World of Color dining at Carthay Circle Restaurant

Arguably one of the best restaurants in California Adventure, the Carthay Circle Restaurant is the place that we decided to eat at for lunch while we were there on our Disneyland trip this past September.  They offer something called the World of Color dining package – it’s a prix fix menu with an appetizer, entree, and dessert, and it also gets you a reserved viewing area for the World of Color show that evening.  When we went the price for lunch was $40 per person.

The restaurant itself is gorgeous.  It’s themed to look like the theater where Snow White and the 7 Dwarfs first premiered.  It feels elegant but not stuffy.  Our server greeted us and was very attentive.  My only complaint about the whole thing was that it was quite cold inside the restaurant.  It was in the 90’s outside so we were in shorts and t-shirts, but with the air conditioning blasting I was freezing through much of our hour+ meal.

The menu here changes seasonally, and at this point we were still on the summer menu.  For the appetizers there was a choice between a salad or a soup.  I had the Spanish-roasted tomato broth soup with chorizo, and my husband had the Carthay Circle Salad.

Both were excellent and I would have been happy with either appetizer.  My soup had lots of flavor and a little bit of spice to it.  Hubby’s salad included sunflower seeds and honey goat cheese, so it was a little bit different than a typical house salad.  We were also brought rolls and butter.  Non-alcoholic drinks were included with the meal so we stuck with that.

The entrees were definitely a tough choice.  There were 5 or 6 to choose from.  I ended up going with the Tempura Fried Shrimp (with forbidden black rice stir-fry and red curry sauce).  This was incredible!  I absolutely loved the rice, and with the curry sauce mixed in everything tasted great.

Jason got the Chicken and Anaheim chili ravioli.  He was having a really hard time deciding but then saw that one delivered to a nearby table so it made his decision for him!  He felt the dish was delicious, and very filling.  He really enjoyed the artichoke hearts that came with it too.

Then there were two choices for dessert.  Being the chocolate lover, I opted for the dark chocolate mousse bar with strawberries.  Hubby got the vanilla bean creme brulee with blueberries.  Both tasted great, and they were small portions that were the perfect ending to the meal.

Though it was definitely expensive for lunch, we basically switched things that day so this was our “big meal,” and we did something small for dinner.  I felt like it was totally worth it!  We got our reserved spot for World of Color which gave us a decent view as well, and we didn’t have to fight with the crowds or anything so that was nice.

Have you eaten at Carthay Circle restaurant?  What looks good to you?