For A Friend Who Doesn't "Dis"

[bytheblood]

Would you prefer Le Cellier or Via Napoli?

They are only going to do one TS meal in EPCOT and are trying to choose between steak and Italian (or even pizza).

I will send him the bookmark for this page - so any comments you have will be greatly appreciated by him and his family I am sure.
He said that he will keep one reservation and give the other to his sister who is traveling at the same time.....but they dont want to do any TS meals together because the parties will be more than they want do deal with.

He asked me, but I could not be of much help as I have never dined at Via Napoli.

If it makes any difference to those who are voting - the Via Napoli reservation is on a weekend day and the Le Cellier reservation is on a weekday. (I told him that really should not affect their decision)

 

[goofyintoronto]

Le Cellier is very over rated. You can get a much better steak/meal at your local steakhouse. I wasnt impressed with their "famous" soup, or steak! Ditto for the bread. The steak was tasteless and fatty. Very disappointing meal. Via Napoli on the other hand has some of their ingredients imported directly from Italy! Cant beat that. I'd pick Via Napoli.

 

[brerrabbit]

We ate at Via Napoli on Tuesday June 21 at about 1:00 pm with no ADR and they sat us in about 2 minutes. We loved it. Had the Caprese appitizer, salad and a Margherita Pizza. The food was great. We have eaten at Le Cellier and quite frankly of the two I would prefer Via Napoli. They have other Italian dishes but the pizza was very good. I would highly recomment it. Part of my reasoning is that I really don't eat red meat much any more for health reasons but part of it is we just really enjoyed the atmosphere. Via Napoli is bright and open and very friendly atmosphere. We actually sat in the room that has more of a patio feel to it where the doors can be opened in cooler weather. Of course it was hot and the ac was on so the doors were shut. The pizza ovens are really cool to because there are three and each one has a carving representing a face and their mouths are the ovens.

First time to eat there but we will definately be going back.

 

[Tinker'n'Fun]

You don't give too many specifics about age/who is eating, but....

We are a family of 4. We (DH and I) are in our 40's and our children started going to LeCellier around 13/15 and now are 16/19. We all enjoyed every meal we have had here, and we have gone around 4 times. I have another ADR for our August trip.

Something about this restaurant just clicks with our family. The CMs/Wait Staff have always been extremely friendly. Our food has always been very good and one dish that wasn't was fixed very quickly. We all have very diverse tastes but seem to all find a really good dish we enjoy.

Since the menu does change we have had quite a few of the different dishes, but the filet is always a hit - with mashed potatoes though for our family. We tend to gravitate to appetizers like the spicy sausage over polenta and tomato stack. The salads have always been very good, and a really great size.

Any more specifics, just ask.

 

[DonaldDoleWhip]

Been to both and I think Le Cellier is a better experience. Most of the food at Via Napoli is extremely pedestrian (yet overpriced) Italian that you can get at home, IMO. The pizza might be good (and slightly different if you're not used to thin crust), but it's also very overpriced and IMO not worth it unless you get some of the more interesting combos (prosciutto and melon).

I think Le Cellier, on the other hand, has the best theme park food at WDW. Many people go there and feel that it doesn't live up to the hype, but IMO if you order what you think sounds good instead of what other people like, that shouldn't be an issue. I've loved some of my appetizers at Le Cellier (duck meatballs, chicken sausage with polenta, lobster chopped salad at dinner), and personally I think they're much better and more interesting than the cheese soup. The mushroom filet with truffle butter and risotto was also very good and cooked perfectly, but a lot of people replace the risotto with cream cheese mashed potatoes.

Overall, I think Le Cellier is more unique than Via Napoli. Via is loud, bright, busy, and casual (almost like a cafeteria). Le Cellier is smaller and darker, which is better for a relaxing meal. Plus, Le Cellier's menu has some unique items (poutine, duck, truffle oil with the filet, etc) that I don't see even at higher end steakhouses.

 

[PryncessChrysty]

My dad doesn't "DIS" so he's completely oblivious to any of the hype surrounding any restaurants at WDW. We went to both of those restaurants multiple times during our trip last month and he really enjoyed both. In fact, besides breakfast at CP, they're his favorite restaurants on property. You can't really go wrong with either one, especially if they don't have any expectations going in.

That said, out of the two he preferred Le Cellier (and so do we). He's still talking about it and we've been home for over a month now. He loved the atmosphere (while Le Cellier can be a bit cramped, Via Napoli is usually VERY loud and bright), the food, the service, everything was fantastic during both of our experiences at LC. While VN was great (their pizza is amazing), there were some challenges along the way (service, noise, etc).

 

[bytheblood]

You don't give too many specifics about age/who is eating, but....

15 year olds to 80 year olds.

 

[disneyfav4ever]

I voted for Via Napoli. While I think Le Cellier is good, I also think it's overrated, but I really loved Via Napoli when I tried it last year.

 

[Lumiere Lover]

I vote for Le Cellier.

Also, I'm really sorry but I have to say-

Friends don't let friends not Dis!!

 

[tr-ray]

I have had both, Le Cellier before the big 'switch' and Via Napoli just recently.

While I liked both, for me, it would come down to my OOP costs or what I'm spending on the DDP. I'm not sure if your friends are using DDP, but for a dinner of 4 or more people, the difference between a meal at Le Cellier vs. Via Napoli could be huge.

Again, if DH and I just ate at Le Cellier OOP, excluding say deserts which we wouldn't necessarily get without DDP and before dinner was a 2 TS credit, the meal, plus a drink or two, could easily go over $100.

OTOH, pizza and drinks at Via Napoli was just over $50.

Not sure if price matters to your friend, but I would go with Via Napoli.

 

[BriarRosie]

Le Cellier is overrated, and I don't want to jump through hoops to get a reservation there.

I liked the Via Napoli pizzas, and I'd also give their other other dishes a chance on a future visit.

 

[bytheblood]

Not sure if price matters to your friend, but I would go with Via Napoli.

I dont think it does. They are staying at the G-Flo on their trip.
(Hope you don't mind me saying that "friend-who-does-not-Dis")