TinkerBelle_325
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Aug 21, 2001
We were fortunate enough to dine at Victoria & Albert’s for the third time on October 28th 2010 – DMom’s birthday.
Our reservation was for 5:45pm and we arrived right on time. I must say, I was shocked to find nearly every table in the restaurant occupied! I could only assume that the influx of foodies for Epcot’s International Food & Wine Festival caused this surprising surge in dinership at our favorite WDW restaurant.
The fullness of the restaurant definitely changed the atmosphere. It was louder than usual, and had a more boisterous and celebratory vibe than its usual elegant and calm din. It was different – I can’t say better or worse necessarily, but different.
We were seated at a table for four, in the north east corner of the restaurant (if you are to assume the kitchen entrance is north).
Our servers, Dan and Dave were very attentive. We have been served by Dan during each of our visits to V&A. He had quite a bit of fun rapidly listing the seemingly endless inventory of ingredients in each dish so that I could madly scribble them into my small notebook.
This was my best friend Tania’s first experience at V&A and while she was a bit overwhelmed at first (aren’t we all the first time?) she loved every bite and every minute of our meal.
First up, the obligatory shots of the beauty that is a Victoria & Albert’s place setting.
Decorative Charger Plate
Softly lit lamp & a flawless roses
I will be dividing this review into posts for each course, starting with the amuse bouche.
The amuse was presented on a plate with four compartments. Going from the top right, clockwise we have:
- Tomato “Consume”
- Lobster Crepe with Osetra Caviar
- Smoked Salmon “Panna Cotta” with Dill and Salmon Roe
- Olive Oil Poached Baby Heirloom Tomato with Pesto and Sea Salt
The Tomato “Consume” was easily the star of the plate. It looks so deceptively simple, I mean it is a shot glass of colourless liquid, how can it be impressive? The flavour that came out of that unsuspecting liquid was nothing short of sublime! And that is coming from someone who does NOT like tomatoes. It was light, acidic, perfectly seasoned, wonderfully refreshing and I wished there was more of it.
The Lobster Crepe was creamy and sinful. The textural and flavor contrasts were wonderful. The soft crepe, the creamy lobster and the salty pop of the caviar perfectly accented each other. I would say it was tied with the next item as a solid 2nd on the plate.
The Smoked Salmon “Panna Cotta” was delicious as well. Slightly more herbacious than the Lobster Crepe, but sharing a similar textural/flavor contrast of creamy and smooth with salty popping roe. The added richness and smokiness of the salmon are what really made this dish.
Now, I will admit that I am biased when it comes to the Olive Oil Poached Baby Heirloom Tomato with Pesto and Sea Salt. You see, tomatoes are one of the few foods that I cannot stand. I love the flavor but the texture of a raw or whole tomato is just downright unpleasant to me. That being said, Victoria & Albert’s is about the only place in the world that will find me willingly eating (and often enjoying) tomatoes. This was fresh and light. But it was the weakest item on the plate in my opinion.
Our reservation was for 5:45pm and we arrived right on time. I must say, I was shocked to find nearly every table in the restaurant occupied! I could only assume that the influx of foodies for Epcot’s International Food & Wine Festival caused this surprising surge in dinership at our favorite WDW restaurant.
The fullness of the restaurant definitely changed the atmosphere. It was louder than usual, and had a more boisterous and celebratory vibe than its usual elegant and calm din. It was different – I can’t say better or worse necessarily, but different.
We were seated at a table for four, in the north east corner of the restaurant (if you are to assume the kitchen entrance is north).
Our servers, Dan and Dave were very attentive. We have been served by Dan during each of our visits to V&A. He had quite a bit of fun rapidly listing the seemingly endless inventory of ingredients in each dish so that I could madly scribble them into my small notebook.
This was my best friend Tania’s first experience at V&A and while she was a bit overwhelmed at first (aren’t we all the first time?) she loved every bite and every minute of our meal.
First up, the obligatory shots of the beauty that is a Victoria & Albert’s place setting.
Decorative Charger Plate
Softly lit lamp & a flawless roses
I will be dividing this review into posts for each course, starting with the amuse bouche.
The amuse was presented on a plate with four compartments. Going from the top right, clockwise we have:
- Tomato “Consume”
- Lobster Crepe with Osetra Caviar
- Smoked Salmon “Panna Cotta” with Dill and Salmon Roe
- Olive Oil Poached Baby Heirloom Tomato with Pesto and Sea Salt
The Tomato “Consume” was easily the star of the plate. It looks so deceptively simple, I mean it is a shot glass of colourless liquid, how can it be impressive? The flavour that came out of that unsuspecting liquid was nothing short of sublime! And that is coming from someone who does NOT like tomatoes. It was light, acidic, perfectly seasoned, wonderfully refreshing and I wished there was more of it.
The Lobster Crepe was creamy and sinful. The textural and flavor contrasts were wonderful. The soft crepe, the creamy lobster and the salty pop of the caviar perfectly accented each other. I would say it was tied with the next item as a solid 2nd on the plate.
The Smoked Salmon “Panna Cotta” was delicious as well. Slightly more herbacious than the Lobster Crepe, but sharing a similar textural/flavor contrast of creamy and smooth with salty popping roe. The added richness and smokiness of the salmon are what really made this dish.
Now, I will admit that I am biased when it comes to the Olive Oil Poached Baby Heirloom Tomato with Pesto and Sea Salt. You see, tomatoes are one of the few foods that I cannot stand. I love the flavor but the texture of a raw or whole tomato is just downright unpleasant to me. That being said, Victoria & Albert’s is about the only place in the world that will find me willingly eating (and often enjoying) tomatoes. This was fresh and light. But it was the weakest item on the plate in my opinion.
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