Le Cellier: Canadian Opinions

[Lexx1214]

DH and I have reservations for Le Cellier in September. We have never been there before and I’m interested in trying Disney’s take on Canadian cuisine. I’m curious if any of my fellow Canuks have been here before and what your take on it has been?

Though I’m sure we can all agree that their poutine is not really poutine.

 

[I Believe in Pixie dust]

My family and I ate there in December 2017 and it was one of our favourite/memorable meals. We had to wait awhile to be seated and it is a little tight inside, but for us, that was the only negative. The service was amazing, probably because we told them we were fellow Canadians. Our meal was so delicious and we LOVED the creme brûlée. We were on the dining plan, so cost wasn't an issue. We will definitely be going back on our next trip.

 

[osully]

It certainly looks delicious from the photos I have seen, but not very "Canada" to me. I've never eaten cheddar cheese soup here in Canada and also don't know what is so Canadian about pretzel rolls but you know...

The poutines look really good but are not similar to poutine here in Ontario / Quebec. A&W here looks more authentic.

 

[starvenger]

Never been there, but at the end of the day it’s a steakhouse, and I imagine it can’t be bad. I guess the menu has some Canadiana on it, but I suppose they could’ve gone further with sides like bannock and seasonal fiddleheads.

To be honest I feel like they’ve missed an opportunity to have a fast food/quick serve kiosk here. You could serve poutine, Halifax donair, smoked meat sandwich, beaver tails, and the ubiquitous “Toronto dog” (guaranteed to get you sick or your money back). And coffee is poured double double by default.

 

[TheBig2na]

We have eaten there twice and will be eating there when we go this year. The food is good and it has a nice atmosphere. no complaints at all. Is it Canadian enough? I think that depends where you live and what they offer. I have eaten cheddar cheese soup and poutine and steak but there will be foods from different regions of the country that I haven't and likely won't try here unless i visit that region. All in all I would recommend it.

And some great beers from Quebec as well from Unibrew.

 

[Lexx1214]

Never been there, but at the end of the day it’s a steakhouse, and I imagine it can’t be bad. I guess the menu has some Canadiana on it, but I suppose they could’ve gone further with sides like bannock and seasonal fiddleheads.

To be honest I feel like they’ve missed an opportunity to have a fast food/quick serve kiosk here. You could serve poutine, Halifax donair, smoked meat sandwich, beaver tails, and the ubiquitous “Toronto dog” (guaranteed to get you sick or your money back). And coffee is poured double double by default.

Oh I adore the idea of a Canadian QS with all our regional street foods! I wonder if they could include pizza and gravy? Or would that be too weird?

I am looking forward to trying Le Cellier, but I am realistic enough to know that it won’t be super representative of cuisine at home.

 

[Lexx1214]

We have eaten there twice and will be eating there when we go this year. The food is good and it has a nice atmosphere. no complaints at all. Is it Canadian enough? I think that depends where you live and what they offer. I have eaten cheddar cheese soup and poutine and steak but there will be foods from different regions of the country that I haven't and likely won't try here unless i visit that region. All in all I would recommend it.

And some great beers from Quebec as well from Unibrew.

Love the Unibroue beers! This is the first time I’ve seen a restaurant outside of Quebec serve them

 

[Donald - my hero]

Our thoughts? It's a steakhouse in a theme park --- yes, the staff is super and the food is good but why eat food we can get at home when 10 minutes away we could be eating in France?! We've found it dark, tight and, if it's raining, rather odouriferous

If you're craving a really good steak and you're on the dining plan there are some much better places to use those 2 credits and get a much better meal in a nicer spot. You're going to be there during Food & Wine and they usually have a kiosk set up that sells small steaks & cheese soup. I would suggest that and then eat in some places that are truly different.

 

[Sue M]

I’ve heard they are now selling the cheese soup in a kiosk nearby. Too bad they didn’t include option to get a side of pretzel bread! That was my fav thing at LeCellier. Otherwise it’s just a steak house. I haven’t been since it changed to 2 credit.
We used to like the burger on lunch menu too, but that’s long gone.

 

[dvcdisney]

We've been there many times. When we first began going the food was fantastic. My husband is very picky about his steak and he said they make his filet perfectly...even much better than Yachtsman which he found good as well. But during the past few years, the quality on the other menu items seems to get worse and we ended up only order the filet for a few visits since it was still very good. I don't really like steak but I can eat it. However, the past few times, I had been ordering the short rib and it's quite good. It's now my favourite. My children tried the poutine and they said it was good as well. I just can't manage to eat it since I don't like gravy or cheese with my fries. The lobster Mac was also good, but I've had much better elsewhere.

 

[kiford]

I remember when it was relatively new, the menu had one representative item from each province such as tortierre from Quebec, lobster from Nova Scotia, salmon from BC. Since then, it's basically just become a steakhouse. I do make my own cheddar cheese soup and have done for years before Le Cellier started serving it so I suppose that's kind of Canadian. But otherwise, I feel it's just a steakhouse like pretty much any other steakhouse and is totally not representative of Canada at all. Then again, Citricos was originally so-named because everything on the menu had citrus in it. That's no longer the case so I presume that all of the restaurants, whether supposedly representative of a country or theme, eventually have to evolve to something that draws people in and often end up straying far away from the original concept.

 

[starvenger]

I remember when it was relatively new, the menu had one representative item from each province such as tortierre from Quebec, lobster from Nova Scotia, salmon from BC. Since then, it's basically just become a steakhouse. I do make my own cheddar cheese soup and have done for years before Le Cellier started serving it so I suppose that's kind of Canadian. But otherwise, I feel it's just a steakhouse like pretty much any other steakhouse and is totally not representative of Canada at all. Then again, Citricos was originally so-named because everything on the menu had citrus in it. That's no longer the case so I presume that all of the restaurants, whether supposedly representative of a country or theme, eventually have to evolve to something that draws people in and often end up straying far away from the original concept.

This is true in some cases. For example, I think China's original concept was "crap", and they've evolved to produce "edible crap". And definitely Canada's food has evolved to where apparently we all eat at The Keg.

It's not true in others. Particularly the European countries, where there is a rich history of cuisine, and if you change the menu around you're not really changing a whole lot, except perhaps a region that you want to feature.

 

[kiford]

And definitely Canada's food has evolved to where apparently we all eat at The Keg.

It never occurred to me before but that's exactly what Le Cellier reminds me of! Why the restaurant in the Canadian pavilion became a steakhouse has always been something of a mystery to me. I don't consider steak to be particularly Canadian unless you live in Alberta (and I don't recall it as being so prevalent as to be considered "traditional" or representative when I lived there). I always think of steak as being more of an American thing. I grant you that it is definitely hard to figure out what is "Canadian" though. If you came to where I live and thought it was representative of Canadian cuisine, you'd be more comfortable in the German pavilion restaurant than Le Cellier.

 

[Lexx1214]

Our thoughts? It's a steakhouse in a theme park --- yes, the staff is super and the food is good but why eat food we can get at home when 10 minutes away we could be eating in France?! We've found it dark, tight and, if it's raining, rather odouriferous

If you're craving a really good steak and you're on the dining plan there are some much better places to use those 2 credits and get a much better meal in a nicer spot. You're going to be there during Food & Wine and they usually have a kiosk set up that sells small steaks & cheese soup. I would suggest that and then eat in some places that are truly different.

We are on the DxDP and have reservations at BOG (for the new signature dinning), California Grill, Tiffins and Morimoto’s in addition to Le Cellier. We also have a full day of F&W planned for our snack credits. Epcot is my favourite park so we have two full days planned there and when looking at the signature dining options it’s either Le Cellier or Monsieur Paul. We like the Le Cellier menu better and I’ve wanted to check it out for years. DH is happy anywhere he can get a steak lol. Yatchsman, Brown Derby and Jiko are definitely on our list for our 2020 trip but sadly didn’t make the cut this year. Le Cellier has great reviews though I get that it is a glorified Keg (though I love the Keg, especially in Alberta - yes there is a difference). I think we will be good as long as we don’t expect a true “Canadian” food experience.

 

[Lexx1214]

It never occurred to me before but that's exactly what Le Cellier reminds me of! Why the restaurant in the Canadian pavilion became a steakhouse has always been something of a mystery to me. I don't consider steak to be particularly Canadian unless you live in Alberta (and I don't recall it as being so prevalent as to be considered "traditional" or representative when I lived there). I always think of steak as being more of an American thing. I grant you that it is definitely hard to figure out what is "Canadian" though. If you came to where I live and thought it was representative of Canadian cuisine, you'd be more comfortable in the German pavilion restaurant than Le Cellier.

To me Canadian cuisine is all over the map. My family is a fun mix of French, Italian, Scottish, and Aboriginal. Growing up I ate everything from tortiere to melazane parmigiana to haggis to wild game. Christmas wasn’t Christmas if there wasn’t turkey, tortiere and a lasagna lol

 

[Donald - my hero]

We are on the DxDP and have reservations at BOG (for the new signature dinning), California Grill, Tiffins and Morimoto’s in addition to Le Cellier. We also have a full day of F&W planned for our snack credits. Epcot is my favourite park so we have two full days planned there and when looking at the signature dining options it’s either Le Cellier or Monsieur Paul. We like the Le Cellier menu better and I’ve wanted to check it out for years. DH is happy anywhere he can get a steak lol. Yatchsman, Brown Derby and Jiko are definitely on our list for our 2020 trip but sadly didn’t make the cut this year. Le Cellier has great reviews though I get that it is a glorified Keg (though I love the Keg, especially in Alberta - yes there is a difference). I think we will be good as long as we don’t expect a true “Canadian” food experience.

Personally i would make the trek to one of the Boardwalk hotels during an Epcot day to use those 2 credits! Yatchsman is amazing and if you're doing F&W credits you could time it out so that you could have your dinner after the park closes or take a break from the park for a bit. BUT that's just my thoughts and if you've got your heart set on Le Cellier and your expectations aren't too high, go for it and enjoy

 

[dvcdisney]

Personally i would make the trek to one of the Boardwalk hotels during an Epcot day to use those 2 credits! Yatchsman is amazing and if you're doing F&W credits you could time it out so that you could have your dinner after the park closes or take a break from the park for a bit. BUT that's just my thoughts and if you've got your heart set on Le Cellier and your expectations aren't too high, go for it and enjoy

Yachtsman is one of my husband's favourites. As I mentioned, I don't love steak...if there's something else, like fish or seafood, I would choose those. But if you like steak, this is the place. My husband also loves Brown Derby. I think it's good as well, but not my favourite. I'd prefer the Jiko steak over Brown Derby. But my husband would prefer Artist Point over Brown Derby. Tiffins is good, but nobody's favourite...

Citricos and Flying Fish were my favourite until they removed the Red Snapper dish from Flying Fish. One signature dining that we didn't really like was Narcoossee's...

Sorry for going off on a tangent.

 

[AngelDisney]

Yachtsman is one of my husband's favourites. As I mentioned, I don't love steak...if there's something else, like fish or seafood, I would choose those. But if you like steak, this is the place. My husband also loves Brown Derby. I think it's good as well, but not my favourite. I'd prefer the Jiko steak over Brown Derby. But my husband would prefer Artist Point over Brown Derby. Tiffins is good, but nobody's favourite...

Citricos and Flying Fish were my favourite until they removed the Red Snapper dish from Flying Fish. One signature dining that we didn't really like was Narcoossee's...

Sorry for going off on a tangent.

We have similar preferences! We had DxDP one year and tried many TS restaurants. Didn’t like Narcoossee’s at all. Love Flying Fish and Jiko. Wouldn’t care to try Brown Derby or Tiffins again. Haven’t tried Le Cellier because there are so many other Epcot restaurants that we know we would enjoy more. Tried Yachtman once for the chocolate soufflé. The steak was ok, not memorable. They screwed up on our chocolate soufflé and needed to make it again. We almost fell sleep waiting for it past 10 pm. It was just ok.

 

[Mumketeer]

To me Canadian cuisine is all over the map. My family is a fun mix of French, Italian, Scottish, and Aboriginal. Growing up I ate everything from tortiere to melazane parmigiana to haggis to wild game. Christmas wasn’t Christmas if there wasn’t turkey, tortiere and a lasagna lol

Me too! Wish they had a Canadian kiosk, Double doubles, Steamies, Spruce Beer, Pierogies, Donairs, Ramen, Dim Sum, Smoked Meat, Tortiere, Empire cookies, Smarties!!!!.

 

[isabellea]

Lol. Before this thread, I never realized that in English tourtière is tortiere. And what is tourtière for you? I’m asking because even in QC there’s debate about that. Many label a meat pie as tourtière when the real thing is more a stew of venison with pastry on top so not really a pie.

And don’t start me on what Disney (both WDW and DLR) call poutine!!!