We are back - we ate at CG on 9/29, and we will never return. This is sad, as this has been a regular of ours for years, but the service was less that what one would receive at Denny's. Once we were finally able to order (we were seated in the bar area before our table was ready - twenty minutes there and nobody even acknowledged our presence, let alone solicited a drink order), which was a considerable wait after being seated at our table, the drink order was incorrect. Once we got the right drinks, they were decent (the cucumber fizz and the sake martini). We ordered a Spicy Kazan for our appy, along with wine. A Dragon Roll was brought and dumped on our table by someone other than our waiter. After not being able to attract anyone's attention, let alone our waiter, who was busy talking with the other waiters at their little "station," we ate the Dragon Roll, as it was something we had never tried, and it was good. Halfway through the waiter appeared to see if we were ready for our entry, and I told him no, but that we would like the wine that we had ordered for the Spicy Kazan. He offered to replace the sushi, but kind of late for that. My wife had the scallops, which were good, no better than at Red Lobster, but good. I had the filet, and it was good, but again, no better than many that I have had at chain restaurants. And again, the wine that we ordered for our entrees only arrived halfway through, when he finally came back, and we reminded him (though I must say, that the wine-by-the-glass selection is excellent). After the fireworks were over (and I must say, though I didn't care for the décor changes, the new floor to ceiling windows are great - we were able to see the whole show from our table, and we were not even seated at the window.), we waited and waited, while the waiter busied himself clearing tables and the like. Finally returned, ordered dessert and coffee. Brought coffee, which was gone by the time the dessert finally appeared - asked for more coffee, never got it, and he never returned until we asked someone if we could have our check. The desserts (I had the lemon meringue cheesecake, and I don't recall what my wife had), were uninspired, unimaginative, and definitely not worthy of anything that should be coming from a chef-run Signature Dining location kitchen. This was definitely the only bad experience of our trip - and we had some other great meals. I normally tip 25 to 30% at Cali Grill, because the service and food have always been that good. We were using TIW, so he got the required 18%, but no more. A full letter has been sent to Disney - it will be interesting to note their response.ed
Normally I let things that are subpar just go by the way, and I don't complain (which is probably my mistake), but there was no excuse for this. If they were not able to obtain and train appropriate help, they should not have reopened, and they definitely should not have opened when they were obviously not ready and then expect the customers to pay full price for the privilege of training their staff. Fortunately, there are many excellent restaurants on property, so there is no need for CG for us anymore, and there are many excellent restaurants off property in the area. I felt the need to tell of my experience, since I had written of how much I enjoy CG and in fact, doubted some of the critical reviews. I wish we would had cancelled our ADR there and dined elsewhere.
