Carthay Lounge

Pleasant, relaxing stop to grab a drink from the hustle and bustle of the theme park. This place is mor adult to me, but you still encounter children here as this is Disney.
You can come in here to relax with no restaurant reservation required as it is first come first serve seating from the bar throughout the first floor. Most of the time I see a little line outside, but sometimes you are able to walk right in and grab a table.
Drink menu is a lot less tropical based drinks like you find throughout the rest of the park, and much more mature liquor based, but you can still find something to please everyone.
While most of the food here is decent (you’ll find mostly appetizer like food here), I would skip the flatbread. And, because it is Disney, prepare for Disney prices. But still a worthwhile stop for adults at Disney!

The pork sandwich I got was expensive but it is a very large sandwich I could have easily shared it which I ended up having to do. Also the potato chips are fantastic. The service is great and I ordered a sparkling mare to drink. Delicious and is garnished with orange peel. Very classy old school environment which was relaxing especially after a table of drunk guys left haha.

You have to love Disneyland Resort Bars and Restaurants they have the best staff and amazing bartenders, waiters, they really love there job and were they work and there quality of ingredients in there drinks and food is one of the best in the world I want to thank, out bartender Bobbi she was so nice and made great drinks! we are definitely coming back to see her!

We have been to the lounge a couple times now and the drinks are always delicious, fancy, and just a drink time warp from the outside world.
The Manhattan is great with those luxardo cherries and spherical clear ice. The double pear martini is refreshing and come with a mini pear. The Bloody Mary is also a must.
Recommend the flatbread, twice cooked beef Korean tacos!!, and duck sliders with this yummy chutney. SO GOOD :) last but not least, the yummy queso fundido with ranchero sauce!
Avoid: ebi sushi rolls. Super bland, boring, and not worth the money.
There is a line for the lounge now. So line up on the left side facing the entrance.
Also, the menu options do change so keep an eye out.

Located downstairs while the Carthay Circle Restaurant is located upstairs. This lounge is perfect for hanging out and beating the heat if its a hot day at DCA. Most of their menu are limited as the majority of the selection are only available at the restaurant itself so be cautious of that. With that in mind this is still a very wonderful place to be at. The atmosphere is classy and nice. They serve alcohol here too so that’s always a plus at Disney. Its definitely not a kids friendly zone lol.
The drinks are priced reasonably which is a big surprise since everything at Disney is a bit much but still. I love the lounge a lot. Its a peaceful atmosphere and away from the hustle and bustle of the park. Also its a good spot to catch up and just relax. I mean I guess if you’re gonna hang out and sip on some awesome brew this would be the spot. I like Cove Bar a lot too but with the line and hour long wait, this is the better alternative. Actually I’m starting to really think this is even better than Cove Bar in terms of their drink selection.
Overall its a really legit spot. I’m not a fan of drinking too much but even then I would still come here often just to relax my feet a little. Its just so comfortable here. In the summer time I would assume this place to be extremely busy as they are Air Conditioned! So cool and comfy.

We ordered the Lobster pad Thai imperial roll. It’s very good but also very expensive.
Come in and relax. Have a drink or two. It’s not a restaurant, and the menu is limited. It really is meant for an appetizer and drinks! Perfect for someone who isn’t very hungry!

I stop by this place every time I go to DCA because I love the ambiance and I like to have a nice drink. The drinks are a bit pricey but they are also delicious. Sometimes there’s a wait but it’s usually less than 10 minutes. It’s a nice spot to take a break from the heat and standing in lines and plan out the rest of your day. The only two drinks that I have not enjoyed are the Bloody Mary, it’s super basic and not worth the $$ and the Scotch mist. The other downside is that there’s no annual pass discount on alcohol– bummer.

The Disneyland Resort is divided into 3 sections: The Downtown Disney area is a free area for restaurants and shopping, the Disneyland theme park, and the Disney’s California Theme Park, or DCA for short.
I was at DCA on April 2^nd for the Disney California Food and Wine event. There’s a lot of walking, waiting in the sun, and standing outside, so around 6:00, we were getting pretty tired and wanted to just relax somewhere, preferably a place with air conditioning, and with alcohol. Carthay Circle has a lounge, serves alcohol, and has A/​C… perfect!
Carthay Circle is located in the middle of the DCA, and the upstairs is a sit down restaurant, while the downstairs has the bar and lounge, with a limited menu. When we walked up to the front door, we were greeted by the cast member asking what we wanted. We told her we just wanted to sit in the lounge, and she pointed to the queue to her right. Apparently, there’s a line to get in, which took about 20 minutes.
We were seated at a small coffee table for 3, with generous size cushy chairs. They only offered 1 menu for the table to share, so it took a while to figure out what we wanted. The staff did not rush us, and we took our time to peruse the menu, and enjoy the cool air.
Shellie decided on a craft beer, Stephen decided on a Bourbon cocktail, while I had a refreshing Pear Cider.
We stayed for at least an hour, and not once did the server rush us. Prices were a bit high, but hey its a theme park, and its Disney. A good place to chill and take a load off after a busy day of Theme Parking.

I gotta say, the atmosphere here isn’t AWFUL, but I prefer the Cove Bar to this.
It’s indoors, wasn’t busy for St. Patricks Day, but it’s missing the Disney feel to it, if that makes sense! The bartenders didn’t know the recipe to the «Secret Drinks» from the Cove Bar, which wasn’t a bad thing, but I felt like a jerk when they had no idea what I was talking about.
If it’s hot, you need a drink, by all means, come inside. But if you have your pick, the Cove Bar will always be first choice!

It was time for a quick, relaxing outing with my fellow co-​workers and we decided to do that here! It such a great lounge. Very nostalgic of when Walt Disney arrived here. Every time I am here, I feel that Walt may just walk around the corner to greet his guests.
So, my friends and I all ordered the rose petal soda, as per the recommendation of one of our friends. Interesting beverage, and refreshing. A sugar rose petal floats in this fine beverage, and if you have a sweet tooth, grab that little sucker and your sweet tooth will be gone for the rest of the night. We also ordered a couple food items:
Queso fundido: Really good. Served with tortilla chips. Great mild flavor.
Vietnamese twice-​cooked beef tacos: Way too salty. Hopefully when they twice cook the beef that they’re not twice seasoning it. My friend had to downsize the amount of meat in her tacos and we the beef with the extra tortilla chips from the fundido.
Such a great ambiance and the service is as expected in a Disney establishment, magnificent! Disney always knows how to provide top notch service! Thanks Carthay Lounge for a fun and relaxing break.

I’ll just give the short version first: the staff here is amazing and went above and beyond to take care of us.
Fun story, I had just added a new endorsement on my CA drivers license. The CA DMV does this fun thing where they hole punch your current license (making it completely invalid) while you wait 2weeks for your new license.
So, when I try to purchase cocktails with my friends, I can’t (because of the DMV and their hole-​punching fetish).
Ashley (very kind and helpful) understood the situation and attempted to have her manager alleviate the issue. He also was unable to assist. (It’s the law… I get it)
I told them I completely understand and that my friends and I were there celebrating my new job. Minutes later, Ashley came back and said that management was giving us complimentary appetizers as a congrats on the new job .
Incredibly nice staff. I can’t say enough nice things about them.

I have been coming to Disneyland + California Adventure for most of my life and always try to do something different each time I come — yesterday, it was finally time to try out Carthay Lounge for my belated birthday celebration.
Went in for an early afternoon dinner and found an amazing high top table with great comfy chairs right away. I loved the atmosphere, chandeliers, dim lighting and bar area — you definitely immediately feel transported to a secret lounge area and it definitely doesn’t have the «theme park» feel.
Our waiter, Jay was absolutely awesome. He greeted us right away and was incredibly knowledgeable about the intricacies of the cocktails they served. We selected a Diamond Manhattan (the ice cube is a diamond shape — AMAZING) and The Derby cocktail.
Then came the hard choices — the food menu all looked amazing, but we definitely knew we wanted the Butcher’s Plate that came with various prosciutto, salami, cheese, almonds, fruits, etc. We just needed to find the perfect companion dish. Jay gave us some great recommendations and we decided on the Spicy Chicken Roll. We were SO happy with our selections. This was not theme park food by any means — everything was fresh, well put together and full of flavor.
Overall, it was not as expensive as I would have expected for the quality you get there. I will definitely be back! It was a fabulous and relaxing experience.

This review of for a drink in the lounge only.
The décor is transportive. Marble table tops, deep brass tacked leather chairs, deco lantern lights, and mauve and gold wallpaper. Sitting at a corner table provides excellent people watching. The cocktails are revivals of days gone by and done very well. If you find yourself in California Adventure on a chilly day I recommend the B-​52.

This place has always been a must stop for us when we go to CA /​Disney. The drinks are very good and the appetizers are as well. The ambiance is classy and every server we have had was real nice. (not fake nice either) genuine.
The only reason for not giving it 5 stars is that the prices are very high.
But, we will always come back.

Great place to escape the Disney crowd insanity and rest your feet while enjoying a cocktail! We originally wanted to go to Ariel’s Grotto for a «happy hour» break but due to construction, the line was more insane than usual!
There was a very brief line by Carthay Circle and we were seated within 10 minutes. The ambiance is a plush, dimly-​lit lounge with dark wood, clanking glasses and smartly dressed servers. I felt like I was no longer in California Adventure but in some nice vintage Hollywood hotel. The lounge is first come first serve and only had small bites (the restaurant and bathrooms are located upstairs).
PLUS: The drinks have a nice kick! They definitely use the proper amount and the bartenders are very attentive, approachable and knowledgeable. ($ 9-​$ 13)
We shared the Vietnamese Twice Cooked Beef Tacos with fresh Pineapple-​Mint Salsa which were tasty but a little too salty for me. I wish they had more vegetables/​toppings too like lettuce and cheese rather than just the salsa on top.
As for my drink, I thoroughly enjoyed the Ginger Rogers (Plymouth Gin, Luxardo Apricot Liqueur, Noilly Prat Dry Vermouth, and a hint of fresh Lemon Juice), which warmed me up nicely before our next mission to wait in line for World of Color.

Great place to grab a drink and get away from the crowds. Our usual go to when our daughter is asleep and we’re ready for an adult beverage!
Appetizers and drinks served in the lounge. They have a decent amount of seating and great place to wait for your reservations in the restaurant or just a stop by to rest your feet before moving on.
The place does get filled up quickly since they have nice large seats, it does occupy more space, but it’s part of the appeal here.
Note: No strollers allowed inside. (sometimes they will allow us to bring it in, if our daughter is asleep)

If the wait for a table at Carthay Circle is too long, the lounge downstairs (which is where you’d check in for a table at Carthay Circle too) is a viable option for some food and drink. We were hoping to order those heavenly jalapeño cheese biscuits that you would find at Carthay Circle, but their condensed food menu did not include it. So instead, we settled on trying a scotch whisky flight. For $ 20, it included the Macallan 12 year old single malt, the Oban 14 year old single malt, and the Glenlivet 18 year old single malt. Flights include three ¾-​oz. samplings.
Our server was awesome. The scotch whisky flight came on a paddle tray with 4 glasses, three with a golden liquid and the fourth filled more than half full with a clear liquid. Our server made us believe (well at least one of us, haha) that the fourth glass was straight up vodka. We made the third person in our group try the vodka after the flight was done. Making a face, he started to drink the fourth glass. Relief came over his face. It was water! LOL.
I love how the lounge is a nice way to take a breather from the park and enjoy some libations and sustenance in a very dapper setting, especially if the main restaurant is packed. AP discounts are available here, though not on alcohol!

Read about the special Halloween Poison Apple-​Tini on the Disneyland AP page. Took my BAE to Disneyland/​California Adventure after a 5K run.
It was a very hot day and a nice refreshing drink was in order. The Poison Apple-​Tini are only served at the Carthay Circle Restaurant. There was a line outside and once we got inside we found they were all booked up.
Luckily the bar was open but it was standing room only. The bartenders were very friendly and accommodating. I ordered the two drinks that consist of Crown Royal Apple, Dekuyper Pucker Sour Apple Schnapps and Cranberry Juice.
Served in a martini glass with a red glowing skull aided in feeling that Disney is getting into the Halloween spirit.
Nice way to start off our Disney adventure and can’t wait to try some of the other special Halloween treats hidden throughout both parks.

I’ve been here a few times and each time I’ve enjoyed the drinks, food and atmosphere.
A few of the food items I’ve tried:
* Vietnamese Twice Cooked Beef Taco — tasty, meat had good flavor but some pieces were on the chewy side. Has a bit of a nice kick too.
* Santa Monica Deviled Eggs — very good, with a nice salty touch with the capers
* Roasted Moroccan Lamb Meatballs — pretty tasty.
Drinks: Menu had good variety with many classics with Disney twist.
* The Beer Flight was nice and came with bar snacks. My favorite of the three samples was the The Anaheim Gold was light, refreshing and on the sweet side. Anaheim 1888 is a little more full-​bodied with tastes of malt, fruit and earthy. The Hef is medium-​bodied with the characteristics of other Hefeweizens with prominent banana and clover notes.
* Carthay Manhattan — a nice and strong cocktail with a cool clear ice orb to keep it chilled.
Service, though friendly, can be slow at times. But if you’re not in a rush, it’s a nice chill place.
So if you’re in the mood of a nice relaxing drink and a couple appetizers. I’d recommend trying it out. Just expect to pay Disney prices. Discounts for Annual Pass holders helps a lot. No need for reservations for bar/​lounge. Just walk in and look for a vacant seat and/​or table.
A solid 3.5 stars!

Great place to relax. You wouldn’t suspect it exists, but it’s within the replica of the Carthay Circle Theater. It’s on the first floor, to the right, after you walk in.
We usually come into the building to eat at the Carthay Circle Restaurant, but we finally decided to try some of their artfully crafted cocktails. My boyfriend ordered the scotch mist, which was Walt’s drink of choice. I ordered Pimm’s punch. Both were refreshing and made well.
You can also order some appetizers or bar bites, if you want a taste of the delectable dishes that they serve upstairs.
Ask a cast member at the bar to show you how they make their spherical ice… it is truly mesmerizing!
The dim lights and décor bring you back to Hollywood’s Golden Age, and for a moment, you forget that you’re within the hustle and bustle of Disney California Adventure.