Al Fresco Lounge - Disney California Adventure

Listen. Do you want to know a secret? Do you promise not to tell? Let me whisper in your ear: Al Fresco Lounge in Disney's California Adventure is the best place to eat inside the Happiest Place on Earth.

You might not have even heard of it. The place is usually offered as the consolation prize when the Wine Country Trattoria is all booked-up. But the lounge is where you want to be regardless. The prices are reasonable; the food is good; and it has always been there, listed on the park map, waiting to be discovered.

I hope it never does.

The fact that nearly no one is aware of its location--hidden away above the hot sweaty mess of Cars Land--makes it special.



This is an oasis of calm in desert of fanny packs and screaming children. It's literally tucked into the treetops, cooled by wayward breezes, and shaded by leafy trellises.

It doesn't serve full meals, only appetizers from a bar menu, but this includes grilled shrimp atop a blubbery polenta cake; a perky interpretation of caprese; and the $10 fritto misto, a mountain of lace-battered calamari, mussels, green beans, and artichoke hearts with pepperoncini aioli and a spice-dabbed lemon wedge. This fritto misto would be considered excellent even outside Disney, and enough for one person's dinner.

Order it and then sink into a couch while slowly sipping a dry cab or a cocktail with glowing ice cubes. Heck, just cool yourself down with a chilly Coke topped off for free for as long you care to sit around. Even plain ice water tastes better up here.

So go! Enjoy! But shush! Let's keep this place our little secret, mmm'kay?

Al Fresco Lounge
Disney's California Adventure
1776 S Disneyland Dr
Anaheim, CA 92802
(714) 781-3463

THIS WEEK ON OC WEEKLY:
Zoomak Asian Bistro - Buena Park