Le Cellier..I Have To Ask

[GOOFY4DONALD]

Ok...flame suit...check. I have been reading these threads and I now have a question. Flame if you must but here goes... Is LeCellier a great place to enjoy a great steak or is it just a good place to eat at Disney? Let me explain I have read some great reviews of LeCellier and I have read some ok ones as well. I was just wondering what everyone thinks. I live in Montana and we hae some fantastic steak places. I am just wondering if LeCellier is all it is made out to be.

 

[Cool-Beans]

I think that on the whole, Le Cellier is a nice little restaurant. But I think it is wickedly over-hyped on these boards. No restaurant could possibly be as good as whichever one is currently being hyped on the DIS...and right now that's Le Cellier.

I don't care for steak, but my steak lover didn't like his steak there or pretty much anywhere at Disney. If I had to select a "favorite" for him, it would probably have been at the Yachtsman or whatever it is called over at the Yacht Club...but he didn't love that, either. He's kind of hard to please, though.

I hope you enjoy whatever you decide on!

 

[GoofTroop]

Ok...flame suit...check. I have been reading these threads and I now have a question. Flame if you must but here goes... Is LeCellier a great place to enjoy a great steak or is it just a good place to eat at Disney? Let me explain I have read some great reviews of LeCellier and I have read some ok ones as well. I was just wondering what everyone thinks. I live in Montana and we hae some fantastic steak places. I am just wondering if LeCellier is all it is made out to be.

We ate there for the first time November 2006. There were nine of us. We all enjoyed our food, the steak was good. However, we had slow service, and there was confusion once the bill came (that we waited a long time for too). We were charged for items that we never had. Was chaotic, though we were there at a busy time too. We checked in 10 minutes before our scheduled ADR, but were seated more than 45 minutes from our actual ADR time.

So, to sum it all up....We had no complaints about our actual meal. But nothing stood out as far as the food either. It was good though. However, none of us feel the "need" to eat there again. If someone in our group wanted to eat there, I'd have no complaint about going back either though.

Sorry if this sounds really wishy-washy....That was not my intent....LOL

Elizabeth

 

[acourtwdw]

We ate there last year (maybe year before? not sure).
While I remember the food and service being good, I would't say it was my favorite meal at WDW ever. I still like Boma and Biergarten better.

 

[belle09]

My BF and I ate lunch at LeCellier when we were there in May and thought it was very good -- probably my favorite TS meal of the trip. But, neither of us got steak because it was lunch time. The cheddar cheese soup was very unique, my chicken sandwich was excellent, and my BF had a delicious burger. The creme brulee dessert was good, but not out of this world. Overall, I'd say it's good, flavorful food at decent prices, for Disney. I guess I should add that I don't usually like "American" or "steakhouse" food all that much, and I did like Le Cellier -- not sure if that would be a plus or not for you.

 

[MzDiz]

We went in March of 2006 and it was very "eh". Not bad, but not great. I've had better steaks for half the price at chain steak houses. There isn't a chance in the world that I would pay for a meal there out of pocket. Also, while our server was pleasant, the service was the slowest I've ever seen anywhere.

 

[sue1013]

I've eaten there 3 times it's just ok. I don't understand all the hype it gets on the boards. Shula's or Yachtsman is much, much better.

 

[amygirl27]

We were there today. The service was so-so. Typical of what we'd expect at home but disappointing for WDW and comapred to what we've expereinced in the past at Le Cellier. I swear the food wasn't as good I rememebered either and I know the presentation has changed. The shrimp app for instance used to come on a long plate looking as though it was spilling out of a chinese food carton. Today - a bowl - and the shirmp were a little soft with a melt in your mouth feel. The texture was a little off. My steak was good but not any better than I would get at home in KS. The dessert was great - but aren't most

As you'll see on another post of mine - we have decided to forgo the DDP in the future because of this very reason. Some WDW resturants are great for WDW but I can get the same quality if not much better food at home for less. The only reason we've "splurged" was becasue of the DDP but with the apps and tip it isn't worth it to us. We'll go counter service and maybe one or two sits downs during the week and just pay out of pocket in the future.

 

[Woodcourt]

We really like LeCellier and love steak. We are from Texas and eat a lot of steak down here. I had the filet (have had it for both lunch and dinner) and DH recently got the New York strip which he loved.

We have eaten steak at a variety of places all over WDW. For DH, he would say his favorite is LeCellier. For me, Kona has an AMAZING filet. YUM! Thats my favorite.

We eat at both every time we go.

Our service has never been bad, but nothing special either.

 

[LindsayDunn228]

To be honest, I go just for the cheese soup and the pretzel bread. Mmmm mmmm mmm!

 

[OKW Lover]

So far you've gotten some pretty good advice about leCellier. Its good, but IMHO doesn't deserve quite the level of raves you see here on DIS. Again, not trying to down-grade the experience there, just balance the hype.

 

[mustangp51]

There are so many good retaurants in WDW. My rule of thumb is don't eat somewhere, where to food can or is as good as a local restaurant where you live, defunks the purpose.

LeCell is the prolly the only restaurant in WDW I've never eaten. Big thick, American style steaks don't do anything for me. America is the only country I know that serves their steaks thick and flavorless.

Go over to Bongo's and have a nice thin Cuban steak. Have a few cocktails and do some dancing. Now you're having fun.

 

[vettechick99]

Boring restaurant, great steak. Great cheese soup, great bread, great chocolate cake....

 

[antmaril]

We were there for lunch two years ago. We thought it was fine. Nothing special. I am always a little surprised when I read the reviews here on the Dis. Words like awesome, fantastic, fabulous, etc. Quite honestly, I don't get it.

 

[MickeyNicki]

We think it is wonderful...the filets are out of this world but then again I have never met a filet I didnt like.

If I could not get into LC I would not be heartbroken, I would go to Yachtsman instead.

 

[helenabear]

Honestly it is a fine place, but if you are expecting great steaks, then go elsewhere. We have some *really* good steak places locally and this one just isn't even close. The steakburger I had was actually no better than the hamburgers we get at Beaches and Cream in our opinion. It isn't a horrible place by any means, but I don't get the hype. My DH even forgot we ate there once when deciding on where we wanted to eat on our last trip... and he is a HUGE steak lover. He totally forgot he had eaten there. So my thoughts are it is okay, but forgetable.

 

[scrump]

Overrated, but food is good. I like the pretzel bread.

 

[sandym718]

I love a good steak, but I"m kinda picky about it. I really only like filets, and I like it cooked just the way I like it ("medium" to me, varies based on the restaurant), good but not overpowering seasoning, and it has to have that "melt in your mouth" quality. LeCellier aced the test for me!! I ordered the BBQ on the side, I'm not one for sauce on my steak, but it was really good too and I enjoyed some bites with sauce, some without! There are only 2 restaurants near home that I order steaks at, while DH orders steak almost everywhere. If I'm gonna pay for and eat a steak, it's gotta be the way I like it. So, for me, LeCellier was GREAT for steak. I also really liked Kona's filet BTW!

 

[melomouse]

So sad we have to don the flame suit to try to get some honest opinions....Sometimes I read these reviews myself and think that maybe folks need to get out more....

IMHO - Le Cellier is a good place for a well=prepared hi-quality steak. I say this from our two dinner visits last fall and this past August. But it is not a traditional steakhouse, as you won't find the baked potato and creamed spinach. It's not Smith & Wollensky, or the Palm, or Peter Luger's.

The filets everyone raves about are good - but I had ones equally as good at Kona and Concourse. Yachtsman's filet fell short for me this trip. My kid's strip steaks were by far the best prepared at LeCellier.

Yes, other posters accurately indicated, LC is "wickedly" overrated on the DIS. The cheese soup is interesting, okay to try once. My son is obsessed with the pretzel bread - it's okay. The creme brulee is essentially the same brulee we find elsewhere in the world. Service is...okay.

What I would suggest is asking a few questions before you try to fight your way into LC and feel as if you're miissing something. When you go out to dinner, where do you usually go? What is your family's taste/appetite, etc.? Where else would you like to dine in WDW that you'd seriously like to try but don't read about on DIS all the time??

It's a good restaurant in WDW. But so was Alfredo's - I loved it - lots here did not. You have to go and form your own opinion. Will you have a bad meal?? No way! But keep those expectations in check!

 

[branv]

What I don't understand is why people don't accept that it's very possible for a steak at Le Cellier to be great and terrible. Consider the variables:

Meat: how your meat tastes can vary from cow to cow for pete's sake! Then, it can depend on which part of the tenderloin you got a slice of and how fresh it is. Or they may be experimenting with a new vendor, or Or Disney may be experimenting with increasing their margins by lowering the quality of the beef they serve you.

Chef/Cook: who cooked your steak? Was it the line guy or the big guy? Were they feeling flustered today, irritable, stressed, or in a good mood? Are they new to the place or used to the place and know very well the appliances and the menus.

Again, busy or not?: if they're very busy, they may not take the normal care with your food. Or the wait staff may have left it sitting for a while before they picked it up and brought it to your table.

You see...your mileage may vary not just from hour to hour, but within the same hour with the same waiter.

That being said, I am a Disney fan not a fanaticists. I think almost all Disney food is incredibly over-hyped, and I don't care how happy I am to be at WDW, I refuse to think every bite is nirvana just b/c "Gosh, I'm so lucky to be here!" I also do not know a lot about steak like some, but I know what I like and I can be a food snob. I think chain steak restaurants are wacked. You pay high prices for what is essentially the $6.99/lb ribeye you get at your local grocery store. I love the ribeyes I can buy at our local gourmet market, generally about $18/lb. Can't buy them that often, but when we do...oooohhhhhhhmmmmmm. There is a huge taste difference. So personally, if I'm paying $30+ for a steak, I expect the latter quality.

SO, that being said, I consider DH and I lucky. The night we visited Le Cellier, they were busy busy but we still had a lovely waitress, Kendra, who was friendly and on the ball despite the very obnoxious and rude party she was assisting next to us. And our Mushroom Filets were PERFECT. Well seasoned, very very tender, medium rare without being cold in the center. Gorgeous. DH had a plethora of mushrooms while I only had about 4, very sad. The room was fairly loud and little too warm (January, and we were sat next to the fireplace). The cheese soup was good, but not in a gourmet way, more in a something tasty mom would whip up on a cold day.

Basing my experience of that night, I would definitely go again and recommend Le Cellier. Had I gone another night or been at another table, I might have said, "No way, too pricey, bad steak."

I just think that at WDW restaurants you have your consistently bad or your usually good, but mostly you have the roll the dice and take a gamble. If you have to eat anyway, and you know you want a TS meal, you could do a lot worse than Le Cellier. I just take a look around at the huge variety of reviews on all the restaurants, and I think that's the best I can say about any of the places at WDW.