions” like garlic breadsticks, pineapple spears, and dill pickles if you’re not in the mood for a full meal.
Smokejumpers Grill
While some theme park visitors crave unique meals they can only find during their trip, others may want to stick to the menu items they know for sure they’ll enjoy. If you’re in the second category, we recommend having a meal at Smokejumpers Grill. This quick-service restaurant can be found in the Grizzly Peak area of Disney California Adventure Park, and it’s themed to look like the airplane hangars used by California forest firefighters.
The dining options here include basic theme park staples like cheeseburgers, chicken tenders, and grilled or breaded chicken sandwiches. If you’re feeling a bit more adventurous, you can also go for an upgraded burger like the Chipotle BBQ Bacon Double Cheeseburger or the Southwestern-inspired Grilled Chicken Salad. They even offer specialty alcoholic beverages like whiskey or rum and frozen Coke.
Cocina Cucamonga Mexican Grill
Located in San Fransokyo Square (formerly Pacific Wharf) at Disney California Adventure Park, Cocina Cucamonga Mexican Grill is the place to go if you’re in the mood for tacos during your trip. This quick-service restaurant serves a variety of street-style tacos, including carne asada, pineapple-marinated al pastor, and the extremely popular quesabirria.
In addition to these classic meat options, you can also find plant-based potato tacos, pinto beans, and lime-cilantro rice, along with the new addition of San Fransokyo-style street corn. There is a great selection of specialty beverage options as well, including margaritas and other cocktails with tequila and beers like the Cocina Cuca-Mango IPA.
Red Rose Taverne
After a morning tackling all the attractions in Fantasyland, the best place to grab some lunch nearby is Red Rose Taverne. While the building is themed around the French countryside setting of Beauty and the Beast, there’s a bit more variety in the types of cuisine that are served here. There are several different types of flatbreads on the menu, along with loaded potato bites, a chicken cordon bleu sandwich, and a spicy plant-based burger.
For dessert, you can of course enjoy the Grey Stuff, but there are also some seasonal treats that rotate depending on the time of year you visit. If you’d rather stop here for breakfast, you can find savory or sweet breakfast platters, egg and bacon sandwiches, and even a fresh vegetable and quinoa bowl. And no matter what time of day you stop in, be sure to grab the lemonade with pear syrup and coconut milk—it sounds like a crazy combination, but it’s crazy good!
Carthay Circle
If you have the opportunity to splurge on a signature dining experience during your vacation, the best choice is Carthay Circle Restaurant, located on Buena Vista Street at Disney California Adventure Park. This table-service restaurant is modeled after the famous Carthay Circle Theatre in Los Angeles, where Walt Disney’s first feature-length animated film, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, premiered in 1937.
You can start your meal by enjoying one of the small plate options, including seafood dishes, artisanal cheeses, and fresh salads. For your entrée, choose between excellent cuts of meat like ribeye steak, pork chop, and free-range chicken, or pasta dishes like ravioli and rigatoni. Finish off your dinner with a sweet treat like bread pudding or cheesecake, and a specialty cocktail or selection from the Disney family of wines.
Interested in learning how best to budget for splurge meals like this and other meals during your vacation? Be sure to check out our Disneyland food budget guide!
Plaza Inn
One of the coolest parts about taking a trip to Disneyland is the ability to walk the same streets that Walt Disney walked, ride the attractions that he created, and even dine where he did! The best place to accomplish that final list item is Plaza Inn, found at the end of Main Street USA in Disneyland Park. It’s a restaurant where Walt not only spent a lot of time dining but also entertaining his VIP guests. His wife Lillian also assisted with designing the building and choosing the interior furnishings.
The menu of this table-service restaurant includes comfort foods like fried chicken and mashed potatoes with gravy, pot roast, and pasta with a variety of different sauces, along with lighter entrees like chopped salads and fresh fish. Plaza Inn is also home to the only Character Dining experience within the California theme parks, which takes place during breakfast hours.
Hungry Bear Restaurant
For those visiting Disneyland Park who want to find a place to eat that serves common theme park meals that are also good quality, Hungry Bear Restaurant is a great option. It’s a quick-service dining option that is located in Critter Country, and it looks out over the Rivers of America and Tom Sawyer Island. Because it’s in a quieter, less hectic area of the park, it’s a great place to sit and relax for a while and enjoy your food.
The menu offers standard theme park fare like cheeseburgers and chicken tenders, along with some more interesting options like BBQ chicken salad and honey-spiced chicken sandwiches. You can even get your tenders loaded with special sauce if you’re feeling extra adventurous. If you’re in the mood for a sweet treat, it’s also a great place to find hot and fresh funnel cakes, both in original and seasonal flavors.
Wine Country Trattoria
Another of the best table-service options at Disney California Adventure Park is Wine Country Trattoria. Located in Performance Corridor, this restaurant is themed to look like a Tuscan villa, and the menu offers plenty of delicious Italian-inspired dishes. As the name states, this is also the place to go for a good glass of wine, since there are more than 25 different wines by the glass available.
The appetizers include seafood like fried calamari, seasonal soups, and fresh salads. For your main entrée, there are several tasty meat and vegetarian pasta dishes, or you can choose a cut of fish or steak. Among the wine options are a variety of both local and international reds, whites, and sparkling. If you can’t decide which wines you’d like to enjoy with your meal, there are also two wine flights you can choose from, one with selections from Italy and the other from California vineyards.
Are there any restaurants on this list that you don't agree are the best? Are there any underrated eateries we didn't include? Let us know in the comments below!
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