Le Cellier review

[HootDad]

The one time I went to LC was in January of 2011. This was the one and only time that I have ever used the dining plan. We went for lunch - it was one table service credit at the time. It was actually a good deal as a single credit for lunch, but again I just don't understand all the fuss. That said I do want to try the pretzels and cheese soup - maybe I'll go back for that!

 

[ColoradoDisney]

I don't know how long you have been listening but Kevin's reviews are almost always like this. He reviews the experience as well as the food. The idea is that you pay for the "theming" and "experience" at a WDW restaurant, more so, perhaps, than at other restaurants.

I am a little curious at what you mean by "objective and balanced." All food reviews are subjective, Kevin's included (he has no hesitation in saying this). What did you find "unbalanced" about the review?

The thread was started encouraging feedback on the review.

I have been listening to the podcast for about 5 years, so I am pretty familiar with Kevin from a podcast personality perspective.

Having ate at Le Cellier multiple times, I just didn't find Kevin's review to be as helpful as it could be. He seemed to focus on some relatively petty items. The complaint about pricing could be leveraged against most of WDW in park restaurants. I would prefer to hear more about the food and less about the fact Le Cellier is in the basement. Of course Le Cellier means store room or basement (something close to that).

I don't hate Kevin. I am not going to stop listening to the reviews. I find the podcast entertaining, otherwise I would not listen. Someone asked what we thought and I simply gave me impression. I just found the review got side tracked onto minor issues.

 

[coopersmom]

The thread was started encouraging feedback on the review.

I have been listening to the podcast for about 5 years, so I am pretty familiar with Kevin from a podcast personality perspective.

Having ate at Le Cellier multiple times, I just didn't find Kevin's review to be as helpful as it could be. He seemed to focus on some relatively petty items. The complaint about pricing could be leveraged against most of WDW in park restaurants. I would prefer to hear more about the food and less about the fact Le Cellier is in the basement. Of course Le Cellier means store room or basement (something close to that).

I don't hate Kevin. I am not going to stop listening to the reviews. I find the podcast entertaining, otherwise I would not listen. Someone asked what we thought and I simply gave me impression. I just found the review got side tracked onto minor issues.

Please don't misunderstand and think I'm jumping on you, because that is not my intention and I don't think you've said anything wrong. At all.

The things mentioned in the review, might be petty to you, but they might be real deal breakers to others. Food quality is only one aspect of ANY restaurant review. Service and ambiance also play a big part in any review.

And that's the whole thing point ... Reviews ARE subjective. They are opinions and provide bits and pieces and impressions and glimpses from a single perspective, which is why sites that collect reviews say, of movies, (e.g. Rotten Tomatoes), are so valuable. They are hoping to gather a consensus. And, even then, for even the most widely panned film, there is some audience that will love it.

It's also why additional commentary on a review from others that either confirm or contradict the reviewer's impressions and experiences, are valuable.

No one should, or is being asked to, substitute anyone else's judgement for their own. If you strongly believe that Le Cellier is a good restaurant, with excellent ambiance, than it is. For you. For someone else? Maybe not so much.

Both positions are equally valid and can co-exist quite happily alongside each other.

And to John and Kevin ... Please don't be afraid to state your opinion strongly and clearly. Honesty and taking a position is what makes a review, even if it's one I personally disagree with, valuable. The instant you start couching your comments, for fear of reprisal and backlash, or even adoration and praise, is the point at which your reviews (or anyone's) become moot. So, keep proudly, and loudly, proclaiming what you love, what you hate, and why. And keep expecting your listeners to use their own judgement on whether or not to use that information for their own plans.

 

[ColoradoDisney]

Please don't misunderstand and think I'm jumping on you, because that is not my intention and I don't think you've said anything wrong. At all.

The things mentioned in the review, might be petty to you, but they might be real deal breakers to others. Food quality is only one aspect of ANY restaurant review. Service and ambiance also play a big part in any review.

And that's the whole thing point ... Reviews ARE subjective. They are opinions and provide bits and pieces and impressions and glimpses from a single perspective, which is why sites that collect reviews say, of movies, (e.g. Rotten Tomatoes), are so valuable. They are hoping to gather a consensus. And, even then, for even the most widely panned film, there is some audience that will love it.

It's also why additional commentary on a review from others that either confirm or contradict the reviewer's impressions and experiences, are valuable.

No one should, or is being asked to, substitute anyone else's judgement for their own. If you strongly believe that Le Cellier is a good restaurant, with excellent ambiance, than it is. For you. For someone else? Maybe not so much.

Both positions are equally valid and can co-exist quite happily alongside each other.

And to John and Kevin ... Please don't be afraid to state your opinion strongly and clearly. Honesty and taking a position is what makes a review, even if it's one I personally disagree with, valuable. The instant you start couching your comments, for fear of reprisal and backlash, or even adoration and praise, is the point at which your reviews (or anyone's) become moot. So, keep proudly, and loudly, proclaiming what you love, what you hate, and why. And keep expecting your listeners to use their own judgement on whether or not to use that information for their own plans.

I don't like the approach the review took. Frankly, I didn't disagree with all that much of the review. I was trying to be polite but I will be more blunt. I did not like the approach the review took. They spent too much time talking about the 10 seconds of them checking in at the podium. The review seemed very repetitive. I heard small table, dark, basement and expensive... over and over. I AM NOT DISAGREEING WITH ANY OF THESE STATEMENTS, I just found it to be repetitive and not as informative as it could have been.

If you read my other posts, I am not afraid to give my opinion.

 

[kbelle8995]

I hate to add fuel on the fire. Oh God I really do because

But for me going out to a restaurant and stating that it is the whole experience not just the food that makes the event. All these things have to work together.

The food can be fabulous but if the service is lousy. The people seating you are rude that colors the experience. I think it is just a diffence of opinion of how important this particular part is to you.

For me Le Cellier is such a hot ticket that you expect everything to be excellent from the moment that you hit the door is ampted up. Even higher with the prices you are now being charged. So if I'm going to treated wierdly at the podium I want to know that too.

Everyone has a different idea of what a review should entail. Kevin has given good opinions and reviews and I take this into account when I decide where to dine. It is just an opinion on how to do things and the experience. We both diffenent things from the review. Maybe at the least you were just entertained. And that's just fine

I'm really not trying to start an argument just state my point.

 

[*NikkiBell*]

I have been saying that Le Cellier is over-hyped for the past 5-6 years. Personally, I think that the popularity of it resulted from Disney fan sites like this (which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but one that's highly influential). It used to be a pretty good restaurant in Epcot that offered a different type of atmosphere than the norm and some unique and well-prepared food offerings. The cheddar cheese soup and pretzel bread were talked about quite a bit and the rest is history.

People began to book reservations, reservations became difficult to get, and people assumed Le Cellier was much better than it ever was. This caused the "Holy Grail" status that the restaurant has had for awhile now. Because reservations were hard to come by, people assumed that the food was even more spectacular - the idea that if you can't get a reservation there easily the food must be amazing became the philosophy. That air of "snooty-ness" had by the hostesses regarding no reservations ever being available just drove things even further.

Once Le Cellier and Disney management recognized what was happening, they decided to capitalize on it. More tables and chairs were brought in to accommodate more people. The cheddar cheese soup became a Food & Wine staple and the fact that they gave such a small amount as a serving caused even more people to want a larger person inside the restaurant. In terms of the DDP, the restaurant became a 2 TS credit eatery which hyped up its fame even more (think of the other restaurants that are 2 TS - all of which are purely signature, high-end dining experiences). Because certain items reached such a well-known status, Disney had to find a way to move them out of the kitchen quicker and, like any good business would do, see if there was a way to make more profit by altering the ingredients or their quality. This is when the food started to go downhill.

Now, Disney has decided to make the menu the same for lunch and dinner. Part of me thinks that this is somewhat of an effort, like the DDP change, to lessen the amount of reservations that come in. It seems to be working if you look at availability during peak season.

I think that there is hope for Le Cellier if Disney can get this "larger than life" reputation to die down a bit. It seems as if things got out of control very quickly and the company did not know how to stop the beast in the end. I guess time will only tell what happens next.

 

[WaDiWo]

Le Cellier is always an interesting conversation here, this thread is no exception.

I go for one main reason that hasn't been mentioned: Unibroue Beer. It is the only place on property that serves Unibroue, an exceptional quality beer from Quebec, and they have several varieties as well. Hard to find in any restaurant. But for me, worth going just for that.

There is one thing about Le Cellier that annoys me ... that Disney Trivia thing they have in the lobby while waiting. It's fine for kids, etc, but there always seems to be someone (could be me I confess ) who thinks that he/she knows everything about Disney ... when I know that MOST OF US HERE ON THE DIS can destroy the general public in a WDW trivia contest.

 

[HootDad]

Just wanted to give my $.02 about some of the statements about the usefulness (or lack thereof) of the review. Now, I don't know if I am in the majority or the minority of DIS podcast listeners, but I am not the super frequent WDW visitor. I try to get there once a year but that does not always work out (I was there in January for the marathon and I don't see a trip in my future until maybe 2015). So, when I listen to the podcast I really want 2 things - I want to "live vicariously" through them and I want to be entertained. And I find Kevin and John's reviews, with their often going on about some observation or detail and telling a funny anecdote, to be exactly what the doctor ordered!

 

[rotlex]

I pretty much agree with his review. We have eaten there one time, for dinner, and it was just OK. Frankly, I was expecting quite a bit more for all the hype. Honestly, if I'm eating in Epcot and in the mood for a steak, I'll take the one at the Rose and Crown any day. (Especially when using one vs two dining credits for Le Cellier

 

[jojomoore]

I listened to the podcast review last night of LeCellier. I have to agree that I do not see the hype over LeCellier either. I have only eaten there once in 2010 and it was a decent meal but nothing extra special that would make me want to go back and pay the expensive prices. I am willing to pay more for disney food because of atmosphere but I didn't like the atmosphere at LeCellier. It was small, crowded, and like he said in the review a gothic basement. I didnt care for the famous cheddar cheese soup. It was too strongly flavored for my sensitive pallot. The steak was good but nothing extra special. The atmosphere at Les Chefs is far more interesting to my entire family.Maybe LeCellier has become so popular because it is hard to get a reservation due to its small size and because all the other options in Epcot are not steak and potatoes.

 

[kaligal]

When they announced the 2 credits for dining plan people, it was obvious a lot of people who used to LOVE the place would decide it wasn't all that good, after all. Anyone who didn't see that coming is just dumb.

Before Le Cellier, everyone HAD to go to Boma and eat Zebra Domes. Maybe that will become THE place again. I think Ohana is the new place to go...but we will see.

Le Cellier was never as good as the hype it got on the DIS...but no restaurant could be.