My Favorite Restaurants Near Disneyland

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Well let me tell you what I like in a restaurant, so you can know if my opinion is worth hearing. I like:

• Food. I don't eat to live; I live to eat. I'm not a food snob but I really notice what things taste like, and I don't eat absentminded-ly. So that first bite has to make me say, "Oh you've got to try this!"

• Ambiance. If a restaurant's atmosphere makes me happy, I will return even if the food isn't to die for. My husband is a fantastic cook so I know I can eat very well at home, but sometimes it's more important to me to be "out" than to eat The Perfect Meal. Obviously the restaurant itself plays a big part in that.

  "Ambiance" can mean different things however. To me, if I'm in Disneyland with my young children, I want a restaurant that's

  • Festive. Not loud per se, but no white tablecloths or words like "heirloom" on the menu.
  • Bright and cheery but not harsh or fast-foodish
  • Not so expensive that my child's meal costs more than my own. Which brings me to:

• Value. I'm NOT looking for the $3.99 all-you-can-eat buffet but I don't like a non-special-occasion family dinner to break the bank.
• Near Disneyland. We've been on the go all day so I don't want to drive more than a few minutes. These are all within 3 miles of the park.

So my 4 favorite dinner restaurants near Disneyland are, in this order:

1. Buca di Beppo, 2.1 miles from Disneyland
   11757 Harbor Blvd, Garden Grove, (714) 740-2822
   You'll feel like you're visiting your loud Italian relatives, in a good way. A friend of my husband's who grew up in Italy says this is his favorite Italian restaurant! I love how the hostess leads you to your table through the kitchen, as if it's your own restaurant (there's even a table IN the kitchen) and all the dishes are family-style. There are crazy old-fashioned photos all over the walls and lots of large parties celebrating things.

   Our son gets the kids' spaghetti that's served in a bowl bigger than his head, it's a riot. I recommend the eggplant parmesan, fettucini alfredo and a carafe of house red. Tons of fun.

2. Joe's Crab Shack, 1.9 miles from Disneyland
   12011 Harbor Blvd, Garden Grove, (714) 703-0505
   It's fun and casual-- you're picking crab over newspapers. It's on the rowdy side (sometimes the servers form a line and dance) but also friendly, reasonably priced, and there's even outdoor seating with a play area for little ones.

   As the name implies, it's mainly seafood, although you can get a steak, burger or chicken sandwich too. But go for the coconut shrimp!

3. Mimi's Cafe, Less than a mile from Disneyland
   1400 South Harbor Blvd., Anaheim, (714) 956-2223
   Another chain that knows what it's doing. The atmosphere is country-cottage-meets Mardi-Gras. It reminds me of Marie Calendar's but livelier. Of all my favorite restaurants near Disneyland, this is the closest.

   Everyone will find something they like on the menu, from your toddler to your great grandmother-- a whole section of the menu is called "Comfort Classics", and they also have scaled-down versions of things for those of you who don't always want to supersize it. At lunch they bring a basket of a variety of warm breads and muffins that's a meal in itself. I like their Turkey Walnut Salad on Raisin Bread. Chunky and not too mayonnaisey.

   Some of their stuff is so good they post the recipes on their website, since people keep asking the waitstaff for it.

4. Alcatraz Brewing Company, 2.9 miles from Disneyland
   20 City Blvd. W., Orange, CA 92868, 714-939-8686
   This is an actual brewery so you should probably enjoy beer and sports. But my favorite part of breweries is really the food, when it's good. Those of you familiar with Gordon Biersch know what I mean.

   So Alcatraz is like that: a variety of upscale burgers, pizzas, salads, and sandwiches, as well as more substantial fare like filet mignon and grilled salmon. I don't recall a kids' menu and it's not really that kind of place. But your teens will probably like it. The dark-ale smoked BBQ pulled-pork sandwich with seasoned fries tastes as good as it sounds.

I wish I had more restaurants to report. If I go farther than 3 miles I could find some but to be honest, not many. You know what the real attraction is in this town. But these restaurants near Disneyland ARE worth visiting.

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