If you had to choose just ONE...

[LadyRozalin]

Talk to me about lunch options inside the parks.

I pretty much have my meal options for the trip planned out.
That being said, everyone is urging me to consider at least one lunch inside the park.
So...let's consider, together!

Keeping in mind that I have a modest budget, and can't afford the priciest joints; and that we're a group of 8 adults, so prices do add up quickly...

If you had to choose just ONE place to have lunch inside the parks during your trip, which would you choose, and why?

 

[GBRforWDW]

Lamplight Lounge. The food is so good and the price point is low to mid 20s.

Also will be the one sit down I try for our summer trip

 

[Federalist45]

I’d be at Pym’s because I’ve never been to Avengers campus but love it’s theme.

For an old faithful in Disneyland proper, clam chowder or beef gumbo in a bread bowl in New Orleans Square.

 

[cruisehopeful]

It depends greatly on what you all like to eat. I often eat at Rancho del Zocalo, but if you don't like Mexican food, you won't like it.

Plaza Inn might have something for your group since it has a few different types of options like fried chicken, pasta or a cobb salad. It's counter service, so no worries about getting a reservation.

 

[Matrixleos]

Lamplight Lounge. The food is so good and the price point is low to mid 20s.

Also will be the one sit down I try for our summer trip

My families favorite location was easily Lamplight Lounge. If budget is a concern, it's mid tier and most every food item on their menu is between $15-26. I'd highly recommend the Potato Skins ($15) and Cheddar Burger ($22), I must have tried burgers at 4 different locations on property and this Cheddar Burger was by far the tastiest. If it's in the budget, I'd also recommend the Donuts ($10) for dessert, as we really enjoyed the fluffy donuts and the different dipping sauces it came with.

I'd also highly recommend going for dinner near whatever time sunset is for that day and requesting to sit outside (there is shading if sunny). What really made this visit memorable was our view from our table of the Incredicoaster and Pixar Pal-A-Round. Here's a picture I took from our table.

 

[ShazzySteph]

I can only speak from my limited experience but my husband and I enjoyed Cafe Orleans. He LOVES Monte Cristos so it was a must-do. We shared the entree and we did not leave hungry. It ended up being a relatively inexpensive meal for us.

 

[22Tink]

Our favourite lunch spots in DCA are Lamplight Lounge and Pacific Wharf Cafe and in DLR we really enjoy Cafe Orleans or the Carnation Cafe on Main Street.

 

[Pluto468]

The place we've gone to the most over the years is Hungry Bear. It isn't fancy but they have a nice menu with burgers and such. My favorite part is sitting in the shady seating area that overlooks the river, and it's one of the only places in the park where I consistently see cats

 

[Matrixleos]

I’d be at Pym’s because I’ve never been to Avengers campus but love it’s theme.

For an old faithful in Disneyland proper, clam chowder or beef gumbo in a bread bowl in New Orleans Square.

Pym's is great too but so hard to find any seating with all the different shows going on in Avengers Campus. Plus a good number of their seats out front have zero shading and felt like we were roasting in the sun. As much as we wanted to see the Avengers Campus shows and had a great table to do so from, I made the executive decision to pivot from sweating under the sun, to taking our meals to the eating area right next to the Hyperion Theater. Which has a lot of shading there and we actually got to relax a bit from the July mid-day summer sun.

 

[evilmommie]

The two places that come to mind off the top of my head for your group would be Pizza Planet or Plaza Inn.

Both have ample seating areas and shade. They also have meals that are big enough to share, so you might be able to stretch your money a bit more.

French Market would be a good option as well, but the seating gets packed over on the Westside with all of the messy people eating their beignets.

 

[Matrixleos]

The place we've gone to the most over the years is Hungry Bear. It isn't fancy but they have a nice menu with burgers and such. My favorite part is sitting in the shady seating area that overlooks the river, and it's one of the only places in the park where I consistently see cats

Hungry Bear is a great option! Most sandwiches and burgers are in the $11-16 range. Plus they have so many great funnel cake options for dessert. I've said it many times but that Honey-Spiced Chicken sandwich was amazing and I would have ordered another one if the Stand-By line wasn't so long and Mobile Orders weren't set for 2 hours out. LOL

I agree about the seating area, tons of space available upstairs and downstairs. We preferred upstairs, toward the left back area. Which had shading, along with stellar views of both the Disneyland Railroad going by and all the different boats traveling by on the Rivers of America.

 

[chezcurrie]

Table Service: Lamplight in DCA or Cafe Orleans in DL. Both mid range, shareable entrees (the lobster nachos at Lamplight could feed more than 2, they are HUGE!)

Quick Service: Plaza Inn at DL for fried Chicken (so good and 1 meal can easily be shared by 2) or Pyms at DCA Avengers Campus for the novelty of it. The family size Pymini could be a fun thing for a group of your size - would work out to about $13/pp and includes tots and arugula salad. Maybe share the Choco Smash for dessert as well &/or add the gigantic pretzel to bump it up to around $15pp.

 

[DLgal]

Which park? Sit down dining or table service?

 

[FeistyDisneyMom]

For QS in DL, I'm a big Bengal BBQ fan, plus it is convenient to grab some dole whips for dessert. But the other nice thing about doing QS is you can leave it more to a game day decision, and you can order from multiple places so if your party doesn't all want the same thing, they can still get what they want.

For QS in DCA, I am eager to try out Pym's! If we end up going with old standby's, we love pretty much everything in Pacific Wharf.

For table service, it really depends a lot on what kind of foods you want to eat. We are looking at Carnation Cafe and Cafe Orleans in DL, and Lamplight in DCA, but we've never managed to go to any of them, as we typically do QS for lunches.

But all that said, you might want to apply that part of the budget to a potential package for nighttime entertainment. Picking one show to focus on for your group and doing one of the dining packages might be the way to go, but it will be more expensive than a simple lunch, so it might cut into other budget areas as well. Definitely something to consider though, as it can be more challenging to get multiple spots togther in the ECV accessible viewing locations.

 

[smartlabelprint]

I have found quick service to be very tasty in the parks. There is not a single table service meal that I “must have” on every annual trip (I may change my mind after trying lamplight this trip). However, I have quite a few counter service I dream about all year, in this case 2 years!

You could do dinner or lunch in the parks. They’re the same menu / price.

For a medium level, not really a meal, but more than a snack I like Bengal BBQ. Many rave about the tiger bread but it’s really light and not filling. I also don’t bother with their rice option, just a skewer. The sourdough bowls are filling in dca. You can also buy a loaf of the sourdough to use in your sandwiches the next day!

Boardwalk pizza & pasta. DH and I get plain old spaghetti and Caesar and share them. Those 2 really could be shared between 3 people. My sibs really love the other pasta selection there. I was so happy to hear this place had reopened before our trip! The ambiance is nothing to talk about. I do not care for the food at Alien Pizza Planet, I find the pasta to be dry.

I’m not a fan of Plaza Inn, I don’t like fried chicken and their salads have never been that great. But they have large meals and nice ambiance. It is a solid choice.

Rancho del Zocalo has great night time ambiance. I don’t eat here every trip. They changed their menu about 5 years ago and dropped their La Victoria sponsorship and I was really bummed. I really do not like the food at cucina cucamonga in DCA.

If I could only go to 1 I’d choose French Market. They have so many delicious options! I feel like 2 of these could be shared by 3 people as well.

Look at the menus on their site. You can see which foods sound appealing and see the prices.

 

[iamporch]

It depends greatly on what you all like to eat. I often eat at Rancho del Zocalo, but if you don't like Mexican food, you won't like it.

Plaza Inn might have something for your group since it has a few different types of options like fried chicken, pasta or a cobb salad. It's counter service, so no worries about getting a reservation.

Plaza inn is counter service? When I go to look at the menu it says to reserve dining so I thought it was table service

 

[FeistyDisneyMom]

You need reservations for the Minnie & Friends Breakfast, but it is still served buffet style. The lunch/dinner is counter service, but you can also make reservations for the MSEP dining package. You can always walk up though for lunch and dinner without a reservation, you only need it if you want the dining package benefits.

 

[pblack]

Our favorite lunch spot in DL is plaza inn. My DH and I share a fried chicken plate and grab an extra side of mashed potatoes. It's enough food to hold us over until dinner and doesn't leave us feeling grossly full. If I was grabbing lunch at DCA I'd probably just grab chicken strips and fries from Smokejumpers, or maybe a bacon mac and cheese cone from cozy cone. Or if i'm being completely honest i'm probably going to grab a loaf of Boudin sourdough and some butter and just eat that.

 

[DLgal]

If you are trying to balance cost against portion sizes, stay far far away from Bengal BBQ, Lamplight Lounge, Cathay Circle, and Cafe Orleans. Super small portions for high prices at all of these. Lamplight is not small portions, but its extremely pricey for what you are getting. It's good, and I love it, but we never get out of there for under $100 for 2 of us.

Focus your search on:
Plaza Inn
Rancho del Zocalo
Paradise Garden Grill
Flo's V8 Cafe
French Market

These places are like a hybrid QS/TS, where portions are big, and you get real plates and silverware, and there is plenty of seating for a large group.

 

[Kanga and Roo]

The place we've gone to the most over the years is Hungry Bear. It isn't fancy but they have a nice menu with burgers and such. My favorite part is sitting in the shady seating area that overlooks the river, and it's one of the only places in the park where I consistently see cats

I like Hungry Bear as well.