Welcome back to planDisney, Michael! You've got a friend in me to help with this – I've been following a plant-based diet for 15 years and have had lots of experience navigating food options in the parks!
There are some great plant-forward dishes currently on the menu at
Carthay Circle Restaurant, including the Carthay Holiday Celebration Salad, Roasted Winter Mushroom & Gnocchi, Holiday Mashed Potatoes, and house rolls. There also seem to be quite a few items that can be made vegetarian with a few simple modifications. Keep in mind that menu items may change periodically.
If possible, you may want to indicate a dietary request when you make the reservation. This is done by marking the boxes for ingredients you'd like your meal to be prepared without. You can mark "other" for meat and meat-derived ingredients. If you already made a reservation and didn't do this, that's totally okay. Either way, you'll want to inform your server of your dietary request at the start of your meal. They will inform the kitchen and can suggest some options. In some cases, the chef may even come out! In my experience, the Cast Members have always gone above and beyond to make sure I have a great meal.
What can make it a little tricky is that off-menu dishes may vary depending on the chef, day, time of year, and availability of certain ingredients. The last time I went to Carthay Circle Restaurant, I had the most delicious butternut ravioli and Brussels sprouts. However, since these were off-menu, they can't be guaranteed to be available from visit to visit. I've read plenty of stories about
Guests with special diets enjoying their lunch or dinner at this fine-dining location.
Michael, make sure to save room to try some of the
Festive Food Marketplace menu items. I've heard great things about the Savory Kugel Mac & Cheese and the Chorizo Queso Fundido, both of which are labeled as vegetarian. The Sticky Toffee Pudding Macaron is a fan-favorite treat, too. If there are enough items you'd like to try, consider getting a
Sip and Savor Pass, which comes with six digital coupons you can redeem for select items.
Before I say goodbye for now, I wanted to highlight some popular vegetarian-friendly spots throughout California Adventure.
Pym Test Kitchen and
Boardwalk Pizza & Pasta have quite a few options. I like the veggie dog from Award Wieners, and there are great veggie burgers at
Smokejumpers Grill and
Flo's V8 Cafe. My husband likes the Cheese Pizza Pocket from Shawarma & More. One more tip: if you see a leaf icon on printed menus anywhere at the Disneyland Resort, it means that option is plant-based and free of animal products. Many locations also have a plant-based section in the digital menus.
As Chef Remy said, "If you are what you eat, then I only want to eat the good stuff." Luckily, there’s no shortage of fantastic dining options at the Disneyland Resort. Michael, if you think of any other questions, please reach out. We're always happy to help here at planDisney.
Have a wonderful visit,
Kriss