Blue Bayou Restaurant

March 1967 – present

LOCATION

New Orleans Square – The Blue Bayou is truly a restaurant hidden in plain sight; it’s inside Pirates of the Caribbean! To find the entrance to the restaurant, head down Royal Street (the street to the right of the Pirates entrance). You’ll see an ornate waiting room and a check-in stand on the left, across from the Parfumerie.

EXPERIENCE

Details:

• Service Type – table service
• Seating – waterfront patio inside Pirates of the Caribbean
• Reservations – yes
• Entertainment – none
• Menu

The Blue Bayou is Disneyland’s “signature” dining restaurant. (It’s one of the “big three”, along with Steakhouse 55 and Carthay Circle). Whether you visit for lunch or dinner, the restaurant offers a variety of Cajun entrees and bottomless mint julep. Diners eat beneath glowing lanterns, as passing boats glide along the bayou.

MY RATING – ★★★★★

To be honest, I expected this restaurant to have average food with an amazing view. But I was so wrong! The food here is really, really good. And the view doesn’t disappoint – you’d be amazed how quiet and peaceful it is, considering it’s inside of one of the park’s busiest attractions. If you’re going to splurge on a meal during your trip to Disneyland, put the Blue Bayou at the top of your list.

A word to the wise – do NOT try to get into this restaurant without a reservation. They might let you in, but you’ll spend a very long time in the fancy waiting room.

MY FAVORITES

• Herb marinated flat iron steak
• Mint julep
• (not something you order, but the bread is addicting…we had two baskets of it! Haha)

TRIVIA

The mansion façade behind the patio comes from a real restaurant that once stood along the Rivers of America: the Chicken Plantation.

The Blue Bayou opened in direct response to critics slamming Disneyland’s food quality. Walt decided against live entertainment or theatrics in the restaurant, insisting that the food “be the show”.

Disneyland Paris and Tokyo Disneyland are the only other Disney parks that have a restaurant within Pirates of the Caribbean. The Paris version resembles a tropical Caribbean restaurant, rather than a New Orleans mansion.