Originally Posted By Chelledun Just got back from lots of eating at DL. Catal was our favorite of the five table service places we dined. Perfect food, lovely atmosphere. Thanks so much to those who recommended it! My review is at <a href="http://www.epinions.com/content_338066706052" target="_blank">http://www.epinions.com/conten t_338066706052</a>
Originally Posted By chickendumpling Chelledun! I always LOVE your reviews and this is another great one! Thanks for posting. You remind me of someone I used to know.... ME! LOL! Look forward to hearing more about your trip.
Originally Posted By Chelledun What an extremely nice compliment! You're so sweet! I am very glad you enjoy my reviews. I always get so much help from LP in choosing my restaurants that I like to share my experiences to help other people make informed decisions. Catal was, for sure, a BIG WINNER! I would recommend it to anyone.
Originally Posted By cstephens Can you describe Random Manager Guy, presuming you don't know his name? /cs
Originally Posted By Chelledun Hi cstephens! As a general rule, I purposefully omit employee names and identifying information from my restaurant and hotel reviews, which is why I often make up names for people I refer to repeatedly. In keeping with this I don't want to post anything more specific in this thread since it is linked to my review but please feel free to drop me an email at chelledun@gmail.com if you'd like.
Originally Posted By Schmitty Good Vibes Chelledun, Thanks for your review, and great job. I'm now planning to go there whereas I would have skipped it before. BTW, I tried looking around the epinions website for reviews of other DTD restaurants, but I could only find (under Anaheim) Storyteller's Cafe. I couldn't even find your review! Can you tell me what I'm doing wrong?
Originally Posted By Chelledun Sigh...You are doing NOTHING wrong. The Epinions search engine is pretty lousy at the moment. There are quite a lot of Disney restaurant reviews in there, good ones too. Where users have specifically had the categories added, as opposed to using a general feed, they sometimes don't come up the Epinions search. One of the members set up an off-site search that uses google and is MUCH better. It can be found at <a href="http://www.darscom.net/epinions_site_search.html" target="_blank">http://www.darscom.net/epinion s_site_search.html</a> Quite a few will pop up if you type in "Disneyland Restaurants" or the specific name. It isn't perfect, but it is MUCH better than the site search. For sure, I know Disneyland restaurants Blue Bayou, Wine Country Trattoria, Rainforest Cafe, HoB, and several others are in there. They tell us they are fixing the search, so hopefully someday the casual user will be able to find my stuff. I hope you really like Catal - I think you will!
Originally Posted By amazedncal2 Our DD and her husband had their "date night" at Catal when we went to DLR as a family last summer. My son in law still talks about the food being excellent, they were also lucky enough to happen to be on the balcony when the fireworks went off When we go to the Jazz Kitchen there are people dressed up and people in shorts and t shirts. I'd appreciate knowing your thoughts, if jeans and a sweater or nice shirt would be OK at Catal? We've always meant to go there but we just keep going to BB or Jazz Kitchen if we make PS.
Originally Posted By Schmitty Good Vibes Thanks for your help Chelledun. I really enjoyed your review, so I used the epinons selection to read all your reviews and selected your review of Downtown Disney. I haven't finished it yet because I was so perplexed over this: " General Information Downtown Disney is a shopping, dining, and entertainment complex that basically begins at the entrances to Disneyland and Disney’s California adventure. The area sits just a brief walk away from any of Disney’s three on-property resorts. " I think I've searched everywhere, but I can't seem to find the third resort. Can you help me out and tell me where it is? ; - )
Originally Posted By Schmitty Good Vibes Aw, crap. You meant the hotels..... We need that edit feature.
Originally Posted By Schmitty Good Vibes 1. I read too fast (that is, I skim) 2. I just can't think of the Paradise Pier Hotel as a "resort".
Originally Posted By danyoung The Uva Bar is one of only 2 bars in the entire world where bartenders know me by name (the other is the Rose & Crown at Epcot!). I've never eaten at Catal, but I have had food at the Uva - I assume they're served by the same kitchen? It's always been pretty incredible eats. I'm planning on trying Catal this next trip - thanks for the report!
Originally Posted By Chelledun Amazed - I think jeans and a sweater or nice shirt should definitely be fine. We dressed up just because we had some extra time that night, but we saw folks straight from the park in very casual clothing. Schmitty - After personally staying at Paradise Pier Hotel, I actually kind of agree with you. We liked the hotel okay enough but definitely did not find it on par with any of the nine or ten WDW hotels we've stayed at. However, a Disney resort it technically is. My mom is going back with my sister in a couple months and they will be staying at the Disneyland Hotel instead. Dan - I do believe they have the same kitchen. We loved our drinks and service at Uva bar and I only wish we would have discovered it earlier in our visit!
Originally Posted By cstephens Actually, the upstairs restaurant and the downstairs uva bar have separate kitchens, though they of course have the same executive chef. The uva bar kitchen is adjacent to the indoor seating section. The upstairs kitchen is in the very back of the restaurant. They also have different menus, although there may be an item or two that both menus share. As for dress code, there's really none at all. Even Napa Rose can be very relaxed about dress code, and Catal is more so. We've enjoyed nice dinners in the summer dressed in t-shirts and shorts, and same great food and service. /cs
