Disbug
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Apr 4, 2003
- Messages
- 3,036
We visited WDW the week before Christmas and I had made all of the ADR's based on input from other family members. No one other than my immediate family had ever tried Le Cellier, and I just RAVED about it and said it was a MUST DO! Well, I even secured 3 different ADR's to make sure we were able to get in either for lunch or dinner... Thus begins our saga!
Our wait to be seated was very reasonable, and like everyone else we got to sit and watch the many people without ADR's who were turned away. They even placed a podium out in front of the restaurant to try and curb the crowd that was coming into the Lobby of the restaurant. Apparently, Le Cellier is sold out through the New Year! GARSH!
When our name was called we were all happy to see that we were seated together (party of 10) along one wall in the New Brunswick section of the restaurant. (Our ADR stated we would be at 3 separate tables...which we technically were. We were just side by side!) Half of us had bench seating while the other half had chairs. Our waiter was an extremely nice and personable young man... but waaayyy too inexperienced to be a waiter. He offered us nothing that we didn't have to pry out of him. Usually you get a nice introduction as to what province you are being seated in. Another nice touch is the explanation of the story behind the different soft breadsticks that are served. (I won't spoil it for you newbies! But be sure to ask your CM for the story it is nice!) He took our drink order and that was the last we saw of him for about 20 minutes. When the drinks came, he didn't bring all of them. It was really sad... and a foretelling of more agony to come. We even had to ask for our bread and butter; which he did not bring enough of so we ran out during the first 5 minutes! (As a side note our favorite was a tie between the Multi-grain and the Pretzel soft bread sticks! The sour dough was good, but definitely ranked 3rd! This was served with REAL butter wedges, YUM!)
For a starter, I ordered the Canadian Cheddar Cheese Soup - smoked bacon and Moosehead beer $4.99.This is an awesome soup and simply delicious. Others in our group wished later they had also ordered this, but thought it would be too much salt for their diet.
For my main dish, I ordered an entree salad: Mixed Field Greens - crumbled blue cheese, fried sweet potatoes, with pecan-shallot vinaigrette $6.99; add grilled chicken breast $2.99. It was not too complicated and I knew it to be delicious. I also ordered a nice Riesling to accompany my choices.
My DD17 and her 16 yr old cousin both ordered the Calgary Maple Barbecue Chicken Sandwich topped with Canadian bacon and Black Diamond cheddar cheese served with a creamy celery root slaw $11.99 and were both very happy with this. As an appetizer, my hungry nephew added: Grilled Beef Tenderloin Kebab - with caramelized onion tart $10.99 This was pronounced "amazing" by both teens!
Keeping with tradition, my DD11 who loves Chicken Caesar salad more than Fruit Loops.. ordered her "usual": Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad - baby romaine lettuce, marinated grilled chicken breast, and creamy Caesar dressing $10.99
My DH was in the mood for a burger and thus ordered: Grilled Steak Burger - topped with your choice of Cheddar, Gruyere or Blue Cheese $9.99 *Which was served with Cheddar and Applewood smoked bacon for $1.00 more.
My Mother enjoyed her entree salad as well, settling on the Beef Tenderloin Salad - beef tenderloin tips, mixed greens, and pine nuts, finished with raspberry vinaigrette $15.99
Now we come to the problem part of the meal... both my Dad and my BIL ordered the Sliced Prime Rib "French Dip" Sandwich - French onion roll, caramelized onions, Canadian cheddar, and horseradish cream spread and beef jus $14.99. The server inquired how they would like it cooked and I believe they both requested Medium Rare. Well, when it was served it was medium well and sliced thin and looked like chipped beef, not prime rib... uh, oh. This was not good since at the start they were out of the Prince Edward Island Mussels with smoked bacon, corn, peppers, and white wine butter $9.99. The server recommended the "Candied Salmon" which I had never seen on the menu before, and is NOT cooked.... it is RAW salmon. Well, this ended up making my father sick! YIKES! To compound the situation, my Sister who has traveled coast to coast and has eaten in many fine restaurants from New York to LA, ordered another dish I had never noticed on the menu... a Portobello mushroom sandwich, which advertised that it was sprinkled on top with Goat cheese. She requested that the goat cheese be omitted since she cannot abide the taste. When it was served, I saw no goat cheese, but she insisted she could taste it in the dish and was so upset she lost her appetite and did not wish to have it remade. Hanging my head at this point going... OK, why are those that have eaten here before having a wonderful meal, but the "newbies" are having such a rotten experience? I know... it is because I sang the praises of this restaurant too loudly and I am being punished for my arrogance!
At this point, it has become apparent that this meal is not going to get any better and I excuse myself to go in search of the manager. Although most of our group has enjoyed the meal, it is tempered by the length of time we have been rooted at our table... over 1.5 hours. After explaining my concerns with the meal, and the service, I request to have the Portobello sandwich removed from our tab, as well as the automatic 18% gratuity. I assured the manager how much we personally liked our waiter, he had really been so inefficent and unknowledgeable it had affected our overall dining experience. Perhaps he just needed more training? She agreed that was fair and we were satisfied. I know we tipped at least 15% of our bill, since I was happy with my family's food. But the service was indeed too slow, and a 2 hour meal was unreasonable for lunch. (*I should also add we had a 4 yr old in a wheelchair who we finally had to wheel out of the restaurant due to the time factor...)
So will I go back? YOU BETCHA! Will I HIGHLY recommend that others do so? NEVER!
Our wait to be seated was very reasonable, and like everyone else we got to sit and watch the many people without ADR's who were turned away. They even placed a podium out in front of the restaurant to try and curb the crowd that was coming into the Lobby of the restaurant. Apparently, Le Cellier is sold out through the New Year! GARSH!
When our name was called we were all happy to see that we were seated together (party of 10) along one wall in the New Brunswick section of the restaurant. (Our ADR stated we would be at 3 separate tables...which we technically were. We were just side by side!) Half of us had bench seating while the other half had chairs. Our waiter was an extremely nice and personable young man... but waaayyy too inexperienced to be a waiter. He offered us nothing that we didn't have to pry out of him. Usually you get a nice introduction as to what province you are being seated in. Another nice touch is the explanation of the story behind the different soft breadsticks that are served. (I won't spoil it for you newbies! But be sure to ask your CM for the story it is nice!) He took our drink order and that was the last we saw of him for about 20 minutes. When the drinks came, he didn't bring all of them. It was really sad... and a foretelling of more agony to come. We even had to ask for our bread and butter; which he did not bring enough of so we ran out during the first 5 minutes! (As a side note our favorite was a tie between the Multi-grain and the Pretzel soft bread sticks! The sour dough was good, but definitely ranked 3rd! This was served with REAL butter wedges, YUM!)
For a starter, I ordered the Canadian Cheddar Cheese Soup - smoked bacon and Moosehead beer $4.99.This is an awesome soup and simply delicious. Others in our group wished later they had also ordered this, but thought it would be too much salt for their diet.
For my main dish, I ordered an entree salad: Mixed Field Greens - crumbled blue cheese, fried sweet potatoes, with pecan-shallot vinaigrette $6.99; add grilled chicken breast $2.99. It was not too complicated and I knew it to be delicious. I also ordered a nice Riesling to accompany my choices.
My DD17 and her 16 yr old cousin both ordered the Calgary Maple Barbecue Chicken Sandwich topped with Canadian bacon and Black Diamond cheddar cheese served with a creamy celery root slaw $11.99 and were both very happy with this. As an appetizer, my hungry nephew added: Grilled Beef Tenderloin Kebab - with caramelized onion tart $10.99 This was pronounced "amazing" by both teens!
Keeping with tradition, my DD11 who loves Chicken Caesar salad more than Fruit Loops.. ordered her "usual": Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad - baby romaine lettuce, marinated grilled chicken breast, and creamy Caesar dressing $10.99
My DH was in the mood for a burger and thus ordered: Grilled Steak Burger - topped with your choice of Cheddar, Gruyere or Blue Cheese $9.99 *Which was served with Cheddar and Applewood smoked bacon for $1.00 more.
My Mother enjoyed her entree salad as well, settling on the Beef Tenderloin Salad - beef tenderloin tips, mixed greens, and pine nuts, finished with raspberry vinaigrette $15.99
Now we come to the problem part of the meal... both my Dad and my BIL ordered the Sliced Prime Rib "French Dip" Sandwich - French onion roll, caramelized onions, Canadian cheddar, and horseradish cream spread and beef jus $14.99. The server inquired how they would like it cooked and I believe they both requested Medium Rare. Well, when it was served it was medium well and sliced thin and looked like chipped beef, not prime rib... uh, oh. This was not good since at the start they were out of the Prince Edward Island Mussels with smoked bacon, corn, peppers, and white wine butter $9.99. The server recommended the "Candied Salmon" which I had never seen on the menu before, and is NOT cooked.... it is RAW salmon. Well, this ended up making my father sick! YIKES! To compound the situation, my Sister who has traveled coast to coast and has eaten in many fine restaurants from New York to LA, ordered another dish I had never noticed on the menu... a Portobello mushroom sandwich, which advertised that it was sprinkled on top with Goat cheese. She requested that the goat cheese be omitted since she cannot abide the taste. When it was served, I saw no goat cheese, but she insisted she could taste it in the dish and was so upset she lost her appetite and did not wish to have it remade. Hanging my head at this point going... OK, why are those that have eaten here before having a wonderful meal, but the "newbies" are having such a rotten experience? I know... it is because I sang the praises of this restaurant too loudly and I am being punished for my arrogance!
At this point, it has become apparent that this meal is not going to get any better and I excuse myself to go in search of the manager. Although most of our group has enjoyed the meal, it is tempered by the length of time we have been rooted at our table... over 1.5 hours. After explaining my concerns with the meal, and the service, I request to have the Portobello sandwich removed from our tab, as well as the automatic 18% gratuity. I assured the manager how much we personally liked our waiter, he had really been so inefficent and unknowledgeable it had affected our overall dining experience. Perhaps he just needed more training? She agreed that was fair and we were satisfied. I know we tipped at least 15% of our bill, since I was happy with my family's food. But the service was indeed too slow, and a 2 hour meal was unreasonable for lunch. (*I should also add we had a 4 yr old in a wheelchair who we finally had to wheel out of the restaurant due to the time factor...)
So will I go back? YOU BETCHA! Will I HIGHLY recommend that others do so? NEVER!
When someone recommends a dish to me, I go one step further and ask them to describe why that would be their choice... I try to get them to give me as much detail as possible, before going with their suggestion or not. I felt our server did not give my Dad NEARLY enough info on the CANDIED SALMON (whuh??). If he'd known it was raw, he'd have never ordered it. Plus how did our server go from a MUSSELs appetizer which is what he wanted, to the giant leap that he would like something so obviously "not mainstream"? My guess, is that the candied salmon was backing up in the kitchen! 
