Céntrico is a table-service restaurant in Disneyland Resort’s Downtown Disney. Opening in May of 2024, the restaurant serves Mexican food in a relaxed, outdoor setting. Céntrico resides where Catal’s outdoor bar used to, in the middle of the entertainment district walkway, and does accept a Magic Key discount. In this post, we’ll review the restaurant’s food, atmosphere and value.

Downtown Disney is in the midst of much needed makeover that has brought a trio of new Mexican restaurants headed by Chef Carlos Gaytán – Paseo, Céntrico and Tiendita. Paseo is the most expensive of the three, with Céntrico moderately priced and Tiendita being the counter-service spot. They all share a similar aesthetic and menu ideas, although there are differences.

Céntrico specifically is an open-air bar and restaurant. Much of the area is structurally similar to what was previously there, with all of the seating surrounding a circular bar. They did modernize and beautify a bit of the structure, specifically the pergola overhead that offers shade to diners.

It can’t be overstated how much the Downtown Disney restaurants were in need of an overhaul. The décor and vibe were so stale. Thankfully, the food wasn’t actually stale but wasn’t especially memorable either. Hiring a Michelin-starred chef to take over 3 of the new restaurants was a good idea and I was very excited that Disney outsourced that, and a few other restaurants, to culinary creatives.

That was a great move from a dining perspective but it’s also come with Downtown Disney’s makeover being very uniform and blasé in design. The once flamboyant Jazz Kitchen is overly toned down, robbing it of the personality it had. It seems that choice has stretched the length of the entertainment walkway, with any new restaurant or shop having the same color palette and tone.

I get why the decision was made. A trip to one of Southern California’s many popular outdoor malls will provide a view into the inspiration for the design. The masses enjoy walking around most of those, including me, so why wouldn’t that work at Downtown Disney. And to be fair, it’s not that the new design doesn’t work. The issue is now a lack of thematic and design originality. I could drive 15 minutes from Downtown Disney and end up somewhere that looks quite similar.

Céntrico manages to escape some of that uniformity, largely because of the lack of facade. There’s greenery and weaved basket lamps hanging from the aforementioned pergola. A slew of succulents add another unique touch. While there’s no theme or overly original design, this is a nicely dressed up open air restaurant. If we’re going back to the outdoor mall comparison, this is as well as you can do a restaurant like that. Adding in some grade-A people watching and fresh air gives Céntrico a pleasant but unimaginative atmosphere. The issue is more of a Downtown Disney refresh one than it is for this specific restaurant.

Moving to the food, here’s a look at the menu. For whatever reason, the Disney website doesn’t include prices but the restaurant’s actual website does so I linked that one. I would also recommend getting a reservation through that website instead of trying though Disneyland. Céntrico is open for lunch and dinner, with the menu staying the same for both. Prices generally stay in the low $20’s for an entrée with a few exceptions. They also have a wide range of cocktails and drinks that aren’t listed.

Speaking of, I had a Margarita Classica that I enjoyed. The drink was a little heavier on the orange juice than most margaritas, not that I’m complaining about some extra OJ! This specific drink was one of the cheaper cocktails I’ve seen at Disneyland Resort coming in at $14. We also tried an Passionfruit Iced Tea that was delightfully refreshing.

We also ordered Chips & Salsa as an appetizer. When in Rome! The chips were lightly salted and on the thick side, giving them a nice crunch. The salsa had a good amount of spice too but was delicious with a smoky tomato flavor. Both were made fresh and an easy decision to get at just $6. Coming to Céntrico for chips and drinks would be a nice mid-afternoon break!

Moving to entrees, I ordered the Huarache de Asada. This consisted of a flat corn tortilla, carne asada, black beans, spinach, caramelized onion and goat cheese fondue. I found this to be a really interesting dish, loaded with asada and combining a few different flavors. The goat cheese fondue was delicious although very rich and filling by the end. As far as the meat goes, it wasn’t anything special by itself but fit in well. I wish there had been a little more spinach on this but found the whole thing very tasty, kind of an upscale take on nachos. At $22, I thought this was really unique and a dish that I’d recommend.

We also ordered the Fish Tacos consisting of fresh flour tortillas, mahi mahi, light tempura crisp, creamy coleslaw, and chipotle aioli. The taco dishes are also served with street corn, guacamole and salsa. These were also very good! Each taco came with a large piece of mahi that was slightly greasy in the tempura but not overly so. The coleslaw and tempura added some sweet and heat to the dish. I think I preferred the first option just barely but came away impressed by this $24 option. In addition, the street corn was fantastic!

The prices at Céntrico are fair and lean towards being a good value, at least relative to more theme park restaurants. If you can pay in the $20-$25 range per entrée at a sit down restaurant in Disneyland then you’ve found a good deal! The one downside to the prices is that the counter-service restaurant right next door has very similar options, made from the same kitchen at $5 to $10 less. Still, the experience is more pleasant here.

Despite my hesitations with the uniform design in Downtown Disney, Céntrico ends up being a very solid addition to Disneyland Resort’s dining lineup. It’s the best Downtown Disney meal I’ve had in a long time, which is honestly more of a knock on the other options than it is a compliment. Even so, the food here was good with fair prices and the atmosphere was relaxing. It’s good to see the makeover of this area get off on the right foot!

Overall Rating – 8.5/10

Have you tried Céntrico? Let us know your thoughts, along with any questions you have, in the comments below! Planning a trip to Disneyland? Check out our Planning Guide here. Looking for discount tickets? Check out this site! If you enjoy what you are reading here on Wandering in Disney please share this post with your friends, as well as like our social media pages. You can also subscribe to the blog via WordPress or email. All of those links are on the right side of this page. Thank you for reading, we really appreciate it!