California Adventure Food and Wine Festival

Let's take a look at everything we ate and drank at the California Adventure Food and Wine Festival. 

This is our fourth year testing out all the treats the festival has to offer. We fully studied any media advanced reviews, look for images and suggestions from other writers and influencers to pick the top items to taste. This year we were surprised to find that we only needed one tasting card between the two of us. Since all the alcoholic beverages are separate we purchased the 8 tasting card for the Key Holders. The pass came with a plate and lanyard but the plate was basically just something we carried around for no real purpose.

After looking at the reviews online we found the items below to the most impressive or had the most mixed reviews. We absolutely avoided the biggest loser of the festival the notorious Mole Taco. 

Peppers Cali-ente - Marketplace 1

This was our favorite location this year and we ordered three items!

Tajin Habenero Seasoned Wings 

This dish featured a Tajin chile-lime seasoning and was covered in a BBQ Sauce. I tend to stay away from sticky wings but we read some good things and took a chance. The dish came with two drum sticks and one wing. This was a large portion - keep in mind we share every plate and we always feel like it's more than enough for a good sampling of items. We thought the wings were done well. There are alway inconsistencies in tenderness between each piece in the serving. The heat was not too spicy. As a SoCal native I’d say it’s mild but it might be pushing medium heat for others. Overall, I’d get this again and like having a good protein option.

Ramen Mac & Cheese 

This dish has been highly marked at this year’s California Adventure Food and Wine Festival. The macaroni was done well, not over cooked, the cheese was more of a velvety texture. What really took the center stage here was the chili ramen sauce. At first the red color scared me away - thought I was about to burn my mouth or ruin my dish by pouring the sauce over the macaroni but honestly it was the best part! The sauce had ramen bits in the bottom so I fished out out pieces to top each bite and it was a great addition. Overall, this was one of my favorite tastings and would absolutely get this again.

Pickle Whiskey Sour Cocktail

This cocktail is always a contender so we decided to give one a try. We immediately found we needed to stir every cocktail as they prepared them in advance and the ice melting settles on top of the drink and makes your first sip taste like water. I always prefer a straw in my Disney cocktails and drink directly from the middle of the drink. This cocktail had a nice pickle flavor - not too over whileming and they had a descent whiskey. Overall, this was one of our top cocktails and something that held up from last year’s California Adventure Food and Wine Festival. 

Golden Dreams - Marketplace 2

Last year we tried the Musubi fried Rice at this location and found it disappointing and as they did not seem to change it, we did not try it again. The dish does not use SPAM which is very confusing - as a huge Musubi fan I was excited for my SPAM fix but found it was a glazed ham used instead.

Watermelon Cucumber Mojito

This was a great find on the extremely hot day we visited Disneyland. Again, we gave it a good stir. This refreshing drink delivered the spa like vibe it was selling and I was there for it. The candy was hard to fish out of the drink but a nice little treat at the end. I am not the biggest Tajin fan but this was done right, it had a good balance for the refreshing drink. Overall, this was my favorite cocktail, and we went back a each had our own on our second day of exploring the California Adventure Food and Wine Festival. 

LA Style - Marketplace 3

We only grabbed one dish here, the flat breads aren’t always a hit for us so we went back for our favorite bite from last year.

Junior LA Street Dog

Last year at the California Adventure Food and Wine Festival this was our favorite tasting, so much so that we went back and each had our own. This year we were sad to find that the dish was cold, not well plated and just disappointing. With that said, if you put it back together and maybe timed it to get a fresh plate this could be a good dish. Overall, I would recommend trying this because it was amazing last year and it has all the same components to make it tasty again. 

Garlic Kissed - Marketplace 4

Not too many options here but this spot is consistent with the food offerings to say the least. The drinks left something to be desired.

Sirloin Gruyère Mac & Cheese

This dish is consistently a favorite of mine. I liked the Mac and cheese last year and loved the mashed potatoes the year before. This year it held up, some pieces of steak were inconsistent but that makes sense with them prepping so many plates ahead of time. The sauce was a little greasy, seemed to have separated while waiting for pick up. Overall, I would still rank this in the top of my bites this year. It’s filling and a great use of a tasting and good flavor.

Bourbon Peach Tea Lemonade Cocktail

I had high hopes for this drink as Disney has surprised me with some amazing bourbon drinks but I quickly lost hope. The peach tea overwhelmed this drink. My tasting partner likened it to Snapple, it was syrupy and not appetizing. I immediately lost interest in this drink. Overall, this was a hard pass for me, save yourself $20.

Cluck-A-Doodle Moo - Marketplace 8

Yes, we passed on the other markets and went right to 8, bad reviews coupled with in person visual inspections made us skip items like the Chicharron Nachos and the Torta Ahogada. 

Asa’DOS 

This was a good dish, they did well in preparing and seasoning the meat. My first bite was a little dry but it got better with time. Unfortunately, the tortilla was not treated with the respect it deserved :) it dried out in the line and it should have been placed last on the plate before serving. However, this was one of the heartiest dishes and one plate would be enough for one person for lunch. Overall, I think this was worthy of a tasting at the California Adventure Food and Wine Festival. 

Hot Honey White Sangria

This was a good choice, especially for a white wine fan. The drink was balanced, although I did not notice the “hot” part of the drink. The wine had the “just off the vine taste” so I’m thinking it was not the best quality but it was refreshing and was a nice option for those uninterested in a hard liquor cocktail. Overall, this was a good drink for the right person.

Items not in the market but part of the California Adventure Food and Wine Festival. 

PYM Test Kitchen - Gigabyte Grilled Cheese

Although this was a full size portion it was my favorite item in the festival. There was a little too much crusted parmesan for my personal taste but it was only on one side of the sandwich. This was served with tater tots which I was neutral on. Overall, this a great item to pick up especially if you don’t plan on getting the tasting passport.

Lucky Fortune Cookery - Bulgogi Bowl

This was on the tasing pass and it was a good option. The rice was a little inconsistent but the dish was done well. I appreciated that this spot opened prior to the rest of the marketplaces since, I was pretty hungry when we arrived and waiting until 11:30 was getting rough. Overall, this dish was filling and the meat was done well so I would get this again.

Cocina Cucamonga - Strawberry horchata

This non alcoholic drink was on the passport but we purchased the cocktail. However, it was a huge disappointment. I almost spit it out. It was chalky and un-mixed. We threw this away after just a couple sips. Overall, avoid this drink all together!

Final Thoughts

This year we felt like some items didn’t hold up and the new additions did not entice us as in years past. Not one sweet treat made it in our tasting - nothing seemed to be worth it.

I highly recommend sharing the tasting items - you get to try more things and they are generous with their portions. If you don’t get the pass I recommend picking up the ramen Mac and cheese and the Gigabyte grilled cheese. If you only get one drink get the Watermelon Cucumber Mojito. We still had one tasting left but we were so full we had to leave it behind.

Finally, when you purchase your passport, pre-order all your food and drinks. This will save you a ton of time! It’s an early summer here at Disneyland and you are not going to want to wait in that sun. Designate a trusted keeper of your receipt so you can pick up your items as you explore. Let us know how you liked your experience at the California Adventure Food and Wine Festival!!

Take a look at some of my content on my instagram featuring the California Adventure Food and Wine Festival.