Hubby and I went to the World for our 15th Anniversary last week and we ate at both places.
*Background - Neither of us are foodies and much prefer Applebee's to Fine French Cuisine. Of the two, I would be seen as more 'adventurous' because I am open to modifying 'scary-looking' menu options. Hubby suggested we do something 'fancy' for our Anniversary dinner, so after poring over menus and pics (thanks Dis!), I chose YS. I knew he would freak out over prices and the 'fanciness of it all', but YS looked like the best choice for him.
AMBIANCE
Yachtsman is New Englandy, slightly relaxed, with light wood that reminded me of the interior of a boat (go figure). We were seated at a 2-top right near the front of the restaurant, so it felt crowded. We were also seated next to an 8-top that had a VERY loud and VERY drunk man (dad, uncle?) that ruined the calmness of the place. Due to the openness of the rooms, it got very loud inside.
LeCellier is dark, brooding and cellar-like (go figure). It feels cozy, even if the tables are very close together. We were at a 2-top banquette and felt near to, but not all up on, our table neighbors. Even though this place also serves alcohol, most people were still very quiet and respectful of other diners.
FOOD
Yachtsman
As stated before, we are boring eaters. I already knew what was on the menu, but Hubby got ticked off at the prices, then got more ticked off that it was all so 'fancy' he didn't know 'what the hell any of it was'. Long story short, the food is not straight-forward meat and potatoes. You have to know some food terminology to understand the menu. That being said, he had the strip steak with mashed potatoes and I had the filet with potato gratin. He loved the steak, but was not impressed too much with the potatoes. I thought my filet was both undercooked and overcooked at the same time, which is weird. My medium = their rare, apparently, and it was a bit too charred on the outside for me. The gratin was made up of VERY firm potatoes and I didn't enjoy the flavor, so I asked if I could have some of the smoked paprika fries. Those were tasty, but really just fries. However, for $85, it was a pleasant evening.
LeCellier
I will admit that I am partial to LeCellier. But it was interesting to compare them to each other. Again, Hubby got the strip with cream cheese mashed potatoes, and I got the filet (without mushrooms or truffle sauce) and mashed potatoes. My filet was fork-tender and heavenly. His strip was just as good. The mashed potatoes seemed even creamier and richer than usual (I couldn't even finish mine!) I could not say a bad thing about this meal.
WAIT STAFF
Yachtsman
The Podium People (can't think of the word!) were very efficient, calling people back quickly. Once seated, our waitress Li was very helpful when we explained that we didn't drink and were really out of our element. She explained lots of things on the menu to me when I asked. She checked back often to see how we were doing on our Signature Adventure. We were given a small Anniversary Dessert of passionfruit gels and chocolate salted caramels. (So good!). Our drinks were never empty and our check came quickly.
LeCellier
We checked in a bit early, and scored a seat early as well. Our server was almost a bit overtalkative. It took a while for her to bring the bread and our drinks. It also seemed to take a while for the food to come out, but that could have been because I was hungry! It also took a bit for the check to come, and I requested 2 pretzel breads to go, but she never brought them out.
For us, the way we dine, and what we like to dine on, LeCellier is a hands-down winner. HOWEVER, Hubby has requested that we add it to our ADRs for our family trip in September, so that is High Marks for YS! If I had to choose, it'd be LeCellier every time.
