Tangaroa Terrace Review

Tangaroa Terrace is a tropical-inspired counter service restaurant at Disneyland Resort, located adjacent to Trader Sam’s (awesome) Enchanted Tiki Bar at Disneyland Hotel. It is inspired by Adventureland and the theme of Trader Sam’s carries over to Tangaroa Terrace. Tangaroa Terrace offers Annual Passholder discounts; guests order from touch screen computers and pay a cashier to receive a number, and Cast Members bring food out when it’s ready. Just like Trader Sam’s, Tangaroa Terrace opened as part of the extensive recent overhaul to the Disneyland Hotel.

The theme at Tangaroa Terrace, as mentioned above, is similar to Trader Sam’s, except dialed back considerably. It’s not a restaurant that you can really explore to find a ton of cool details. The theming is good, to be fair, but with Trader Sam’s right next door, it’s a bit of a letdown. On the plus side, outside there are tiki torches, a great view of the Disneyland Hotel pool, and there’s frequently live entertainment. The ambiance is certainly better than what you’ll find at most counter service restaurants, it’s just not “Trader Sam’s good.”

Okay, so given that it has a similar theme and is right next door to the amazing Trader Sam’s (and you can order off of Tangaroa Terrace’s menu at Trader Sam’s), you might wonder why you’d ever visit Tangaroa Terrace when you could head to Trader Sam’s instead. (In our case, we had just dropped off a rental car to the Downtown Disney Alamo and we needed to make it to Disneyland in time for our Fantasmic! seating.) Well, if it’s an either/or scenario, you probably should go to Trader Sam’s. It’s amazing, and as I said in our Trader Sam’s review, “It’s a must visit–as close to perfection as Disney has come in recent years.” I meant that. However, I understand that Trader Sam’s may not appeal to everyone, or may not be appropriate for all circumstances. In those instances, Tangaroa Terrace is a good option. You can dine outside around the tiki torches and live entertainment, soak up a similar ambiance, and enjoy some good food in the process.

As for the cuisine at Tangaroa Terrace, it’s pretty good, and prices are pretty typical for a Disneyland counter service restaurant. It seems every Disneyland restaurant that has received a new menu in the last year has received a signature burger. This trend continues at Tangaroa Terrace, where my 1/3 Pound Angus Hawaiian Bacon Cheeseburger with Sweet Potato Fries was just over $10. This burger fit the theme of the restaurant perfectly, and was tasty.

The Teriyaki Sauce, Fresh Grilled Pineapple, and Havarti Cheese made it stand out from a normal burger, and these flavors complimented one another well, but the burger wasn’t quite as great as I hoped it would be. It didn’t have me doing backflips and I’m not sure that I’d make a special trip to Tangaroa Terrace to order it again, but it was good. Atthe very least, it was an ambitious burger for counter service.

As I’ve stated in the past, though, I’m not a fan of sweet potato fries. I applaud Disney for mixing things up on the menus and straying a bit from the ordinary with (slightly) healthier options, but I find sweet potato fries to be disgusting. Still, I’m not about to complain, as I’d rather Disney gets more adventurous with menus than sticking to the tried and true guest favorites. A lack of regular french fries is hardly a big deal for me. Besides, I think I had the option between slaw and the fries when ordering, so that one is on me.

Sarah had the Kalua Pork Flatbread, which consists of pulled Pork, BBQ sauce, onion, cilantro and mozzarella cheese. It was really good and a bit out of the ordinary. We didn’t realize this when ordering, but we had eaten the same flatbread at Trader Sam’s when we were last there in November. In any case, the flatbread was a delicious twist on a normal pizza.

For only $9, I thought it offered exceptional value, too. It was more like an table service starter than a simple counter service meal. I really appreciate the work being put into Disneyland’s new menus.

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Since our first trip to Tangaroa Terrace, we’ve been back for a few meals. While we initially scored Tangaroa Terrace an 8/10, all of our subsequent meals have been excellent. First, they’ve constantly tweaked the menu, having a rotating string of “Specials,” which really add some high quality to the table. Above is the Teriyaki New York Strip Steak. I was a bit apprehensive of this entree at first (steak at a fast food place?!), but for a $15 plate of food at Disneyland Resort, this was excellent. The steak was good, not great, which was far more than I expected from it. Just as important, the slaw, rice, and fried green beans (especially the fried green beans) were all great. We’ve also seen Ahi Poke and Fish Tacos on this specials menu in the last year or so, signaling to us that these special items really up the ante for Tangaroa Terrace.

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Breakfast is the other big reason our opinion of Tangaroa Terrace. Above is the Breakfast Wrap. Other locations at Disneyland Resort serve wraps similar to this, but to my knowledge, known have avocado or include Island Fruit and your choice of Portuguese Sausage. The island fruit is a nice little addition, and it’s awesome to not be stuck with that Disney paper-bacon.

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However, the bigger (much bigger) deal when it comes to breakfast at Tangaroa Terrace is the French Toast topped with Warm Banana-Caramel Sauce. Wowowow. The French Toast is good, but it’s the banana-caramel sauce that carries this option. It’s so, so good, but it’s also very rich and sweet. Not that there’s anything wrong with starting your day with a sugar jolt…it just means you’ll save by not having to purchase that morning coffee! This French Toast just missed our Top 7 Disneyland Foods–it’s that good!

We also ordered a Pineapple Lilikoi Pie. It was delicious, the moist pineapple filling and breading on top that really provided a nice compliment, but it’s not something I’d get again. There are so many other snacks at Disneyland that I like more that are less than $5. After we paid, we noticed an awesome-looking dessert flight, so perhaps we’ll have to get that next time.

Overall, Tangaroa Terrace is a very good choice, especially if you can’t visit Trader Sam’s for whatever reason or are staying at Disneyland Hotel and want to mix it up a little. After several meals here, this has become one of our favorite restaurants at Disneyland Resort (#5, in fact!). Given the table service, the quality of the cuisine, and the live entertainment, it feels almost like a mash-up of a counter service and table service restaurant…and a dinner show! The food is inspired, the menu keeps improving, and it’s very high quality for counter service. I haven’t seen a lot of overwhelmingly positive reviews of Tangaroa Terrace, but we are definitely singing its praises. We highly recommend having a meal here–it’s an especially great place to go for a pre-park breakfast if you’re staying at one of the Disneyland hotels!

Overall Score: 9.5/10

To read other Disney restaurant reviews from Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Tokyo Disney Resort, Disneyland Paris, Hong Kong Disneyland, and Disney Cruise Line, organized by location, check out our Disney Dining Reviews Index.

Your Thoughts…

Any fans of Tangaroa Terrace out there? What are your favorite items on the menu? Planning on eating here? Share your thoughts in the comments!

6 Responses to “Tangaroa Terrace Review”
  1. Disney fan April 15, 2019
  2. Elizabeth October 9, 2013
    • Tom Bricker October 9, 2013
  3. Jeremy January 14, 2013
  4. Mr. Potatohead April 8, 2012
    • Tom Bricker April 10, 2012

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