Does LeCellier really live up to all the hype?

[lady danger]

I think it's unfair to compare Le Cellier to the Signature restaurants and expect it to be as good.

I don't quite understand why it's unfair. Perhaps a few years ago when there was a big difference in prices between the two restaurants, I might have agreed. But when the prices of their appetizers and desserts are about on par to what they are at (say) Citricos, and their Filet is only $1 cheaper, why should I expect the quality of the food and experience to be inferior? I know a lot of people look at these restaurants in terms of DDP credits, but there are plenty of us that pay out of pocket and my meal at Citricos in August '07 didn't cost me much more than my meal at Le Cellier during the same trip and that was before the big price increase of the filet. But my meal at Citricos was head and shoulders above my meal at Le Cellier, in terms of service, atmosphere and food. If I'm paying the same money to the same company, why should I accept that I'll get inconsistent quality between two different restaurants? To me, that seems unreasonable.

Now don't get me wrong, while I feel Le Cellier is way overhyped, I don't think it's a bad restaurant. I enjoyed my meal there, but I thought it about on par with what I could get at my local Outback. I like Outback, but I have no illusions that it's a high quality establishment. It's a place where I can get a decent stake for under $20. But Le Cellier serves about that quality of food with smaller portions, a 50% markup in price and served in a cramped setting. That kind of dampens any rave reviews I might have for this place. Would I eat there again? Possibly. The food is fairly good. Not amazing, but satisfying. But I'm in no hurry to go back. There are better restaurants out there, even within walking distance of this one.

 

[Lynn5700]

we love it..I go for the cream cheese mashed potatos lol....I tried the chicken that the cream cheese mashed potatos come with and it was so good!!!!

 

[centurythree]

Part of me wonders if it's so popular because it's the most Americanized restaurant in WS. People don't want to go outside their comfort zone and try another cuisine so they go with plain old steak.

Le Cellier was my family's first TS restaurant in World Showcase. I'm perfectly willing to admit that we were more willing to give it a shot because the food didn't look intimidating when we looked at the menu outside. We enjoyed it and branched out to other WS restaurants from there.

I really like Le Cellier. However, very, very few restaurants are able to live up to this sort of hype. I certainly don't understand how anyone's trip to WDW could be "ruined" by not getting into it.

 

[centurythree]

Tricia, so true. However, and you mentioned this, the majority of Americans don't go to restaurants that are "better" than the ones in Disney World. They consider Applebee's and Red Lobster to be the creme de la creme. So if they are going to le celier one night, chefs the next, tutto the next.. they are going to think they are in heaven. As for me, I eat my mom's home cooking 6 nights a week and I love her cooking, but its a very nice treat to eat out at these nice restaurants in Disney World for 6 or 7 nights straight.

Also, the CS at Disney blows away what most americans eat for lunch at fast food joints like Mickey D's or BK. Give me Harbor House or Fish & Chips or Swarama Platter anyday over that junk!!

 

[raven69david]

We ate there in December and I made ADR's yesterday for Le Cellier again. The restaurant was OK, and it wasn't anything close to extraordinary. I did enjoy the food but I think I enjoyed the atmosphere more. I like the dungeon-like look and I think the food tasted better because I was hungry, however afterwards I was like "hhhmmmm, not sure if it lived to my expectations" so I think i'll try it again just to get another perspective of the restaurant as we'll be with bil, sil, nephew & niece.