As I mentioned about few weeks ago, I had a few reservations actually scheduled during my trip the last week of January. I meant to post a review earlier but am finally getting to it! I stayed at BWV so CBS was convenient. I had 3 breakfasts, one dinner, and I also did the Afternoon Tea. The atmosphere and decor were beautiful and the servers, for the most part, were very pleasant.
The breakfasts were probably the best meals that I had here. I ordered the Ham, Rosemary, and Goat cheese Quiche for my first breakfast and it was delicious. However, it was not warm enough. This will become a common experience for me with most of the meals I had here. The server for this first meal seemed more inexperienced than any of the ones I had for my other meals and she did not return to follow-up for awhile, so I had eaten most of it by the time she returned. The same was the case with the tea which was also not warm enough. I ordered the Challah Orange French Toast another morning for breakfast and it was excellent. And, then later in the week, I ordered the the Classic Eggs Benedict which was way, way, way too salty and I have never ever had eggs benedict be anywhere near this salty. When the server returned, I told him and he apparently mentioned it to the chef. He offered to replace it but obviously the sauce was pre-made and would have been the same. Later, when I was getting ready to pay, the server said the chef told him an error had been made in the sauce preparation and it was indeed way too salty. They hopefully discarded the rest of that batch!. But, they only discounted that part of the meal 25%. I will say that the last 2 breakfasts were warm enough, probably because I emphasized this request in my orders.
I also had one dinner there and ordered the Chicken Velvet Soup w/ a half baguette and the Chicken Piccata. The soup, as others have commented, was one of the best soups I have ever had. I did request that they heat it up more, though. The Chicken Piccata had "OK" flavor, though I've had much better, but was way overdone and I had to request a steak knife to cut it. I took most back to my room. After this meal, I canceled any future reservations I had.
Earlier in the week, I had the Afternoon Tea. I enjoyed the relaxing time spent in the lovely decorated room, which was in one of the rooms outside of the main dining room. The service was excellent and very attentive. For my tea choice, I ordered the Anichai, and requested that it be hot and steeped enough since I prefer a bold tea flavor. What I received was perfect and the server said this is how she always prepares tea, and mentioned that the server that I had for my first breakfast apparently did not prepare that tea properly. Later during the tea, I requested to switch to the mint tea (Menthe Poivree) and this was very refreshing, as well. The first food serving was the Orange Cranberry Scone, which was probably the best scone I have ever had! I wish they offered these for purchase at their shop but they don't; however, I believe they do at their Indiana shops. This is where the quality experience ended for me, though. The finger sandwiches were really tasteless and bland. And, the desserts , except for the excellent chocolate cupcake which they said was a takeoff on Gwendolyn's Famous Earl's Court Chocolate Cake, were too sweet and not, in my opinion, very unique or tasty. These included the French Macaron, Lemon Bar, Raspberry Jam Crumble Bar, Chocolate Truffle, & Magic Bar (this one was OK but hard as a rock and tiny). I took these back to the room to try later but ended up throwing then out after tasting them.
Just wanted to mention that I used to have tea at the Grand Floridian Gardenview Tea Room once or twice on every trip and I always LOVED it. Never had a complaint about any of the food or teas. And, the last time I had tea there, I paid $35 before tax or tip, so the quality and price of the CBS Afternoon Tea does not compare in any way to my previous awesome experiences at at GF. Sure wish it would open again, although I'm sure the prices would likely be much higher than they were previously!
During the week I was at WDW in January, I did order the Millionaire Cake at the Shoppe, and I did not like the frosting or filling which did not seem to add anything to the mediocre cake. I'm a chocolate lover so this was disappointing. I also had the Raspberry Champagne Cake which I actually enjoyed for its lightness and flavor. Had the Marie Antoinette macaron which was OK, though the buttercream was bland and excessive IMO.
Despite what were rather variable / ambivalent experiences at CBS, I would probably return on a future trip for either breakfast, or lunch for soup, and try a new dessert but probably not more than once per trip. I did enjoy the beautiful, relaxing atmosphere, but this didn't make it worth the prices vs. food quality.
