It’s time for Disney Halloween at Tokyo Disney Resort! And one of my favorite parts of any Tokyo Disney Resort event is the array of snacks and food items available! In this series of reviews, I’ll be detailing every single new snack and counter-service item. Grandma Sara’s Kitchen is the Tony’s Town Square Restaurant of Tokyo Disneyland. That should tell you all you need to know about this establishment, with the key difference being that this is by far the best theming compared to any other outlet at Tokyo Disneyland. Unfortunately, that’s the only redeeming factor about this ultimately disappointing special set.
Special Set – ¥1580 ($14.72)
Let’s talk about Grandma Sara’s for a second, because it really is a wonderful restaurant with so much potential. This used to be an excellent choice, with great sets and incredible theming. Unfortunately, the quality has slowly slipped over the past 18 months, to the point that even Tomorrowland Terrace’s okay burgers are a better choice than this overpriced eatery. The special set comes with chicken with tomato cream sauce, rice, chestnut cake, and a soft drink. So, let’s take a look at each of these.
Chicken in Tomato Cream Sauce & Rice
The lighting in here is terrible, so that makes this look even less appetizing than it smells. Let me start by highlighting the chicken, because it’s cooked excellently. It’s incredibly tender, coming apart easily with the provided plastic butterknife. Additionally, it’s nice and juicy. It’s not the best chicken I’ve ever had, but it’s absolutely fine, especially for theme park food. The sauce, however, completely ruins it. The creamy tomato sauce literally tastes like they dumped a jar of Ragu on it. I encourage you to scrape as much of the sauce off as you can and try to just eat the chicken. The additional vegetables on the side are okay as well. The Japanese pumpkin is essentially tasteless, but the scalloped potatoes are excellently crafted. My only note on those is that they need salt or something for a bit more flavor. And the rice? For Americans, it’s fine. But I’m surprised that the rice doesn’t hold up to rice even at other Tokyo Disney Resort restaurants, let alone any hole-in-the-wall in Tokyo. It’s not bad rice, but I’ve had better.
Chestnut Cake
This was by far the best part of the meal, and is what made me not completely hate this set. The chestnut cake is so delicious, definitely tasting of chestnut and complimented by the fruit sauce served on the side. It’s a little thick and rich, but that works in its favor for this sort of flavor.. This isn’t really worth the full meal price but definitely will be the “last for best” moment in this overall disappointing set.
Overall, you definitely have better choices for Halloween at Tokyo Disneyland when it comes to lunch. I highly recommend visiting Plaza Pavilion for this price range and meal size rather than Grandma Sara’s Kitchen. It’s an extra $2-$3, but well worth it compared to this.
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