Canada Le Cellier, WHAT is the Big Deal?

[ricthemic]

What a huge disappointment. Wife and I planned a special night out and dined there last Wed. night (02-11-09). We had tried for years to get a reservation. We each ordered two different steaks medium rare. Her's had the coffee rub mine was regular strip. Both about $34.00. Neither of us finished our steaks. Both were tough and tasteless. The apps and soup were very good. The bread sticks and steak the waiter raved about were not. I think the cuts of beef were inferior at best and that would be a compiment.

We love Disney, DVC and Epcot but I have had better steaks thawed out of my freezer. Spent over a hundred dollars and wish I went to ESPN (hamburger/fries) or The Big River (great meatloaf)

We go to steak franchises like Outback and Longhorn. Their 12 dollar steaks are gourmet compared to Le Cellier.

Am I alone here? Was this just an isolated incident? Is the economy causing them to purchase lower quality beef?

I am not a shill for anyone so please don't respond in kind.

 

[TigerKat]

Haven't been there since Dec '07, but two years in a row we went and the steaks weren't of Shula's quality but they were much better than Outback or Longhorn. Hopefully you just got them on a bad night and this isn't a sign of a decline in the quality of their food.

 

[MickeyNicki]

We have not been in 2 years but are going back in 2 weeks...finally was able to get a dinner ressie. I hope the filets are still as good as I remember.

 

[emlutz23]

We ate there in January and loved it! All of our steaks were cooked correctly and the cheddar soup was awesome! The other bonus they had was a special "Chef's Selection" menu that allowed you to choose an appy, entree and dessert and it was included in the regular DDP! The choices were limited to 3 selections in each catergory and you could not substitute anything. But I loved being able to get an appy and have it included! I have no idea if this was a "limited time only" menu offering. But it was a nice surprise!

 

[mhmcduff]

I agree - I like Le Cellier but think they are waaaayyy overrated - they are a good steak house but locally her in NewEngland we go to Bugaboo Grill and have had better steaks- LeCellier a 6 or 7 out of 10 but certainly not a 9 or 10!

 

[Stacy_C]

FWIW, I totally agree, OP.

 

[MissMichelle]

Luckily we have always enjoyed our meals at Le Cellier and it is a must do every trip. My Mushroom Filet has alwasy been cooked perfect. I am sorry you had such a bad experience.

 

[BoomNLeon]

LeCellier was pretty good for us, too. The filet was one of the best I ever had. Our server was great and it was an all around good experience. There are better dining experiences out there, but this one worked for us.

Sorry you had a not so great time.

 

[drumms2112]

We agree that the restaurant has gone down hill. We were there April 08 for the second time and had pretty good steaks but with a long wait to be seated and the poor service, it was not worth all the trouble getting the reservation. We will not be going there on our next trip. There are too many better places to spend our time and money and I'm half Canadian! Come on Canada!

 

[onelilspark]

I don't think it's gone downhill, but I'm solidly in the group that isn't impressed with LeCellier. IMO, you want a good steak, go to Jiko. My parents will direct you to Yachtsman (I haven't been, but I'd go there too.) Just think that it's not worth the hype.

 

[Momma24beauTs]

This thread is making me feel a little better about not being able to get an ADR at Le Cellier!

 

[KatMark]

Hopefully, it was just an off night. We've eaten there our last five visits and have had absolutely perfect filets and awesome bread.

 

[LilyWDW]

I like Le Cellier but think they are waaaayyy overrated

I agree with this. The food was good when we went, but we rank both Raglan Road and Brown Derby ahead of it in quality of food and overall experience. I just think it doesn't live up to the hype on these boards (which means luckily I don't have to try and get an ADR for it lol).

 

[pooksma]

Guess I have to be the naysayer. We have eaten at LC the last three trips and its always been great. Sorry to hear you didn't enjoy it. That's what's great about dining at Epcot though, there are lots of great choices.

I may have a slight bias

 

[JLS]

We ate at Le Cellier about 5 years ago, pre dining plan mania, and we were also not impressed. That was before we had kids and we booked a number of nicer restaurants around the World including Jiko, CA Grille, Coral Reef, and a few others in Epcot. Le Cellier ended up being our least favorite of the nicer restaurants. Both of us thought that the dining room seemed almost like a dungeon. There was just no atmosphere in there and it was horribly crowded. Service suffered. I liked the cheese and pretzles and our steaks were OK, but nothing special. I would not refuse to return, but wouldn't go out of my way to go back.

FWIW, I think the restaurant's extreme popularity has a lot do with the DDP and the fact that it is one of the most expensive 1 credit TS places, as well as the only nice sit-down in Epcot to get what most Americans and Canadian visitors consider to be "normal" [i.e. non-ethnic] food. Tons of people enjoy a good steak, so it makes sense purely on menu. But the hysteria about getting ADRs for the place is not really justified by pure quality of experience, IMO.

 

[pezaddict231]

We enjoyed it when we went last year, but the quality is not anywhere near the signature restaurants on property. It is a good value at 1 TS, but not worth going completely crazy over to get a reservation. At first I was disappointed that we couldn't get dinner, so we took a lunch reservation instead (they have the mushroom filet on their lunch menu and that is what we both had). I was so glad it worked out that way though b/c we ended up eating dinner at R&C and had front row seats for Illuminations! There are so many great places to eat at Epcot that it's not worth stressing about 1 particular place.

 

[SonicGuy]

We were there last month and had a WONDERFUL meal. Service was impecable and the food was fantastic - as usual. We actually liked it better than our Yachtsman meal the night before. LeCellier and Yachtsman are always two of our must do's and we this next trip we are doing just LeCellier - it was that good.

Every restaurant can have a bad night.

 

[davinakb]

I agree with this. The food was good when we went, but we rank both Raglan Road and Brown Derby ahead of it in quality of food and overall experience. I just think it doesn't live up to the hype on these boards (which means luckily I don't have to try and get an ADR for it lol).

Tend to agree. We like Le Cellier well enough, but it's basic meat and potatoes more or less, so it's going to have a broader appeal. And it's only 1 TS credit on the DDP, so it's going to have a lot of people going and reviewing. Hard to live up to the hype. FWIW.

 

[Rebelmom67]

Le Cellier SUCKS and everyone should cancel their ADRs....post haste...

 

[wigdoutdismom]

Le Cellier SUCKS and everyone should cancel their ADRs....post haste...

Too funny Rebelmom, I wonder if anyone will take you up on that?
We have eaten at Le Cellier many times and have always had a good steak and great overall dining experience. It's been said before, that any restaurant can have a bad night. Just glad that we haven't been there on one of those. Sorry that some of you have, it's not fun to spend that kind of money and not get a good meal.