Lamplight Lounge is a full service dining restaurant and bar located in Pixar Pier at California Adventure. The restaurant opened in 2018 with the retheming of Paradise Pier into Pixar Pier. Lamplight Lounge replaced the Disney princess dining experience, Ariel’s Grotto. It also replaced our favorite restaurant and bar on property, Cove Bar (Ariel’s Grotto and Cove Car shared the same building).
We first visited Lamplight in 2018 shortly after it opened. We absolutely enjoyed it and rank it as one of the best restaurants in California Adventure and the Disneyland Resort. We were huge fans of Cove Bar and Lamplight has so far excelled as Cove Bar’s successor.
For good reason, Lamplight Lounge instantly became one of the most popular bars and restaurants at the Disneyland Resort. We agree with its popularity and try to make a stop each time we visit California Adventure (along with Trader Sam’s). The following review will analyze its theming, drinks and food.
Theming
Lamplight Lounge is themed to mirror everything Pixar. With its location in Pixar Pier, the theming makes sense. The lamplight in Lamplight Lounge reflects the symbol of Pixar, Luxo. Luxo is the lamp we see at the beginning of every Pixar move with the Pixar logo. He was also the start of the comedy short, Luxo Jr. Luxo can be found at the entrance of Pixar Pier, directly adjacent to the restaurant.
Inside Lamplight Lounge, the Pixar theming continues. The upstairs lobby references some of Pixar’s movies around the host stand. The inside also showcases its industrial, hipster type theme that is common in Southern California. And by this, I mean exposed brick and steel rods. It’s obvious once you see it.
With the industrial theme in the background, Pixar references in the foreground and a classic seaside amusement park theme on the outside, Lamplight is a mixture of three different themes. Despite this mix, Lamplight does an excellent job of focusing your eyes on the Pixar references. Once you’re inside, Pixar is the theme and the rest kind of blend in. Not Disney’s greatest theming (that’s Trader Sam’s) but it works.
From the lobby, most of the Pixar theming is downstairs. The downstairs area is the main dining room. Before the retheming, the downstairs area used to house Ariel’s Grotto. I’ll circle back to the upstairs seating area later. Additionally, the downstairs area is the full dining restaurant where reservations are accepted.
The downstairs lobby includes sculptures of famous characters from some of the movies. T-shirts line the walls with cartoony images from the movies(not available for purchase). On the way to the restrooms, quotes from various characters in colorful texts can be found.
The downstairs lobby is where you wait for your server to find you. From here, they escort you to your table. If they seat you inside, the Pixar theming continues on the walls with sections dedicated to individual movies, like Inside Out or Wallie. If they seat you outside, your view will be of California Adventure and Pixar Pier.
For those especially lucky, there is a secret room in the back of the restaurant. The secret room has a trick door in the employee locker area. Once you figure out how to pass this door, you enter a secluded room.
The room can seat about 15 people and includes drawings from actual Pixar artists along the walls. It also includes board games and a private balcony on the water, right next to the Incredicoaster.
The room is pretty cool and I got to experience it one day. We had a party of 13 with no reservation. We asked the hostess for a table and within five minutes, our table was ready. The host brought us to the room and told us the room is given out randomly, with a two hour limit.
It was a pretty cool experience as we were cut off from the rest of the restaurant and had our own patio right on the water where the Incredicoaster launches. Definitely one of the coolest things I’ve done at California Adventure.
Drinks
As a bar and restaurant, Lamplight has a full bar and a list of specialty cocktails. My favorite is the Sunrise Spectacular. This drink is bourbon based with topical juices, agave nector and bitters. It’s on point.
The specialty cocktail list is great and designed for any taste. Other fan favorites include the The Sequel and The Last Word. Stella and I are still working our way through the list and so far, we’ve enjoyed every single one.
The bar also serves beer and wine but that’s no fun. It has a full bar (unlike Oga’s) and they can make whatever you desire. Feeling shots of tequila on a Tuesday morning? Let’s do it. Why not?
Food
Lamplight has a great menu for food. They split the menu between upstairs and downstairs, but each one offers a great selection of food (I’ll explain the difference in a bit). Downstairs, the menu includes full meals, like a cheddar burger and appetizers, like carne asada rolls and deviled eggs and toast. For those fans of Cove Bar, the famed lobster nachos still exist and can be ordered upstairs or downstairs. Upstairs exclusives include kobe beef sliders and egg rolls.
Other items for both areas include potato skins, crispy piggy wings and tuna poke. The meal options downstairs include salmon PLT, chicken sandwich and ratatouille. As expected with a restaurant themed to Pixar, the ratatouille is especially popular.
The menu offers one dessert option, warm fluffy donuts with dipping sauce. We tried them once and found them to be just okay. At $9.00, we recommend buying beignets in New Orleans Square instead.
Either way, you can’t go wrong wherever you sit. We personally almost always sit downstairs since we plan ahead for reservations. We hate waiting in line for a potential table. Instead, we enjoy pulling out the app and selecting a table so we don’t waste our time in line.
Upstairs Vs Downstairs
Lamplight Lounge is unique in that there is a difference between its upstairs seating area and its downstairs seating area. I’ve mentioned it throughout the review and I feel it’s important to explain the difference.
First, you can reserve a table downstairs with a reservation via the official Disneyland app. We prefer reserving tables and usually end up sitting downstairs. Upstairs is first come first serve and reflects the seating options of the former Cove Bar.
However, if you don’t have a reservation, we’ve found it easy to score a table downstairs. We just show up to the host stand and ask to be seated downstairs. We’ve never waited longer than 15 minutes for a table. If you can, try to sit downstairs as more of the theming is downstairs plus better menu options.
Here is a breakdown of the menu options between downstairs and upstairs:
Downstairs
- Deviled Eggs and Toast
- Crispy Piggy Wings
- Tuna Poke
- Lobster Nachos
- Carne Asada Roll
- Potato Skins
- Crab and Tuna Roll
- Spinach Salad
- Chicken Sandwich
- Ratatouille
- Salmon PLT
- Grilled Chicken Salad
- Cheddar Burger
- Donuts
Upstairs
- Pork Belly Egg Rolls
- Crispy Piggy Wings
- Tuna Poke
- Lobster Nachos
- Kobe Beer Sliders
- Potato Skins
- Spotlight Nachos: Barbacoa
- Deviled Eggs and Toast
- Crispy Piggy Wings
- Tuna Poke
- Lobster Nachos
- Carne Asada Roll
- Potato Skins
- Crab and Tuna Roll
- Spinach Salad
- Chicken Sandwich
- Ratatouille
- Salmon PLT
- Grilled Chicken Salad
- Cheddar Burger
- Donuts
- Pork Belly Egg Rolls
- Crispy Piggy Wings
- Tuna Poke
- Lobster Nachos
- Kobe Beer Sliders
- Potato Skins
- Spotlight Nachos: Barbacoa
The following draft beers are only available downstairs:
- Pizza Port
- 4 Sons Land of Hopportunity Blood Orange
- 2 Towns Outcrier
- Stereo Summer Sun
- Karl Strauss
- Seasonal Featured Selection
As evident from the list, the downstairs area includes more food and drink options. Again, try to make a reservation 60 days in advance or ask the host stand for a table. The upstairs area is fun, like the old Cove Bar, but downstairs includes full theming, dining and drinking.
Conclusion
Lamplight Lounge is our go to spot for lunch at California Adventure. In the old days, Cove Bar was our go to spot, but we like its successor, Lamplight Lounge, much better. Lamplight includes more food and drink items, plus its Pixar theme.
So far, every drink and food item has been great and the service has been top notch. If you plan to dine at California Adventure for lunch (or dinner), you can’t go wrong with Lamplight Lounge. Just remember to book a reservation 60 days in advance.
Thoughts?
Thank you for reading our review of Lamplight Lounge at California Adventure! We hope this review helped answer your questions about the restaurant. Please our read our One-Day California Adventure Itinerary HERE and our One-Day Disneyland Itinerary HERE for the best tips and tricks navigating Walt Disney’s original Magic Kingdom!
Have you been to Lamplight? What did you think? Do you think it’s better than Trader Sam’s? Do you miss Cove Bar? Let us know in the comments below!
