After all of our coverage of Cars Land, we’ve got another great gem in the heart of Disney California Adventure’s new Buena Vista Street! I’ve already been there a few times and I can tell you that the Fiddler, Fifer & Practical Cafe is a great stop for a quick bite to eat.
Fiddler, Fifer & Practical Cafe
This, by the way, is also where you’ll find the very first Starbucks to be located inside of a Disney theme park.
I love that the signage for Starbucks is discreet.
Atmosphere
Fiddler, Fifer & Practical Cafe is a counter service restaurant themed with The Silver Lake Sisters in mind. Who are the Silver Lake Sisters you ask? The story here is that they were a trio of singers with a love for coffee & performing.
Wanting to show off their tour memorabilia and provide customers with a good cup o’ Joe, Dottie, Dolly & Ethel opened Fiddler, Fifer, & Practical and are said to be Walt’s inspiration for The Three Little Pigs! Come on in…
Main Entrance
Silver Lake Sisters
Silver Lake Sisters Map of So Cal Coffee Hot Spots
So, walk right up, place your order, and find a nice place to sit.
Walk Up Counter for Ordering
Menu Board
Interestingly, Starbucks has its own menu board.
Starbucks Menu Board
Fiddler Fifer & Practical has lots of indoor seating: booths, tables & even a counter.
Wide Open Seating
Counter Seating
I love the openness of the dining room; the booths and tables are very roomy and spread out making it comfortable to eat in peace — i.e. not having to move so someone can squeeze by to get to the table next to you
Roomy Tables
The booth backs are so high here that there’s no way to have a “visitor” peek over your booth to join in on your meal. Awesome planning!
Also, notice the detailed stained glass on the booths. Each one is a different instrument to keep with the Silver Lake Sisters themeing.
Spacious Booth Seating
There are also a few tables and benches outside in case you’d like some fresh air.
Outdoor Seating
Eats
The food here at FF&P reminded me a lot of the eats over at The Jolly Holiday Bakery in Disneyland.
The first thing I noticed when we got in line were the rows and rows of treats in the bakery case. I wanted to order everything until my husband stopped me and was like, “Ummm, you can get all of that at Starbucks!” HAHA! Oops, obviously I’m not a big Starbucks frequenter.
Anyhow, the way the case works? With a few exceptions, the top two shelves are Starbucks treats, the rest are Disney.
Bakery Case
On this visit we stuck to sandwiches, but there were several treats that caught my eye — and some that I’ve tried before. Mickey Tart or Lemon Meringue Bar anyone? Here are the Disney desserts that caught my eye!
Lemon Meringue Bars, Chocolate Cream Cheese Bars & Mickey Tarts
Red Velvet Whoopie Pies (Starbucks) and Mickey Cookies
Tiramisu Cups, Fruit Tarts, & Flourless Chocolate Cake
Seasonal Cupcakes
There were even a few Starbucks treats that caught my eye…
Starbucks Chocolate Croissants
Starbucks Cake Pops
After drooling over the bakery case, it was time to make our sandwich decisions. First though, you need to pass the little case of grab and go items. Here, offerings such as fresh fruit, yogurt parfaits, bottled sodas, water, milk, chocolate milk and juice are available.
Grapes & Strawberries to Go
Grab and Go Items
For lunch I went with the Turkey Reuben Sandwich: turkey, sauerkraut, Swiss cheese, and signature sauce on rye bread. Normally I am not a fan of sauerkraut, but this sandwich sounded really tasty so I went for it. So glad that I did because it was fabulous.
The sandwich was served up toasted and still warm, the cheese was melty and the sauerkraut was flavorful. There was plenty of turkey, which seemed to be more of a carved style: nice, thick and juicy. It was served up with a dill pickle spear and house made chips that are pretty delish.
Turkey Reuben
My husband went for the Salami Royale Sandwich: layers of salami, fennel salami, sopressata, provolone & asiago cheeses, pepperoncini, red onions, and olive tapenade served on ciabatta bread. Also, served with a pickle and house chips, this is the only “cold” sandwich that FF&P offers.
Unfortunately, my husband wasn’t a huge fan and thought that it was a bit too salty and dry. It wasn’t bad by any means, but mine was way better!
Salami Royal Sandwich
Although I didn’t get a chance to try it, I was able to snap a shot of the Roast Beef and Cheddar Sandwich: tender roast beef, creamy horseradish sauce, cheddar cheese sauce, on a garlic chive bun. Looks pretty A-Ok!
Roast Beef and Cheddar Sandwich
A Little More About Starbucks
Starbucks items are ordered at the FF&P counter. And although they have their own menu board and some bakery items, it is integrated into the the restaurant.
Fiddler, Fifer & Practical Starbucks Baristas
After ordering your drink, the adorable baristas make your drink and call your name, just like at a “regular” Starbucks. You can then head to the condiment counter to add whatever familiar Starbucks ingredients you may need to your drink.
I think that Disney and Starbucks did a great job of blending the two brands together without screaming, “Starbucks, get your Starbucks here!” or plastering their logo everywhere. The signage is subtle and blends in well with the establishment.
Starbucks!
Overall
Fiddler, Fifer & Practical is a great addition to Disney California Adventure. I love the spacious seating and the fact that I can grab something simple to eat while feeling like I’m dining in a table service restaurant.
The food was very enjoyable and I’m looking forward to going back to try out their soups and that roasted veggie sandwich!
Personally, I am not a Starbucks drinker BUT I do know many many people that are ecstatic to have Starbucks in the park. Thanks to the Silver Lake Sisters there is finally a place where guests who need a caffeine pick me up can get a decent Cup o’ Joe!
Have you visited Fiddler, Fifer & Practical yet? Did you go for the Starbucks or the food?
Heather Sievers is the Disney Food Blog’s Dining in Disneyland columnist. See more of her columns here!
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Your fine review has piqued my interest in Buena Vista Street more than ever! A number of mostly random thoughts come to mind, all offered with the caveat that I’ve not yet visited the revamped park. I love the color scheme and the arts-and-crafts styling of this restaurant: very beautifully done. I wonder to what extent uninitiated people, especially as time goes by, will come to think that these faux Buena Vista Street backstories (which, by the way, I love and which I find enormously creative) are true, and that, for example, three such thirties-era performing sisters really were the inspiration for “The Three Little Pigs.” People seem increasingly to have difficulty distinguishing between fact and fiction, so it will be interesting to see how it plays out. Back to the food: I’d choose a Disney baked treat over a Starbucks baked treat any day. My experience with the Starbucks goods is that they all seem to be made from the same spongy yellow cake batter base, shipped around the country from a massive central spongy yellow cake batter vat located at corporate headquarters. Unlike some, I have nothing against their strong, bitter coffee, which is my preference, but I’ll pass on their bakery case any day.
Nice review, the pastry and sandwich selections sound great. I’m looking forward to trying breakfast and lunch/dinner there later this month.
I went here in June right after it opened and thought it was adorable and awesome! None of the sandwiches really caught my eye but I tried the Mickey tart which was fabulous!!!!! I just got a plain water to drink with it so I didn’t really get to taste the Starbucks but the cups are adorable!!!! They have the Starbucks logo on one side and the Disney parks logo on the other side. They also wrote your name on the Disney side but not over the logo so u could still see it
Million $ Question – does the Starbucks take Starbucks gift cards so you earn points on your gold card? Are the coffee prices in line with a standalone Starbucks?
I had the same question as Scott, above ^
I know at Universal (Orlando) they do not accept gift cards, so I was curious 🙂
Great question @Scott Sanders. I hadn’t even thought of that. Can Starbucks be found in WDW, yet?
I tried the beef sandwich and it was packed full of flavour. But both the creamy horseradish sauce and cheddar cheese sauce made it quite messy to eat. Would of preferred real melted cheese instead of a sauce and a little less horseradish. But still a great sandwich.
Starbucks & Disney…though I’m hundreds of miles away from DL, suddenly everything is right with the world!
@TinkyMurph, not yet, but the eventual plan is to have Starbucks at all four theme parks at WDW.
I love the barista outfits. So glad to see that the issue of Starbucks “signature look” vs. Disney’s impecable theming has been sorted out! Makes me excited to see what the WDW costumes will look like!
My question is also about the Starbucks part of the menu…I saw on the picture of the menu boards that they have the Iced Tazo Tea Lemonade. At a standalone Starbucks, you have the option to get either green, black or passion tea. Do they give the option for the type of tea here or is it just regular Tazo tea? I really hope they give the option and that the Tazo Passion tea is one of the available options because it is sooooooo good and my absolute favorite Starbucks beverage. I’m also guessing that the Starbucks menu will be the same at all the Disney Parks Starbucks. Is that correct?
BEAUTIFUL pictures and what a great article! I totally posted a link to this from my blog. Great work, Heather thank you so much!
@Prof. Brainard – I agree! Disney treats trump Starbucks treats!
@Pudge – I want to get over for breakfast too, haven’t tried it yet.
@Jenny – That Mickey Tart is SO good!
@Scott – YES! I was told so at the media preview.
@Krissy -Yup! You can also use the mobile app there.
@TinkyMurph – Not yet at WDW, but plans are in the works!
@James – That beef sandwich does look really good. That melty cheese! YUM!
@Summer – It’s a great duo!
@stitch.loves.lilo – I love the outfits too.
@Shannon – I’m not sure about the Tazo options. Sorry! I can try to find out though. I’d also assume all locations will be the same menu, but again, not sure.
@Krista Joy – Thanks! Glad you liked it!
Neat!! I’m very curious about the Paneer & Roasted Vegetable sandwich – I’ll have to try that next time I’m out there!
@Heather, that is great news and I hope it will be the same here in FL. Now with wifi in the WDW parks it could be a new office location once Starbucks opens!
@Scott – We need wifi here at the DLR!
Just want to say that, as a So Cal resident and frequent DLR visitor, I really appreciate your reviews Heather. They are always so well done, so informative and so much fun to read. Thanks for the great work!
@Jasmine – I want to try that one too!
@Tim – Thanks so much for your kind words! So glad you like to read my posts!
@Heather – based on recent reports it sounds like DLR is testing guest WiFi in some area. I’m sure WiFi will be there soon about the same time My Disney Experience gets rolled out in California.
@Scott – I can’t wait! ; )
The poeple and this locatiion go out of thier way to provide excellent customer service..
This Saturday we went to DCA to finally sample the Cafe. I got the roast beef and, OH MY GOD, it is one fantastic sandwich. I thought the beef sandwich at the Jolly Holliday was good, but this one is so much better. The beef is cooked perfectly. The cheddar sauce and the hoserradish sauce complement the meat wonderfully. Now they say it’s a garlic chive roll, but really, I didn’t taste garlic or chive. But that certainly didn’t take anything away from the sandwich itself. I will definitely be having this one again. And again!
@Danny & @Mattt – So glad to hear that you both had great service and enjoyed your experience. I love that place!
I am so happy that Starbucks is finally at WDW. We will be visiting in the fall and will look forward to having my daily cup of coffee from Starbucks.