California Grill Dinner Review

*This gluten free dining experience took place in April 2023. It includes information about dairy free options, as well as fish/shellfish, peanut, hazelnut, cabbage, and chicken & turkey allergies.

Dinner at California Grill

California Grill, located at Disney’s Contemporary Resort, is a signature restaurant at Disney with a long reputation for being one of the top restaurants on property. Situated on the 15th floor of the resort, this restaurant has epic views of Walt Disney World and is one of the most sought after locations to watch the Magic Kingdom fireworks. It’s also well-known for its food and is even listed as a Michelin Guide recommended restaurant in Central Florida. So, you know it’s good!

Recently, we went to California Grill for dinner. The current offering is a 3-course fixed price set menu, and we wanted to see how it was for guests with special dietary needs.

Atmosphere

California Grill is inspired by California wines and cuisine. It also takes inspiration from Disney with art and photos inspired by Mary Blair that really ties together the rest of the theme of the Contemporary Resort.

California Grill - Wine Fridges / Photo Taken by Gluten Free & Dairy Free at WDW

When you first arrive on the 15th floor, you’ll see an impressive amount of wines displayed. If you’re a fan of California wines, you can find a variety of options here (by the glass or bottle), and many wines that you can’t find at any other Disney World restaurant.

California Grill - Interior / Photo Taken by Gluten Free & Dairy Free at WDW

The main dining room is probably the most common place that you’ll be seated at in California Grill. But, did you know that there are side rooms that you can dine in too? On this occasion, we were seated in a side room with excellent views of the Magic Kingdom and a much cozier and quiet vibe.

California Grill - Interior / Photo Taken by Gluten Free & Dairy Free at WDW

We really preferred this location, because it was much quieter. When we left the restaurant, we noticed a significant difference in the noise level from this room versus the main dining room. If you have preferences on noise level or want something a bit more cozy, we do recommend requesting to be seated in this room.

California Grill - Table / Photo Taken by Gluten Free & Dairy Free at WDW

Like many signature restaurants, California Grill has lots of unique touches — including these branded napkins. We both agreed that it’s a nice added part of the theme.

The Food

Like most restaurants owned and operated by Disney, California Grill does have an allergy-friendly menu. Of course, you can always speak to a chef if you have questions or want to discuss additional options or modifications for your special dietary needs. On this visit, we did not speak with a chef and worked directly with our server on options. But, she did offer to have a chef come speak with us if we preferred.

California Grill - Brandon with Menu / Photo Taken by Gluten Free & Dairy Free at WDW

We do recommend if you have multiple dietary needs or have questions about ingredients to speak to a chef directly. After talking to our server, we did notice a lot of things on the menu that aren’t marked for our special dietary needs but that could be easily modified for us, so next time we’d probably speak to a chef to discuss other options.

California Grill - Allergy-Friendly Bread Service / Photo Taken by Gluten Free & Dairy Free at WDW

For the bread service, I was brought gluten free, dairy free and allergy-friendly Bloomfield Farms brand rolls. These were accompanied by a tomato and chive olive oil and a side of butter with sea salt. If you’re dairy free, you can ask if they have non-dairy buttery spread on hand during your visit too. Overall, I liked the tomato and chive olive oil more than the butter, which was not that flavorful.

Brandon did get house made bread, which they noted was safe for his special dietary needs but made in house where nuts may be present. Brandon is typically comfortable with items like this, as long as they do not contain nuts, but we recommend using your own comfort and judgement on consuming items like this. Brandon could have had the Bloomfield Farms brand rolls too, because they are also nut free. He really enjoyed his bread service, even if it’s not typically his favorite part of a meal.

California Grill - Wine / Photo Taken by Gluten Free & Dairy Free at WDW

For the meal, I decided to do the wine pairing, because I have never tried it before at California Grill. There are several wine pairing options on the menu, currently, at a variety of price points. I opted for the entry-level Signature Wine Pairing at $39 per person. This included 3 glasses of wine — one per course. My first wine with my appetizer was Grgich Hills Estate Sauvignon Blanc. I really liked this wine and found it to be very refreshing and light — perfect for my sushi appetizer.

California Grill - A Little Whistle Cocktail / Photo Taken by Gluten Free & Dairy Free at WDW

Brandon did get several drinks. The first was called A Little Whistle with Whistle Pig 10 Yr. Rye Whiskey, White Grapefruit Juice, and Basil. This was a very divisive drink for Brandon. In fact, in our video review, he called it “grotesquely good.” He said it was extremely sour due to the grapefruit juice and very strong on the whiskey. Although he drank it and said it was good after a few more sips, he also said he probably wouldn’t get it again.

California Grill - Old Fashioned / Photo Taken by Gluten Free & Dairy Free at WDW

For Old Fashioned fans, Brandon also got the Sonoma Maple Bourbon Old Fashioned with Sonoma Distilling Co. Bourbon, Vanilla Maple Syrup, Angostura Bitters and Luxardo Gourmet Maraschino Cherries with an Orange Twist. He really loved this drink and said he would 100% get this again. He also liked that the restaurant served his drink with a large ice cube so it didn’t dilute his drink over time.

California Grill - Gluten Free Sushi / Photo Taken by Gluten Free & Dairy Free at WDW

For my appetizer, I got the Rainbow Roll with Tuna, Salmon, Hamachi, Avocado, Mango, and Pickled Watermelon Radish. This is marked safe for Milk and Peanut/Tree Nut Allergies on the allergy-friendly menu. It can be made gluten free by swapping out the regular soy sauce for GF tamari.

If you are a sushi fan, I would recommend any of the sushi dishes from California Grill. The quality is always very high, and I have never had any version of sushi at this restaurant that I didn’t like. The rainbow roll had some great flavors, and I would definitely get this again. And, it was a very nice size portion for an appetizer too!

California Grill - Gluten Free Sea Bass / Photo Taken by Gluten Free & Dairy Free at WDW

For my entree, I chose the Black Sea Bass with Grilled Petite Squash, Creamy Red Quinoa, Squash-Yogurt Purée, Charred Onion Butter, and Citrus Agrodolce. This dish was marked Gluten Free and safe for Egg, Peanut/Tree Nut, Sesame, and Soy Allergies. Although I did not ask on this visit, I have a feeling this could be easily made dairy free by omitting the sauce or making minor modifications.

I really loved this fish dish. The fish was extremely well cooked and super flavorful. I’m not normally the biggest quinoa fan, but it worked well in this dish. The vegetables were amazing (but I’m also a big fan of squash and zucchini), and I really enjoyed the sauce and hints of citrus on the plate too. I would highly recommend this dish for those who enjoy fish.

Although not shown in this photo, my second wine pairing was the Merry Edwards Sauvignon Blanc. It was equally bright and light, and I thought it paired very well with the sea bass.

California Grill - Filet Mignon / Photo Taken by Gluten Free & Dairy Free at WDW

For Brandon’s entree, he got the Oak-fired Filet of Beef with Roasted Yukon Gold Potatoes, Braised Carrots, Golden Raisin Vinaigrette, and Cabernet Veal Jus. This was marked Egg, Fish/Shellfish, Milk, Peanut/Tree Nut, and Sesame Allergies on the allergy-friendly menu. If you’re GF, this dish can be modified to be Gluten Free. Brandon’s dish was missing the golden raisin vinaigrette, and we were guessing that there was an ingredient that he couldn’t have in that.

Overall, he really loved this entree. He said the sauce was amazing and actually raved about the potatoes and carrots. If you’re a steak fan, you really can’t go wrong with a well cooked filet.

California Grill - GF Creme Brûlée / Photo Taken by Gluten Free & Dairy Free at WDW

Dessert was probably the only slight disappointment of our meal. If you have read or reviews or seen our videos, you know that I do not really like creme brûlée. Even though I can have dairy now, it’s a dessert that just doesn’t appeal to me. The only GF dessert option on this menu currently is creme brûlée or a side of sorbet and fresh fruit. I decided to give it a try to see what it was like, because every once in a while I get a version that I don’t mind.

The Citrus Crème Brûlée was not marked GF on the menu but can be modified to be Gluten Free. It is also marked safe for Fish/Shellfish, Peanut/Tree Nut, and Sesame Allergies. It does contain dairy. If you’re gluten free and dairy free, your only option currently is sorbet. That’s a shame, because there’s an interesting plant-based dairy free dessert on the menu that sadly is not GF.

Unfortunately, I was not a fan of this dish. The best part, in my opinion, was actually the white sangria sorbet, which was very flavorful. It definitely made me wish I had just gotten that sorbet with some fresh fruit. Brandon also didn’t love his dessert (Meyer Lemon Chiffon Cake) and was also limited in his options, because of his nut allergies. I think we both agreed that this was the weakest part of the menu for us, and made us wish that they had the a la carte menu back instead of a fixed price menu, where you have to get dessert.

For my final wine pairing, I received the Dolce Fortified Wine, which was a modification to my pairing, because the restaurant was out of the typical dessert wine paired with the Signature Wine Pairing. This was an outstanding dessert wine — not too sweet and almost more like a cognac than dessert wine. I really enjoyed it and would recommend it.

If you want to hear more about our experience at California Grill, check out the vlog we did for our YouTube channel for more information.

Overall

We both really enjoyed our meal experience at California Grill. Our server Ashley was outstanding, and we loved our first two courses of the meal. While dessert wasn’t our favorite, we would still recommend California Grill if you’re looking for a signature restaurant, especially for a special occasion. If you want to see fireworks, it’s a perfect spot for that too. It is quite pricey with drinks added on to your meal, but on point with many of the other signature restaurants for three courses. It definitely exceeded our expectations, as we haven’t always been that big of California Grill fans, and we are looking forward to going back again. We do hope they switch back to the a la carte menu, but we would still recommend it with the 3-course menu if you’re considering if for your upcoming trip.

Have you been to California Grill? What was your experience dining there?