Anyone else not impressed by Le Cellier???

[Robert P]

We were also unimpressed and have no desire to go back. It was an average meal, but nothing that warranted another meal there. Been there, done that.

ditto!

 

[k&a&c'smom]

We've always enjoyed our meals at LC, but haven't been there in many trips, because it is so hard to get a reservation there! We like it, but there are many restaurants we like better - so if we can't get in, eh.

I've been wondering if we were the only ones who think this restaurant is waaaay overhyped - apparently not!

 

[cdtommie]

We go to Cellier pretty much every trip and we enjoy it but it is not on par with any of Disney signature restaurants
(the soup is great and the Unibroue beer is outstanding).

 

[Dreamfinder2]

I just try to put all the WDW theme park restaurants in context. Among Epcot restaurants, Le Cellier is good. I sure don't have any complaints. But I can't think of a single restaurant in any of the parks that would compare to really fine restaurants in metro areas around the country*. And while I'm real cautious about comparing Disney parks to other theme parks around the country - that's almost apples and oranges - the difference becomes pretty stark when comparing Disney park restaurants to OTHER theme park restaurants.

I think Mythos over at Universal holds its own with any of Disney's park restaurants. Beyond that, you are just gonna get a better meal at Disney.

*On second thought, Bistro de Paris is fine by anyone's standards when their mojo is working. And Brown Derby can be unusually good, but only when the stars and planets align.

V&A is the only place on Disney property that would be considered world class by anyone's standards, but it is, after all, Victoria & Alberts.

But, there are better-than-passable meals available all over WDW. Just keep your expectations real and you can have good, if not stellar, experiences.

 

[MickeyNicki]

We just ate there the other day and it was very good but I would not be heartbroken if we did not get in again for a while...it was over 2 years since we were there last and the filet was great and the pretzel bread...oh man they are good!

BUT we think Jiko is a heck of a lot better for filet

The one thing that was wild was at 1pm they were taking reservations for dinner that night. We arrived an hour before our ADR time and were seated in 5 minutes. There was a lot of emtpy tables at 5:45 pm on a Saturday night. When we left and hour later there was a longer line to get into Chefs de France than there was Le Cellier

 

[drakes]

As a Canadian I did not have interest ina Canadian Steakhouse. The decor looked miserable, and I felt my meal could be spent better elsewhere. However in January we chose the DlxDP so we decided to try our Disney's version of Canada! We were able to book our 180ADR for lunch only, no dinner available. I had read the hype on the DIS and the tour books as well as the TA. BUT I went in with an open mind. I like steak, I do not love it nor am I a food critic by trade!

Our lunch was our best meal! I did not expect this! I did not like the cheddar soup, but I ate it and gave it a chance. I did love the pretzel bread, be it known I have never eaten a soft pretzel before (until this past Disney trip- it was one of my missions). I did love the chocolate raspberry milkshake. And the mushroom filet was the best meal on our trip.

We did not try any signature dining, we tried many TS meals at each theme park and various resorts. This meal turned me into a steak lover. I have been to a variety of Canadian steakhouses since our return, and no luck charbroiled nastiness is what I get.

In regards to decor, I was pleasantly surprised that I did not feel more dungeoness, I actually found the seating capacity much smaller than expected. The tables were too close together, and the family next to us were amazed at how our CM took to us - maybe because we were Canadian. Mind you that family didn't even talk to each other let alone the CM. We were very social with all the CM and I could tell we brought a piece of home for them as we had "familair" talk about their hometowns landmarks.

Overall we would go back. We enjoyed it!

I went in expecting not to enjoy it and was pleasantly surprised! Would I hype about it? No, but I would recommend it for a nice sit down meal.

 

[drew64]

It is a very good but not outstandig meal. Not up to the raves you hear and certainly not up to may other steak houses out there.
Also, way too many tables crowded in to too small of an area.

 

[Sandy321]

This was by far our favorite meal of our Dec 07 trip so we went back in Dec 08 and it was truly horrible...horrible service and the food was terrible with my meal being virtually inedible. We were so disappointed. All those other folks can have our ADRs in the future!!!

I loved it from about 2003-2006 and I felt that it went a bit downhill from there. I still love the cheese soup, but otherwise it is underwhelming. I still enjoy lunch there.

I think Le Cellier used to be better. It seems like they have skimped on the meat quality the last couple years. Although I still love the cheese soup, we will not be returning there this Sept.

What they said (and include the too crowded tables!)

I've gone several times - the chefs have changed, the menu changed, and I think the quality of beef has changed...

other diners noted in trip reports that if you order 2 filets, one may be great, the other stringy

 

[majormom]

Well, I will try not to have to high of expecations for the restaurant. Hope for the best but expect less! We are going April 6 for the first time.

 

[donaldsgal]

We've eaten there 3 times. The first time, we loved it. The second time, it was okay. The shrimp in the appetizer tasted "old", the cheddar cheese soup tasted off (the cheese was old or something), and my risotto wasn't cooked all the way. That trip, the mussels were great. The bread is always tasty, but I can get good bread elsewhere. I love the "chocolate moose" every time. The third time, it was again just okay. Better soup, but the risotto was also not cooked all the way through. That's a big pet peeve. I shouldn't have to pick bits of something meant to be al dente or mushy out of my teeth - very unappetizing. I MUCH prefer Yachtsman or California Grill. Actually, we had delectable filets at Citricos, too. I'm excited to try Jiko this coming trip. I don't need to go back to LC for many trips.

 

[Tdisney]

All of disney restuarants are good to very good except victorias at the Grand Floridian. It is 5* but very pricey. We treat ourselves to it after the Mickey half marathon. The only thing that wasnt all that great was the coffee according to my wife which came out in this cool perculator. Ive eaten at alot of steak houses around the country and the Kobe beef was incredible could cut it with a fork. Now Im not sure if it was true imported Kobe beef from Japan or from the states but it was incredible. And the service was great and it really wasnt stuffy like most people think even though you have to wear a dinner coat. It also came with a wine pairing, I think we had 6-7 glasses and we took the monorail back to epcot and walked through back to the beach club. Perfect evening.

 

[ShannonMB]

I enjoyed the food at LeCellier. My steak was very good, and cooked as I had ordered it. The pretzel bread was delicious, and I did like the cheese soup and chocolate moose very much.

For some reason, the place just rubbed me the wrong way. The service was okay, maybe it was the tables being so close like others have said. I can't put my finger on it, but I am not dying to go back. In fact, it will be several trips before I even consider it. Nothing special to me.

 

[crisi]

All of disney restuarants are good to very good except victorias at the Grand Floridian. It is 5* but very pricey.

Like the real world, Disney restaurants start at the fast food burger (there is even McDonald's on site) and move up to Five Star. There are two questions at play when talking about any restaurant along that scale:

1) Are your expectations in line with the experience? Le Cellier is a good restaurant if you are expecting something along the Outback lines. It isn't a good restaurant if your steakhouse of choice tends to be Capitol Grill or Ruth's Cris. V&As is a good restaurant if you are looking for five star dining. If your expectations for fine dining are a step or too up from Olive Garden, you are going to find it expensive and foo-foo - you might, however, love Jiko. This is where I think many people are steered wrong on Le Cellier. The expectations we set are Jiko-like.

2) Is the value in line with the quality? Until Le Cellier raised menu prices about a year back, it was a great value for the quality - it was a good $24 steak considering you were in a theme park. In my opinion, it is no longer a good value. No one would consider the ribs over at Flame Tree gourmet food, but I think they are a great value - we feed two adults off the rib platter.

You can find restaurants at Disney all over the spectrum. Within the counter service and one credit table service experiences, I think there is a lot of variation in the value - and where you can set your expectations. Plus what you are expecting (I'm not going to Sci Fi for the food, but having a malt and watching the trailers while the kids eat the same kids meal they'd get somewhere else - its great!) The signature places tend to be a little more consistent in delivering a good quality/value/expectation package. And finally, there is V&As - which is in a class by itself at WDW (well, maybe Blue Zoo - it really isn't a similar style of dining, but in terms of value/quality, I think its probably close).

 

[JoePa4Ever]

We tried Le Cellier for the 1st time this past Sept. The food was fine & the service was fine, but we really don't care if we ever eat there again. There was nothing special about the meal and I particularly wasn't fond of the dungeon-like atmosphere.