Cafe Orleans — Restaurant in Anaheim

Before I speak about my review, this is the second time I’ve eaten here. The first I would consider a 5 star review. Unfortunately, due to some Disney cast members that do not practice the Disneyland culture, my experience was not happy, magical or nice. Instead it was horrible. I ordered the Steak Frites like I did the previous time. When my meal came - the flavor was spot on- but lukewarm warm. I told my waitress when she finally came to check on us. She said it would take time to get a new one, but she would have the kitchen remake another one if I wanted. I thanked her and said yes please. After 7 minutes, my meal was brought out by two ladies. I was so grateful- I thanked them and was ready to start eating, only to take a bite to find out it was colder. What????? The béarnaise sauce was ice cold. The steak inside was at most the same temperature as my wrist. Meanwhile the rest of my family were more than halfway through their food. About a minute later, my waitress comes back and asked me if it the food was hotter? I told her that, unfortunately it was actually colder this time. She apologized and went to go get who she called the lead. So out come the same two ladies that brought out my second made steak. This is where Disneyland failed me. Having a cast member like LEXIE put in a position to speak to a guest regarding the dish not being satisfactory. She walked over already having an attitude. She asked me what my issue was. I told her the steak was actually colder than the first one. She then tells me that the sauce is cold because they keep the sauce in a cold container and my steak is not hot because Children sometimes eat the steak and they don’t wanna burn the children’s mouth! WTH????????????? are you serious? What mumbo-jumbo excuse is that. The restaurant actually does have a steak on the menu for children, but it’s $14. I ordered the $32 one for adults. And as a matter of fact, I was complaining that I had a cold steak, so why would they cook my steak to a temperature so they don’t burn a child? That is so absurd to be told that! She then told me that that is the way they cook the steak and that’s how they always serve it. I’m sorry, but the first time I had the steak it was made hot and delicious the way all restaurants are trained to cook a steak. She just stared at me afterwards making me decide if I wanted to eat it that way or not. I said I didn’t want it then. With a perky condescending OK, she grabbed my steak off the table and away she left. Never asking me if I wanted a different Item off the menu or anything. After 10 minutes of waiting, I wanted to cry. As I was walking to the restroom, I asked a woman if I could speak to the manager, she then pointed to the person I was supposed to speak to, which was again, LEXIE. I told her it was a horrible experience and that I did not eat because I was not offered a different option. So she looks at me and then says well do you wanna order something else? I told her that my family was already done with their meal and it would’ve been nice if she would’ve come over 10 minutes earlier. I also told her that if the girl that was following her around was a trainee she was the wrong person to train her. She got offended, and told me that she was not going to listen to me tell her that and for me to go and sit back at my table!!! WTF???This is not the Disney culture, and Lexie is not trained well enough to know how to deal with the situation with an unhappy customer. I have never been told and railroaded like this in Disneyland. She is the worst cast member I’ve run into thus far. She does not belong in the restaurant business, and she does not belong at Disneyland. She does not practice giving a quality guest experience- or have the skills a leader needs to make a guest feel heard when and if there is a problem. I’m in the customer service business, and I would never, ever speak to a customer like that, let alone speak to a customer that was unhappy that they have not eaten yet. No empathy, and no accountability. LEXIE...

We are writing to share our recent experience at Café Orleans at approximately 5:30pm on September 10, 2025. We hope this feedback is received in the constructive spirit intended, as we truly value the exceptional standards of hospitality Disney is known for. Our Experience: • We had a confirmed reservation and arrived on time. After being seated indoors, we noticed that several patio tables were available and politely asked if we might move outside. • The hostess checked with Nicolette, who denied our request, stating the tables were reserved. We accepted this initially, but moments later saw two walk-in guests without a reservation seated outside on the patio. • We politely asked again, pointing out the inconsistency and once more were denied. When we asked to speak with Nicolette directly, she arrived at our table, appearing angry and with a chip on her shoulder. Rather than addressing our request with courtesy, she spoke to us with visible annoyance, resentment and an unfriendly demeanor. She continued to insist that we could not move to a “reserved” patio table and refused to acknowledge the inconsistency of applying that rule to us while seating other guests without reservations on the patio. Ultimately, she reluctantly moved us only to a less desirable patio table directly beside our original one, despite several other open tables being available. • Nearly immediately after we sat down outside, Nicolette returned and told us the restaurant “did not have to serve us.” Without giving us the opportunity to respond, she denied us service and asked us to leave, despite the fact that we had been nothing but polite and respectful. Shocked by her inhospitable attitude, we requested a chance to speak with a manager. • When the manager, Andrew, arrived after a noticeable delay, he did not attempt to resolve the matter. Instead, he told us that multiple cast members had reported us as being “difficult.” This was not only untrue, but impossible. Our interactions had been limited and independent, first with the hostess, then separately with Nicolette, and no other cast members were present or within earshot during any of these conversations. At no point did we raise our voices, act rudely, or behave in a disrespectful manner. Andrew’s statement felt like a fabrication designed to justify his and Nicolette’s behavior rather than an accurate reflection of what occurred. • Andrew ended our dining experience immediately, without apology or any effort at service recovery. Our Concerns: • Nicolette and Andrew’s behavior was extremely unprofessional, totally uncalled for and wholly inconsistent with the courtesy and guest service standards Disney is known for. • We felt our request was simple and could have been easily accommodated. Instead, it was met with hostility, dishonesty, and dismissal. • As former annual passholders with dozens and dozens of visits to Disneyland, we have never encountered treatment like this before. It left us shocked, saddened, and disheartened. Broader Context: After our visit, we noticed that several 1-star reviews on Yelp and Google describe similar concerns with service and management at Café Orleans. While we understand that no restaurant is perfect, our experience aligned with those reviews, suggesting this may not be an isolated incident but part of a broader operational challenge. Opportunity for Improvement: We believe this situation could have been resolved with empathy and flexibility. A simple, genuine effort to accommodate our request, or at least a courteous and consistent explanation, would have preserved the magic of the evening. Instead, we left feeling unwelcome and singled out, which is not an experience we expected at Disneyland. We are sharing this feedback because we want Café Orleans to succeed and to reflect the high standards of warmth and guest care that define the...

For nearly our whole time in Disneyland, from the dining to the staff interaction throughout the park, Disney has been a dream come true and the people have been wonderful. The dining experience at Cafe Orleans is the one exception, thanks mostly to Mademoiselle Melissa C and the overall experience at this spot.

It started with an initial hiccup during our reservation check-in. So the 1-2 hour wait is no problem. However, when we received our notification on the app as we were told and immediately headed to the restaurant, we were told our table was given away and the app must've had connection issues. Fine, they added us back to the list for another 45 wait.

Finally our time came, only to be told to wait another 5 minutes with another couple. Now, these fine looking folks got their choice of sitting inside or the patio, while we were told we're going to the patio without even a hello. Sure, okay. As I peeked inside, perhaps it was fitting everyone in there did not look like either of us. Classy.

Anyway, the patio was loud, but cute and we've heard great things about the food. Well, immediately the vibe seemed weird when the server came to greet us and she was really abrupt in her tone and a bit snappy. She was also giving me such a look.

I ordered the Battered & Fried Monte Cristo and my partner got the Shrimp Pasta.

She check on us near the end of the meal. Fine, time for us to order dessert. We also asked for more water. A weird thing happened here: she snapped, "I can't hear you" and now I knew I wasn't imagining her scornful look. Then she seemed to catch herself and say that it was loud here. No sorry,, but fine.

For food, the Shrimp Pasta was pretty solid, if a bit generic. The Monte Cristo was fine. The batter tasted like funnel cake and there was too much. Was dry. Needed more meat and melted cheese. The winner was the Hallow Creme Brulee, which was a Halloween themed pistachio creme brulee.

She came back 10 minutes later to refill our water and forcefully poured the water into the glass, letting water splash out and two cubes of ice to jump out and hit my chest and arm. I'm like, "Oh? Okay" and she doesn't even apologize, already turning her attention to my partner before quickly leaving. That's when my SO looks at me and exclaims, that was pretty rude! Yikes

Then we wait another 10 minute and she comes back, asking if we're ready for our check. Except she has our check and I say "sure", but she manages to glance at the bill as she's putting it down and realize she already input our order for dessert. She goes, "Oh, let me get this for you" and disappears before we can get another word out. Okay, 5-10 minutes later and someone who looks happier gives us our creme brulee, which was absolutely amazing!

But really, what a poor and terrible dining experience at Cafe Orleans. I usually tip generously being from NYC, but I only gave a sad15%... which thinking now, seems way too high for how I was was treated, in addition to the lack of service we received. I don't know what happened here, but the staff here needs to step up to the standards of the rest of the park. Maybe some diversity training too. And Melissa C...