Best food at new Parkside Market in Disneyland’s Downtown Disney
As Downtown Disney at Disneyland Resort continues its reimagining, Parkside Market recently opened there with four new food and drink dining tenants. As part of a media event, I was able to try a sampling of food and drinks. Here are some of my favorites.
Parkside Market is made up of:
- GG’s Chicken Shop featuring fried chicken
- Sip & Sonder offering coffee, tea, and more
- Seoul Sister featuring Korean rice bowls and salads
- the bar Vista Parkside Market with craft cocktails
Seating options at Parkside Market
Downstairs is GG’s Chicken Shop, Seoul Sister, and Sip & Sonder, which also has a to-go window outside. You can order your food at these locations cafeteria-style and take a seat to enjoy. You also have the option of heading directly upstairs to the Vista Parkside bar, where you can be seated and order food and drink from downstairs to be brought to your table. As of opening, both options were walk-in, first come first served.
GG’s Chicken Shop
I love a good chicken tender, so I was happy to taste the numerous offerings served by GG’s Chicken Shop. The thing that stood out to me most about GG’s chicken is how their battered and fried chicken is so light, fresh, and not greasy. It was tasty bites of juicy white meat in all its glory.
The favorite thing I tried from GG’s would have to be the Original Fried Chicken Sandwich. This chicken sandwich was topped with bread and butter pickles, cabbage, spicy mayo, and hot honey on a brioche bun. I personally got it without the pickles, as I’m not a fan. The amount of mayo and honey wasn’t overwhelming, as it was simply added for flavor and didn’t need to do the job of adding moisture since the chicken was perfectly fried and juicy. GG’s also offers some nice sides with crispy waffle fries and a nice, light broccoli slaw.
Sip & Sonder
Although Sip & Sonder is primarily known for its coffee and tea, enough can’t be said about its blue drink called The Monarch. This is a butterfly pea flower coconut vanilla slushie, and it’s nothing short of delicious. I’m not even much of a coconut fan, but this combination of flavors made for a drink that bears repeating on future visits.
One nice thing to keep in mind about Sip & Sonder is that it opens earlier than the other eateries at Parkside Market because it offers breakfast options. Opening at 7 a.m., you can order a breakfast sandwich along with your coffee for your early theme park visits.
Seoul Sister
Choosing a favorite food from Seoul Sister was tough, as there were numerous, varied options I enjoyed. Although I don’t typically eat tofu, their Tofu Signature Bowl was quite good, as were the Fried Beef & Vegetable Dumplings. But my favorite would have to be the Beef & Egg Signature Bowl.
With the Signature Bowls, you choose your base of rice, Japchae noodles, or salad. The Beef & Egg Signature Bowl comes with bulgogi beef, carrots, kale, egg, sesame oil, and spicy gochu Seoul Sauce. The beef was nicely seasoned, but not overpowering. The rice was light and fluffy. And the carrots were deliciously pickled.
Desserts at Parkside Market
To be completely honest, I didn’t have a single bad bite while tasting the options at Parkside Market. It seems you really can’t go wrong. The entrées were all very fresh and light. There are some dessert offerings as well. While they’re delicious, too, they are not as light as the entrees. Each of the desserts I tried were quite heavy.
The Chocolate Dirt Pudding from GG’s Chicken Shop and the multiple Cake Pops flavors (including Funfetti, Cookies & Cream, and Red Velvet) from Sip & Sonder were quite heavy to the stomach. They’re definitely worth tasting, but you may want to share with a friend if you’ve already had some entrées.
Vista Parkside Market
The Vista Parkside Market upstairs is worth a visit, even if you don’t plan on ordering a drink from the bar. As previously mentioned, all the food from downstairs can be ordered up there as well. When I return to Parkside Market, I plan on heading straight to the second level.
With the nice SoCal weather, the large glass doors are opened, looking out over Downtown Disney and at the Disneyland Hotel. Parkside Market is located directly next to Downtown Disney LIVE! Stage, which offers live entertainment in the evenings. You could even get your food from Parkside Market to-go and bring it to the grass area out by the stage.
For an overview of Parkside Market, watch our video below from Opening Day:
Overall, Parkside Market offers delicious takeaway or dine-in options and is a great new addition to Downtown Disney. Whether you’re looking for breakfast, lunch, dinner, or simply a drink, Parkside Market has numerous options for you to enjoy. You can find full menus for each location at ParksideMarketLA.com.
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