Blue Bayou Restaurant

Among the many different types of themed restaurants in Disneyland, one of the more unique ones is the Blue Bayou Restaurant. What makes it so special? Well unlike the many food stalls you'll find (see my guide on dinning in Disneyland), this is an actual restaurant. Also, this restaurant is incorporated as part of the Pirates of the Caribbean attraction. Yes, as you ride out of the Pirates of the Caribbean ride, you'll see diners on pier, and what appears to be decent food. This is the restaurant that you see. However, I do have to suggest you either make a reservation or go early. The reason for this, is that the ambiance is great, but if you don't get some of the lake side seats, you'll won't see anything and the experience won't be as much as it could be. This is probably one of those once in a lifetime experiences. Be warned though, the prices is higher than average and even quite a bit higher than the surrounding restaurants.

We were greeted at the door, where they take the number of seats and then the server leads you to your table. The ambiance is dark and it's actually quite hard to see. I'm sorry for the poor photos, but the lighting is not exactly what I called the best. I ordered some braised ribs and my wife ordered the crab cakes. I suggest you also ask to see the souvenir cup. It either has the glow in the dark Tinker Bell or Lightning McQueen. Since my young son was an avid Cars fan, we ordered the Lightning McQueen cup. These cups are something you will not find anywhere else in the park, and I've looked. It really it's just a LED clip that glowed, but cool never the less.

My wife's crab cakes were decent. They were not exactly what I would call jumbo crab cakes. They were rolled into the standard size crab cakes, and was fried. I did not taste it unfortunately, so I can't really comment on the taste. There were only a few of them, so I felt bad if I were to pillaged them while my wife was not looking, though the thought did cross my mind.

My braised ribs were actually quite flavorful. It was very robust with the wine reduction. Since the meat was braised, they were fork tender. Braising the meat means slowly cooking it over time. If done properly, the meat comes out perfect tender and of course very juicy. I really did not need a knife, since it just fell apart at the slightest touch. It was a pleasant surprise that I did not expect to find. Actual decent food inside Disneyland Park.

The server ask if we were interested in a dessert. I asked what they had, and he responded "we have something special." Well, that something special turned out to be a special pirate ship ice cream. The bottom was a warm cookie dough, the body was a vanilla ice cream, and there was a edible mast sticking out of the ice cream. The mast may be edible, but the server told us not to eat it, since it does not taste very good. I was happy just to take his word for it. There was a warm chocolate and caramel sauce really just put it over the top.

The service was decent but we were left a lone for some time. The food did take a bit to get to us. I think we were just unlucky to have our order come in exactly the same time as the other people, since we came in as the restaurant just opened. We did have to request refill on our drinks a couple of time. Overall I say, the service was just acceptable, not great, but acceptable.

Final Thoughts: Decent food, great ambiance, but high price.

Food: 3 1/2 stars

Service 3 Stars

Price: High

Overall: 3 stars