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

[Lizzybee]

I dunno maybe I'm more laid back but I had service so bad once at Olive Garden that I thought I was on that TV show Boiling Point. My Ex-boyfriend ordered a steak and I just ordered ravioli. It seemed to take forever, probably 45 mins. She stopped by the table and said "Sorry for the wait, they just put the steak on it should only be 10-15 mins." She refilled our drinks and left. 30 mins went by and I actually timed it because I was starting to get annoyed. She came back and said "they just put the steak on it should be only 10-15 mins" the exact same thing as before. Then she asked if we could go ahead and pay our bill and tip her because her shift was almost over and it was time for her to leave. I asked what happened to the first steak she said would be coming out over 30 mins ago and she said someone took it. I told her we would pay our bill but not until we at least get our food. I wanted to be rude but I was polite yet firm. Even I had to draw the line at paying and giving a tip before even receiving our meals. I can understand being that angry with poor service, and I could have easily said "Sure we will pay the bill when we get our food but I dunno about your tip". It was annoying but how do I know they weren't royaly screwing things up in the kitchen maybe it really wasn't her fault. I just thought it was bold and absurd for her to ask us to pre-pay for a meal we didn't get and tip her too.
We have an ADR for LeCellier, I guess as long as it's not as bad as that Olive Garden experience we'll be fine.

 

[keishashadow]

OT but, our last 2 trips to Chef Mickey's (party of 3 - 4) have had nearly hour long waits for our ADRs too.

Wasn't during free dining or excessively busy time either. Wonder if it's just fall out from the success of the DP?

 

[WDW LOVR]

Ah, but because a significant percentage of guests do not have the common courtesy to call and cancel unwanted reservations, Disney needs to overbook to account for the guests who are no shows.

I agree with this comment. I've read on the Dis a number of times about people who book multiple ADR's for the same day/time at different parks just to be sure they have them regardless of what park they decide to go to that day. To me this adds to the problems for the very reason stated above. Disney overbooks so they're sure the restaurant is full.

There have been a number of times that we have waited 30-45 minutes with an ADR - 50's prime time, Sci-Fi diner, Coral Reef and Teppanyaki come to mind). We just make our ADR's knowing that we might have to wait. If we were in that big of a hurry we'd do CS.

But what the heck, we're not at work, we're at Disney. It's hard to get upset!

 

[LindsayDunn228]

I disagree-if this was the 7th time they passed my table, I would have said something as well. NOW if I was the waitress and was REALLY busy, I would have at LEAST stopped at peoples tables and said "Im getting on it" or "Ill be right with you" but if the waiter was just plain ignoring my table, Yep, I would be rude too!

It was just my opinion. You are welcome to yours.

 

[Jrabbit910]

Wow, I am shocked to hear so many poor reviews about this restaurant. Usually when opinions are asked about this places 9 out of 10 people give great reviews. I made two reservations for Epcot in one night and I am so glad I didnt cancel, now I have a back up in case this place really does stink.

No matter what people are always going to agree to disagree w/ certain places and some people really have to find out for themselves just how each restaurant is.

 

[STEAMBOAT209]

So Sorry for the bad experience and problems with LC. We have eaten their many times and never had any of those issues, except a very long wait for the bill, I was so tired of waiting, I wanted to just leave, but DW kept me calm and asked me to be patient. We must have waited 20 minutes after finishing dessert, before the check finally came.

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

Originally Posted by BroadwayGirl
Ah, but because a significant percentage of guests do not have the common courtesy to call and cancel unwanted reservations, Disney needs to overbook to account for the guests who are no shows.

The no shows are statistically predictable within a certain range as is average turn around. Now there is no guarantee that on any given day, they can hit it exactly. But if they are consistantly behind fairly early in the dinner hour by over 30 minutes, then they need to make adjustments to their bookings.

 

[Mulan82]

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.

ok. my friend who is in college just went to go work at disney. he had to apply through the college internship program. you have to apply through your college, interview with 2 people and go through something called traditions. they don't just take anyone. and then you leave for 8 months. i don't know if im understanding your post right but i think you are implying that because college kids are young, mediocre to bad service is expected. i've been to ruth chris. i wasn't impressed. i've eaten at other various 5 star restaurants... ( one where breakfast for my family of 4 cost $100 ) i've had servers that were a range in ages. what does being a college kid have to do with anything. i don't think working at WDW is a higher class restaurant. its an expensive restaurant. but i don't think that makes it higher class. they'd be scraping the table to get rid of crumbs with that crumb scraper constantly refilling the water glass, etc if it was.... and by the way, it is possible to get fantastic service at the Olive Garden or Red Lobster.

 

[k5thbeatle]

With the current dining plan system these stories will become more frequent!

(This same post could be made with just about every restaurant there.)

 

[littleladykaty]

I just wanted to say that it seems a testament to Le Cellier that SO MANY people have replied to this thread!!! I can't WAIT to eat there in August...love it or hate it, there will be TONS to talk about when I get back!!!

 

[UnderTheMistletoe]

ok. my friend who is in college just went to go work at disney......

I truly do not believe that was the point the poster was trying to make.

Please note that I am the original, unhappy, snarky poster... and I am in college. The type of thining your describing certainly did not pertain to us. Many people on the boards know full well the entrance requirements for the college internship program, and how competitive it is.

Wish your friend the best of luck! Where is he working?

 

[Mulan82]

I truly do not believe that was the point the poster was trying to make.

Please note that I am the original, unhappy, snarky poster... and I am in college. The type of thining your describing certainly did not pertain to us. Many people on the boards know full well the entrance requirements for the college internship program, and how competitive it is.

Wish your friend the best of luck! Where is he working?

I know. I just hate when people make generalizations about college students and servers like that. Honestly, the generalization at my restauarant is and i've even had managers say this..." we've found out generally that older people do not work out as well as younger people do because its harder for them to learn the menu, hustle etc..." ( oh the memories of Wendy and oh lord... Irene)
My friend isn't sure where he is working yet. He just got his room with roommates today and he starts tomorrow with Traditions. I wish i could go visit him while he is down there but alas, my disney vaca 2 weeks ago left me broke...

 

[Merriwind]

So sorry to hear about your dreadful experience, OP. Add us to the list of people unimpressed with Le Cellier. Nothing like your experience, but disappointing overall. We've had better food, better service and less of a wait (for table, food and check) at many other restaurants. I think that the "bang for your buck" crowd really goes for this place on the DP, leading to its current frenzied popularity. We won't be back. I know LC fans will appreciate one less family fighting for a table there!

We did have a small problem. We ate there about 2 years ago, we have DDE. The server insisted that they didn't take DDE--after about 20 minutes of checking. I should have trusted my instincts and asked for a manager. I went back to the room, of course they take DDE. Went back the next day with my receipt--20% is 20% after all. It took another 20 minutes, but I did get my problem cheerfully resolved. Sorry OP that you weren't as lucky.

Here's to happier eating in the future!

 

[nurseypoo5]

I think you were nicer to the manager than I would have been. I most assuradly would NOT be paying for that meal.

I do not think you were rude in any way, you were frustrated, hungry, tired and were treated rudely from the get go. I do not care if the are Le Cellier or a CS if a CM treats you rudely then they need to quit working at the happiest place on earth!!!

There is no excuse for the waiter to ignore you. He should have bent over backwards to make up for what happened.

Changing your ADR due to thier mix up was NOT your fault, im unsure why so many on here want to blame you for that.

I'm looking forward to our Le Cellier meal in October, I hope we have a better dining experience. Im sorry that he "magic" was lost on that meal

 

[BTown]

There is no excuse for the waiter to ignore you. He should have bent over backwards to make up for what happened.

A common misconception about the resturant industry is that some folks think that waiters are responsible for everything that goes on. Sometimes, the hostess, or the expo, or the cooks, or the food prep guys screw things up, it isnt our fault, but generally, we take the heat for it. (if you havent guessed, I'm a waiter).

And as Bicker mentioned in an earlier post, guests have just as much of a responsibility as servers do. Servers are not responsible for wait times and how food is prepared. Servers cant read your mind. And at any given moment, a server is doing about 800 different things, for 800 different people. If your needs, as a customer, are not being met, flag your server down and tell them. There is no harm in that.

And, lastly, there is plenty of reason why a server would ignore a difficult table, and I will tell you exactly why, from the perspective of a server-

The server can tell, immediatly, that you are upset with something, or will be a difficult customer from the first interaction he/she has with the table. Generally speaking, guests who come into a resturant and are upset, unhappy, unsatisfied before they even sit down, are likely never to become happy or satisfied, no matter what you do for them. Since servers arent paid by the hour, they work on tips alone, a server is likely to avoid tables like this and focus on the tables which they feel will provide them a better tip. And, as a server, if I know that every time I go to a unhappy table, they will just complain, I'll save myself some headache and go to that table as few times as possible.

The moral of the story is this - servers provide the level to service that they chose based on how they evaluate the guest. If you want good service, be kind, patient and keep an open line of communication between you and your server. If you are unhappy, and the need to be rude is what will make you feel better about your situation, then by all means, act rude at the expense of your service, and at the expense of the sanitation of your food.

All in all, servers are there to provide you with what you need to have a nice dinner, not make all the wrongs right. Thats what managers do. Don't take out your frustrations of the resturant on the server. And if you are being rude or difficult, don't expect good service. It wont happen. If you want good service, then act like the sort of customer who is going to leave a good tip, and you will be amazed at what your server can do for you.

 

[Demon Llama]

You'll LOVE this:

Last September my boyfriend and I dined at Le Cellier for lunch. We had a short wait to be seated, our service was alright, and the food was amazing.

In the middle of our main courses, a couple was seated beside us who had the same waiter. For some reason, he took FOREVER to get to them in the first place, and then took super long to bring them drinks AND take their order. That couple ended up walking out after waiting around for 30 minutes.

I felt terrible for them, but that's crazy inconsistency! We left totally pleased and they left totally pissed off and without having eaten anything!

 

[bicker]

Maybe the server knew something you didn't know.

 

[gokenin]

All in all, servers are there to provide you with what you need to have a nice dinner, not make all the wrongs right. Thats what managers do. Don't take out your frustrations of the resturant on the server. And if you are being rude or difficult, don't expect good service. It wont happen. If you want good service, then act like the sort of customer who is going to leave a good tip, and you will be amazed at what your server can do for you.[/QUOTE]
This is soo true. people forget that the server is just the middleman there to help facilitate things sort of like the poor cashier at a store they have very little if any control over how things get done but they are the ones everyone yells at because they are the ones seen. I have always said if you have never worked in a service industry you dont have the right to critcize the person bringing your food to you or ringing in your sale. Thats my two cents anyway and really has nothing to do with the bad service the OP got. I have to say however I am looking forward to my meal at LeCellier my next trip

 

[daisax]

While I agree that the server cannot control the rate at which people are seated or the speed with which the food comes out of the kitchen or its quality, the server CAN influence the atmosphere for better or for worse. I've had hour waits for food where I've been crawling out of my skin for lack of information and hour waits for food where I've just gone with the flow because the server informed us up front that the kitchen was behind and during the wait popped back to make sure our bread basket and salads and drinks were tiding us over, refilling as necessary and updating us on what dishes in the kitchen were likely to take longer than others so we could order accordingly.

The particular night I'm thinking of -- she got a 30% tip. Had she avoided us, she would have gotten much less, and not because of the behavior of the kitchen and the overbooking by the desk staff. She was working hard and some tables were not understanding and probably stiffed her (hence our much larger tip).

 

[meowser]

I've been reading this thread with interest because I will be eating at Le Celier in September for the first time. I think I will just go in with an open mind - not expecting the best experience/meal ever, but hoping for a good meal.

I'm sorry that you had such a bad experience. I just can't understand why you had to go to the back of the "table for 2" line. I hope that that was just an oversight on their part and NOT SOP.

The server can tell, immediatly, that you are upset with something, or will be a difficult customer from the first interaction he/she has with the table. Generally speaking, guests who come into a resturant and are upset, unhappy, unsatisfied before they even sit down, are likely never to become happy or satisfied, no matter what you do for them.

I had an experience once (not at a Disney) at a fancy restaurant. We had 7pm reservations arrived exactly at 7pm due to traffic (not early like we wanted to). We were told there would be a short wait for the table and that we could take a seat in the lounge. The VERY smokey lounge. We didn't want to be near the smoke so we stood waiting near the hostess station. We waited for 30 minutes - standing. And being absolutely ignored. No one gave us an update about how long our wait would be. No one would look at us.

When we were seated, we were tired, cranky, and frustrated. DBF made a not-so-kind remark quietly to the person who sat us. So we were definitely in the category that you mentioned. However, as soon as we sat down, the manager brought a complimentary appetizer over and apologized for the wait. The waiter immediately took our drink order and quickly brought our drinks. From then on, it was a GREAT experience. Great food, great service. We left a huge tip and have returned several times since then. The actions of both the manger and the server (being very quick and nice) got them a large tip, repeat business, and great word-of-mouth.

Had the waiter chosen to ignore us as impossible to please costomers they would have gotten a smaller tip, no repeat business, and bad word-of-mouth. I think the server made the most professional decision - good service despite the initial mood of the party.