Paseo is a table-service restaurant in Disneyland Resort’s Downtown Disney. Serving Mexican fare, the restaurant is run by Michelin-starred chef, Carlos Gaytán. Along with Paseo, the team also runs Centrico and Tiendita, both of which are connected to the restaurant. Paseo has higher prices and a more upscale setting than those other options, being one of the premier dining spots in the whole resort. The restaurant does offer a Magic Key discount. In this post, we’ll review Paseo’s atmosphere, cuisine and value.

Downtown Disney has undergone a major overhaul over the last few years. That has led to a better experience all around, especially when it comes to the dining scene. Centrico is a drastic improvement over the spot it replaced and Parkside Market offers a few quicker options, filling a void. Din Tai Fung was a new build in the entertainment district and adds another exceptional restaurant. The crown jewel of all of these changes though, at least so far, is Paseo.

Having a new restaurant break into the Mexican food scene in Southern California is no small task. The amount of quality taquerias and restaurants is mind boggling. For a while, that played a role in us not visiting Paseo. Why pay the high prices for Mexican food there when it’s readily available elsewhere? After a while, we heard some rave reviews (shoutout to the guys from Trammin’) and thought we’d splurge.

Paseo sits on the second floor of Downtown Disney, with both indoor and outdoor seating. The entrance to the restaurant is right next to Centrico and then guests go up a floor to be seated.

We ended up dining outside and had a nice view of the little circle around Paseo. If the weather is nice then eating out here is a good option. A few thematic elements stretch to the patio including the beautifully made lamps and some greenery. I liked the seating out there too, balancing chic and casual well.

The layout of the restaurant is long and skinny (not what they said about me once I was done eating here), which has guests walk through a few different rooms that are all open. The first thing you see once you’re upstairs is this beautiful bar. This spot is competing with Din Tai Fung when it comes to coolest aesthetic from a bar at Disneyland Resort. I love the plants and lamps hanging from the paneling and the lighting is perfect.

The room following the bar is a pretty traditional dining room but with a hint of being upscale. The pops of color mixed with the gray give this a modern, lively look. I like the different native accents placed throughout the room. It’s not an overbearing area by any means but also doesn’t feel overly simplistic, which, in my opinion, is a trap some fancier restaurants can fall in.

The back room features some different light fixtures but a similar aesthetic. There are bigger tables back here and it looks as if this portion of the restaurant would be great for events or larger parties. Throughout all of Paseo, there was great natural light thanks to all of the windows and doors. The seating is open and bright.

That back room also features a view into the kitchen, which is another nice touch. The atmosphere is great overall, not striving to be transportive but instead a classy experience without stuffiness. It’s romantic enough for a date night but is also family friendly.

Moving to the food, here’s a link to the dinner menu. The restaurant also serves brunch on the weekends. There’s an impressive assortment of small plates to go with the entrees offered here. Entree prices have a wide range, from as low as $28 to as high as $64. The majority of them are in the high 30 or low 40 dollar range.

I started the evening with the Ritual Margarita. After the drink arrived, I realized that this is also at the menu at Centrico, so I probably should have tried something else. For its part, the drink is really good! A guava syrup is added to the usual margarita ingredients, which makes this sweeter than your typical cocktail. I liked the flavor though and the presentation is beautiful, which will be a theme throughout everything we ordered from Paseo.

For an appetizer, we ordered the Queso Fundido which consisted of chorizo & gruyère cheese fondue, wild mushrooms, shallots, garlic, rosemary and toasted masa madre bread. The queso was fantastic, rich and cheesy but with room to let the other ingredients stand out. The chorizo and mushrooms were a highlight of the dish.

The toasted masa madre bread that came with the Queso Fundido was a great pairing. If there’s a minor complaint to be had it’s that there’s more queso than bread so you’re really going to need to load up when you dip it in there! But this a great appetizer to share, except you won’t want to share it. At $17, the price is a little steep but the quality was certainly there.

Above is the Roasted Rainbow Trout which included a corn husk wrap, roasted red pepper & almond pesto, baby zucchini, cherry tomatoes and baby corn. The dish was creative and delicious, with the juicy Rainbow Trout having a fresh and springy flavor. On top of the beautiful presentation, the added ingredients really augmented the fish. If you like seafood then you’ll like this. This came in at $44.

I really liked the Rainbow Trout but preferred Mama’s Conchita Pibil. This consisted of a guerrero-style pork shank, black bean pureé, pickled red onion, habanero salsa and corn tortillas. I was blown away by this entree. The pork fell off the bone and had a rich flavor to soak up the habanero salsa. I didn’t find the dish to be overly spicy, especially once the black bean pureé was added. This was among the best entrees I’ve had anywhere at Disneyland Resort.

The corn tortillas (served with the Conchita Pibil) were also fantastic. This dish was $39. Again, that’s pretty high but was worth every penny.

For whatever reason, the restaurant doesn’t add their dessert options to the online menus. From what I can tell they’ve stayed somewhat consistent in what they offer. I can assure you that there is dessert and that it’s fantastic!

This is the Pavlova – a classic Mexican meringue with guava sorbet and an horchata-orange foam. The looks alone are impressive.

Here’s a view of the inside. The sorbet was delicious and added a lightness to the dessert. I don’t always love meringue but found this one to be good, airy but with a nice crisp. I’d never tried a Pavlova before and was not at all disappointed by what we got. This is especially nice on a hot day.

We also tried the Arroz Con Leche consisting of rice pudding, toasted white chocolate, rice krispies, an horchata ice cream and a house-made cinnamon stick. I preferred this dessert while Melissa liked the Pavlova more, which fits into our preferences. The creamy rice pudding with the cinnamon was a delicious pair and had a great texture. I did think this became a little one-note after a while and could have used a fruit component to freshen it up. Even so, both desserts were excellent and came in around $15.

By the end of our meal at Paseo, we were blown away. There are a few excellent, upscale options at Disneyland Resort and Paseo jumps to nearly the top of that list. Between the complex flavors offered and the relaxed but upscale atmosphere, this is one of the best meals we’ve had in a while and we’re already looking forward to going back.

Overall Rating – 9.5/10

Have you been to Paseo? Let us know, along with any questions you have, in the comments below. If you are planning a trip to Disneyland Resort then check out our planning guide. Looking for discount Disneyland 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. You can do all of that on the right side of this page. Thank you for reading, we really appreciate it!