Disneyland Food Review : Carnation Cafe

 

 

 

Welcome to my Carnation Cafe food review!

 

Carnation Cafe on Main Street has been my family's special place to eat for years at Disneyland.

 

It is a special place for me not just because of the food but because of the great memories.

 

Recently they changed their menu and seating.  They kept some items and added a bunch of new ones. 

 

Also, instead of just solely outdoor seating they took over the bakery next door and added some indoor seating as well.  I think this was a positive decision due to it's extreme popularity.

 

I hope you enjoy this review!

 

 

Just had to open with this glorious shot of the exterior of Disneyland as we headed to the park.  Makes me soooo excited for Christmas!!! I think there was some "Frozen" inspiration at play here. 

A view of the indoor portion of the restaurant.  We opted to eat outside where we could enjoy the festive Christmas decorations.

There is one MAJOR thing you can do wrong at Carnation Cafe and that is to NOT order the Baked Potato Soup.  I'm so sorry this picture is crappity crap.  Sadly, it was the best one I had!

Even without a stellar picture I can tell you that this soup is AMAZING.  Creamy potato soup topped with bacon, green onions, cheese and sour cream.  It tastes even better than it sounds.  This soup has been on the menu for years and is a cult favorite.  I am sure we will not see this bowl of goodness going anywhere soon.

This is about $6.49.  YUM.

Ken thoroughly enjoying the soup. 

And now to talk about a NEW food item! Fried Pickles with Dipping Sauce.

Ken and I are fried pickle connoisseurs and we have to say these were SCRUMPTIOUS.  I would order 2 baskets next time.  Or 3.  Or 20.  That's how good they were.  Highly, highly, highly recommend. 

These are about $5.99.

Ken gives a thumbs up!

My sister-in-law had been to Disneyland before us and gotten this PB & J Soda. 

This soda is also a new menu item and is TRIPPY! At first you get a rush of grape and then as it runs down you taste the peanut butter.  An adventure for the taste buds for sure.  I wouldn't get it again but I have to say it was super fun to try!

This is about $3.79.

For Ken's main dish he chose a new menu item.  The Green Chile Cheeseburger.  It was a beef burger with manchego cheese, fried egg and house sauce.

I think Ken's generally feeling towards this was "eh, it's good."

Sounded like it was fine but nothing special.

This is about $11.99.

I got a new menu item too.  The Warm Spinach Salad with Grilled Chicken.

It was a grilled chicken salad with spinach, boiled eggs, mushrooms, pickled onions and a warm pancetta mustard vinaigrette.

Thinking about this actually makes me a little sick.

I am a huge fan of all of these components individually but the combination left something to be desired.

I think where it went wrong for me was the fact that it was warm.  If the dressing had been chilled and they used fresh spinach I think I would have been MUCH happier. 

The two little toasted bread slices on the side were also tasteless, dry and stale.

Moral of the story?

Don't get this salad.


Overall, Ken and I were VERY happy with the appetizer portions of the meal.  In fact, we would go back and get the soup and fried pickles again in a heartbeat.  However, I don't think we would get the burger or salad next time.  Though there are some other things I would like to try like Walt's Chili and Chicken-Fried Chicken. 

I would recommend this restaurant but not the particular main dishes that we ordered.  It is a great place to rest your tired legs and enjoy some good food and some good views, especially if you go at Christmas time like we did!