Blue Bayou Renaissance

[WDITrent]

Yesterday on my visit to Disneyland I had a reservation at Blue Bayou. I was thrilled to learn that changes had come to the restaurant since I had last been there. I'm sure some AP has noticed this before, but I haven't seen any comments, posts, or threads about it so I'll just report these changes anyway.

First off, there are new menus. They lost the Pirate theme which makes them look much cleaner and nicer. Then, I noticed no split plate charge listed (for those of you who don't know, split plate charge was $4.00, and didn't include an appetizer). However, when we ordered our three Le Special de Monte Cristos for our five-person party, our nice waitress informed us (with a hint of bitterness, not toward us but to the policy) that the split plate charge was somewhere around twelve dollars. Rediculous. But... we could get two extra plates to split the Monte Cristos ourselves for free, and the only thing we lost were a spoonful of scallop potatoes on the plates. Yes, the split plate charge was crazy beyond belief, but the new alternative was just what we needed. Also, when we ordered our salads, our waitress told us that they weren't doing the wedges anymore, but a tossed salad with onions and bell peppers. I don't care for either onions or bell peppers, but the salad probably offered people who did more bang for their buck. Bread and butter... excellent as always! Monte Cristo... phenomenal, but nothing new there.

In conclusion, Blue Bayou is back on its way!

So, there it is. I hope you learned something today from my humble lunch report. If you did, my name is WDITrent and this is MiceChat. If you didn't, make up some other name and this is VisionsFantastic.com.

[Athlonacon]

This is fascinating, I remember hearing all about the Blue Bayou when it was first redone, but that was about it and that was 3 years ago. I had always wondered in the back of my mind what it was like today, or if it had even changed at all. The salad wedge was always something I thought was ridiculous, it was a chunk of lettuce and they called it a "salad" but I am glad to hear it's gone, along with the pirate theme.

Is it still worth it to eat there? And have the prices gone up at all? I remember having a prime rib there for $20 about 9 years ago and it was well worth it. Is it possible to get a real dinner and walk out paying around $40 a person? I'll be going in about a week and half and I'm curious about eating there again now.

[brenden]

Great report! I haven't eaten at BB in a while, so maybe I'll have to check it out. I always loved the Monte Cristos, but is there anything else worthwhile trying there? I remember vaguely not being impressed with the food, but maybe I've been missing out on something. :P

[NeverNeverland]

Thanks for the info... crazy how the split plate charge has increased so much!

[OCBear]

I was disapointed the last time I was there last year, they took the Pork Chop off the Menu! That was my favorite!

[Dustysage]

We don't go to the Blue Bayou any more due to the insane prices. I used to love it for lunch, but it would take a special occasion to get me back there these days.

[disneyfann121]

I just want to go for the atmosphere, and to have the famous Flying Dutchman dessert. Is that still on the menu, and how much is it?

[NeverNeverland]

Originally Posted by brenden

Great report! I haven't eaten at BB in a while, so maybe I'll have to check it out. I always loved the Monte Cristos, but is there anything else worthwhile trying there? I remember vaguely not being impressed with the food, but maybe I've been missing out on something. :P

If you want a monte cristo, go to Cafe Orleans... you can get the yummy pomme frites too. It still has great atmosphere, just a bit different

[tinkermonkey]

I do recall reading that the split plate charge went up, but now it does give each person a full amount of the side dishes and each person get a salad. I haven't been there since the price increases (I'm a Monte Cristo girl so I'll take Cafe Orleans and save $$) so I'm not sure if that info is right or not. Good to know you can "split the plate" yourself and not incur the charges.

[elly]

they do still have the Flying Dutchman (which is completely tasty) but i can't remember the price

and i've mentioned this in a diff thread, but when we went there in March we both had the Surf and Turf dinner (filet and lobster tail) and it was absolutely wonderful. the filet dinner itself is 36$ but the surf and turf is 39$ so basically for 3$ more you get a lobster tail as the filet portion is the same size. best meal we've ever had there

[Mommyto4]

Originally Posted by WDITrent

Yesterday on my visit to Disneyland I had a reservation at Blue Bayou. I was thrilled to learn that changes had come to the restaurant since I had last been there. I'm sure some AP has noticed this before, but I haven't seen any comments, posts, or threads about it so I'll just report these changes anyway.

First off, there are new menus. They lost the Pirate theme which makes them look much cleaner and nicer. Then, I noticed no split plate charge listed (for those of you who don't know, split plate charge was $4.00, and didn't include an appetizer). However, when we ordered our three Le Special de Monte Cristos for our five-person party, our nice waitress informed us (with a hint of bitterness, not toward us but to the policy) that the split plate charge was somewhere around twelve dollars. Rediculous. But... we could get two extra plates to split the Monte Cristos ourselves for free, and the only thing we lost were a spoonful of scallop potatoes on the plates. Yes, the split plate charge was crazy beyond belief, but the new alternative was just what we needed. Also, when we ordered our salads, our waitress told us that they weren't doing the wedges anymore, but a tossed salad with onions and bell peppers. I don't care for either onions or bell peppers, but the salad probably offered people who did more bang for their buck. Bread and butter... excellent as always! Monte Cristo... phenomenal, but nothing new there.

In conclusion, Blue Bayou is back on its way!

So, there it is. I hope you learned something today from my humble lunch report. If you did, my name is WDITrent and this is MiceChat. If you didn't, make up some other name and this is VisionsFantastic.com.

wow big changes, I hated the wedge salad. also you mean if I want to half my sandwich I can just get a plate and not be charged? Maybe I will go there now. my kids love to share the monte but if I was to pay 12.00 to half a sandwitch then forget it!

[OldSchoolMickey]

Thanks for your report!

We've never dealt with the split plate charge.

In our recent week-long stay, we enjoyed the BB twice. Once for lunch and then for dinner on a seperate day.

I had the filet and lobster for the first time. It was awesome!

I'm not sure if the strip steak is a better choice than the previous prime rib though...

We are glad that the wedge salad is history. It was OK, but we still had the old mardi gras salad on our minds each time they served us the wedge.

The new salad is a chopped style with a different type of house dressing. Not the mardi gras dressing, but it was tasty.

The Blue Bayou is our second favorite DL restaurant.

[Mommyto4]

to me this was a very ugly and strange salad. Im so glad they went back to a regular salad !

[brenden]

Originally Posted by Mommyto4

to me this was a very ugly and strange salad. Im so glad they went back to a regular salad !

I love the little cut up chunks of meat. It's almost like a puppy treat! :P

[Belle Zen Whistles]

I went for the first time this past Saturday. 10 minute wait, if that, for me flying solo. I'd read enough reviews beforehand that I knew what to expect, but when I expected the wedge and they brought me instead the new salad, I was pleased.

Spec wise, wedge salads are a restaurants favourite thing to sell, since a quarter of a head of iceberg costs just pocket change. The new salad was chopped green leaf/ maybe romaine style lettuce, which is a higher quality and costs more. Two tomatoes, some this and that and a toss, and there it was, a really nice salad.

Being a vegetarian limited me somewhat in menu options, but the main dinner entree that they do offer is delicious enough that I didn't mind at all. The portabello mushroom with couscous and spinach was awesome and plentiful. It was so good that I'll have to really think about having it again instead of trying the macaroni and cheese next time around.

And next time, I'll make sure to get there for lunch, because the dinner prices cut into my churro fund.