Location: Disneyland Hotel
Our Ranking #18 in Table Service Restaurants, Serves Lunch and Dinner
For other restaurant rankings, see our article on Disneyland Table Service Restaurants Ranked
Trader Sam’s is more of a Bar/Lounge than it is a restaurant for meals. They have a sizable food menu and they do accept reservations, so they are Table Service Restaurant. This is a Tiki/topical-themed bar and it’s the theming is spectacular. We typically come here for a drink and shared appetizer and don’t treat this as a lunch or dinner location.
They have indoor and outdoor seating, and most people prefer indoor because that’s where the action happens. The lively bartenders here are part of the show. There are special effects are triggered in the interior of the bar when certain specialty drinks are ordered. The bar lights up with special effects for faux tropical storms and volcano eruptions which is super fun.
This is the best theming in Disneyland. We love this as a lounge. We rate it lower for lunch and dinner compared to other Table Service restaurants. This may not be fair to rate Trader Sam’s against other restaurants since they have mostly appetizer food.
A Quick Service location around the corner (Tangaroa Terrace) has the same menu as Trader Sam’s. Seating is very limited there but you can find other places to sit on the hotel grounds.
If you want to sit indoors, it’s best to have a reservation which is difficult to get. They don’t give out many reservations and the indoor seating is limited. If you don’t have a reservation you may sit outside which is still wonderful but is not as immersive. They take a lot of walk ups. The walk up list can have a wait that is hours long if they are busy.
While this is an amazing bar/lounge experience, the cocktails don’t compare to Carthay Circle or Paseo & Centrico. Those places have bigger menus. Trader Sam’s has fun, tropical drinks that are good, but the bar menu is not as flexible here.
Their most iconic and popular food item is the tempura-battered green beans which are spectacular. We always ask for extra Aioli when we order because that’s amazing stuff. We enjoy the Poke Bowl, but excluding the Togarashi Aioli which is on the sweet side.
The salads are a bit sparse. The chicken tenders are on the expensive side, and they good but nothing special. Overall, the food is fine, but could be more flavorful. We would not order the Pupu platter which has several appetizers on it. There are some items that we don’t want on the platter.
Our Favorites at Trader Sam’s: Tempura-Battered Green Beans (as for extra Aioli), Poke Bowl (without the Togarashi Aioli)
Kid’s are welcomed at Trader Sam’s until 8 PM in the indoor or outdoor areas. After 8 PM kids under the age of 21 are only allowed in the outdoor seating area.
You’re allowed to stay for 90 minutes. There is also a limit on how many drinks you can order per adult. Disney is mindful about people managing their alcohol intake.
They have indoor and outdoor seating. Most people prefer indoor because that’s where the action happens. The lively bartenders here are part of the show. There are unique drinks and special effects are triggered in the bar when certain specialty drinks are ordered. When the bar lights up with special effects for faux tropical storms and volcano eruptions then it’s really something.
Their most iconic and popular food item is the tempura-battered green beans which are spectacular. We always ask for extra Aioli when we order because that’s amazing stuff.
Summary
That’s our opinion and yours will be different. We have not tried every menu item, so we only include our favorites based on what we’ve tried.
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