Carthay Circle Restaurant and Lounge

Although Disney’s second Anaheim theme park Disney California Adventure originally celebrated old school Hollywood glamour as one of its tentpole attractions, the focus has more recently shifted to Pixar and Marvel themes – though some vestiges of yesteryear’s odes to Tinseltown remain. Carthay Circle may be the best of them: Spanning separate Lounge and Restaurant floors, the space is inspired by the Carthay Circle Theater, which hosted the successful premiere of Disney’s first full-length animated film Snow White and the Seven Dwarves in 1937.

On the ground floor, the Carthay Circle Lounge serves a one-page menu consisting largely of small plates, while the second floor dining room offers larger and more expensive dinner entrees. Across these rooms and their connecting staircase and hallways, Disney has perfectly replicated the look and feel of a century-old fine dining establishment, down to the colors and textures of the woodwork, chandeliers, wallpaper, and carpeting. Even by the company’s historically noteworthy levels of craftsmanship, it’s legitimately impressive.

More importantly to us, Carthay Circle’s food is actually quite good, though decidedly more internationally inspired than what would have been common 100 years ago – especially in the lounge. Our small plates lunch included Vietnamese spring rolls with spicy crab and lettuce wraps with twice-cooked beef, Spanish shrimp with potatoes and yellow pepper coulis, and Mexican-style sopes with red mole, duck, radish, and a cilantro, each item attractively plated and satisfyingly portioned. Two North African-inspired chicken items, Peruvian filet mignon skewers, and Chinese-style soy-pork belly buns were also options in the Lounge area.