[size=+1]Hey everyone, hope you are all having a good start to the week
So you may have noticed by the title of todays review, I am nearing the end of my little culinary diary
Hopefully I can finish it off in style though with dinner at the California Grill
We both wanted to do something special for the final night of our vacation and after checking out some of the great reviews on the DIS we agreed that the California Grill was the restaurant for us
As always we arrived nice and early for our ADR so that we could take a look around the resort and enjoy a pre-dinner drink. There was a really lovely seating area overlooking Bay Lake and it was a beautiful evening so we grabbed some drinks and headed outside
Wildberry Margarita
I actually ordered this from the bar at The Wave and it was delicious. Much sharper than most of the other cocktails I had sampled on this trip so if you prefer a less sweet beverage then this is a great choice
DH had his usual Coke and we had a wonderful time sitting and chatting in this very peaceful setting
Our ADR was for 7.35pm so we headed to the check in desk at around 7.25pm and I asked the hostess if there would be any possibility of a window table? She said that it should be fine but that it might extend the wait a little but we were more than welcome to enjoy a drink in the lounge whilst we waited
. Perfect, we werent in any rush
Almost the second we got out of the elevator at CG our buzzer started to flash
now thats quick !!
We walked over to the podium to hand back the buzzer where we received a very warm welcome and were asked if it was our first time at CG (which it was) The CM explained to us that we were welcome to pop out onto either of the Observation Decks throughout the evening and that if we had finished our dinner before the start of Wishes we were welcome to come back and view the fireworks. He also recommended that we go outside and check out what was expected to be a beautiful sunset
We were than taken to our table and I just couldnt believe our luck. The view was fantastic
I was so excited to be here that it almost
(almost) made up for the fact that we would be flying home tomorrow
Mickey Confetti On Our Table
Shortly after being seated our server arrived and introduced herself. She was great and also pointed out that now would be a good time to go outside and check out the sunset so we took her advice and headed outside
Wow, Wow and once again Wow
When we arrived back at our table we were greeted with two complimentary glasses of champagne
Champagne
This is my I am very, very happy face
Anyway onto the food
After we had placed our orders we were given some warm sour dough bread with butter and sea salt (sorry no pic) and some iced water
We both decided that we just had to try the sushi and chose two dishes that we could share
California Roll - jumbo lump crab with avocado and cucumber
Snake In The Grass Barbecue Eel with Shrimp Tempura, Avocado and Cucumber
Both dishes were prefect in both presentation and taste.
Everything was fresh, delicate and perfectly balanced. The sauce on the Eel was heavenly and the Eel itself literally melted in your mouth. The California Roll was also excellent but we both agreed that the Snake stole the show
Now here is my only criticism of our evening at the California Grill
. I dont think I had even put down my chopsticks following the last bite of sushi when our entrees arrived. This really took us both by surprise and looking back we should have said straight away that we werent ready for them yet (as a side note a couple sitting opposite us had their entrees delivered BEFORE they had finished their appetizers)
Anyway, here is what we chose
First up DHs entrée
Oak-fired Fillet Of Beef - with Tillamook Cheddar Gratin, broccoli, and teriyaki barbecue
DH really enjoyed his entrée. The Beef was perfectly cooked and very tender and he thought that the teriyaki sauce was an excellent accompaniment. He surprised me by eating the broccoli as he normally hates the stuff. He also gave the potatoes a big thumbs up
And for me
Pan-seared Loch Duart Salmon - with citrus couscous, marcona almonds, sundried tomatoes, citrus nage
I really wasnt expecting the meal to be paced in this way and Im still not sure if this is why I didnt enjoy my entrée but I really didnt like it. To my taste this dish was far too sweet, and there was far too much liquid in the dish which gave an overall impression of soggy sweetness. The fish was well cooked but I only ate a couple of mouthfuls before giving up
I ordered a glass of Sauvignon Blanc (Clos Pegase Mitsuko's Vineyard, Carneros-Napa) to accompany my salmon and this was a very light and crisp flavoured wine
When our server returned to check if we wanted dessert we asked if it was OK to take some time out before deciding as we felt that the lack of space between our previous two courses had somewhat spoiled our enjoyment of the meal. She was most apologetic and explained that they had been having a few issues with the kitchen that evening and to take as long as we wanted
We both felt like getting some fresh air so we stepped out onto the observation deck at the back of the restaurant. There was nobody else outside and just as we got to the far end of the deck the fireworks over Epcot began to light up the sky
. Just perfect
Whilst we were outside we both decided that we would prefer to skip dessert and headed back inside to get the bill which was delivered with a nice little surprise for us to take away
By this time we were only a few minutes away from the start of wishes so we headed outside to view them in all their magical glory
............... I will never get bored of watching this display and standing holding hands with my wonderful hubby with such a fantastic view was the most perfect ending to our final night in WDW
So our evening at California Grill was a good one and Im not going to dwell on the slightly rushed service because overall we both had a wonderful evening and the majority of our food was delicious
out of
By the way, we shared the chocolate cake back at our hotel with a hot cup of coffee and warm smiles
Coming up next
.. A Fond Farewell In Downtown Disney[/size]
)
I thought that Tusker House was great. If you review it only on the food it's excellent so the characters are a nice bonus 
I totally agree that a pub at Columbia Harbour House would be the icing on the cake 
so it was time to put that right
The filling is cream cheese and is yummy
so I am quite looking forward to our next trip. 
