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.
Hi Duchess—My first visit to New Orleans Square happened when I was 12-years-old. I had been mad about anything “New Orleans” (NFL Saints; history of the last battle of the 1812 war; even an Anne Rice novel; etc.) for years, but I’d never had the opportunity to travel there. However, Disney’s N.O. Square has more than sufficed for a visit to the real city. I, raised in Los Angeles since age 5, fell almost desperately in love with the square since I first saw and walked through it! The experiences of the Disneyland landscape had always seemed to be more realistic than the real thing, but New Orleans Square perfected the realism! As a boy, the piratical sub-theme was terrific. My family didn’t make it to the Blue Bayou for a few more years, but once there the food was great and the ambiance second-to-none! All these experiences have been wonderful, but I do have one sincere question for you: when calling or transmitting for a Blue Bayou dinner reservation is it possible to specify a table by the water? Of about 9 visits to the bayou, I have been placed by the water only once—it was by itself was an incomparable experience…. Anyway, please keep up your good work!
Unfortunately no, the tables by the water are luck of the draw. 🙁 However, if you tell them upon check-in you’re celebrating a special occasion, they may be more inclined to give you the prime view. I agree it’s second to none!
This is like the coolest restaurant ever. Honestly the first time I rode pirates I thought the whole thing was fake
Wow so cool! I would love to eat there someday.