Plaza Inn is a Disneyland restaurant that serves a character breakfast in the morning and becomes a quick service location for lunch and dinner. Located at the end of Main Street, the restaurant offers American comfort food in a Victorian setting. Magic Key, DVC and Disney Visa discounts are all offered here. This review will cover lunch and dinner at Plaza Inn including our thoughts on the restaurant’s atmosphere, cuisine and value.

Disneyland is lauded for its charm and restaurants like this are part of the reason why. Plaza Inn’s outdoor seating is on a patio that curves around the restaurant. If looking out at the park from the patio, the far left looks at the end of Main Street and the far right peers into first few steps of Tomorrowland. Naturally, this means that the middle (and, to a lesser degree, the sides) of the patio has some stunning views of Sleeping Beauty Castle. There is also plenty of shade on the patio so it’s beautiful on a warm day and not insufferable on a hot day.

The inside of the Plaza Inn competes with the classic park scenery of the outside. There’s beautiful and elegant decor, embodying that Victorian style. This restaurant, originally called the Red Wagon Inn, has been serving guests since Disneyland’s opening day. Plaza Inn feels like a step back in time, not only because of its theme but because of its place in the park’s history. The Victorian and it’s added charm feels dated but not in a condescending way. With stained glass windows, elegant tables and chairs, and a helpful serving staff (more on that later), eating inside at the Plaza Inn welcomes guests into a different and simpler era.

Theming can only take a place so far though, especially when it comes to a restaurant. Ultimately, food is what makes a good restaurant. Fortunately for Plaza Inn, I think they serve food that matches the charming atmosphere inside.

For lunch and dinner, Plaza Inn offers a pretty interesting variety of comfort food, pasta and salads (you can see a menu here). The restaurant is best known for their fried chicken and rightfully so. A Fried Chicken Plate comes with three pieces of fried chicken, a biscuit, mashed potatoes and gravy and green beans. The fried chicken is easily the star, lightly breaded and incredibly juicy. It’s some of the best fried chicken I’ve had thanks to the excellent flavor and lack of grease. While I usually prefer legs over any other piece of chicken, I prefer the breast and thigh piece here.

The side options are pretty solid, although not nearly as good as the fried chicken. The green beans are typically fresh and not over-seasoned and the mashed potatoes and gravy are a perfect addition to the comfort food. With the sides, the meal is certainly shareable although I wouldn’t want to share the fried chicken.

We’ve also tried the Pot Roast at Plaza Inn, which comes with the same sides. The meat is tender and the gravy compliments the meal well. Melissa actually prefers this to the Fried Chicken which is one of the biggest conflicts of our marriage. We don’t have a lot of conflicts. Don’t get me wrong, the Pot Roast is a good option if you don’t like Fried Chicken but not a standout.

Above is the Salmon consisting of Citrus Herb-crusted Salmon, Creamy Mashed Potatoes, Seasonal Vegetables and Basil-infused Cream Sauce, garnished with Basil-Tomato Relish. This has been a recent favorite of ours. The salmon is a surprisingly hefty portion and generally cooked well. While there is a crust on the fish, I wouldn’t consider it extremely heavy. Instead it just adds some texture and a little extra flavor. The Cream Sauce is similar to a Hollandaise, with a little more zest. If you’re looking for something lighter than the Fried Chicken or Pot Roast then this is a good option.

In between the heavy food, we also enjoy a salad at Plaza Inn. We order the side salad more often than not while sharing one of the entrees. This salad comes in around $7 and is crisp and fresh. We also like the Cobb Salad here but find it to be a little overpriced.

Elsewhere on the menu, the pastas are decent but not overly impressive. Counter-service pasta is what it is although I prefer this to the options at Alien Pizza Planet. Plaza Inn also has a rotating cast of desserts. Unsurprisingly, most of those are good! I especially like the chocolate cake when it’s offered.

The atmosphere and cuisine at Plaza Inn earns high marks but the value does not. Like everywhere, the cost of a meal here has gone up dramatically. The chicken entrée is $21.99 and the Pot Roast and Salmon come in at $19.99. Those are bordering on table-service meal prices. As such, Plaza Inn has become less of a staple for us and more of a splurge. Food prices are up everywhere but the cost here does feel excessive. The meal is still delicious but the value does have us second guessing a recommendation. Along with that, food at Disneyland Resort has gotten better as a whole so Plaza Inn has stiffer competition. Ultimately, we think Plaza Inn is worth a splurge but probably isn’t going to be a regular spot for many.

Balancing the high prices is a generally exceptional experience. The ordering bay at Plaza Inn can be a little chaotic, though it’s pretty. But after that we love the quaint setting and the staff is typically very helpful in clearing plates, which are real and not paper. That all makes the meal more relaxing and closer to a table-service setting. Maybe this is just me trying to justify my beloved Plaza Inn!

Plaza Inn is one of my favorite counter-service options at Disneyland Resort but I have moved it down our rankings over the years due to the high prices. Melissa also doesn’t like it as much as me, although she has enjoyed the Salmon recently. I get the complaints – the restaurant isn’t very versatile and if you aren’t in the mood for comfort food then it’s not the way to go. Having said that, Plaza Inn is incredibly good at what they do, offering really good, filling meals in a charming setting

Overall Rating – 9/10

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