Cafe Orleans Dining Review- The Cheapest Monte Cristo in New Orleans Square!
Cafe Orleans Dining Review- The Cheapest Monte Cristo in New Orleans Square!
One of the most well-known dishes in Disneyland is the famous Monte Cristo sandwich! But most guests don’t realize is you can get the same dish at half the price over at Cafe Orleans instead of paying the steep prices for the Blue Bayou experience. And the cajun sauce that comes with the fries is to die for!
If you’re looking for some of that great New Orleans ambiance inside the Happiest Place on Earth then New Orleans Square is a great choice for your group!
We usually dine at Cafe Orleans every visit and we recently enjoyed this experience again in May 2022. Keep reading for our full review of the food, service, and the restaurant!
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Updated Cafe Orleans Dining Review
We recently dined at Cafe Orleans and wanted to see if our review needed any updates! There’s just been a few small menu changes at the restaurant but one in particular hasn’t been too popular with guests. You can no longer order the pommes frites separately any longer as an appetizer and can only receive them as a side with a meal. They also changed the fries slightly-they’re now larger/thicker fries.
Other than that, the experience and menu remains largely the same as our previous experienced noted below!
There’s been a change to the fries at Cafe Orleans- they’re now large steak style fries instead of skinny fries!
Kids meal remains the same!
This is one of my favorite restaurants in Disneyland not just for its great food but the beautiful patio and the ambiance of dining in New Orleans Square.
Cafe Orleans Dining Review
When you arrive, you will check in with the cast member outside the entrance. As with many restaurants inside Disneyland, I recommend making a reservation prior to your visit so you know you have a spot reserved for you. Even with a reservation you will likely end up waiting 5-10 minutes for a table as this is a popular dining experience in New Orleans Square.
Check in with the cast member at the podium in front of the entrance.
We’ve dined both inside and outside before but depending on the weather I usually prefer to dine outside to take in the atmosphere of Disneyland. If you’re seated close enough to the river you may even see Mark Twain’s riverboat passing by. Our party of six was seated outside under the canopies that protected us from the late day afternoon sun. It was pretty hot on the day of our visit but since we dined at dinner and sat in the shade we did not feel the heat.
We were seated under the canopies closest to the doorway to the inside of the restaurant
I love the details of New Orleans Square which is why I love to dine here.
First they will bring you the menus and get your drink order. You can order Mint Juleps here which is a great way to cross one of those iconic Disneyland items off your list during your meal.
The front cover has a nice image of the square
Everyone at our table ordered Mint Juleps with the meal and the kids ordered lemonade. My nine year old son has tried the Mint Juleps before but usually he won’t drink an entire glass on his own.
If you’ve never tried a Mint Julep before, you can’t miss it. I could drink these all day long while at Disneyland. One of my favorite things about the menu at Cafe Orleans is that it offers the same Monte Cristo sandwich that the Blue Bayou is often known for but at nearly half the price. This is also the only place you can find a three cheese Monte Cristo in the park which is a great option for vegetarians. In fact, it’s my favorite vegetarian dish in Disneyland!
We all ordered the Monte Cristo, mine with cheese and the others’ with meat, with fries and the kids ordered mac and cheese from the kids menu.
This is another restaurant in Disneyland that may have small menu changes based on the seasonal celebrations. Since during our stay the resort was celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Haunted Mansion, our menu had a dessert option honoring everyone’s favorite haunts. The tissue paper for our fry baskets had the prints of the Haunted Mansion wallpaper which was a neat touch.
You can check the menu for Cafe Orleans on the Disneyland website to see what they will offer during your visit.
You can order plain fries without seasoning.
The famous Pommes Frites with cajun dipping sauce!
Another must have to try at Cafe Orleans are the Pommes Frites (pictured above) they are the best fries inside the parks.
I often get asked if the Three-Cheese Monte Cristo is ‘too cheesy’ and really… there’s not such thing! But in all seriousness, I don’t think it is. It’s the perfect blend of cheese- they put mozzarella, swiss, and double crème bri inside it so there’s a nice variety. It’s delicious.
Mickey’s Cheesy Macaroni- Kids menu
My son’s kids meal was pretty standard- he usually orders the mac and cheese everywhere we go. In the past I was able to substitute and pay the upcharge for his to come with fries instead of vegetables but this time I was told it wasn’t allowed.
And of course, the famous Monte Cristo sandwich pictured above with the swiss, ham, and turkey. This is the exact same sandwich you would pay $29 for at the Blue Bayou but over at Cafe Orleans you can get for $21. Add in the more reasonable cost for appetizers and other meal items and this is a great way to get that iconic sandwich without the high Blue Bayou price.
Not that there’s anything wrong with the Blue Bayou! We also dine there every visit too for their Fantasmic! dining package. But Cafe Orleans is often overlooked and most guests don’t realize you can get that famed Monte Cristo here too.
Overall, I’d high recommend the Cafe Orleans restaurant inside New Orleans Square at Disneyland Park. It’s one of my favorite restaurants for the quality food and the atmosphere. New Orleans Square is such an unique and iconic part of Disneyland- they don’t have it over at Walt Disney World- and it’s a must to dine in on your visit.
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