They Should Make Margaritas a Snack Credit! - September 2011 Dining Review

[jenneth79]

Note to self. Don't tell Nate that I have heard reports it may no longer be on the menu.

We may get overruled anyway by the other teen boys and have to go to Pecos Bills.

Pecos Bills? Noooooooo.

Well, I'll check for you next month to see if it's still on the menu....at least your info will be fairly recent. I'm sure we will be heading back there for lunch on our MK day. If not, I'll take a quick sneak pic of the menu!

How's he doing with making the trip, btw?

 

[mamaboogie]

Glad you enjoyed CHH - it is our haven of tranquility in the madness of the Magic Kingdom. We always sit upstairs and love the nautical theme. The tuna sandwich is my daughter's favourite and I love the shrimp basket.

Can't wait to hear about Le Cellier!

 

[Linda67]

I am a big fan of CHH
The tuna sandwich is great and everyone should try the hummus sandwich as well ... Yum

 

[gardengirl628]

Great reviews-thanks for sharing! Love the tuna salad at CHH!

 

[jenneth79]

Glad you enjoyed CHH - it is our haven of tranquility in the madness of the Magic Kingdom. We always sit upstairs and love the nautical theme. The tuna sandwich is my daughter's favourite and I love the shrimp basket.

Can't wait to hear about Le Cellier!

We really did love it, though I did perhaps get in the way of a few people while walking back downstairs. They have a ton of examples of military dress wear for each Country's Navy and time frames. I wanted to look at them all....others just wanted to climb the bloody stairs!

I am a big fan of CHH
The tuna sandwich is great and everyone should try the hummus sandwich as well ... Yum

That was #2 on my list when I was debating what to get, thanks for the advice, I might have to try that on our next trip!

Great reviews-thanks for sharing! Love the tuna salad at CHH!

Thank you! I'm glad to hear people agree, I was a bit nervous praising a tuna sandwich when it was just a....well....tuna sandwich!



TO ALL: A bit of a life update, I have been pretty sick lately and was diagnosed with pneumonia yesterday. It might not be next week until I get my Le Cellier review up, but I promise it will be as soon as possible!

 

[jenneth79]

Le Cellier

Our first Signature Experience of the trip would be our dinner at Le Cellier in the Canadian Pavilion.

One word: Yum.

I’ll be completely honest and say I didn’t really buy into all the hype surrounding this restaurant while planning our trip. I have since changed my mind, needless to say.

We started by waiting in the lobby for about 2o minutes. Two large parties were also waiting and the Hostesses were doing a fantastic job of passing the time with a Canadian-centric quiz. Eventually they ran out of questions and switched over to a Disney quiz, but about that time our table was ready.

Forgive me for my brain not remembering but I don’t recall which room we were seated in. Our server was very good about telling us, though. She was very friendly and attentive the whole time and took our drink orders quickly. Mike went for an Ephemere Beer sampler, and I went for a glow in the dark Torontopolitan. Good, but way too sweet. I should have stuck with beer or wine there!

(if nothing else, it’s fun to use for “scary ghost story” pictures)

Next we ordered our meals, and they brought out the bread basket. The pretzel bread is AMAZING!

(Seriously, everything people tell you about this stuff is true. As long as they are telling you it’s fantastic.)

Mike went for the Canadian Cheddar Cheese Soup, and I went with the Seared Scallops. Both were very good, I was quite impressed with the scallops but the soup was hands down the favorite. It’s also more than enough to share for those of you paying OOP. It’s filling. A bowl of this and pretzel bread can be a meal on its own.

(Happiness in a bowl. No lie.)

I opted for the NY Strip while Mike ordered the Rib Eye. I think next time I’ll order the Fillet, but the NY Strip was very flavorful, if a bit salty. It was a trend I continued to notice throughout our trip actually; Disney loves salt. If you have issues with sodium…well, watch out is all I can say. Even with that minor complaint, the steaks were very good, and Mike’s was simply divine. Fattier cuts of meat, when cooked properly, are really the most flavorful…totally worth ordering this if you get a chance!

(My NY Strip)

(Mike’s Cow on a Plate. Seriously, the thing was HUGE!)

Then we opted to just share a dessert (yes, I know, waste of DDP, but really, we were stuffed!) and we ordered the Maple Crème Brulee. This seems to be a rather controversial dish according to the DIS, so I will just say this. Yes, it is “just” crème brulee with a hint of maple syrup. However, it’s a darn good one. We both thoroughly enjoyed it and loved the cute presentation they brought it out with!

(Cute, no?)

Overall we were both very pleased with our Le Cellier experience and I’d put this one up there as one of the best “in park” dining experiences. Get on the phone at 6am 180 days out to make the ADR. You won’t regret it.

 

[gardengirl628]

Great review of Le Cellier. That soup looks a-mazing! Hope you are feeling better!

 

[natebenma]

I'm so glad you liked Le Cellier. I keep forgetting it is a Signature now! We have been twice and it is one of our family's favorites.

Why so blue, Jen? The glowing picture of you is great!

Love the soup, Love the bread, Love the maple brulee! The steak and other meals have been good, but the other stuff is really what makes Le Cellier memorable.

We have always (well, twice I guess), had excellent servers, too.

 

[hmillerbarilla]

These are really fun reviews to read! Thanks for taking the time to do it!

 

[sambisc]

We ate lunch at la cellier today and it was fantastic! The bread basket was a great starter (loved the pretzel sticks). Hubby and i both ordered filet mignon which was served with wild mushroom risotto. Steak melted in our mouths and had incredible flavor. Risotto was the perfect accompaniment with its earthy flavor. Creme brulee for desert was a nice finish. Can honestly say that this was the best steak we ever had. Server Megan was great too-we really enjoyed talking to her.

 

[amycakes]

Joining in.... Great reviews!!

Thanks!

 

[Linda67]

Great review of LC

Sadly for us it was the worst meal of our trip, I think we just hit them on a bad night as most people's reviews are excellent

 

[princessbride6205]

I'm guessing from your reviews so far that we have pretty similar tastes and views on Disney restaurants. So it makes your reviews extra helpful to me.
I've often drooled over that apple dessert at CHH but have never ordered it. I'm picky about my apple fillings, so I'm glad to know I haven't really missed anything!
And I'm happy to hear you had a good Le Cellier experience. We went for dinner almost 6 years ago and thought it was just okay. We'll be making our first return trip next month for a lunch and I'm looking forward to a good experience, but I'm managing my expectations.

 

[jenneth79]

Great review of Le Cellier. That soup looks a-mazing! Hope you are feeling better!

Thank you! I'm still coughing a bit here and there, but the antibiotics, inhaler, and lots of rest really helped! Pneumonia, even walking, is really not fun!

I'm so glad you liked Le Cellier. I keep forgetting it is a Signature now! We have been twice and it is one of our family's favorites.

Why so blue, Jen? The glowing picture of you is great!

Love the soup, Love the bread, Love the maple brulee! The steak and other meals have been good, but the other stuff is really what makes Le Cellier memorable.

We have always (well, twice I guess), had excellent servers, too.

So true (blue!), they could switch to a soup and pretzel bread only shop and probably still make it hard to get a reservation 180 days out!

These are really fun reviews to read! Thanks for taking the time to do it!

Thanks so much! I do like sharing my experiences, as so many other people's helped me decide where we'd eat on our trip! Paying it forward, if you will.

We ate lunch at la cellier today and it was fantastic! The bread basket was a great starter (loved the pretzel sticks). Hubby and i both ordered filet mignon which was served with wild mushroom risotto. Steak melted in our mouths and had incredible flavor. Risotto was the perfect accompaniment with its earthy flavor. Creme brulee for desert was a nice finish. Can honestly say that this was the best steak we ever had. Server Megan was great too-we really enjoyed talking to her.

Yay! I'm glad you also had a good experience! I think I might have to try the filet in a few weeks, thanks for sharing that!

Joining in.... Great reviews!!

Thanks!

and thanks!

Great review of LC

Sadly for us it was the worst meal of our trip, I think we just hit them on a bad night as most people's reviews are excellent

Can I ask if you had a long wait? The one thing I do see there is a potential problem with seating. It's a fairly small location, and the hostess desk seemed to be overwhelmed! Was the food bad as well?

I'm guessing from your reviews so far that we have pretty similar tastes and views on Disney restaurants. So it makes your reviews extra helpful to me.
I've often drooled over that apple dessert at CHH but have never ordered it. I'm picky about my apple fillings, so I'm glad to know I haven't really missed anything!
And I'm happy to hear you had a good Le Cellier experience. We went for dinner almost 6 years ago and thought it was just okay. We'll be making our first return trip next month for a lunch and I'm looking forward to a good experience, but I'm managing my expectations.

over here! I'd love to hear about what you think when you go next month, and I also hope it's a very good experience!

 

[jenneth79]

We visited Tutto Italia for lunch on the third day of our Disney trip, and while I’m aware this review may be a bit irrelevant (as referenced by the refurbishment work going on in the location in the next few months) I still want to include it as the overall experience might not be altered completely.

First off. I should mention that I am an Italian food snob. I don’t eat at Olive Garden, Macaroni Grill, or the like. I don’t believe eating Italian automatically means pasta and red sauce. Pasta should have olive oil and truffles on it. That’s it. Red sauce = Sunday sauce for me and cooks for at least 10 hours. It does not come from a jar unless someone in my family gave it to me. My grandmother and my mom both grew up in Italian neighborhoods in Baltimore. I grew up spending every weekend in Little Italy. I am an anchovy advocate. If it is a cured meat, I will most likely eat it if it’s sliced thin. Garlic is a blessing, and my love of seafood w/ white wine and garlic knows no bounds.

Risotto is a dish I hope someday to make properly. I still try at least once a month. I fail every time.

Ok, all that being said, you’re probably expecting me to turn up my nose at this place and say “oh, so not authentic.”

Yes and no. I find that we actually really enjoyed our lunch at Tutto, with one notable exception.

We were seated after a short wait at a small table near the entrance to the dining room. There was certainly a lot of traffic, but ultimately it didn’t bother us enough to ask to be moved. Mike ordered a Moretti beer (La Rossa) and I picked out a Napolitini, mix of limoncello, vermouth, and vodka.

They brought out some cured olives (I ate almost all of them myself… love olives) and bread w/ olive oil. Here’s a picture of the bread basket:

Then we picked appetizers. I went for the Prosciutto di Parma with Melon. This was the nicest surprise of my whole Disney trip, I think, in regards to portions:

Just a MASSIVE amount! I really could have eaten a plate of this for a meal! Ok, maybe two plates. Melon was nice and fresh and the prosciutto… oh yum. Needless to say I gave Mike only one or two bites and soon enough THIS was my plate:

(I’m not ashamed… it was soooo good!)

Mike ordered the “Bufala” Mozzarella. It was good, though the basil didn’t taste too fresh:

I then made what I think was a mistake and went with the Saltimbocca alla Romana. Here’s a picture, see if you can guess why:

Oh my. Greasy and salty. Ok, yes. I get it. It’s a salty dish to begin with. But it had that, the only way I can describe it was “sticky” greasy quality. Your tongue just gets coated with oil and not taste. The potatoes were good, and the veal wasn’t horribly overcooked. Was it horrible? No, not at all. Was it great? No.

Mike, however, ordered the Casarecci. I avoided pasta because I thought it would be too heavy, but it turned out that his dish was the far superior of the two. The pasta was cooked perfectly , the sweet sausage ragu was really very good, and the parmesean on top… yummy. We probably could have split this as a meal, actually, we kind of did after one bite of my saltimbocca We still couldn’t finish it!

Then for dessert (remember, we’re on the dining plan here, so we kind of felt pressured….ha!) Mike went with a special “tasting” plate of three desserts: Mocha Tiramisu, Cannoli, and Gianduja Torta. All three was good, but the mocha tiramisu, amazing! I would highly recommend ordering this if you get a chance!

(so little and cute! And yummy.)

I ordered a plain Gelati. (Zabaglione) It was pretty good as well, not too sweet:

Like I said, this may not be the most relevant review, but I was impressed with the overall food, service, and atmosphere of Tutto Italia. Still too salty on a whole, but by this time I was getting used to that at Disney.

Up next, a candidate for best dinner at Disney, Jiko!!!

 

[natebenma]

Thanks for the review of Tutto. We have never dined here, so I appreciate hearing about it.

I swear, you have the best food porn!!!

Is that the tiramisu in the little coffee cup (I know it is a cappuccino cup, but I am afraid of spelling that wrong)

 

[st4rrab0vemybed]

Loving your reviews! I had to laugh when you mentioned the Italian food snob thing ... my friend is the same way and refuses to go anywhere near an Olive Garden.

The Mocha Tiramisu is adorable ... and looks absolutely yum!

 

[Linda67]

Can I ask if you had a long wait? The one thing I do see there is a potential problem with seating. It's a fairly small location, and the hostess desk seemed to be overwhelmed! Was the food bad as well?

Actually we were seated pretty quickly, maybe a 10 minute wait
There were quite a few empty tables inside but they hadn't been cleared of dirty dishes (and weren't for the rest of our meal)
The food was really bad, stone cold side dishes and DH's steak was so fatty it was just awful to eat
Bizarrely we had a great night though as it was so bad it made us laugh

 

[jenneth79]

Thanks for the review of Tutto. We have never dined here, so I appreciate hearing about it.

I swear, you have the best food porn!!!

Is that the tiramisu in the little coffee cup (I know it is a cappuccino cup, but I am afraid of spelling that wrong)

Thank you thank you! I failed on a few of our dinners to get appropriate porn (ha, that sounds too funny!), namely V&A, but I at least have the menu and can talk about each...and...every....course.

The tiramisu is what was in the coffee cup, and it was amazing! Not quite as good as what Jiko had to offer.....but.....

Loving your reviews! I had to laugh when you mentioned the Italian food snob thing ... my friend is the same way and refuses to go anywhere near an Olive Garden.

The Mocha Tiramisu is adorable ... and looks absolutely yum!

Thank you!

My poor niece had her birthday two weekends ago (she just turned 8) and when her mom asked her where she wanted to go, she said Olive Garden... which I TOTALLY would have gone to (how do you tell an adorable 8 year old no on her birthday??) but apparently her mom said "Yes, but Aunt Jen won't come out if we eat there, so how about Sweetwater?")

Whoops. My snobbishness precedes me.

Actually we were seated pretty quickly, maybe a 10 minute wait
There were quite a few empty tables inside but they hadn't been cleared of dirty dishes (and weren't for the rest of our meal)
The food was really bad, stone cold side dishes and DH's steak was so fatty it was just awful to eat
Bizarrely we had a great night though as it was so bad it made us laugh

That's a total bummer, and what a horrible experience. I'm with you though, at some point you just have to laugh at the silliness of it all.

 

[jenneth79]

Jiko

As I referenced in my last review, Jiko is in the running for our favorite dining experience on our Disney trip! Mike and I arrived a bit early to AKL and as we had never been there before took a walk around the savanna viewing area. (Check out Day Three of our trip report for more details.) The grounds are simply gorgeous, and the hotel itself is breathtaking, in my opinion. Making our way to the restaurant space we noticed how the hotel was a bit dimly lit, but felt warm at the same time. The restaurant itself is small, but lovely, and we were seated at a table by the window, offering a view of greenery outside.

The service at Jiko was also superior to most other dining locations within Disney. We were given a card by our server that wished us a Happy Anniversary in all the different African languages the restaurant staff was from. He translated his particular message that wished us many blessings and a full life. Such a sweet touch!

If you like wine, you MUST eat here. Or even just sit at the bar and try a few glasses of South African wines you aren’t going to find anywhere else. Before showing you this picture, I should mention we did a wine pairing with our meal, so these bottles weren’t ALL for us, in case you took me for more of a lush than I already am!

(I keep on saying I’m going to try and find these at a local wine shop….one of these days….)

Also, we were given a nice basket of bread (a lot like semolina, lots of seeds, etc….pretty good but filling!)

…and butter too! Sweet potato type butter…..

(It should be noted that a lot of these pictures are dark because, well, the restaurant was dark and I didn’t want to set off bright flashes all night long disturbing other guests…. My apologies as these aren’t the best shots….)

I ordered a fresh salad with in season tomatoes, onions, and watermelon. It had a sprinkling of goat cheese and herbs over it with a light vinaigrette. A small portion, for certain, but really very refreshing and if you haven’t tried a watermelon salad (savory) you should check this out when it’s on the menu.

Mike went for the Grilled Wild Boar Tenderloin, which seemed much more braised than grilled, and I mean that in a very good way. This was super yummy. We both agreed each appetizer was excellent. I should also point out that they told us the best appetizers they have are the flatbreads, but for some reason I couldn’t bring myself to order one. Maybe next time. Unless the watermelon is on the menu again, in which case I will ignore the flatbreads once more.

Anyway, back to the picture of Mike’s boar:

For my main entrée, I decided to try the Grouper, which our waiter recommended highly, which came with pearl (aka Israeli) couscous, along with a base of a corn pudding. Here’s a picture:

I thought it was good, but I have to say I enjoyed Mike’s selection much more. He went with the Braised Short Rib (Which I jokingly called his meat overload) with truffled potatoes and baby carrots. This was so flavorful and the meat perfectly cooked, again, braised so it just fell off the bone and seasonings….just a hint of spice. Heck, the carrots were good! I have concluded the dish must be coated in butter, not that I care…but that level of goodness does not come at a low calorie cost. Oh wait, this is vacation, calories be damned!

I should also point out I found a hidden mickey on my dish!

Ahem.

Oh yes, dessert.

As you might imagine, after such rich food looking at a dessert menu might not be a priority, but as we were on the dining plan, we HAD to at least LOOK. And take pictures….

To this day I’m not sure how I avoided ordering the bread pudding. I love bread pudding. I have a recipe for both Ginger Jam and Pannetone bread pudding that I’m happy to share (it’s the best…dessert…ever). Must have been super stuffed to miss it.

We declined dessert, but our waiter insisted we had to try the crème brulee. Just a side question, does EVERYONE in Disney have the “best” brulee?

The presentation was so cute with the little micki-fetti and the dessert itself was very nice, if a bit sweet.

I should also point out they have AMAZING coffee. After drinking Nescafe for days it’s a welcome change! We lingered over coffee for a while and no one rushed us out of the restaurant. This was something I’ve heard a lot about happening in Disney, but it really seemed that everyone we met let us take our time.

Bottom line is that Jiko is a great location for a romantic or relaxing meal with fantastic service and amazing food!