princess aleya
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I'm in 
Loving your reviews so far, can't wait to hear more.
Loving your reviews so far, can't wait to hear more.
First visit, wedding & honeymoon trip (with photos) 10/22 - 10/30, Updated 12/23
- Thread starter Lulu83
- Start date
librarygeek
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Ooh, those dishes at Victoria and Alberts sound amazing! Especially the duck looks really good. Someday we will definitely have to try dinner here - maybe on an anniversary one year 
Tracerr00
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- Nov 26, 2010
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Fantastic reviews so far! I was pleasantly surprised by the Tangierine Café as well. My DD and I shared a shawarma platter and we loved it! I would definitely go back there. Congratulations on your Disney wedding and I loved your review of Crystal Palace and the lovely touches that they added to your meal. I love Disney magic!
I'm enjoying your review of V&A as well. I'm not sure I'll ever make it there but I can live vicariously through you! Looking forward to more!
I'm enjoying your review of V&A as well. I'm not sure I'll ever make it there but I can live vicariously through you! Looking forward to more!
christinou
<font color=teal>Is now a Tag Fairy believer and i
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Great review, I look forward to the next 3 courses
emmysmommy
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What a great experience at Crystal Palace! The staff really went out of their way to make your day special.... I love that about Disney!
I don't think I've seen sweet/sour sauce that is anything other than the pinkish/red sauce. And the spinach noodles served as a side - how odd. Glad you were able to find a TS restaurant to use your new TiW card.
Your V&A dinner looks amazing! Ooops about the melon... you handled that so well. I'm impressed that V&A addresses even the smallest needs of the guest from making sure you are not too cold to having a hook for your purse. Very nice!
I don't think I've seen sweet/sour sauce that is anything other than the pinkish/red sauce. And the spinach noodles served as a side - how odd. Glad you were able to find a TS restaurant to use your new TiW card.
Your V&A dinner looks amazing! Ooops about the melon... you handled that so well. I'm impressed that V&A addresses even the smallest needs of the guest from making sure you are not too cold to having a hook for your purse. Very nice!
Thank you!
I'm in
Thanks!
Ooh, those dishes at Victoria and Alberts sound amazing! Especially the duck looks really good. Someday we will definitely have to try dinner here - maybe on an anniversary one year
That duck was amazing! V&As would be the perfect restaurant for an anniversary dinner, and I think the main dining room is more than special enough (although I'm sure the chef's table is amazing!)
Thank you! I don't think we'll ever make it back to V&As ourselves, it's very hard to justify that cost when we think about what else we could spend it on (like extra nights at Disney!) but I'm glad we got to try it once
Thank you!
Thanks!
What a great experience at Crystal Palace! The staff really went out of their way to make your day special.... I love that about Disney!
I don't think I've seen sweet/sour sauce that is anything other than the pinkish/red sauce. And the spinach noodles served as a side - how odd. Glad you were able to find a TS restaurant to use your new TiW card.
Your V&A dinner looks amazing! Ooops about the melon... you handled that so well. I'm impressed that V&A addresses even the smallest needs of the guest from making sure you are not too cold to having a hook for your purse. Very nice!
Thanks! I'm glad I'm not the only one who found those things at Nine Dragons a little odd! My DH has actually been to China before, I just thought to ask him what their sweet and sour is like over there, and he said it's the usual pinkish kind.
By this stage we were starting to get a little full! I think DH was doubtful when he saw the portion sizes that he would feel full, but when you're having so many courses and with bread as well it adds up!
For our last savoury course I had;
Herb Crusted Lamb with Turnip and Swiss Chard - sorry this one is super dark!
And DH had;
Marcho Farms Veal Tenderloin with Baby Tomatoes and Artichokes
I love my lamb, I was born in New Zealand and grew up in NZ and Australia, and I might be biased but I think we have some of the world's best lamb here! This lamb was very nice, but a little salty for my taste, and perhaps not as tender/flavourful as we get at home? It was perfectly cooked though and nice and pink in the centre.
From memory DH also felt this course was a little salty. He was excited to try zucchini flowers for the first time and was surprised he liked them. His veal was tender and perfectly cooked and he enjoyed it, but it wasn't a stand out course for him either.
For our second to last course I had;
Montgomery's Cheddar, Gouda Reypenaer XO, Colston Bassett Stilton, Sottocenere Al Tartufo
And DH had;
White Chocolate Gelato with Tableside Shavings
I loved the cheese! I'm tempted to say this was my favourite course of the night, the cheeses were all delicious and the little accompaniments for them were perfect. I wish I could remember them all but it was things like a little slice of poached pear and a drizzle of honey. I'm so sad I couldn't finish all of this, I was getting super full!
DH loves white chocolate so this choice was a no-brainer for him. He said it was nice. They shaved the white chocolate shavings over the top at the table to add a bit of theatre.
Next we were offered tea and coffee. DH was concerned about having trouble sleeping and getting up for our 3:30am start the next day, so he opted for a herbal tea. I can never say no to coffee so that's what I went for! The coffee and teas are prepared at the table using a vaccuum coffee maker, which is similar to a siphon. It was very cool to watch and something we'd never seen before! Unfortunately my photos didn't turn out. DH enjoyed his tea and the coffee was nice, but I must say I didn't think it tasted any better (or worse) than my usual plunger coffee or espresso.
For our final course I had;
Vanilla Bean Creme Brulee
And DH had;
Caramelized Banana Gateau
I couldn't fit in more than about half of my dessert! It was a tasty creme brulee and I especially liked the fresh berries on top.
DH's dessert looked spectacular with the spun sugar decoration on top. He said it was very nice, but also couldn't finish it. I hate bananas so I didn't try this one myself!
As guests leave V&As they are given a gift to take home - a breakfast bread and a rose for the ladies. Our menus were also placed in a nice envelope for us to keep.
I think our dinner took about 2 - 2.5 hours in total. We caught a taxi back to our hotel and managed to get a few fitful hours of sleep before it was up bright and early for our second round of wedding photos (absolutely worth it though!)
The cost for this meal was (gulp!) $284.04
* Two dinner menu $270.00
* 20% gratuity (I'm not sure why it was 20 and not 18 like everywhere else we used the TiW?) $54.00
* 20% TiW discount $54.00
And my rating;
So why Sally and not a Lightning McQueen? Two reasons;
1. We didn't personally find the service to be particularly amazing here. The servers seemed a little bored (e.g. aside from our menus our wedding wasn't acknowledged), made a few sarcastic jokes/comments throughout the night that they just didn't manage to pull off as funny (at least to us) and seemed like they were going through a routine rather than genuinely interacting with diners. They didn't seem like people who loved or were passionate their jobs or hospitality, at least the servers we had. These are minor things, and at any other restaurant wouldn't have bothered me at all. But when I'm tipping over $50 I expect a lot more than usual. Perhaps we just caught them on a bad night?
2. For us this was an incredibly expensive meal, and at the end of the night we didn't really feel as though it was worth the price tag. Perhaps my expectations were too high, and whilst there were a few courses that were amazing (the duck, the cheese, the ravioli) several (the creme brulee, gelato, lamb and veal) were similar to those we'd had in much cheaper restaurants. We have done degustation at home before, and I remember every single course blowing me away. It was less than half the price of V&As and far more technique went into each course (the chef was really into molecular gastronomy so he experimented with lots of different textures, temperatures and flavours).
I don't think we would dine here again (unless we suddenly became very wealthy!); but I'm so glad we got to experience it once, and I would recommend it to anybody else considering it, because you really need to try for yourself before you know if you'll love it or not.
For our last savoury course I had;
Herb Crusted Lamb with Turnip and Swiss Chard - sorry this one is super dark!
And DH had;
Marcho Farms Veal Tenderloin with Baby Tomatoes and Artichokes
I love my lamb, I was born in New Zealand and grew up in NZ and Australia, and I might be biased but I think we have some of the world's best lamb here! This lamb was very nice, but a little salty for my taste, and perhaps not as tender/flavourful as we get at home? It was perfectly cooked though and nice and pink in the centre.
From memory DH also felt this course was a little salty. He was excited to try zucchini flowers for the first time and was surprised he liked them. His veal was tender and perfectly cooked and he enjoyed it, but it wasn't a stand out course for him either.
For our second to last course I had;
Montgomery's Cheddar, Gouda Reypenaer XO, Colston Bassett Stilton, Sottocenere Al Tartufo
And DH had;
White Chocolate Gelato with Tableside Shavings
I loved the cheese! I'm tempted to say this was my favourite course of the night, the cheeses were all delicious and the little accompaniments for them were perfect. I wish I could remember them all but it was things like a little slice of poached pear and a drizzle of honey. I'm so sad I couldn't finish all of this, I was getting super full!
DH loves white chocolate so this choice was a no-brainer for him. He said it was nice. They shaved the white chocolate shavings over the top at the table to add a bit of theatre.
Next we were offered tea and coffee. DH was concerned about having trouble sleeping and getting up for our 3:30am start the next day, so he opted for a herbal tea. I can never say no to coffee so that's what I went for! The coffee and teas are prepared at the table using a vaccuum coffee maker, which is similar to a siphon. It was very cool to watch and something we'd never seen before! Unfortunately my photos didn't turn out. DH enjoyed his tea and the coffee was nice, but I must say I didn't think it tasted any better (or worse) than my usual plunger coffee or espresso.
For our final course I had;
Vanilla Bean Creme Brulee
And DH had;
Caramelized Banana Gateau
I couldn't fit in more than about half of my dessert! It was a tasty creme brulee and I especially liked the fresh berries on top.
DH's dessert looked spectacular with the spun sugar decoration on top. He said it was very nice, but also couldn't finish it. I hate bananas so I didn't try this one myself!
As guests leave V&As they are given a gift to take home - a breakfast bread and a rose for the ladies. Our menus were also placed in a nice envelope for us to keep.
I think our dinner took about 2 - 2.5 hours in total. We caught a taxi back to our hotel and managed to get a few fitful hours of sleep before it was up bright and early for our second round of wedding photos (absolutely worth it though!)
The cost for this meal was (gulp!) $284.04
* Two dinner menu $270.00
* 20% gratuity (I'm not sure why it was 20 and not 18 like everywhere else we used the TiW?) $54.00
* 20% TiW discount $54.00
And my rating;
So why Sally and not a Lightning McQueen? Two reasons;
1. We didn't personally find the service to be particularly amazing here. The servers seemed a little bored (e.g. aside from our menus our wedding wasn't acknowledged), made a few sarcastic jokes/comments throughout the night that they just didn't manage to pull off as funny (at least to us) and seemed like they were going through a routine rather than genuinely interacting with diners. They didn't seem like people who loved or were passionate their jobs or hospitality, at least the servers we had. These are minor things, and at any other restaurant wouldn't have bothered me at all. But when I'm tipping over $50 I expect a lot more than usual. Perhaps we just caught them on a bad night?
2. For us this was an incredibly expensive meal, and at the end of the night we didn't really feel as though it was worth the price tag. Perhaps my expectations were too high, and whilst there were a few courses that were amazing (the duck, the cheese, the ravioli) several (the creme brulee, gelato, lamb and veal) were similar to those we'd had in much cheaper restaurants. We have done degustation at home before, and I remember every single course blowing me away. It was less than half the price of V&As and far more technique went into each course (the chef was really into molecular gastronomy so he experimented with lots of different textures, temperatures and flavours).
I don't think we would dine here again (unless we suddenly became very wealthy!); but I'm so glad we got to experience it once, and I would recommend it to anybody else considering it, because you really need to try for yourself before you know if you'll love it or not.
I'd read so many rave reviews about this place when preparing for our trip so we just had to try it! The line was out the door but I convinced DH it would be worth the wait (at least I hoped so!)
We decided to order two different sandwiches and split them. DH's choice was The Full Montagu "freshly roasted beef, turkey, aged swiss & sharp cheddar, lettuce, roma tomatoes & the Earl's mustard sauce". I chose The Holiday Sandwich "oven roasted turkey, hearty stuffing, zesty cranberry sauce, seasoned mayonnaise and warm gravy". We also ordered a pasta salad and fountain soda.
I'm sorry this photo doesn't look particularly appetizing for some reason!
The Full Montagu was good, but nothing particularly amazing. The Holiday Sandwich on the other hand... wow! We both agreed this was probably the best sandwich we'd either eaten. Mayo, cranberry sauce and gravy doesn't sound like the greatest combination but when you actually try it, it just works! We both found this to be quite filling (I think it's the stuffing?) so whenever we went back to EoS, we just ordered the one Holiday Sandwich and split it. Half each with a salad was plenty.
The pasta salad was nice. DH mainly ate this as I'm more of a potato salad person (we tried that on a later visit and it was yummy!)
The cost came to $15.20 after tax making this a very economical meal!
* The Full Montagu $5.99
* Holday Sandwich $5.99
* Pasta Salad $1.79
* Fountain Soda $1.99
My rating;
I couldn't give The Holiday Sandwich any less! (I'd probably give The Full Montagu a Mater if I was rating that alone though)
We decided to order two different sandwiches and split them. DH's choice was The Full Montagu "freshly roasted beef, turkey, aged swiss & sharp cheddar, lettuce, roma tomatoes & the Earl's mustard sauce". I chose The Holiday Sandwich "oven roasted turkey, hearty stuffing, zesty cranberry sauce, seasoned mayonnaise and warm gravy". We also ordered a pasta salad and fountain soda.
I'm sorry this photo doesn't look particularly appetizing for some reason!
The Full Montagu was good, but nothing particularly amazing. The Holiday Sandwich on the other hand... wow! We both agreed this was probably the best sandwich we'd either eaten. Mayo, cranberry sauce and gravy doesn't sound like the greatest combination but when you actually try it, it just works! We both found this to be quite filling (I think it's the stuffing?) so whenever we went back to EoS, we just ordered the one Holiday Sandwich and split it. Half each with a salad was plenty.
The pasta salad was nice. DH mainly ate this as I'm more of a potato salad person (we tried that on a later visit and it was yummy!)
The cost came to $15.20 after tax making this a very economical meal!
* The Full Montagu $5.99
* Holday Sandwich $5.99
* Pasta Salad $1.79
* Fountain Soda $1.99
My rating;
I couldn't give The Holiday Sandwich any less! (I'd probably give The Full Montagu a Mater if I was rating that alone though)
cajunbaby1
DIS Veteran
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- Apr 4, 2008
- Messages
- 592
Congratulations you guys!! 
librarygeek
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jan 1, 2011
- Messages
- 3,122
I can totally understand your rating on V&A's. I think paying that much for one meal, it would be really hard for me to feel it was "worth it." I can see how it's good to have the experience once (and we definitely plan to at some point!) but even if everything was really good, if every course wasn't the best thing I've ever had then I probably wouldn't want to pay that much to dine there again.
And yes, I'm one of those Earl of Sandwiches lovers! I haven't had the holiday sandwich because I really don't like mayo or gravy so I doubt I'd care for it just because of my preferences. The Full Montagu actually blew me away, and I'm not usually a huge fan of mustard and roast beef. My favorite is the caprese though
And yes, I'm one of those Earl of Sandwiches lovers! I haven't had the holiday sandwich because I really don't like mayo or gravy so I doubt I'd care for it just because of my preferences. The Full Montagu actually blew me away, and I'm not usually a huge fan of mustard and roast beef. My favorite is the caprese though
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