It’s a Jungle Out There… at Downtown Disney’s Rainforest Café

If you’re in the mood for some great food and fun, family adventure, then you’ll want to head over to the Downtown Disney District’s Rainforest Café.You’ll get a dose of life in the jungle as you are transported to a tropical rainforest, wading through the lush trees and vines that encircle your world. Make your way past cascading waterfalls, monkeys swinging from vines, giant dragonflies, butterflies, parrots, zebras, and lizards, while the animated, tree-shaking, chest-beating gorilla snorts and bellows his welcome.

There are huge, beautiful, tropical aquariums at virtually every bend, filled with brightly-colored tropical fish. We were lucky enough to be seated directly in front of one of them which was a major highlight for my kids.

My girls could hardly contain themselves at the amount of exciting things to see (and touch). With thunderstorms every 20 minutes on cue, complete with sounds of rainfall, flashes of ominous lightning, and booms and rumblings of claps of thunder, it was hard to get them to sit still long enough to order their meal. They were chomping at the bit to explore their surroundings and snap as many pictures as possible.

Once we were able to focus their attention to the kids menu, two decided on the Popcorn Shrimp and french fries, and my oldest opted for the Python Pasta Alfredo. The generous helping of shrimp could have easily fed two and the Pasta Alfredo was so delicious that my 10 year old ate every last bite.

We started off with some appetizers of fried onion rings and fried cheese (yes, you can sense a theme here; we do love our fried food). All of which was deliciously deep fried in beer batter, light, crisp, and very yummy. I also enjoyed a bowl of their Tomato Basil Soup before my entrée, which was full of rich, creamy deliciousness. The foccacia bread with a hint of rosemary that came with it was quite good as well. I was even nice enough to share some with my hubby and he loved it too.

The menu here is not lacking, giving you a vast array of affordable choices, ranging from pastas, seafood, salads, sandwiches, chicken dishes, steak, Mexican food… you name it. Not to mention all of the delicious appetizers and desserts as well.


I landed on the Caribbean Coconut Shrimp which comes with a sweet, tangy, mango sauce with a hint of spicy, smoky, chipotle flavor to it; one of my favorites. Eight generous skewers of large, meaty shrimp dipped in a coconut beer batter? Yum! Along with a medley of seasonal veggies, red and yellow bell pepper, zucchini, onions, carrots, and green beans. This dish also came with Caribbean rice which had cilantro in it. I love cilantro!

Being the meat lover that my husband is, he couldn’t help but order the Primal Steak (medium rare), which was a nice center-cut New York Strip Steak, aged 21 days no less, char broiled to perfection, topped with steak butter. This came with the super creamy, red-skinned garlic mashed potatoes and the vegetable medley. He opted to pair it up with some delicious Coconut Shrimp since he knew that I might not be so generous in sharing mine.

Greg and I were too stuffed to order dessert, but my girls managed to save some room (shocking, I know) and decided to order two desserts from the kids menu to share. One Lava Mud, a creamy, chocolate pudding with crushed Oreo and gummy worms, and one Safari Sundae, which consisted of vanilla ice cream topped with caramel sauce, whipped cream and a cherry. Yummy!

You can’t help be lulled into a safari-happy place as you dine to tropical, metal drum, Caribbean style music in the background. It’s got such a vacation-like atmosphere that even if you’re not on one, you can feel like you are (at least for the duration of your meal).

Don’t forget to visit the fabulous gift shop on your way out. It is filled with all kinds of fun things like T-shirts, exotic stuffed animals (or wooden ones), books, mugs, key chains, and the like.

To tie off our evening, we hopped onto the Monorail, just steps away, and headed to Disneyland for a few hours. Hard to top that!

So next time you’re in the mood for a little mini Safari, whether you’re with a small group, a large party, your kiddos, on a date, or just popping in after a day of shopping at Downtown Disney or enjoying Disneyland itself, you’ll want to check out the Rainforest Café. You won’t be disappointed!

Rainforest Café
is located in the Downtown Disney District at 1515 Disneyland Dr., Anaheim. For more information, call
714-772-0413 or visit rainforestcafe.com.