One of Disneyland’s most coveted meals is the fantastic fried chicken at the Plaza Inn on the corner of Main Street and Tomorrowland!
Atmosphere
While this location is a table-service character buffet (serving Breakfast With Minnie and Friends) in the morning, it switches to a counter service buffet in the afternoon and evening.
entrance sign
Plaza Inn entrance
Guests are greeted at the door by a large buffet and an ornate dining room full of velvet curtains, crystal chandeliers, and the kind of opulence you’re not used to seeing at a counter-service location!
dining room inside
stained glass ceiling fixture
chandelier
chandelier
Moulding
Seating can be found outdoors and indoors.
Indoor Table
Outdoor Seating
Outdoor Table
Outdoor Tables
Buffet
Once you’ve entered the restaurant, it’s time to hit the buffet! You’ll find salads, fruit, and desserts in the center, and main entrees around the outsides of the buffet.
Buffet Area
trays and silverware
sauces and napkins
condiments
condiments
condiments and napkins
Don’t forget to stop at the bronzed soda pop dispenser on your way to the table!
bronzed soda pop dispenser
juices
If you’re celebrating a birthday (especially a kids’ birthday), pick up one of the fun celebration cakes available!
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Pirate Kids Cake
Princess Kids Cake
Eats
Your choices for dining aren’t necessarily plentiful, but I can pretty much guarantee that anything you try is going to be quite good. The quality of food here is what you’d find at most table-service restaurants in a Disney park, in my opinion!
Menu - - click image for larger version
Start out your meal by picking up a pre-made salad or some fruit!
fruit
Salads Menu
Salad Station
salad accompaniments
salad dressings
salad
You can even get a Cobb salad!
cobb salad
Cobb Salad
The Pot Roast is a fan favorite here as well!
pot roast menu - - click image for larger version
roast beef dish
mashed potatoes
gravy
If Pot Roast isn’t your thing, consider a pasta entree. There are several sauces available, including alfredo, bolognese, and marinara!
pasta menu - - click image for larger version
pasta
pasta sauces
breadsticks
We, of course, tried the Chicken Platter at the restaurant, and it totally lived up to its reputation!!!
Chicken Menu -- click image for larger version
chicken area
chicken
chicken sides
This was some of the best fried chicken I’ve had in the parks; and the side dishes were authentic and delicious. The platter is so large, Heather and I had no hope of finishing it between us!
chicken platter
For the kids, there are several smaller portioned dishes available. Apologies for the sickly looking kids’ chicken drumstick! I think (hope!) it’s plastic!
Kids Chicken Dish
Kids Pasta Dish
Kids Drinks
On to desserts! These aren’t your “crappy cake in a plastic cup” desserts, no siree!! These were amazing!
Desserts
Just LOOK at this strawberry shortcake. Have you ever seen anything like this at a Disney counter-service restaurant? Amazing. And it was as delicious as it looks!
Strawberry Shortcake
The apple crostada was my least favorite dessert of the day, but it was still outstanding. (Needed ice cream ;-D)
apple crostada
We didn’t sample the carrot cake (I know — blasphemy), but we opted instead to try the next dessert on the list!
Carrot Cake Dessert
This red velvet cheesecake cupcake looked too good to pass up, so we purchased one.
red velvet cheesecake cupcake
Now, as soon as we sat down, we saw a little girl who had taken the frosting completely off of her cupcake and was just eating the cake. This, to me, seemed like a giant waste, but when we got around to tasting this cupcake, I saw why.
The “frosting” was actually straight cheesecake! Honestly, there wasn’t much “frosting-ness” to the topping, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing if you like very sweet cheesecake! 😉 We asked a cast member on the way out about the “frosting” — she mentioned that it was pretty much just cheesecake…
cupcake cross-section
As it is, though, Heather and I agreed that this dessert would probably not be loved by children, as the cheesecake topping had a flavor that might be a bit too “cheesecakey” for kids.
cupcake close-up
Overall
After my Plaza Inn visit, I can promise you that I will be back again! The fried chicken and desserts were over-the-top delicious, and the easy experience makes it that much more time efficient when you’re doing some serious park touring!
The way that Disneyland pairs table-service quality food with counter-service efficiency is brilliant, I think. I’m always impressed with what their counter-service restaurants are able to do, and I can guarantee that I will continue to tout this amazing restaurant — and it’s fried chicken!
Have you tried Plaza Inn’s Fried Chicken in Disneyland?? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below!
thank you sign
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Disneyland’s fried chicken is the best!
AJ, I’m a little confused on how this place works. You call it a “buffett”, but is it more like a cafeteria style eatery? Like, you take your tray up to the food sections, take what you want, then pay on the way out?
the plaza cafe is always a must for us when we go to DL. LOVE their fried chicken!!! more than enough food for 2! it’s also a nice, comfy place to eat as tables are usually abundant (we like to eat early at 11am, so we have our choice of seats). will have to try the pot roast next time though. i never noticed it before as we usually make our way to the chicken line. LOL.
I love going to the Plaza Inn! I usually have the chicken but will have the pot roast and pasta every now and then. There are also times I get a salad. Oh and in case you are wondering, the apple crostada is a “sugar free” dessert. I enjoyed it last spring when it first debuted.
Well that explains why I hated the icing on the cupcake. I hate cheesecake! (The cupcake itself was really good.)
I usually get the pasta for dinner. We usually try to end our evening back at Plaza Inn, for dessert. It’s a nice way to end the evening.
John B. — I think it might be what you’d call a “buffeteria”…. you wait in line at the stations and someone dishes out your food for you. It’s like Sunshine Seasons at the Land in Epcot.
We ate here last week for the first time in years. The mashed potatoes, gravy and biscuits were nothing to write home about (very standard cafeteria fare with the extra salt and fake aftertaste to boot), but the fried chicken was amazing! It’s so moist and juicy on the inside and crispy on the outside. Next time I’m going to figure out a way to just get the chicken.
Yes, the Plaza Inn is a buffeteria, one of several at the Disneyland Resort. This restaurant was originally the Red Wagon Inn when the park first opened and the decor remains. It’s truly beautiful if you take the time to notice all the details.
If you don’t like the potatoes and gravy you can double up on the green beans. I usually order the kid’s meal as it’s just enough for me.
It is such a beautiful restaurant!. Pictures of the food are making me hungry!
I may have to try the kid’s meal when I am there. NO way could I eat that afult sized chicken meal and it’s a solo trip!
We love the fried chicken here! Of course we always share it. Sometimes between my DD12 and myself, and other times it’s my DM72, myself, and DD12. The chicken breast alone is more than I can comfortably eat. I’ve had the green beans probably 5-8 times and they have never been good. Now I just ask for double mashed, no green beans. Yum! The pastas are good too. My DD loves the Chicken Fusilli at Pizza Port so sometimes we will get the Chicken Pasta here but if we are splurging on a meal while at DL I will usually want the chicken.
BTW, everyone raves about the chicken at the Hoop De Doo Review in WDW but I think the Plaza’s chicken is so much better!
Looks great–if it’s better than the HDDR fried chicken–which I think is pretty darn good–I’m in!
I’ll have to add this to the list of places I need to eat at, LoL. We are getting annual passes this year so it’ll be easier to try the things I have always wanted to. The food looks and sounds wonderful.
This is one of our favorites, right up there with Rancho del Zocalo. This is one of the prettiest Disney restaurants anywhere. The food is good, plentiful, and reasonably priced.
We come here every trip.
The fried chicken at the Plaza Inn is amazing! Crispy on the outside, juicy on the inside, full of flavor, and not too greasy. We eat there almost every time we visit DL!
@Carrie – Yes, you CAN get just the chicken! If you do that, they price the chicken by the piece (and you can specify the piece – breast, thigh, etc). So you could get just one drumstick as a snack if you want! 😀
When I’m not getting the fried chicken, I’ll opt for the pasta with half chicken alfredo and half marinara to get 2 flavors in one. I like them individually, and I like the “pink” sauce I get in the middle. Also enjoy the Cobb salad, so good!
I have had fried chicken at a lot of places and I make an awesome yard bird but the Plaza Inn it hurts me to say puts mine and every other bird I’ve had to shame! It is incredible! So juicy, moist, and crispy at the same time! They should honestly make a chain of restaurants that would put all the competition out of buisness! I am seriously thinking about sending my thirteen year old(cheaper than adult ticket:)) to run in an just get the chicken to go! It is totally Awesome! If you go to Disneyland and ride and see everything the park has to offer and miss out on this delightful meal you should have stayed home!
Any chance in getting the recipe for the Plaza’s mashed potatoes, gravy, & green beans?
Can you still get fried chicken there?
Shell, yes! It’s a staple at Plaza Inn!