Disney's California Food and Wine Festival Review

The Disney California Adventure Food and Wine Festival has returned this year, giving those that visit the Disneyland Resort the opportunity to enjoy delicious eats and refreshing drinks that are influenced by the great state of California. There are a variety of options, so there is something to fit every palate, served at eight different booths along the main area of California Adventure Park. The festival began on April 1 and runs through May 1.

We were at Disneyland this past week and were able to sample six dishes, that’s what we’re here to talk about. First, however, let’s give you a bit more detail. The seminars, stage kitchens and product booths are only open on the weekends – the food booths, though are open all week long! They open at 11am and during the week there are, or at least were minimal lines. Lines will be longer during the weekend. The Annual Passholder Lounge, where you can pick up your free button, watch a short film, and charge you phone is open all week as well.

As I mentioned, we tried six different dishes. We did so because we purchased the Annual Passholder Lanyard which allowed us to exchange a tab for a food item of our choice (there were six tabs and the lanyard cost $39.) Had we not had the lanyard we most likely only would have tried two, three things tops. You must be an annual passholder to purchase the lanyard, tabs are only good for food items, and they can be used throughout the festival. We used ours over the course of two days. I’m sure you’re wondering if we came out ahead or even broke even on the lanyard, right? That’s not why we bought it, for us it was about convenience, much the same reason behind our purchasing the dining plan for Disney World. Well, we did the math and we ended up using the $39 lanyard to purchase $44 worth of food - $5 in savings all without even trying.

The food booths are set up along the main path, starting just across from the Photo Spot in front of the waterfall, and the Festival sign and ending just before Paradise Pier. You will also find merchandise, including soaps, olive oils and hot sauces for tasting along this main path. Seminars, show kitchens, and advertisements can be found all over the park, though.

There are six booths that are dedicated to food, each serving at least one alcoholic drink option, as well as water for purchase. There are also two booths, The Brewhouse and the Vineyard, that are solely dedicated to alcoholic drinks. We had bites to eat from five of the six food booths, we did not try anything from Viva Fresca. This booth offered Fried Shrimp Soft Tacos, Anaheim Chile and Roasted Cauliflower Burritos, and Strawberry Mango Agua Fresca.

We started our culinary adventures at Gold Rush with the Triple Cheese Mac with Smoked Chicken. The pasta wasn’t overly soft, but it also wasn’t underdone – I thought it had a great texture. It was full of delicious cheesy flavor and there were chunks of moist smoked chicken throughout it. The dish was topped with a sprinkle of toasted bread crumbs, much like a baked mac and cheese would be. Artichoke Chips with Spicy Aioli and Apple Bacon Whoopie Pies are also available here.

Next came the Zinfandel-Braised Wagyu Beef from Wine Country – this was the most expensive item that we got and as expensive as the food items get at $8. The beef was moist and tender from the braising and was full of beefy flavor. It was served on top of Creamy Polenta with peas and cold Pea Puree. We don’t normally like polenta, it is normally overly salty, but this was perfect and delicious – creamy and buttery. The peas added texture to the dish. The star though, at least for us, was the Pea Puree. It had a crisp, clean, and sweet flavor from the peas. It paired well with both the beef and the polenta. We could have been a whole bowl of it. Also available at this booth was a Roasted Yellow Beet Salad and a Blackberry Tart.

The Pork Belly Bao Taco from LAstyle was next. If you don’t know what a bao is, don’t worry. It is a Chinese steamed bun that is normally filled with someone, meat most of the time. However, here it was not filled with anything, in the normal sense, and was flattened slightly to form a soft taco shell. The shell was soft and fluffy and wrapped around moist, delicious and flavorful pork belly. The pork was topped with pickled vegetables that weren’t overly pickle like – Howard hates anything pickled and he liked these. The veggies really pulled the whole dish together. Chilled Ahi Pole and a Milk Chocolate Caramel Tart can also be found here.

That was it for the first day. We came back two days later and enjoyed another three delicious eats for lunch.

We started out with the White Cheddar Ale and Bacon Soup from By the Bay. The soup itself was thick and hot, even after standing in line for another dish, and had great cheese with a hint of ale flavor. Bits of bacon were on top and throughout the soup giving it a smokey flavor and a bit of texture. It was served in a small bread bowl, which was delicious itself, and was great for dipping in the soup. Chilled Shrimp and Snow Crab Cocktail and Coconut Tapioca with Mango, Lychee Boba and Mango Coulis was also available here.

The Grilled Tenderloin Slider from The Farm came next. The bread was soft, the tenderloin was moist and full of flavor. It was served with chimichurri sauce which had a great fresh flavor and paired well with the meat. A small fry was also served alongside the slider, it was perfectly crisp and soft. Golden Thai Vegetable Curry and a Meyer Lemon Macaron can also be found here – the macaron looked amazing.

We finished off our card, and our lunch, with the Milk Chocolate Caramel Tart from LAstyle. The tart hard a cookie like hard chocolate shell and was filled with velvety smooth, rich, decadent chocolate caramel ganache.  It was topped with a creamy chocolate mousse, chocolate pearls, nuts that provided a crunch, and a shard of white chocolate. If you don’t like chocolate, shy away from this one. If you are a fan of chocolate, then you have to check this one out! So many textures and flavors that all pair so well together. Yum.

Everything that we tried was delicious and amazing. If you’re going to be at Disneyland before the end of the festival, check it out and enjoy some delicious food with a California flair. We highly recommend it.

We have photos of all of the dishes that we tried if you would like to check them out let us know.

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