Donald Trump’s former executive chef at Mar-a-Lago who earned a Michelin Star at the former president’s DJT restaurant in Las Vegas is bringing a steakhouse and barbecue concept to Downtown Disney.
New York City celebrity chef Joe Isidori will open a pair of new restaurants on the footprint of the former Tortilla Jo’s location at the Anaheim outdoor shopping mall next to Disneyland and Disney California Adventure.
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Disneyland has not yet announced when construction will begin, when the twin concepts will open or the names of the restaurants.
Isidori’s full-service steakhouse will serve prime cuts of beef, chops, seafood, sandwiches and salads with bourbon-focused craft cocktails. The adjacent quick-service barbecue restaurant will offer pulled pork, beef brisket and smoked wings with house-made sauces along with moonshine cocktails and craft beers.
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Isidori oversaw dining concepts for several restaurants in the Trump empire, including the Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach, Florida, DJT restaurant at the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas and Trump’s golf courses.
Isidori’s family has owned and operated restaurants for three generations in Manhattan, Harlem, Brooklyn and the Bronx since 1954. His most recent restaurant projects include Arthur & Sons in Manhattan and Jotoro Kitchen & Tequila Bar in Tampa, Florida.
Black Tap Craft Burgers & Beer – Strawberry Shortcake Shake, vanilla frosted rim with crumbled cake topped with a strawberry shortcake ice cream bar, pink and white twisty pop, whipped cream strawberry drizzle, crumbled cake and a cherry at Downtown Disney District in Anaheim, CA, on Thursday, May 2, 2019. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Isidori is probably best known to Disney fans as the co-founder of Black Tap Craft Burgers in Downtown Disney and co-creator of Everglazed Donuts in Florida’s Disney Springs.
Black Tap’s outrageous gravity-defying Crazy Shakes inspired Isidori to write a cookbook focused on the restaurant’s milkshakes and hamburgers.
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The celebrity chef has participated in “Iron Chef America,” “Beat Bobby Flay” and various Food Network culinary competition shows.
The New York native has been cooking since he was 5 years old — standing on a packing crate as he prepared salads and side dishes in his family’s restaurants. He graduated from the Culinary Institute of America in 2000.
Chefs prepare dumplings and bao at Din Tai Fung at Downtown Disney in Anaheim, CA, on Monday, July 1, 2024. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Downtown Disney has been stepping up its culinary game from burgers, pizza, coffee and pretzels with a new level of fine dining offering hand-made dumplings, gourmet Mexican food and now steaks from Michelin-starred chefs.
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Isidori’s new steakhouse joins two other new Downtown Disney restaurants with Michelin-starred reputations.
A chef makes food at Paseo, Céntrico and Tiendita in Downtown Disney during Pixar Fest in Anaheim, CA, on Wednesday, April 24, 2024. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Chef Carlos Gaytan, whose Paseo restaurant opened in May, has created two restaurants that have picked up Michelin Stars — Mexique in Chicago and Ha’ in Mexico.
Din Tai Fung, the Taiwanese dumpling house that opened in July, has been awarded a Michelin Star five times at its Hong Kong location.
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