REVIEW! NEW Craftsman Bar at Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel in Disneyland Resort
There is a new poolside bar known as the Craftsman Bar & Grill at Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa.
Craftsman Bar
We shared our first look at the new pool bar a few days ago. But, today we had the opportunity to check out the new Craftsman Bar location during a soft opening, and we couldn’t wait to share it with you!
So, put your swim trunks on and let’s dive in together!
Craftsman Bar Eats
Atmosphere
The Craftsman Bar was designed to incorporate a custom mural and natural boulder stonework, and trellis work for shade.
Craftsman Bar
There is an obvious nod to Craftsman-style architecture, as befits the Grand Californian Hotel. The area reminds us of the Geyser Point pool bar located at Disney World’s Wilderness Lodge, which we really love!
Craftsman Bar
The bar is filled with large wooden tables, and the padded chairs are nice and comfortable.
Craftsman Bar
Lots of Craftsman-style lanterns hang from the ceiling, which creates a lovely setting in the evening. There are multiple options when it comes to seating as the location has tables, bars, and couches.
Craftsman Bar Lighting
Craftsman Bar
Each has a comfortable cushioned seat option. The area feels very nice and laid back. And it’s a nice place to kick back with a glorious view of the pool.
Craftsman Bar
Eats
This menu includes Appetizers, Artisanal Pizzas, Kids’ Meals, and Desserts.
Craftsman Bar
Craftsman Bar Menu
Let’s kick things off with a few appetizers.
The Double-Baked Beef Nachos ($21) are a great size and would be a great meal option if you’re not too famished. These are made with tortilla chips, melted cheese, bacon lardons, black beans, scallions, silvered jalapeño pepper, cilantro, queso fresco, guacamole, and crema. There was nothing too spectacular about these. We just felt like they were standard nachos that you could get at most dining locations, though they’re lovely to look at.
Double Baked Beef Nachos
The Cali Sliders ($21) appetizer comes with three baby burgers. These are an American wagyu patty, tomato, spicy swiss cheese, artichoke aioli. Though these WERE super juicy and delicious and they had a good balance of flavors between the meat and spicy cheese sauce, we didn’t feel like they were worth the high price.
Cali Sliders
SO good…but maybe not worth the outlay of cash. You be the judge!
Cali Sliders
Main Lobster Quesadillas ($23) are flour tortillas with Monterey Jack cheese, bits of lobster, queso fresco, caramelized onions, with spicy mayo on top. These were such a great flavor combination and the lobster pieces were very fresh. We really liked this option best of the three appetizers we tried! We’re giving them a 12/10 AMAZING!!
Maine Lobster Quesadilla
Now it’s PIZZA TIME as we sink our teeth into some Artisanal Pizzas!
The Charcuterie Pizza ($26) is topped with pepperoni, prosciutto, salami, sausage, arugula, tomatoes, and aged provolone. Honestly, this is a meat-lovers dream as it was seriously COVERED meat. Though we loved the pizza, we felt that $26 was a bit pricy for the portion size.
Craftsman Bar Charcuterie Pizza
We also tried the Classic Pepperoni Pizza ($25). It’s topped with pepperoni, Grana Padano (comparable to parmesan), and aged provolone. Though we enjoyed the pizza…it’s pretty basic. The sauce was super light, which we really enjoyed!
Craftsman Bar Pepperoni Pizza
Now let’s explore a few of the dessert options!
Craftsman Bar Dessert
Get your stretchy pants on as we dive into the Waffle-Churro Sundae ($12). This is made with vanilla ice cream, chocolate sauce, caramel sauce, chantilly cream, and chocolate pearls. Sadly the churros were a bit hard and we weren’t too fond of the waffles. But, we did really enjoy the vanilla ice cream and the caramel sauce. But how could you not, right??
Churro and Waffle Sundae
The Salted Chocolate Chip Cookie Fingers ($11) are served with strawberry marmalade and hazelnut dip. We LOVED the hazelnut sauce!! But…the cookie fingers were a little too sweet and HARD for our liking. Fun idea, but could have been more innovative I think.
Chocolate Chip Cookie Fingers
We also explored a few of the pool bar’s drink options.
Craftsman Bar Drink Menu
When looking at the menu, it seems like there are quite a few options unique to this location.
Craftsman Bar Drink Menu
There were a few that even had Craftsman as part of their name.
Craftsman Drink Menu
Craftsman Drink Menu
We just had to try the Banana Daiquiri ($14). It’s made with Flor de Cana extra seco 4-year aged rum, Giffard banana Du Bresil liqueur, and lime juice.
Craftsman Bar Banana Daiquiri and Passion Fruit Mojito Menu
Sadly, we couldn’t taste too much banana and we weren’t super blown away when it came to flavor.
Craftsman Bar Banana Daiquiri
The Passion Fruit Mojito ($14.5) is made with flor de Cana extra seco 4 year aged rum, creme de fruits de la passion liqueur, passion fruit syrup, lime, juice, and club soda! We REALLY recommend this drink option as the flavors were super yummy and everything went together very well.
Passion Fruit Mojito on left
Overall
We’ve been super excited for this new outdoor option to open, and we weren’t disappointed…well not TOO much anyway.
This is a TOTAL nosh if you’re in the mood to kick back and relax with a good drink or light bite. The menu does have a great range of options and we really did enjoy most of what we ate. If you’re looking for a full-blown meal, though the portion sizes are decent, this is definitely more of a “lounge by the pool and share with your friends or family” kind of situation.
The main drawback here were the desserts and the prices. Food quality for apps and pizzas was quite good, but those desserts could have been amazing and just…weren’t.
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