Downtown Restaurant: 3 buffets for the price of one

A restaurant in New York art deco style

The oval dining room has a cosy, modern atmosphere. Compared with the dining room of the Chuck Wagon Café at the Hotel Cheyenne, the Downtown’s is smaller, more intimate and less noisy. An atmosphere more in keeping with an almost five-star hotel.

While the New York spirit is very much present, so is the Marvel universe. All around the room hang 90 artworks depicting the superheroes of the American comics, some of which have never been published. Among these pencil portraits are Marvel’s most iconic heroes, such as Captain America, Groot and Hulk, but also some lesser-known ones such as the Punisher and Rocket from the Guardians of the Galaxy.

Why choose the Downtown’s “all you can eat” buffet?

So you don’t have to leave the hotel

There are plenty of reasons to head to the Downtown, starting with being able to eat on site, without leaving the hotel. If you’ve ever stayed at Disneyland Paris in the middle of January, you’ll know how nice it is not to have to brave the cold to go and eat. It also saves time if you’re planning to see the night-time show at the castle.

But the number one reason is the unique culinary experience this restaurant offers with its triple buffet. Each buffet lets you discover a few signature dishes from New York neighbourhoods: Little Italy, Chinatown and Downtown New York, the Big Apple’s business district.

Each with a wide choice of starters, mains and desserts to enjoy until you can’t eat any more!

The Asian buffet

This buffet was a real surprise for us! We have to say that, as a family, we’re particularly fond of Asian fast-food places and restaurants, which makes us all the more demanding about freshness and flavour. And we weren’t disappointed, quite the opposite. The first surprise came from the little steamer baskets holding 4 kinds of dumplings. An explosion of flavours! And what about the lacquered duck, the stir-fried pork, the sweet and sour prawns…

Here’s the menu on offer that evening in January 2023:

• Sautéed prawns in red chilli sauce
• Sea bream fillets in orange sauce
• Wok-fried vegetables with coriander
• Sweet and sour pork with ginger and pineapple
• Lacquered duck with hoisin sauce
• Steamer basket of Chinese dumplings
• White rice
• Stir-fried noodles

The Italian buffet

Let’s head over to Little Italy and its Italian-American specialities. Naturally, pasta takes pride of place on this buffet, as do cured meats and pizza. In fact, I have to say the pizzas are excellent and worthy of the best pizzaiolos. They’re made and baked in the pizza oven in front of you. If you love cheese, don’t miss the wheel of gorgonzola you can dip your spoon into!

Here are the Italian dishes featured on the buffet:

• Cheese tortellini with pesto cream
• Beef meatballs in tomato sauce
• Aubergine parmigiana
• Gnocchi gratin in tomato sauce
• Vegetable pizza
• Pizza with tomato sauce, mozzarella and basil
• Pesto pasta salad
• Cured ham pizza

The American buffet

Make way for macaroni & cheese and the classic burgers of American cuisine! These dishes may be less elaborate and flavourful than Asian or Italian food, but they’re always just as popular with young and old alike.

On this buffet you’ll find:

• Grilled half corn cobs
• Roast potatoes
• Capon with morel mushrooms (a Christmas Eve dish)
• Mini burgers
• BBQ sauce
• Chicken wings
• Mickey-head potato croquettes

How much is the “all you can eat” buffet?

Admittedly, this restaurant isn’t cheap. But Disney and Marvel magic comes at a price. And when you love something, you don’t count the cost, do you? In 2023, the all-you-can-eat buffet cost £39 (45 €) for adults and £22 (25 €) per child. The price included one soft drink per meal (excluding speciality drinks). So for a family of two adults and two children, the bill came to £122 (140 €) (check the current price when you book).

But you can save a bit if you choose one of the Disneyland Paris meal plans! If you’ve taken half board or full board at the Hotel New York, you won’t have anything to pay, apart from supplements. Above all, you can save on your food budget. To find out how much you could save, try my free simulator.

How do you get a table at the Downtown?

When Disneyland Paris says on its official website that tables go like hot cakes, it isn’t lying! It really is best to book several weeks ahead to be sure of getting a table.

After that, there are two scenarios:

• You’re not staying at the Hotel New York – The Art of Marvel: you’ll need to book through the official app, choosing a day and time for your meal. If you still haven’t managed to get a booking, you can always try your luck by turning up in person, but with no guarantee of success.
• You’re a hotel guest: you can of course book through the app, but you also get a unique advantage. The restaurant keeps a few tables back for its guests. So if no tables are available online, you can contact the concierge to check availability.

What do we think of the Downtown Restaurant?

We have to admit that, on paper, a buffet is less appealing than table service. But we were all very pleasantly surprised by the quality of this restaurant, especially all the Asian dishes, prepared right in front of us. This buffet really makes you want to try everything, from starters to dessert.

The price is a little high, it’s true. But if you compare the cost of this meal with the Chuck Wagon Café’s (which we tried the day before) at £35 (40 €), there’s no contest. The extra £4 (5 €) is more than justified. As for the setting, we were afraid the room would be very noisy, and that wasn’t the case at all. Finally, we were warmly welcomed by all the cast members.

In short, we’ll happily go back!