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

Naples

1550 S Disneyland Dr
Anaheim, CA 92802-2322
(714) 776-6200

We were in Downtown Disneyland for the first full day to grab something to eat while waiting for our parade to start in California Adventures. We decided upon Naples due to the fact that the could seat us right away. The restaurant is more of an modern Italian restaurant with modern furnishings.

We decided to seat outside for two reasons. First there were seats available and we could be seated right away. Second, it was not hot but actually quite pleasant to sit outside for our dinner. Although we were seated right away, we were in between shift changes, and our initial server had to leave. We had to wait a bit before our second server came and took our order.

We finally decided on calamari, Caesar salad, Ahi Tuna salad and a thin crust pizza. The pizza was topped with sausage, onions and roasted red peppers. We had a small group of people so we needed the extra servings. Unfortunately our server mistook our Ahi Tuna salad to replace our pasta order instead of an addition, otherwise we would have had more variety.

The calamari was prepared properly. It had a thin seasoned crust. The dipping sauces was good, though not spectacular. The marinara sauce had a good tomato base, while the garlic mayonnaise provided a good counter balance.

The Caesar Salad was pretty fresh. The dressing tasted homemade and the lettuce had a good crisp. The croutons were decent with a good crunch. I was glad that the portion size was big that it feed my whole party.

The thin crust pizza was also decent. It had a nice cheesy flavor with the sausage providing the bulk of the meat flavor. The crust though could have been more crisp, it should not flop as much as it did. Fortunately it too was a decent size.

Lastly, the Ahi tuna salad came last. It was prepared nicely with a nice herb crust and a raw center. The herb crust was surprisingly flagrant, almost flowery. The only draw back that it was quite pricey and yet the portion was really quite small. The tomato and cucumber salad that accompanied it was pretty good. It provided a nice freshness to the dish.

Service was okay, given that fact that the place was pack and we had to switch servers. We did have a bit of a wait time for refills of our water. We were left to ourselves a lot and it took awhile to get our check back.

Final Thoughts: The food was okay, but unfortunately nothing memorable.

Food: 3 stars

Service: 3 stars

Price: High

Overall: 3 stars

Jazz Kitchen

1590 South Disneyland Drive
Downtown Disney District
Anaheim, California 92802

714-776-5200

Jazz Kitchen is located in the new downtown Disneyland area of the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim. It is basically one of the many themed restaurants in that area. Jazz Kitchen is made to look like the one of the buildings French Quarter in New Orleans. The food fits this motif, as it's mainly southern Louisiana-style cuisine.

We went right before lunch and there was no line, so we were promptly seated. We ordered the appetizer sampler, the french onion soup and the jambalaya. We also had to ordered the bread pudding since, that was their claim to fame. You have to order that ahead of time due to the preparation time involved.

The appetizer sampler is definitely recommended since it gives you a wide slice of their cuisine. The pulled pork sliders were a nice touch and the BBQ flavor was not bad. The coconut shrimp was sweet and tangy. I found the chicken rolls adequate but not spectacular. The calamari was okay, but the crust was a bit heavy. I'm used to the more thin but crispy style, though they were seasoned nicely. There were dipping sauces that complimented the appetizers.



My wife did not particularly enjoyed her onion soup mainly because she was not used to the texture. It is not your typical thin watery onion soup. This one is blended with beans to make the soup more thick and hearty. I actually liked the soup myself, since it was a fresh take on onion soup that was different from what I've tasted. There is no cheesy crouton, but some hard seasoned croutons that accompanied the soup.



My jambalaya was actually not bad. I liked the fact that the noodles tasted fresh, and not like the pre-made ones you usually get. The sauce was nice with a hint of delayed heat. The portion was actually decent size and I was surprised on how much noodles you actually get. For lunch I would say it was a good choice, since it tasted so fresh.



Now, for their signature dish which is actually a dessert. The bread pudding was something my whole family enjoyed. It comes out looking like a souffle, but once you tasted the sweet outer crust you know it's not a souffle. They even serve it souffle style with the server cutting the middle portion and pouring the white and dark chocolate sauces in the middle. This is recommended since the bread is a bit hard. The sauces softens the bread and makes the inside a gooey chocolate heaven. My wife who usually not a dessert fan actually enjoyed the bread pudding. Now, this dessert is not what I would call a lite dessert, infact it will sit with you for awhile. Do not say I did not warn you. You could get full just eating the bread pudding.


Since there was not that many people around, the service was adequate. We got all of our food in a timely manner and our drinks were refilled as requested.

Final thoughts: Must try the bread pudding.

Food: 3 1/2 stars
Service: 3 stars
Price: Slight above average
Overall : 3 1/2