California Adventure’s 2025 Food & Wine Festival kicked off on February 28th and runs until March 21st. With it comes entertainment, Soarin’ Over California and loads of specialty food and drink items. In this post, I’ll rank all of the items I’ve tried and will continue to update the post throughout the month as I eat more and more, all in the name of research!

As a whole, I’ve been underwhelmed by California Adventure’s Food & Wine Festival lately. Over the last 2 years there have been entertainment cuts and the booths don’t offer as much food as they used to. I thought the festival was a great success in 2022, maybe even 2023, but since then it has taken a step back. That said, it’s still fun to experience particularly if you go on a less crowded day.

All of the items I’ve tried and listed below are eligible as part of the Sip & Savor Pass. Guests pay a flat rate ($63 or $58 with a Magic Key or Cast Member discount) for a pass that will have 8 dishes included. Those 8 can be used on Festival Marketplaces and restaurant specialty dishes as well as non-alcoholic beverages. Guests can also buy a pass with 4 items on it. We recommend using the Sip & Savor on savory food items, as the drinks and desserts aren’t as good of a value.

The pass went up by 2 dollars this year, which is par for the course. Food prices have gone up so there’s still plenty of value by getting a pass and then using it throughout the festival season. Even if you only use 1 or 2 digital tabs on the first day, you can use the rest up until April 21st when the festival ends.

That leads me to the bigger question on if the food is worth trying. There are several good, or even great dishes, but the prices are fairly high if paying for each one individually. I think two items would be enough for a meal and usually those totals would be around $16. That may be a little high for a light lunch or dinner but the quality is there for some dishes. As for what dishes are worth it, let’s get to the rankings!

20. Corn Chip Chili Pie (Peppers Cali-Ente)

Usually I’m a fan of a good Frito Chili Pie but this just wasn’t very good. The dish included seasoned IMPOSSIBLE Beef, spicy cheese sauce, tomatoes, sliced jalapeños, and cream. The proportions were not right, the spicy cheese sauce was disappointing and after a few bites it turned into a disappointing glob. Maybe I got a bad batch, but this was easily my last place pick for now.

19. Sloppy Joe Slider (California Craft Brews)

This sloppy joe, featuring IMPOSSIBLE beef with (liquid) cheese, was just not my thing. I didn’t like the taste of the beef very much and mixing it with the runny cheese made for a tough combo for me. That said, Melissa liked it pretty well and that’s enough reason for me to not put it in last place.

18. Mini LA Street Dog (LA Style)

A good idea that just didn’t come together here. Most of the fault is in the wiener, as it tasted like a lil smokey that was not of the best quality. All of the toppings, which included  jalapeño mayo, pepper and onion relish, Nueske’s Applewood Smoked Bacon, and crispy onions, were good but it felt like they were hiding the main ingredient rather than augmenting it.

17. Lime Parfait (Paradise Garden Grill)

This dessert included layers of graham cracker crust, lime cream cheese mousse, and lime-orange gelée topped with chantilly. It was essentially a deconstructed Key Lime Pie. But the different components didn’t really come together for me. I would have liked this more if the graham cracker crust had been baked instead of just pieces at the bottom of the cup. This wasn’t bad but was worse as a whole than each individual component.

16. Western BBQ Burger Bao (LA Style)

A burger bao is back at Food & Wine but this version is worse than the previous cheeseburger bao. Changing out the burger sauce last year for the sweet barbecue sauce this year was a big downgrade, at least to my tastebuds. The toppings sweet barbecue sauce, Nueske’s Applewood Smoked Bacon, and crispy onions are okay and the filling is decent but I wasn’t overly impressed. Lots of thick bacon though!

15. Café de Olla Tres Leches Cake (Mercado de Antojos)

Look, I love Tres Leches! That means I loved this and ate every bit of it. But relative to all other Tres Leches I’ve tried, this was probably the worst. The cake was still moist and delicious but the topping was too reliant on a whipped cream that didn’t blow me away. If you’re looking for an introduction into the Mexican cake then this will be a decent start but just know you could find much better within a couple miles of Disneyland. By the way, this is very cute!

14. California Punch (California Craft Brews)

A solid but overly sweet, fruity drink. This punch includes Mango purée, guava nectar, cucumber syrup and lemon juice, garnished with a mango chile lollipop. The mango and guava were the main takeaways, as any trace of cucumber and spicy lollipop were a pleasant surprise. With more of those tastes, this would rank higher. Instead, this is just a nice juice to give you a good sugar rush.

13. Musubi Fried Rice (Golden Dreams)

I really wanted this to be better! Not that the steamed rice with egg, glazed spiced ham, umami mayo, and furikake was bad. It just tasted a little bland, especially on bites without the ham. That said, the ham was fantastic and the umami mayo gave it a nice kick.

12. Al Pastor Taco (Paradise Garden Grill)

The taco is served with Pineapple-achiote-marinated pork with avocado spread and tomatillo salsa. It’s an excellent taco, with the marinated pork very juicy. This is one of the spicier dishes at the festival but would rank even higher if not for this being a significantly worse value than most Sip & Savor options. Still, this is one of the tastier options at the festival.

11. Salsa Verde Chicharrón Tacos (Studio Catering Co.)

The other taco entry on the list was a more interesting experiment. Consisting of Pork belly chicharrón tossed in warm salsa verde and topped with salsa macha and pickled onions, the meaty crunch of the chicharrón was a nice contrast to the rest of the ingredients. As for taste, DCA’s salsa verde isn’t my favorite but the ingredients went together pretty well. Note: we received 2 tacos but generally the Sip & Savor comes with 1, they just had a mess up on the order and we got lucky!

10. Huckleberry Citrus Cooler (Garlic Kissed)

This was a refreshing drink that wasn’t overly sweet. I tasted more citrus than huckleberry but the flavors balanced pretty well. One of the many other ingredients being a little more forthright would have been a nice touch, whether it’s a splash of Sprite or mixing it with tea. Even without, this was a nice drink for a hot day.

9. Shrimp Papas Locas (Peppers Cali-Ente)

We’re moving into dishes that I enjoyed quite a bit. This dish consisted of cheddar-bacon potatoes with jalapeño cheese sauce and chipotle shrimp. I thought the shrimp were good and a nice proportion relative to most festival dishes. The potatoes were also quite tasty. The big problem is that there was a little too much going on here and I’m not sure all of the flavors worked together. Nevertheless, I’d eat this again.

8. Chicken Taquito Ahogado (Paradise Garden Grill)

Portions of this dish were some of the best bites I’ve had at the festival. The taquito itself was one of those bites, served with Spanish rice, avocado crema, sour cream, pickled onion, cotija, and cilantro. This was fried perfectly, with a great crunch to it and I liked the filling. The downside was the plate (could have used a bowl) was a pool of salsa verde. That dominated the taste on certain bites, but when it didn’t I really loved this dish.

7. Cherry Cobbler Pot de Creme (Golden Dreams)

I really enjoyed this dessert but thought it could be even better. Don’t be thrown off by just reading Cherry Cobbler and then thinking it would come out hot! The Pot de Creme is featured heavily here and is tasty, albeit a slightly strange mix with the cobbler crumble topping. The cherries were a little overpowering compared to everything else but cherries are delicious so is it really a bad thing?

6. Asa’DOS (Cluck-A-Doodle-Moo)

The best value of the Sip & Savor options is this dish featuring grilled skirt steak and chipotle chicken with Spanish rice and salsa verde. I really enjoyed 2/3 of it – the chicken and rice. Those both came out of the mix with more flavor than other festival dishes and something I’d go back for. I don’t think as highly of the skirt steak, as ours was dry. Your mileage may vary there! But overall, we liked the flavors offered here.

5. Lemon Pepper Wings (Garlic Kissed)

The surprise hit of the festival were these lemon pepper wings served with a ranch dip. The flavors aren’t different from what you’d expect, the seasoning on the wings is lemon pepper and that’s what you taste. But the lemon pepper works really well on them and the meat on the wings was plentiful, at least the ones we were served. As long as you like lemon pepper then this will be a crowd pleaser.

4. Burrata Toast (Aunt Cass Cafe)

This dish includes toasted sourdough, onion jam, burrata, tomatoes, arugula, and balsamic glaze. It has a freshness that you likely won’t find anywhere else at the festival and is well worth getting. The burrata mixed with jam, tomatoes and balsamic glaze makes this very flavorful. The burrata itself was delicious but not overpowering. All of the components really worked together well.

3. Sirloin Gruyére Mac & Cheese (Garlic Kissed)

The base of the Sirloin Gruyere dish changed this year from mashed potatoes to mac & cheese. I’d prefer it the previous way but this is still really good and a candidate for the top spot. The dish is topped with black garlic chimichurri and garlic butter crunch. Both of those elevate the mac & cheese and add some texture. The only reason this doesn’t finish in the top spot is that the sirloin can get overcooked often, because it sits under a heat lamp. But if you get the timing right then this is the best dish at the festival.

2. Birria Mac & Cheese (Mercado de Antojos)

Am I exiled from a life of Disney blogging about anything food related if I admit that I don’t love mac & cheese at this stage in my life? I won’t confirm or deny it, just in case. But what I will say is that this ranking so highly speaks to me really enjoying the mix of flavors here. I’m a sucker for anything birria related and the onion-cilantro sauce adds a nice dimension to the dish. The biggest downside here is that I’m not sure this is any better than DCA’s regular birria offerings but you can get those when the festival isn’t going on!

1. Snickers Macaron (Uncork California)

I don’t often end up with desserts this high in my rankings but this is absolutely delicious. There’s no real secret or surprising factor to it, this tastes like a Snickers was put into a macaron and the mix of flavors is delightful, as is the wonderfully baked texture. It’s not a surprise that this is one of the most popular dishes at the festival and ends up as our early number 1 in 2025 even after facing new competition.

What are your favorite items at the California Adventure Food & Wine Festival? Let us know, along with any questions you have, in the comments below! Planning a trip to Disneyland Resort? Check out our Disneyland Trip Planning Guide to help you out. This site will have you covered for discount tickets. If you enjoy what you are reading here on Wandering in Disney please share this post with your friends and 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!