Catal Restaurant and Uva Bar

1580 S Disneyland Dr # 103
Anaheim, CA 92802-2294
(714) 774-4442

Catal is a spanish cuisine restaurant located in the heart of Downtown Disneyland. There is a Uva bar outside, and don't ask me what is an Uva bar because I do not really know and I forgot to ask. The restaurant is actually located upstairs and provides a nice view of the surrounding shops and other restaurants.

Once again we were pressed for time, due to the fact we wanted to catch the Electrical Parade in California Adventures. We were seated quickly and some warm bread with butter was brought to us. The server quickly took our order, but from that point on, we had to wait.

We order some sashimi, a Caesar salad, and for the first time my wife ordered the same entree as me, which was the Spanish Paella.

The sashimi was fresh and had a nice crushed herb oil with it. I believe the fish was hamachi but I could be wrong. The flesh was firm and was not fishy at all, but it did lack some fatness that would have made it a bit more rich. It was a nice choice to start of the dinner since, it was not too heavy of an appetizer. The crushed herb oil surrounding it was a good accompaniment since it gave the fish some extra flavor that it lacked.

Once again, my wife had to order her favorite Ceasar Salad. The dressing was fresh and it was stated on the menu that it was made in house. It definitely tasted freshly made. The salad itself was crunchy and matched well with the garlic croutons. It was a decent salad, though after tasting so many Ceasar Salad on this trip, they all seem to be about the same. Not one really stands out in my mind.

Our main course took some time to get to us, but it was well worth the wait. The official name listed on the menu was Paella a la Valencia. It had shrimp, clams, mussels, chicken, chorizo (type of spanish sausage) and scallops. It was made the traditional way in a cast iron pan. The rice was flavored with saffron that gave it that underlying flavor. The only slight disappointment was that usually the Paella would have a crust on the bottom of the pan, and these did not. The flavor though could not be beat. When you mix in all the ingredients together it provided a symphony of flavor that was well harmonized together. It provided 3 of the most key elements of a great dish. The presentation was outstanding, the flavor was top notch, and it was even a generous portion. I was so full, due to the fact I could not stop eating it, and had to finish every last bite. The portion was a bit too big for my wife, but she did manage to finish more than half of hers.

One a side note, I was able to taste my child's chicken potpie dish while he wasn't looking, and it was pretty good. It had a nice soupy base and the puffy pastry they used on top was a nice touch.

The service was acceptable overall. We were seated quickly, and most of our request were handle quickly. The food did take a bit to get to us, even thought he restaurant was not packed at the time.

Food: 4 stars

Service: 3 1/2 Stars

Price: Above average

Overall: 3 3/4 stars