Le Cellier, the Whipping Boy (shortsheeted/shortsighted?) of the Dis Dining Boards?

[Sassagoula Billy]

Ah, back before the Free Disney Dining Plan sucked up all of the pixie dust in its slow amoebic crawl across the Walt Disney World Resort, there was a lovely, no-frills restaurant over in the Canada pavillion, providing guests with a peaceful respite from the hot Florida sun, spectacular and attententive service, and a menu that mixed a bit of comfort food with a sprinkling of haute cuisine. It's where a glass of Ice wine and a bowl of cheddar cheese soup provided a leisurely lunch and a whole lotta Disney magic.

Dinner used to be a special treat, with my favorite server Mo, regaling us with fun WDW stories, and making sure every moment of our meal was pleasant and, more importantly, memorable.

Now, the place is packed, while harried CMs try to squeeze additional hordes of guests (overbooked I might add) into an intimate space that was never intended to accomodate them. To me, the food is still sensational, the best of the Epcot restaurants, certainly better than the Magic Kingdom TS, and all of MGM. But the guest experience has suffered.

With that said, I don't see a single restaurant more crucified on the Dis Boards than Le Cellier. So tell us. Who does it better, who does it worse, why is Le Cellier so hated? I'm all ears.

 

[crazyfordisney2000]

I'm all ears

So am I, since we are trying it for the first time this trip!!

 

[chipndales]

I don't know why it's celebrated or hated honestly. Last October, I eagerly made ressies for my daughter and I (even paid out of pocket!) because of the DisBoard hype. Wrangled a ressie, arrived on time, was greeted with mediocre service and even more mediocre food. I'm definitely not a food snob, but the highly recommended meals were nothing to write home about. It was definitely disappointing because of the high reviews I'd read for years on here, but the way I see it, to each his own! Everyone's taste buds are different and unique, and experiences vary based on time of the year and servers. I feel badly it's getting slammed, but honestly, I wouldn't return. Coral Reef is a fav of ours, but it gets trashed badly here too! I love Sci Fi and some hate it. I guess it just depends... just one of those things lol!

 

[bluejasmine]

We love it! The mushroom filet and the cream cheese potatos followed by the maple creme brule.. Always our last night dinner..

 

[bicker]

I think Le Cellier is a victim of its own, most fervent fans. Practically from the time it opened, it has been strongly advocated by such folks far beyond the value and quality that it actually typically offered. That resulted in a back-lash: The exaggeration laced in the advocacy prompted subsequent guests to expect more than was actually offered, and when those expectations were unfulfilled, the impression of the dining experience was far worse than if the advocacy was measured and balanced.

Keep in mind, though, that Le Cellier is not often found on folks' "Worse of . . ." lists. It merely holds a special place at the very top of many "Most Overrated . . ." lists.

As to why this happened in the first place? I think it had a lot to do with two things, Cheddar Cheese Soup and Filet Mignon. While there are, of course, many other menu favorites, the mere presence of those two item on the menu tended to overwhelm the vision of some of the more vigorous advocates of the restaurant, causing them to overlook actual negatives that the restaurant has always had, and therefore resulting in a failure to integrate these negatives into their reviews of the restaurant.

But that's just my guess. I could be wrong. :whistling:

 

[TDC Nala]

Sensational food? Hardly. There are at least four Epcot restaurants I can think of right now that I like better and 3 of those get plenty of bad ratings on the DIS. Pretty good though. And I don't order steak. I'm going back for the mussels.

Not hated, overrated. If you hate the place it won't matter to you that you can't get an ADR there.

 

[bicker]

Sensational food? Hardly. There are at least four Epcot restaurants I can think of right now that I like better and 3 of those get plenty of bad ratings on the DIS.

Hmmm... Chefs de France is surely better afaic, and Coral Reef as well. San Angel Inn (and that's a relatively recent ascendancy, after some years of mediocrity). Not sure what a fourth could be. I'd put Le Cellier in at #4, itself, these days. Unless I'm forgetting something.

Pretty good though. And I don't order steak. I'm going back for the mussels.

Full disclosure: While I am a vegetarian, I've only been a vegetarian for two and a half years, so my impressions of how over-rated Le Cellier was, for most of its history, was indeed based on my time while I was eating animals. I remember one especially incredibly-terrible steak, dry and leathery. Really bad. And at the same time I remember my wife having the filet, and we were surprised at how incredibly tasteless (without taste) it was.

 

[KatMark]

We don't hate it, we love it. It's a matter of personal taste, expectations, etc. We've had great food and great service on all five of our visits. I'd rather eat there than eat Sushi somewhere or eat at V&A's (don't understand paying an arm and a leg for "fancy" food), etc. But again...personal taste, etc. It will be interesting if the rumors are true (which I just read on a different Disney site on FB) that LeCellier will be one TS for lunch and two for dinner starting in March how hard it will be to get in for lunch.

 

[BEASLYBOO]

Sensational restaurants, there are none on Disney property, IMO! With that said, I've always had good service and good food at Le Cellier but I've learned how to work it in order to have that. I never book an ADR before 7:30, and actually prefer 7:45pm, it's not as busy & much quieter! Makes for a nicer meal! The Mushroom Risotto and Cream Cheese Mash are delicious and the NY Strip & Filet have always been cooked to order.

 

[BriarRosie]

I used to like it just fine pre-DDP, and I haven't bothered to try making a reservation since DDP existed. I think the overhype builds up expectations the place can't meet.

I think the restaurant Bicker is not remembering (and I like way more than Le Cellier) is Bistro de Paris.

 

[bicker]

Yup, you're correct. Ate there only once... excellent restaurant. Just slipped my mind.

 

[somethingblue]

I ate at Le Cellier with my boyfriend last trip for lunch and both of us were pleased with our meal. Great service, tasty food, good portions, yummy desserts. My only complaint is that the two tops are way too close together.

 

[JoQuo711]

Ate there one day during our trip last week and I thought it was great. By no means the best meal we had, but I had no problems with it. Have to recommend that you get the mac & cheese as a side, I'm sure they use the same cheddar in that as they do in the soup and it's amazing. Also, if you're on DDP, they have a pretty unique deal in that they have a prix fixe menu ($36.99) that includes app/entree/dessert, but you can actually order off that menu using one TS credit, so they indirectly get an appetizer included with your meal even though it's not normally included. The prix fixe menu doesn't include the more expensive steaks or appetizers, of course, but I still thought it was a good deal (cheddar cheese soup, prime rib, and maple creme brulee for a TS credit). Hope this starts a trend and other restaurants follow suit with some prix fixe options.

 

[madalex]

With that said, I don't see a single restaurant more crucified on the Dis Boards than Le Cellier.

You must be reading a different DisBoards that I do, because I don't see a restaurant that gets more (undeserved) praise than Le Cellier.

 

[Ana~n~Joseph]

We go to LeCellier every trip - we've been lucky and have been able to get reservations every time - we go because it's good, better than most and def the best in Epcot IMHO. Would I pay 2 dining credits for it - I am not sure yet.

 

[cdtommie]

We like Cellier (especially the unique items such as the cheddar cheese soup, icewine and Unibroue beers etc). That being said, it's does not have particularly creative menu...it's a steak place catering to people who only want comfort food and that's the disconnect for me...if I want a steak I can buy it locally and throw it on the Weber anytime - only the filet at V&A's and the NY strip at FF have made me reconsider my view. At WDW I do not want to eat items that are so boring. Give me CG suishi, the Blue Zoo shortribs/scallop appetizer, the Cave margaritas, WPE breakfast pizza etc. anytime.

 

[DCDisney]

Honestly it's just very average to us. The quality of the steaks is the same as at every WDW owned place--average. It's a good perceived value on the DDP which is why it's so in demand. We've put it on our won't return list along with Mama Melrose and Chef Mickey's. The food isn't particularly good, service and seating are very slow, and it's never been one of our best meals since about 8 years ago. We are trying Yachtman's this year as a hopeful replacement. I think the bad reviews are just shocked people who waited years to try and it and it's just not as good as any decent chain steakhouse in terms of quality of beef and service.

 

[klmspotter]

I think it was good food great bread and wonderful soup.The only better steaks I have ever had were Ruth's Chris,Shula"s and Vito's chop house but all of them were way more expensive

 

[ReneeA]

Hmmm...what's with picking apart posts on the boards? Weren't you the one that wanted to stir the pot in regards to opinions on AK? Everyone has a right to their own opinion - even if it's not the same as yours.

For what it's worth, we think LeCellier is fine. Just fine. Not the most fabulous, wait with baited breath on day 180 pretrip to book. We've had one good meal with a not great server, and one just barely okay meal with a totally fabulous server who went out of his way for us.

While I think it's fine...I don't feel it's as fabulous as it's made out to be. We've had much better meals at Teppan Edo and Chefs.

 

[smcabee]

Le Cellier is my and my DW most favorite restaurant. I think overhype gets some people who are expecting an out of this world experience and food. While its not out of this world, Its much much better imo and my DW opinion than any of the other restaurants in Disney including Yachtsman, Shulas or any of the other signatures. Never had Vickie and Al's before so Im not comparing to them. As someone else posted what I may love you may hate, we all have different tastes and preferences. Also, I just love love love Le Cellier bashing threads since it may open up a spot that I want in the future.