:) Le Cellier Review

[dec2901]

Wow, I just now got home from work and was excited to read all of the responses. I listened to Kevin's review (again) while at work and I have figured out what my problem is - I am one of those with the high expectations. I had high expectations in 2006 and they were met!! So now my experience is not based on the hooplah but on my own experience. I had the filet with mushrooms and the cheddar soup and both were incredible.
It is one thing to try a new restaurant and not like it, but when you find one you like and it fails to meet your expectations that is depressing. Le Cellier is the only restaurant that we visited in 2006 that we rescheduled for 2008.

I understand that to some it is "just dinner" but to me it "IS DINNER" - I love food!! To me part of the fun of a vacation is eating. We visited Boston in November (1st time) and the food was one of the best parts of the trip (lobster, crab, canolis) (makes Red Lobster look like the McDonald's of seafood). The same goes for a recent trip to New York City. To me part of the vacation experience is the food!! I know it will not make or break my trip but I want to make the best choices possible.

Anyway, I guess I still have a little time to ponder. I had not thought about Rose and Crown. We have not eaten there and do not have it on our ADR list. I will have to check out the menu.

Thanks for all of your responses and comments!

 

[cdotla]

I completely agree with you.

Yes, it is only dinner. And yes, there is NO WAY that I would let a bad dinner ruin an evening of vacation. Instead, I would try to find humour in the situation if possible.

However, like you, I live for great meals. And because there are only so many you can fit into a vacation, you want to make the best possible choices so that they are as memorable and special as possible.

Wow, I just now got home from work and was excited to read all of the responses. I listened to Kevin's review (again) while at work and I have figured out what my problem is - I am one of those with the high expectations. I had high expectations in 2006 and they were met!! So now my experience is not based on the hooplah but on my own experience. I had the filet with mushrooms and the cheddar soup and both were incredible.
It is one thing to try a new restaurant and not like it, but when you find one you like and it fails to meet your expectations that is depressing. Le Cellier is the only restaurant that we visited in 2006 that we rescheduled for 2008.

I understand that it is "just dinner" but I love food!! To me part of the fun of a vacation is eating. We visited Boston in November (1st time) and the food was one of the best parts of the trip (lobster, crab, canolis) (makes Red Lobster look like the McDonald's of seafood). The same goes for a recent trip to New York City. To me part of the vacation experience is the food!! I know it will not make or break my trip but I want to make the best choices possible.

Anyway, I guess I still have a little time to ponder. I had not thought about Rose and Crown. We have not eaten there and do not have it on our ADR list. I will have to check out the menu.

Thanks for all of your responses and comments!

 

[calypso*a*go-go]

All I know is that Kevin and I never seem to be on the same track as far as Le Cellier is concerned. I had an email read several months ago where I stated that I felt the restaurant was only so-so, and couldn't understand everyone's infatuation with it. His advice was to give it another try...which I did, and on that particular visit it was fantastic. So now I have reservations there for a visit in February and was thrilled to get in "last minute" (by ADR standards), and my favorite restaurant critic has just given it a thumbs down. I feel like the only way this situation can be rectified is to accompany Kevin there so we can try it together!!!

 

[goofy89]

Hi guys-
I have been listening to the podcast a long time, but haven't posted on the boards.

After hearing Kevin's scathing review of LeCellier, I had to post.

I don't know if Kevin just attracts bad luck or if he is too picky, but I wonder if he will ever eat a meal at Disney that he likes. Or if I will be alive to hear the review whenever it happens.

It has gotten to the point that every time there is a restaurant review on the podcast, i just roll my eyes because I know what is coming.

Every time we visit WDW, we try to eat in as many of the nicer restaurants as possible, LeCellier being one of our favorites. Overall, our experiences have all been pleasant- but we don't go looking for trouble, we're on vacation and are trying to enjoy ourselves.

Kevin, I hope that next time you have dinner at WDW, you have much better luck (or take some chill pills before you go- it may help you enjoy yourself more).

Love the Podcast- hate the restaurant reviews.

Goofy89

 

[disneycruise05]

Hi guys-
I have been listening to the podcast a long time, but haven't posted on the boards.

After hearing Kevin's scathing review of LeCellier, I had to post.

I don't know if Kevin just attracts bad luck or if he is too picky, but I wonder if he will ever eat a meal at Disney that he likes. Or if I will be alive to hear the review whenever it happens.

It has gotten to the point that every time there is a restaurant review on the podcast, i just roll my eyes because I know what is coming.

Every time we visit WDW, we try to eat in as many of the nicer restaurants as possible, LeCellier being one of our favorites. Overall, our experiences have all been pleasant- but we don't go looking for trouble, we're on vacation and are trying to enjoy ourselves.

Kevin, I hope that next time you have dinner at WDW, you have much better luck (or take some chill pills before you go- it may help you enjoy yourself more).

Love the Podcast- hate the restaurant reviews.

Goofy89

Well, yeah, Kevin has given great reviews before. It was just a few podcasts ago (I think it was the Dec. 18th episode) that he reviewed Chefs de France in Epcot and gave it a glowing review! There might be one small thing in every review that he critiques negatively on, but not every one is Coral Reef or Wolfgang Puck or 'Ohana!

 

[WebmasterBob]

Hi Goofy89, For your first post you really jumped in head first.

I just must say that you may have missed a few podcast shows because Kevin has done many good reviews that it looks like you missed. There is Portabello Yacht Club in downtown Disney, Chefs De France, Narcoosee's to name a few.

I am sure you have heard that Kevin always states that it is just his opinion and you should judge for yourself. The fact is the night we went the Soup was not right. It was stated by someone else that the next night they also found the same thing.

We go to this restaurant every Christmas eve and there were things this year that were just not the same as in past years. Should we not report that the soup is different, or that the Tomato Stack has been changed from what we have had in the past. Do we just not say anything about changes we found from meals we have had in the past that we felt were very good.

So I will challenge you now to go back and eat there next time you are at Disney. Keep in mind all those great meals you have had in the past, just as we did this year and come back and report back to us your experience.

I will stop here because I am sure Kevin will be jumping in soon.

 

[SamIAm21]

His reviews of Narcooses and Yachtsmen Steakhouse were also glowing reviews as well as Portobello Yacht Club. He also really liked the Columbia Harbor House in the MK.

I think people have a tendency to remember the bad ones and forget how many great things he has to say about other places on property. The good ones just don't generate as much controversy.

I hope Kevin doesn't reply to the above post because he has "explained" his position multiple times on the podcast and here on the board. If you don't understand his position by now, you never will.

 

[goofy89]

Okay guys-
I'll go back and listen to some of the other reviews that maybe I've missed. Just seems that the ones I have listened to lately have been a little negative, but I have missed some podcasts so maybe I have generalized too much as some of you have pointed out. And I guess a reviewer is supposed to be picky, right?

I appreciate the podcast and do enjoy it- even though you may not be able to tell from my first post!

Bob-
I enjoyed your review of Rix and hope to go there when I am attending a conference in late April.

Goofy89

 

[Annette_VA]

Okay guys-
I'll go back and listen to some of the other reviews that maybe I've missed. Just seems that the ones I have listened to lately have been a little negative, but I have missed some podcasts so maybe I have generalized too much as some of you have pointed out. And I guess a reviewer is supposed to be picky, right?

I appreciate the podcast and do enjoy it- even though you may not be able to tell from my first post!

Bob-
I enjoyed your review of Rix and hope to go there when I am attending a conference in late April.

Goofy89

Make sure to get a mogeeto!

 

[WebmasterBob]

Hi Goofy89, Thanks for the reply. Have a great time listening to the podcasts. Have a Mogeetoe for me at the RIX.

 

[DisneyKevin]

Scathing????

Have you heard what I thought of Ohana?

Read the review. I dont think "fair to good" is considered scathing.

http://www.wdwinfo.com/reviews/le-cellier.htm

"This crap is swill." <---thats scathing.

Kevin

 

[sarah4770]

I gave my opinion of lecellier on the dining board, but just want to say the 1-08-08 podcast was excellent.

 

[OKW Lover]

We visited Boston in November (1st time) and the food was one of the best parts of the trip (lobster, crab, canolis) (makes Red Lobster look like the McDonald's of seafood).

Uhh, Red lobster is the McDonald's of seafood.

 

[pta-mom]

Today was my very first pod-cast experience...very cool!! Thanks!

As for Kevin's review of Le Cellier, I did find it interesting & a little disappointing but honestly, it does not change the fact that this is still our family's favourite restaurant in DW. We've eaten there in April 06 & Sept 07 & it will be the first one we eat at in our Aug trip...it has become tradition. Perhaps it's gone downhill since Sept but it won't really matter to us too much as it's all part of the experience of DW! We love the steak & cheesy potato & of course, the "moose"!!

Thanks Kevin for your review!

 

[beachwarmer]

I have a bit of a theory I would like to put out there in regards to restaurant reviews.

My premise is that people who are on vacation and eating consecutive meals at Disney will use comparison to a certain extent to decide on their opinion of a particular restaurant. I think that people's views/opinions of various restaurants are influenced by the one that they ate at the day/meal before.

Let me use an example: Monday night you eat at San Angel Inn. Tuesday night you eat at Nine Dragons. Wednesday night you eat at Le Cellier. Thursday night you eat at Tony's. I think that Le Cellier will get a glowing review...."best meal we eat all trip" kind. I think that if you ate at Chef de France the night before Le Cellier, then Le Cellier would not get as glowing of a review. It would get a "good". (This all being based on the food being edible.)

I also think that something that we do not take into account with all the reviews posted on the Dining boards is the poster's dining history. Does the poster eat at 4 and 5 star restaurants at home? Well then only V&A and some of the signature restaurants will get positive reviews. Le Cellier has taken on this iconic status and to the casual Disney visitor (i.e.: If you have read this far in my post I am not talking about you ...we are Disney Enthusiasts.) Le Cellier could easily be mistaken for one of the signature restaurants. Another consideration is if the poster eats at traditional ethnic restaurants in their home town. After eating at an authentic Moroccan restaurant how does Marrakesh really stack up?

Not that there is anything wrong with that. It is human nature to compare based on your personal experiences and biases.

Now on to Kevin's reviews. If you are a devoted Podcast listener ...(and again you have read this far in my post) you have gotten to know Kevin. You know that he does not like to put on a suit and tie to go to dinner. You know what kinds of non-Disney restaurants he eats at. You know who his dining party consists of...i.e.: he does not have to entertain a 4 year old throughout a meal...but he does have Bob with him sometimes. He likes a leisurely pace for his meal. You also know that he has not spent the last 7 days eating "Disney" food and walking through the theme parks. He is not on vacation.

All of these factors I believe make his reviews a bit different than a lot of the one’s posted on the boards. I think all of these factors allow him to judge a restaurant with a little more of a clear head than many. That is not to say he is not bias because we all are and he makes a point to always tell us this is a snapshot and his opinion. I value his reviews because I know where they are coming from and I can use them to help plan my dining. The beauty about Kevin’s reviews are that we know him and can compare his views of the various restaurants, as opposed to seeing alot of reviews from people we might know very little about and have no base line to judge their reviews from . All reviews are fun to read and you can still see a pattern develop but when you have Kevin’s ‘Ohana review to use as a baseline then his Le Cellier one can be put into perspective.

In conclusion (Sorry this is so long winded and lecture like)

Yes I am going to probably still eat at Le Cellier because; well it is still better than a lot of options at Disney. I did eat there the same night as Kevin, John and Bob, but I had the worst meal of our 19 day trip the day before at Kona. We were a party of 3 with a 4 year old to entertain so the pace of our meal was faster than a party of 8 with no children. All our meals were hot, which I think is probably a result of the size of our party. All 8 of Kevin’s party’s meals had to be delivered at the same time, but I am sure they were not all ready at the same time. I think John’s was probably under the heat lamp. Does that make it okay...no...but it does explain it a bit. We got good service...we are Canadian and talked to the waiters about home. Does that influence service.....yes. You should have seen the service we got in France and Morocco when we spoke French to them. This was day 15 of our 19 day trip....my opinion of the food is so clouded that it would not mean a thing for me to share it with you. Also the day before we flew to Orlando I ate a 7 course tasting menu at a 5 star French restaurant in Montreal. Did any Disney restaurant measure up? No not even the signature restaurant. Is that a fair comparison...no., but it still happened in my head as I was eating.

Thanks Kevin for the great restaurant reviews.

 

[Gillian]

I was disappointed in the tomato stack as well 12/07, compared to April 2006. Maybe it's hard to get good tomatoes in December. My 7 year old said,"no mom, they grow them here at Epcot!"

Our server was not very happy. She was fairly quick about things, but admitted that she wasn't enjoying her stay in Florida. The weather was too warm, it was difficult to get any time off, the guests didn't ask her questions, and when they did they didn't really seem interested in the answers We, along with the table next to us, tried to get her to talk, but I don't know if it was worth it.

ETA: I haven't listened to the podcast, but now I will. Sorry Kevin!

 

[Maggi May]

Hi guys-

It has gotten to the point that every time there is a restaurant review on the podcast, i just roll my eyes because I know what is coming..

Goofy89

You know, I hear Wolfgang Puck's is hiring . . .

 

[DisneyKevin]

If you can master teeth sucking...I think we have a match.

 

[Maggi May]

 

[wilde_oscar]

So When did the Chef at Le Cellier Change? And was the former Chef Abducted by Aliens? Is him/her nailed in place at Buzz Lightyear?