REVIEW: Capirotada and Holiday Ponche for the 2022 Festival of Holidays at Disney California Adventure

Katie Francis

Updated on:

REVIEW: Capirotada and Holiday Ponche for the 2022 Festival of Holidays at Disney California Adventure

Cocina Cucamonga Mexican Grill is getting in on the Festival of Holidays fun with a new bread pudding and holiday ponche.

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Menu for Cocina Cucamonga at Disney California Adventure Festival of Holidays 2022

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Food:

  • 🆕 Capirotada – $6.49

Beverages:

  • Holiday Ponche (non-alcoholic) – $5.99
  • Holiday Ponche Cocktail – $16

Photos of Menu Items from Cocina Cucamonga at Disney California Adventure Festival of Holidays 2022

*NEW* Capirotada – $6.49

Mexican bread pudding with raisins, peanuts, walnuts, and green apples topped with fresh bananas, sweetened condensed milk, and toasted coconut

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This bread pudding is a solid showing, though not the best bread pudding within spitting distance of Cocina Cucamonga. It features dark, roasty flavors and a noticeable, yet not overpowering note of anise, black licorice flavor, that we felt brought some mystery and surprise to the dish. It also pulls out a heretofore unrecognized anise note in the peanuts and walnuts included within the bread pudding.

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The fresh banana on top helps to offset some of the darker aspects of the bread pudding, and the sweetened condensed milk moistens everything to make it more smooth. It was a fine pudding, though nothing that really wowed us, and not as good as the bread pudding available right across the seating area at Pacific Wharf Café.

Holiday Ponche – $5.99

Holiday-spiced guava drink served with fresh fruit and sugar cane

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This is a fun holiday punch with a guava base. With the heaps of mulling spices mixed in, it’s hard to get at the base flavor of the guava itself. Though, mulling spices make it difficult to get at the base flavor of grapes in mulled wine or tart cranberries in a winter punch, so it’s no mark against this drink.

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This is sweet and full of red fruit flavors, offset by the spice notes for a classic holiday combination of yuletide flavors.

Holiday Ponche Cocktail – $16

Holiday-spiced guava drink served with fresh fruit, sugar cane, and a shot of tequila

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The non-alcoholic version is good on its own, and the addition of a tequila shot for the cocktail brings a bit of agave flavor with none of the alcohol bite, as it is lost in the shuffle of fruit and spice. Stirring the cocktail with the included sugar cane diminishes the tequila flavor, and makes it virtually indistinguishable from the non-alcoholic version.

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With that in mind, we prefer the non-alcoholic version because if you can’t taste the tequila and all is equal, then not only is the price point better, but you can have several cups of this punch without needing a cab ride home.

Watch our video review of all the Festival of Holidays marketplaces:

The Festival of Holidays runs from November 11 through January 8 at Disney California Adventure.

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