Disney's PCH Grill has tried a number of dining concepts over the years, seeking to find a menu that will fill tables at the often-overlooked restaurant on the ground floor of Disney's Paradise Pier Hotel. The Surf's Up! Mickey & Friends character breakfast buffet is fairly popular in the morning, but the restaurant has struggled at night.
Late this summer, the restaurant scrapped its a la carte dinner menu, and replaced it with the Beach Side Bonfire buffet. Disney describes this menu as “family friendly beach barbeque eats and drinks.”
The buffet features cold and hot appetizer stations, hot entrees, a carving station, and an extensive dessert bar. Keeping with current food service trends, many of the dishes are either offered in a build-your-own presentation, or portioned into miniature serving dishes.
Disney's PCH Grill hosts the Beach Side Bonfire at night, a new character-free dinner buffet. Photo by Adrienne Vincent-Phoenix.
Adrienne Krock and I brought our families to sample the new buffet, and get the reactions of our five kids (ages 17, 14, 11, and 5, and a 14-month-old) to the menu. We then compared notes on the overall food quality, experience, and value of the meal, and shared some of our favorite dishes.
Cold appetizers
The buffet's build-your-own salad station presents a modern take on the traditional salad bar. A bowl of mixed romaine and spinach leaves is presented next to an array of glass cubes filled with olives, roasted beets, carrots, tomatoes, onions, cucumbers, and a choice of three dressings. Salad devotees may find this selection lacking, but there's enough variety to count as at least one serving of vegetables.
The Beach Side Bonfire offers a unique presentation of a salad bar. Photo by Adrienne Vincent-Phoenix.
Disney's take on the caprese salad is served on small plates, and topped with a pesto drizzle. This was a favorite of the 11-year-old. Another small plate features roasted potato salad, a staple of summer beach parties.
Adrienne Krock especially liked the classic and pickled deviled eggs, although the kids seemed suspicious of the pink hue of the pickled version.
Caprese salad and potato salad are presented in individual serving dishes. Photo by Adrienne Vincent-Phoenix.
Hot appetizers
What Disney bills as a “macaroni and cheese bar” turns out to be individual portions of the pasta dish—a classic cheddar cheese version, plus a rotating special. The night we visited, the seasonal version included lobster. Adrienne Krock notes, “I really liked how they served the mac and cheese in the demitasse cups. That was great portion control and kept the dish from getting mixed in with the other food on my plate.” Still, she said she wanted to be “wowed” by the dish, and found it just OK.
Beer-battered fish or vegetable tacos are presented on soft corn tortillas. Photo by Adrienne Vincent-Phoenix.
Vegetarians will find an unique option at the mini taco station—beer-battered zucchini tacos served on blue corn tortillas. Classic fish tacos are also available, along with an assortment of traditional toppings, such as salsa, cilantro, avocado, lime, and roasted peppers and chilies.
Salsa, peppers, and other traditional toppings accompany the soft tacos. Photo by Adrienne Vincent-Phoenix.
A goat cheese and fig pizza is available on request. Photo by Adrienne Vincent-Phoenix.
Diners can also order pizza made in the restaurant's wood-fired oven, to be served tableside as an appetizer (or as an entree for children). These are not on a menu, so be sure to ask your server for that night's options. During our visit, we had a choice of classic tomato and cheese pizza, pepperoni pizza, or a pie topped with goat cheese and figs. Like the dessert pizza, these are made on a pre-baked pizza shell, and lack the yeasty flavor of a fresh crust.
Tomato, basil, and cheese pizza is served to the table. Photo by Adrienne Vincent-Phoenix.
Entrees
The entree special during our visit was a barbecue spice-rubbed pork shoulder, which Adrienne Krock noted was flavorful and moist. The house special fried chicken looked like it would be crispy and delicious, but as is the nature of buffets, the portion we sampled may have sat under the heat lamps too long—the batter was soggy, and the chicken was dried out. Still, the spicy-sweet coating was tasty; a freshly cooked piece would probably be great.
The house fried chicken has a sweet and spicy coating. Photo by Adrienne Vincent-Phoenix.
One of the buffet's signature dishes is a combination of littleneck clams, chorizo sausage, and potatoes in broth. This dish was surprisingly popular with all of the children at the table, from the 17-year-old, who deemed it one of his favorites, to the 5-year-old, who asked for seconds. Even the seafood-phobic 14-year-old rated the dish “OK,” which his mom says is “huge.” Adrienne Krock also noted, “All-you-can-eat buffets are safe opportunities to try three bites of a new food. This time it was clams.”
A second seafood dish features shrimp in an Alfredo sauce with pasta.
A whole-roasted sustainable fish is available each evening. The night we visited, the selection was roasted salmon with citrus sauce.
Roasted salmon with citrus sauce was the sustainable catch of the day during our visit. Photo by Adrienne Vincent-Phoenix.
A variety of hot side dishes are offered, including sautéed greens with caramelized shallots, and a grilled vegetable kabob with balsamic drizzle. The clear favorite was the mini “smashed” potatoes—small skin-on roasted potatoes topped with cheddar cheese and sour cream.
Smashed potatoes with cheese and sour cream were a hit with all of the kids in our dinner party. Photo by Adrienne Vincent-Phoenix.
Mini hot dogs and cheeseburger sliders are available for picky eaters.
Barbecue pork shoulder is roasted with vegetables. Photo by Adrienne Vincent-Phoenix.
Grilled veggie skewers are the only vegan entree option at the Beach Side Bonfire buffet. Photo by Adrienne Vincent-Phoenix.
Two seafood dishes are available at an “action station” on the buffet line. Photo by Adrienne Vincent-Phoenix.
Fussy eaters can fill up on mini hot dogs and cheeseburger sliders. Photo by Adrienne Vincent-Phoenix.
Carving Station
This station was the most disappointing aspect of the meal. The tri-tip was dry, and the spice-rubbed ribs had very little meat on the bones. Honey barbecue sauce and pico de gallo are available to add some spice.
Tri-tip and barbecue ribs are served from the carving station. Photo by Adrienne Vincent-Phoenix.
The station wasn't continuously staffed during our visit, and we saw a few diners who looked as if they weren't sure if they should serve themselves or ask for help. This station was also set up on a table not far inside the front door of the restaurant, a strange location that made it seem like an afterthought.
Dessert
No matter how good the entrees, the dessert selection can make or break a diner's experience of a buffet. The array of desserts offered here are extensive and displayed on child-friendly counters—we had to intercept two of the kids to prevent them from starting dinner with a plateful of dessert.
Dessert options include a warm fruit pizza. Photo by Adrienne Vincent-Phoenix.
Keeping with the beach bonfire theme, the signature dessert is a build-your-own s'mores bar. This s'more isn't your classic campfire classic, but more of a “deconstructed” version, with house-made marshmallows (coconut, strawberry, and plain), graham crackers, and warm chocolate sauce.
Graham crackers and house-made marshmallows are included in the s'mores bar. Photo by Adrienne Vincent-Phoenix.
The 5-year-old quickly decided that the chocolate sauce could be used to accent other desserts, including a mixed berry pizza on brioche crust, or fresh fruit skewers. A seasonal fruit cobbler is also available.
Fresh fruit skewers are offered on the dessert station. If this is too healthy for you, try dipping then in the hot chocolate sauce from the s'mores bar. Photo by Adrienne Vincent-Phoenix.
Milk chocolate caramel tarts are topped with sea salt and bacon brittle. Photo by Adrienne Vincent-Phoenix.
Adrienne Krock declared the milk chocolate caramel tart topped with sea salt and bacon brittle to be her favorite dessert. My personal favorite was the build-your-own strawberry shortcake, with waffle-like squares of pound cake, dishes of fresh strawberries, and whipped cream. I was pleased to see little flecks of vanilla bean in the whipped cream, and a server told me it's made fresh in the restaurant daily.
Dessert options include a make-your-own strawberry shortcake station, with fresh berries and warm pound cake. Photo by Adrienne Vincent-Phoenix.
The freshly whipped cream is dotted with specks of vanilla bean. Photo by Adrienne Vincent-Phoenix.
The “dessert-filled ice cream cones” are a unique treat, and contain vanilla bean, passion fruit, or strawberry mousse. Another novel dessert is the haupia pudding, with coconut, mango coulis, and toasted coconut
Dessert cones are filled with vanilla bean, passion fruit or strawberry mousse. Photo by Adrienne Vincent-Phoenix.
Drinks
Soft drinks, coffee, and tea are included in the buffet price, but there are options for those who want to splurge a bit.
Disney's PCH Grill offers the same cocktail menu as several Disneyland Resort locations. Photo by Adrienne Vincent-Phoenix.
Adrienne Krock notes:
“The cocktail menu is the same menu that they serve at Steakhouse 55, and Cove Bar in Disney California Adventure. I had the Moscow Mule and Kevin [Adrienne's husband] had the Smoked Turkey, without the smoke, as he prefers it. We were both pleased with our choices. I did not finish my drink because I was full before I finished it, but I felt it was a good value. I really like the cocktail menus that Disney has put together around the resort. I don't need to drink a cocktail when I go out to dinner with friends—in fact I went back and forth about ordering one that night—but it was nice to have the option.”
The location also offers two signature non-alcoholic drinks: A peach citrus tea, and Odwalla lemonade spiked with banana, coconut, and chocolate mix-ins.
Value
The buffet is $27.99 for adults, and $13.99 ages 3 to 9.
Adrienne Krock said, “My kids are teenagers so we typically get our money's worth at buffets. It was a little much to pay for my 11-year old, who is classified as an adult.”
My husband and I aren't going to spend $13.99 on dinner for our 5-year-old every night, but we felt the price was fair for this experience. Our son is an extremely adventurous eater, and so we look at buffets as an opportunity for us to expose him to an even wider variety of new ingredients and dishes.
Experience
My husband Tony and I have been to one character meal with our kids, and found it almost impossible to get the oldest to focus on actually eating because he was so attuned to where the characters were and when they would come to see us. Personally, I'd rather meet Mickey in his house than try to catch him during dinner, so I am not at all unhappy that this is a character-free dining option. I also appreciate not paying the price for a character meal, especially when dinner at Goofy's Kitchen is nearly twice the price.
Adrienne Krock agrees with me on the pricing, but said, “It might be nice to have something like they have at 'Ohana in Walt Disney World—an entertainer but not a character.” She said she'd pay an additional $5 to $7 per person to add some element of entertainment.
We both agree this restaurant works well for a variety of groups, from families with young children to groups of adults without kids. However, it is a very noisy restaurant—a situation not improved by the too-loud and too-short background music loop. Adrienne Krock said, “The third time we heard 'Under the Sea' was a bit much,” but I contend that's just the restaurant's way of saying “go home, you've been here too long.”
What the kids thought
| 17-year-old | The high school senior said he liked “the variety of food. I didn't get to try everything because there were so many different things to try.” He'd like to go back to try the ribs and the other dishes he missed. |
|---|---|
| 14-year-old | “They did a good job of presenting the food so it looked safe to try it. It was approachable. I liked that I could try different foods but they didn't look different or strange.” |
| 11-year-old | “Aren't you going to ask me what my favorite dessert was?” (For the record, the s'mores). He said he'd go back. |
| 5-year-old | His favorite part was dessert, but he was also a fan of the two seafood dishes. Surprisingly, he didn't like the pizza, saying the crust was “old.” |
| 14-month-old | We took full advantage of the opportunity to expose the toddler to new foods, and he happily ate some mashed roasted veggies, and a few bites of a few other dishes. This location does not offer a toddler menu, so be prepared with your own food if your little one isn't up to trying new “adult” foods when you're out to dinner. |
