Le Cellier: The worst meal we've ever had on Disney property

[tjmw2727]

I am a fan of LeCelllier, that said I can totally imagine all the the OP's issues occuring. I have at one time experienced or seen exactly those behaviours or something similar, luckily although never all at one meal!! The waits are rediculous as is the slow staff, esp the bus staff. If they wanted to they could turn that rest over more often making everyone happy. Its easier to get over one or two mishaps but the OP's experience was a murphys law meal.

OP - if it hasn't been suggested yet I would consider sending off a letter, very similar to your OP to WDW Dining. You made some valid points and made them well, IMHO.

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It's also the first time I've seen someone mention that they believe they had substandard service in part because they are young and childless.

I can see this happening -

I often dine alone with my dds who love a nice dinner and to take our time. ervers often assume we want to get in and out and serve us too quickly. The experience when dh and I dine out alone, dh and I with the kids and the kids and I alone is very different, even at the same place!

TJ

 

[goodeats]

Dined at Le Cellier for the first time in December as part of the CP package. I was not blown away, but based on the reviews here I think my expectations were a tad too high. (But not as bad as 'Ohana, man did I hate that place).

The food was just OK, I really did not care for the cheddar cheese soup or the mushroom filet. I prefer 'lighter' foods. The pretzel bread was not great either. I would give it another shot for lunch maybe. The meat itself was pretty good.

Service was just servicable. I think they find these college kids and Canada and ask if they want to work in WDW for a few months. I got the feeling that my waiter we had was not that familiar with how to properly wait on a table. Not that he was rude or did anything on purpose, he just wasn't trained properly I guess, and possibly not familiar with dining in a higher class of restaurant. It reminds me of the service you'd get at Red Lobster or Olive Garden and comparing it to how you'd be served at Ruth Criss or a nice seafood restaurant.

 

[zurgswife]

I've enjoyed all my meals at Lecellier....sorry you had such a bad experience.

 

[Belle for President]

It's also the first time I've seen someone mention that they believe they had substandard service in part because they are young and childless.

We experienced this in a few park restaurants. The wait-staff are much more likely to spend time with larger parties and ignore 2 person table.

This is why we eat so many dinners at the resort restaurants. They are much more likely to cater to couples.

 

[Eeyore2003]

Well, DH and I were discussing our upcoming trip in October and where to eat wth my sister and her friend. Our 4 choices, which are also our 4 favorites are Grand Floridian Cafe, Artist Point, Wolfgang Puck Cafe and Le Cellier, we can only choose 2.

After discussing it, we mutually agreed that after the service and food we had a couple weeks ago, we would just eliminate Le Cellier right off the bat. Now THAT is considering that Le Cellier has been our all time favorite for YEARS. It's just not as good as it used to be I think and is making it's way DOWN our list. We waited for at least 1 hour past our ADR, plus DH said the steak was just not as good as usual, I wasn't extremely impressed with the service either. Still worth going, but.........

 

[TDC Nala]

I'm not exactly young but if I thought the restaurants discriminated against the childless I don't think I'd ever go back to WDW. WDW is not exactly where you usually find single people and I've been going there regularly for years. I don't know why I've never seen this. You'd think ONE person would be completely ignored because the tips are going to be half what they'd be for two people.

Is it possible they didn't ask because the OP had an ADR and the ADR had been entered incorrectly at the restaurant? I had an ADR entered for 33 people instead of 3 at Marrakesh once. Maybe the host just wrote the name down in the wrong column. Doesn't mean he looks at people and thinks "hey, it's a family of 4." That doesn't seem rational at all.

I'm going to be keeping an eye on this because there's been a lot of changes made in the past couple of years and if WDW is really going to a "you don't have a bunch of kids, you don't count" general attitude I will find myself a new hangout.

 

[Cinderpals]

I love Le Cellier's. We've always have received better service there for some reason.

I did want to share that we had ADRs at 1st available lunch period. We never changed our party size, but we had to wait 20 minutes to get seated!! The restaurant was emmmmpty when we arrived! It was strange. We were hungry, so I remember this. I went to use the bathroom before we were seated and passed by the manager and waitstaff at a meeting. He was briefing them on specials... I guess! I kept thinking that the restaurant is supposed to be open. We're hungry! Meanwhile, there were numberous walk-ins looking for ressies for later in the day or during the week. They had too many waitstaff standing around waiting for it all to begin. I didn't get it. My husband was ready to hike it over to another restaurant. He kept asking the hostess what the deal was, and she kept saying oh, they are about to begin seating. Once we were seated, it was fine as usual. Just a weird start to the whole opening. The filets were tiny, but yummy. They cooked my DH steak perfectly, so he said.

Sorry, that happened to you.

 

[digskat]

Service was just servicable. I think they find these college kids and Canada and ask if they want to work in WDW for a few months. I got the feeling that my waiter we had was not that familiar with how to properly wait on a table. Not that he was rude or did anything on purpose, he just wasn't trained properly I guess, and possibly not familiar with dining in a higher class of restaurant. It reminds me of the service you'd get at Red Lobster or Olive Garden and comparing it to how you'd be served at Ruth Criss or a nice seafood restaurant.

I am pretty sure they apply for their stay at WDW, just like every other college student. Or maybe Steve asks them.

 

[jarestel]

Unfortunately, most of the WDW restaurants have become hit or miss lately. I don't know why this is, but it definitely is so. You may want to give LC one more chance on your next trip. It can be a very nice experience when things go right. Sorry things went haywire this time, but do consider giving them another chance. The waitstaff turns over frequently due to the nature of the World Showcase intern program, so maybe the next batch will be a bit more competent.

Good luck!

 

[goodeats]

Oh, you're probably right that they apply. My point was that they probably don't have any serving experience.

 

[jenrose66]

Sorry you had a bad dinner at Le Cellier. I ate there once on my last trip for lunch and really enjoyed everything. Service was a tad slow, but we weren't in a hurry. Our waitress started out really nice...but then she got cold, not really sure why, but she was efficient so I guess I didn't really care. I appreciate what servers do and me and dh always try to be "model customers" with our pleases and thank you's and smiles...

Anyway, I know this has already been addressed in the last six pages but asking your server if he wanted his tip is just rude. Even if you were upset and you think he was ignoring you, you could have just said "excuse me" or something else while you saw him passing. Should he have seen how you were doing?, sure, but two wrongs don't make a right and no one deserves to be talked down to.

 

[Evil Queen 12]

Man am I sorry to here of your horrible experience. I personally had a great time there last year when we went and booked it again this July. I hate that your time was so awful. It truly is a wonderful place to eat and the food is exceptional as well. I'm sorry of your time there and wish that at some point in time you may try it again.

 

[Ron from Michigan]

I'm sorry to hear about your terrible experience. We dined at Le Cellier twice last year and loved it both times. Our steaks were perfect on both visits. There is no excuse for the terrible service you had.

 

[AKLGoofy]

have a nice day. Opinions... body parts... all that

 

[Lizzybee]

(SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS BOMB) This thread is quickly crashing and burning

 

[Jamie77]

Wouldn't it have just been easier for the CMs at Le Cellier to just seat just 2 people even if they thought 4 was going to show up? I didn't really see a need to put them at the bottom in the system if they already had an ADR. There were times when I had to dine alone because the other people in my party didn't bother to show up so I had to tell CM's, "Oh, it'll just be me instead of (insert number here)." I thought it was easier to seat 2 people than 4 anyway.

 

[KingdomHeartsFan]

I too am very sorry about your bad experience at Le Cellier. We have an ADR here in September and are looking forward to it greatly. I have to say that it bothers me that the staff use "We are the busiest restaurant in Epcot." as an excuse for bad service. This is just rediculous to me. As someone said ealier in the thread they ARE the busiest, but they seem like they are surprised every night that they are busy and act like they do not know how to handle the crowds. This seems silly! You would think they would have enough staff on hand to handle the crowds that inevitably arrive each day.

Regardless I am still looking forward to dining here in September!

 

[PrincessAli]

NEVER--NEVER--NEVER send your food back to the kitchen if you are unhappy!!. I've heard horror stories of what might happen to it before it is returned to you. We eat at LE CELLIER on every visit to Disney and have never had a problem with the wait staff or the food, our only complaint is being squised in between other diners. We always ask for a seperate table for two.

 

[BTown]

NEVER--NEVER--NEVER send your food back to the kitchen if you are unhappy!!.

I work at a local resturant here in Baton Rouge, and I've worked in many resturants, and I can back up this sentiment. If you are being a difficult customer, and you send your food back to the kitchen, DO NOT order anything else. At that point, it's best to leave. I've seen first hand the disgusting things that can happen. Also, its a safe bet that if you are being rude or difficult to your server, you may want to carefully inspect your food before eating any of it. Point it - dont ever, no matter what, be rude to anyone who handles your food. So, I think you did well not to eat much of what you ordered.

As far as the bad experience, sounds like every experience I have had with Le Cellier. Long wait for a table (even with ADR's), a rushed waitstaff, and over priced food. But, I've always had a great time here. I think some folks just go into things with unreasonable expectations. Now, granted, I would say that the folks at Le Cellier (and many other resturants and facilities around WDW) could learn a thing or two about efficiency and courtesy, but also, people make mistakes, and anything in the resturant business is unpredictable (even seating times).

I often find that the difference between a bad time and a good time is just being willing to "go with the flow."

 

[EnchantedDreams]

I hate to say it, because I used to love Le Cellier. We've eaten there on several occassions but last summer I ordered the philly cheese steak sub and the meat was like saw dust and quite small. I actually had one that was 100 times more delicious at the Roaring Fork counter service at WL!! I'm not kidding!