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Credit: DisneyToday Disneyland Resort opened reservations for the highly-anticipated Carthay Circle Restaurant at Disney California Adventure. When it opens on June 15 inside the Carthay Circle Theatre capping of Buena Vista Street, the new restaurant will transport diners to a party after the world premiere screening of “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,” which took place at the original Carthay Circle Theatre after which the theme park building is modeled.
The best bet for making a reservation at the Carthay Circle Restaurant is via e-mail, sending a quick message to dine@disneyland.com with a name, phone number, date, time, and number of adults and children. It took just 10 minutes for me to receive a reply back confirming my June 16 dinner reservation, one day after the restaurant officially debuts to the public and capping off my upcoming trip to attend the grand press event showing off the new restaurant, Cars Land, Buena Vista Street, and more.
The Carthay Circle Theatre first-floor foyer tells the story of the relationship of Carthay Circle Theatre to the Walt Disney Company, with photos and artifacts from the 1937 premier of “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,” Disney’s first feature-length animated film. “You’ll see pieces you’d never have the opportunity to see, except at the archives,” Spencer said. “And we won’t stop the clock in 1937, but will pay tribute to the studios and its achievements through the decades.”
But it’s the upstairs dining room that will have everyone hungry, featuring a menu developed by award-winning Executive Chef Andrew Sutton, executive chef at the nearby Napa Rose restaurant at Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa. The 200-seat dining room is divided into small rooms for a more intimate experience, including a terrace with seating for 56.
“Upon arrival, guests are greeted downstairs and escorted up the graceful staircase or by elevator to the restaurant,” says Joy Cushing, restaurant manager. The Carthay Circle Restaurant features tabletops with handsome artwork, dinnerware with the restaurant’s logo and Italian linen napkins – an upscale-casual ambience.
Diners downstairs can also enjoy the Carthay Circle Lounge for a quick meal, shared plates and a glass of wine, craft beer or handcrafted seltzer soda. The Lounge menu is divided into Bites, Rolls, Snacks, Small Plates and Finger Desserts.
In addition to opening up reservations, Disneyland has revealed details of what will be on the menu at the Carthay Circle Restaurant and Lounge. Sutton describes the restaurant’s menu as “Southern California cuisine – breezy, light and fresh.”
Dinner prices for the full menu at the Carthay Circle Restaurant have not yet been released, but are estimated at around $48 per person.
The menu offers five varieties of sustainable fish, both wild and farmed, in dishes such as sushi-grade yellowtail grilled with jerk spice, topped with a tropical salsa of pineapple, mango, black beans and lime, and Sierra Golden trout roasted with couscous, lemon and oil. The lunch menu includes an udon noodle bowl with red Thai curry broth, and an Angus burger with Tillamook cheddar cheese.
Vegetables are hand selected by staff who visit the Santa Monica market and local farms seeking the best of the best local produce. With a nod to the heyday of the Carthay Circle Theatre, old-fashioned dishes such as “liver and onions” get a modern twist, with crispy fried chicken livers served with a salad with buttermilk dressing, bacon and onions.
Seasonal desserts will include toasted lemon pound cake with fresh marinated blueberries, lemon curd cream and Tahitian vanilla chantilly, “Peaches In All Their Glory” with peach and white chocolate cannolis with fresh grilled peaches and peach sorbet, and a fried banana split Monte Cristo sundae with raspberry and chocolate fudge ice creams, toffee nuts and warm caramel rum bananas.
A wine program includes both Old and New World wines, with a focus on California vintages. All of the servers have wine training.
World of Color viewing packages are also available for everyone who dines at the Carthay Circle Restaurant. Each guest who orders an appetizer and entrée or an entrée and dessert will receive complimentary, center-stage viewing for the nighttime, water spectacular on Paradise Pier Bay. Lunch guests and guests who have dinner before 7 p.m. will receive tickets to the first “World of Color” show; guess who dine after 7 p.m. will receive tickets to the second show.
When it opens on June 15, 2012, the Carthay Circle Restaurant hours will be 11 a.m.-10 p.m. daily. In addition to the email method mentioned above, reservations can be made by calling 714-781-DINE.
