Le Cellier - why so many empty tables??

[disneychic2]

I think one of the reasons it is so hard to get a ressie is its relatively small seating capacity. Then, everyone hears how difficult it is to get one and thinks it's a "must do" dining experience. Well, for DH and I, it is a "must do" since we have never had even a so-so meal, let alone a bad one! We love the atmosphere and the interaction with the wait staff. Going in 50 more days and will see how it turns out.

 

[disneychic2]

We finally ate at LeCellier (Sep 10). I was generally surprised to see how small the restaurant was and to see the limited number of tables. It was for this reason that I attributed to how hard it has been in the past to get ADR. With LeCellier moving to 2TS it may become easier to get ADRs.

I know...2ts will probably make a huge difference! As for DH and I, though we love it, it will give us pause since other 2ts restaurants are in a totally different class from LeCellier, unfortunately. I think it's a bad move on their part, for sure!

 

[fla4fun]

The food is bad?

The food being good or bad is kind of a subjective thing. Something you think tastes great, the next person may not like.

I had lunch there a couple weeks ago, and I had good service. My ADR was right at opening, so I can't comment on empty tables. I tried the cheesesteak sandwich and I didn't like the sauce because it was so mild it didn't taste very cheesy to me. I prefer more of a Philly style sandwich with a marked cheese flavor. But the meat itself was good and the fries were good. I had the chicken sausage and polenta appetizer and it was terrific! I love spicy food, and the sausage is very hot. The polenta was creamy and sweet - the perfect compliment. One of these days, I'm just going to order two helpings of the sausage and polenta for my meal. I had the creme brulee for dessert and it was perfect in texture and taste. I've found the apps and sides at Le Cellier to often be better than the entrees.

Don't get me wrong - I've had bad experiences and good experiences at Le Cellier. They are like any restaurant, and they will have bad days. But the overwhelming majority of visits the meal has been very good to excellent.

 

[DisneyRunnerGirl]

I always shocks me when I call or stop by a restaurant to cancel an ADR how grateful the CMs are....It seems rude not to cancel when others could use the table, but all of the CMs I have spoken to say it is very rare for people to be considerate and cancel.

 

[fla4fun]

I always shocks me when I call or stop by a restaurant to cancel an ADR how grateful the CMs are....It seems rude not to cancel when others could use the table, but all of the CMs I have spoken to say it is very rare for people to be considerate and cancel.

I agree that it's rude. I had a second ADR for Rose and Crown scheduled two days after Le Cellier, and I cancelled it the day before because I knew I wouldn't make it. It's just common courtesy. I did hear one of the hostesses at Le Cellier tell someone they've been doing more walk ins at lunch because of the no shows.

 

[blondietink]

During Free Dine, so many people make ADR's that they don't keep! I work in MK and my restaurant averaged about 35% no shows every day for Free Dine. The worst day, we had 47% of the ADRs not show up! Granted, that means you can take more walk ins, but it still kills business!

I cannot imagine not cancelling either by phone or in persosn. In August, my DH got sick from the heat and we had ADR's at Crystal Palace for dinner. I asked at the podium if it was OK if only 3 of us were there for the reservation and they said no problem! It even got us seated faster according to the hostess, who said that they were grateful when people actually tell them about changes, cancellations, etc. We did get some dirty looks from all the people waiting as we were seated immediately, when I had checked in 10 minutes prior to our ADR.

 

[GovieMom]

Well, you dont have to worry about me taking up a ressie since they took the maple BBQ filet off the menu, and one of the desserts that I loved too is gone.

I'm with you about the BBQ-maple filet; it was delicious! I tried the mushroom one last time and found it to be just as tender, but very bland tasting. My son got the NY Strip and I tried a piece of it ... fabulous! I'm disappointed in their chocolate moose dessert; the first time I had it several years ago, it not only was much larger, but the eyes and nose were fresh raspberries ... not the M&M's they use now.

 

[rubato]

I didn't particularly enjoy my dinner there. I thought the food was okay, but the service stunk. I would never use 2 TS credits for it, ever.

I have no idea either why people wouldn't cancel their ADRs. But, then, I've noticed an awful lot of rudeness throughout WDW! I have an ADR for Crystal Palace for lunch and dinner on the same day right now. I'm 3 months out and fretting about getting one cancelled soon. We're just trying to finalize our plans for that day and can't make up our minds. But, it will be cancelled soon, I promise.

 

[Mrs D]

I had the same thoughts about empty tables when I visited for lunch on 10/2. I was so surprised at the number if empty tables that I took several pictures of the almost half empty restaurant. I had a 12:50pm ressie and arrived shot 15 minutes late (we got the slow boat from DHS- seriously other boats were passing us). At the podium by the LeCellier gate the woman instructed us to go to the restaurant to see if there was anyway possible for us to be seated within the next hour. We checked in at the restaurant got a pager and were seated in 15 minutes no problems.
Also I have frequently check availability because I was hoping to switch to an early dinner and NO AVAILIBILTY ever showed up for any time on that date.

 

[marivaid]

It only gets worse with free dining. People want to have options and want to make sure they use their credits at the "best" places so they book everything they find available. And with the online system, it's even easier. The system does tell you to cancel any reservation you might not use but it doesn't force you to do it.
I was freaking out when I started booking our trip because there was nearly nothing available at any restaurant. We've had less trouble making last minute reservations at Christmas time!

 

[mcd2745]

It only gets worse with free dining. People want to have options and want to make sure they use their credits at the "best" places so they book everything they find available. And with the online system, it's even easier. The system does tell you to cancel any reservation you might not use but it doesn't force you to do it.
I was freaking out when I started booking our trip because there was nearly nothing available at any restaurant. We've had less trouble making last minute reservations at Christmas time!

That is not the fault of free dining though. That is the fault of selfish, inconsiderate people - plain and simple.

 

[eliza61]

Like most of you, I pined over Disboards for months to snag the elusive Le Cellier reservation.

We ate there on Fri 10-9 for lunch and I was shocked to see so many empty tables! I would estimate about 1/3 were empty between 1 and 2pm that day. When we left, there was no one waiting for a table. We did not see this at any of the other TS restaurant all week - they were all packed.

The cheddar soup and breadsticks were fabulous, but the cheese steak sandwich lacked flavor. Overall, it didn't live up to the hype.

As we experienced in absolutely every single TS restaurant on our trip, service was slow there.

ridiculously expensive, mediocre food and the hype is wearing off. I've been twice, both times it was ho-hum. last august we were standing out side trying to figure if we were going to try lunch, figuring since so many people here rave about it, surely it must be us.

Nope. Asked 3 or 4 couples leaving, "how was their meal" every one say it was "just ok". 40-50 a head for a meal, i wan't a heck of a lot more than "just ok".

Think about it, any time you go to a steakhouse and people rave about the breadsticks, don't you think that's a problem?

 

[marivaid]

That is not the fault of free dining though. That is the fault of selfish, inconsiderate people - plain and simple.

Absolutely !! We are on free dining for our next trip and I have to admit that I have a few overlapping ADRs at this time, but they WILL get canceled before we leave. It takes 2mns online and means someone who might want that table will be able to have it.
I guess with free dining there's simply more people using the DDP, thus more people making ADRs that they won't use.

 

[marivaid]

ridiculously expensive, mediocre food and the hype is wearing off.

See this confuses me because the place is still booked full every day.
If people consistantly have bad meals there, why would they keep booking it ? And if they're booking because they've never been there, obviously they haven't had a bad experience (yet) so that's not the reason they aren't showing up.

We've tried both lunch and dinner at Le Cellier and both were very nice. I'm no meat lover but my mother is, and she still raves about that filet.

I've noticed that Teppan Edo is one of the places that people rarely talk about but it's getting harder & harder to get a dinner ADR there. It'd be interesting to know if people actually show up.

 

[verticalchaos]

ridiculously expensive, mediocre food and the hype is wearing off. I've been twice, both times it was ho-hum. last august we were standing out side trying to figure if we were going to try lunch, figuring since so many people here rave about it, surely it must be us.

Nope. Asked 3 or 4 couples leaving, "how was their meal" every one say it was "just ok". 40-50 a head for a meal, i wan't a heck of a lot more than "just ok".

Think about it, any time you go to a steakhouse and people rave about the breadsticks, don't you think that's a problem?

I have to agree. This used to by my dad's favorite restaurant at EPCOT. I decided I wanted to buy us all a meal while we're there at Christmas (as part of their gifts). When I went in to look at options, I looked at places at resorts and EPCOT (because my sister is a CM we don't know yet which parks she will be able to get us into if any...but it's usually EPCOT that's the last to close to CMs) and Le Cellier WAS an option. I tentatively booked it and called to see if he'd rather do that or Chefs de France (it's since changed to brunch at Chef Mickey's) expecting him to say Le Cellier, and he said "Let's go with Chefs de France. The last couple of times we've been at Le Cellier we've had bad service and it's just not as good as it used to be."

 

[MyTwoPrincesses]

Haven't been to LC, but I noticed the same thing at Coral Reef last year. I ended up making a same day lunch reservation at prime time (around 12:15 or so - can't remember exactly) and the restaurant was practically empty. Meanwhile, when I was trying to make ADRs from home, it was booked solid.

 

[eliza61]

See this confuses me because the place is still booked full every day.
If people consistantly have bad meals there, why would they keep booking it ? And if they're booking because they've never been there, obviously they haven't had a bad experience (yet) so that's not the reason they aren't showing up.

We've tried both lunch and dinner at Le Cellier and both were very nice. I'm no meat lover but my mother is, and she still raves about that filet.

I've noticed that Teppan Edo is one of the places that people rarely talk about but it's getting harder & harder to get a dinner ADR there. It'd be interesting to know if people actually show up.

It wasn't bad but very mediocre and very expensive. we don't do the dining plan as we have a TIW card but IMO it was very, very average.

Like every one else, I loved the breadsticks but I don't go to steak houses for breadsticks. I had the mushroom steak filet also. Not tender and not cooked correctly. Like I said it was just OK. I went back the 2nd time because I figured so many people loved it I must have just had an "off" night. So for a $35 piece of beef, I mean Olive Garden has a steak Toscano for 18 bucks that also has great breadsticks. LOL.

I find it quite interesting that many people when they heard it was going to 2 TS have definitely said, No way.

 

[aboveH20]

Maybe they are having a hard time getting staff. We Canadians are at a real premium.

 

[cdsmom]

We had a 2:30 lunch there in Sept. and alot of empty tables then. When I asked about it they said it was because there was a short break between lunch/dinner ressies?? I got the filet at lunch and my DH got the NY strip and they were both just as good as we have had at our dinners there in the past. We didn't notice too much difference in the portion size either.

Yay for this! I finally got a lunch ressie for Le Cellier after stalking for sometime and got nervous after reading the previous posts.

 

[cdsmom]

I read somewhere that a TA books 3 ADR and let the people decide to eat that day.

Whaaaattt!