LeCellier disappointing! and other dining reviews

[Gina35]

How adventurous is your palate? We'll pretty much try anything.

Even if you're not as adventurous, you should try the escargot. We've eaten it at many places & Chefs is by far the best. It's wonderful, nothing like what you may have imagined. The tomato & goat cheese tart is also very good. The cheese plate is a safe choice. Try the french onion soup.

As for entrees, it depends on what you like. I would stay away from the safe choice (i.e. chicken) & get something a little more adventurous. The lamb, duck, & tenderloin are all very good. The duck is my favorite. My DH prefers one of the others. He's more of a meat eater.

For dessert, I suggest everyone at the table order something different & share. They're so good it's better to get a sampling of all of them. If that doesn't appeal to you, I suggest the creme brulee, crepe, or puff pastry. You can't go wrong with any of them. Enjoy your meal!

Thanks so much for the suggestions; can't wait to try it! I've had escargot only once and really loved it, so I'm looking forward to it! Thanks again.

 

[4mykids]

We have been to LC many times and the service seems to get worse each time we go. Our last meal there was "fine", but due to slow service it made the whole dinner mediocre. My best friend just went and loved it once again. She has never had a bad experience. And we are going once again in July.

I don't understand why the hostess told the OP that they were not accepting ressies in June/July as I just made one yesterday for mid-July.

There is a lot of hype about beloved restaurants. We have never cared for CRT...overpriced and food has always been luke warm at best at breakfast. Lunch as been better (in the old days). Chefs as always been good, but not great. And our last visits to the California Grill have been disappointing. Again, due to service. Call me silly, but when I pay a lot for food I expect it to be really good!

But as with anything, different strokes for different folks!

 

[mking624]

I don't understand why the hostess told the OP that they were not accepting ressies in June/July as I just made one yesterday for mid-July.

Don't forget, availability can always change because people can always cancel ADRs. It's possible something could have been booked solid, but then someone called and cancelled and you got the spot.

There is a lot of hype about beloved restaurants.

They hype is created by people who really love it. I don't join the hype about CRT, because we thought the food was just ok. We did not care for California Grill at all, though it seems to be a favorite with a lot of people. WCC is just "ok" for us as well. But I'll sing my praises about the restaurants I do love...like Boma for example.

 

[tarheelmjfan]

There is a lot of hype about beloved restaurants. We have never cared for CRT...overpriced and food has always been luke warm at best at breakfast. Lunch as been better (in the old days). Chefs as always been good, but not great. And our last visits to the California Grill have been disappointing. Again, due to service. Call me silly, but when I pay a lot for food I expect it to be really good!

But as with anything, different strokes for different folks!

Consistency is the most I hope for in a WDW restaurant. I want great food on a consistent basis. I'm talking great not exceptional. The truly exceptional meals we've had cost much more than we pay to dine at WDW restaurants.

 

[num1tigerfan]

We just got back from our trip and I have to say that LeCellier was definitely the worst dining experience we had on our vacation. First we had to wait 45 minutes for our ADR which made DH in a bad mood. The pretzel bread was boring. The cheese soup was ok, salad was ok, my filet was ok but not great and DH's was WAY overcooked. I've had much better meals at a chain steakhouse like Outback or Longhorn. The raspberry sorbet for dessert was the best part of the meal. All in all it was disappointing after all the great reviews I've read and it's crazy popularity. The hostess said they weren't even taking any reservations for the rest of June or July. We were on the DP and the total bill for the 4 of us (myself, DH, DD6, DS4) was $140.11. I'd expect way better for that price!
On the other hand, we had great experiences at CRT, Whispering Canyon, Crystal Palace, Mama Melrose, and Chef Mickey's. 1900 Park Fare was somewhat disappointing and Concourse Steakhouse was terrible. Cosmic Ray's was our favorite for CS. Also enjoyed Pecos Bills, Pizzafari, and Pizza Planet. If anyone wants any specific info about any of the places we dined at--I'd be happy to answer. I just don't have time to write long reviews of them all!!! I was impressed with the new choices for snacks. We easily used all of our snack credits and TS but were left with 4 CS somehow.

Did you have dinner at CRT? Everyone seems to be giving bad reviews because it is now 2 dining credits but you stated you really enjoyed it. Can you tell me a bit more about it?

 

[jenny-d]

Did you have dinner at CRT? Everyone seems to be giving bad reviews because it is now 2 dining credits but you stated you really enjoyed it. Can you tell me a bit more about it?

We had breakfast at CRT. It was worth it for us because it was our first trip and DD6 and DS4 loved it. We paid OOP (over $130!) even though we were on the DDP. I thought there was no way it could be worth 8 TS!! The food was good--not exceptional. Photo with Cindy was nice. Kids liked the sword and wand they got but the sword was broken in two by the end of the day. All in all it was great for one time but probably not something we would do again.

 

[Hef4545]

We went to LeCelliar last August for Dinner at 7:30am with ADR. We weren't seated until 8:45pm. I thought I had timed it right that we could eat and then head out to see illuminations. The waitress told us that we could step out if we wanted to and see it. I have to say that we were very disappointed. The food was good but not extroidinary. It could also be that the wait just ruined the night. I am the type that always figures it will be just 5 more minutes. I felt very bad about the whole thing.

 

[mking624]

We went to LeCelliar last August for Dinner at 7:30am with ADR. We weren't seated until 8:45pm.

(bold my own)
WOW what a wait time!!! Sorry, just trying to keep up with some humor.

 

[kimmar067]

Hmmmm ....I musta been one of the LUCKY FEW, because every time we have eaten at LC, we have never been disappointed..... . In fact, the last time we were there (Feb 2005) we originally had ressies for 4 for 6PM. We were eating lunch (around noon) in 'Japan', when we were unexpectedly joined by friends. I immediately hurried over to 'Canada' to see if I could change my ADR from '4' to '8', and did so with NO PROBLEMS WHATSOEVER...when we arrived, we only waited for about 6 or 7 minutes before we were seated....BTW ~ I drank some of the BEST wine I have EVER sampled here....

 

[disneyde]

I hope that ADR's for lunch are better wait times than dinners. We have noon ressie in September. No dinner ADR's even available. One good thing is that it doesn't take two dining credits per person like so many other well reviewed places.

 

[J-lat]

We ate at LeCellier this week, it was our second time dining there. The food was awesome both times. Steak cooked exactly the we way it should be and you could cut it with a fork. The Cheese soup was great as was the DW's Asian Shirmp Cocktail. Whiskey cake for dessert with a glass of Inskillen Ice Wine. Mohammed was our server, and he was okay, but nothing spectacular.

Now the down side. We had a 7:20 ADR and did not get seated until 8:00pm When I went to check our status, the host said that they were seating a party of 22 a head of us and we would be next....***.

This caused us to totally miss Illuminations. We could of course gotten up in the middle of the meal and went to watch, but that would have been a bit lame to me. Anyway other than that, it was a great meal. We will go back again in April.

John

 

[J-lat]

We had breakfast at CRT. It was worth it for us because it was our first trip and DD6 and DS4 loved it. We paid OOP (over $130!) even though we were on the DDP. I thought there was no way it could be worth 8 TS!! The food was good--not exceptional. Photo with Cindy was nice. Kids liked the sword and wand they got but the sword was broken in two by the end of the day. All in all it was great for one time but probably not something we would do again.

We did CRT this week. It is much better in the past than it is now. After we checked in they made us wait outside in the AM heat with another family, while others were inside getting pictures with Cinderella. Also the queue is much more confusing and people would queue up, not knowing that they needed an ADR. Some thought they were inline for a ride. When we finally went inside, the lobby area was totally empty. I asked why we were made to wait outside while there was no one inside, and the girl managing the queue shrugged and said it was her first day.

After a quick photo session with Cindy, again, there is only our family (2 little girls) and another family in the queue. The session seemed very rushed. The character handler, said we had to "decide" who was going to be in the picture as there was only one shot being taken. My picture was much better than the the Disney photog.

After we went upstairs we were seated in an area where there was only 2 other families (the ones that went in ahead of us and the ones that went in after us). We were seated in the upper aread just to the right of the stairs. I had to ask our server if we were seated in the "Princess Free Zone", as there were NO Princesses in our area. Down below and in the section across from us we could watch Snow White, SB, MaryP and FGM all moving from table to table and spending a fair amount of time at each table. Our girls kept asking when it was going to be their turn. We were completely finished with breakfast before SB (the first Princess) came by. Then she stayed for a few seconds to say hello an moved to another table. She did come back for photos and autographs, but then moved back down to the center section. SW came by and spent some time chatting with the girls as did FGM. MaryP acted really grumpy as if she would have rather been someplace else. The Character Handler came by and asked if we had interacted with all the characters. We had a chat about what had happened, and apologies were made but little else.

We won't do CRT again, Aker's House is much better now.

 

[Dustmouse]

We ate at LC three weeks ago and enjoyed it very much! The service was good, the food was great and the "dark cellar" was a welcome respite from the brutal June sun! I would recommend it and definitely go back.

 

[Minniespal]

Thanx for sharing.

 

[kaytieeldr]

Now the down side. We had a 7:20 ADR and did not get seated until 8:00pm When I went to check our status, the host said that they were seating a party of 22 a head of us and we would be next....***.

Oh, wow. So much for the definition of ADR: "The next available table for your size party"! So, what - there were no tables for the X of you, but a table for 22 became available?? Heck, I'd be hanging out by the Host/ess podium, paying attention to who arrives when and how I get seated relative to that.

 

[Ron from Michigan]

Sorry to hear that your food was not very good at Le Cellier. We have eaten here many times over the years and always had fantastic meals and service. Glad that the rest of your dining was better. We always enjoy WCC too.

 

[DizneyNutz]

I'm glad to hear you liked Mama Melrose, Chef Mickey, Crystal Palace, and Whipsering Canyon because we're going to all those places in July! Beyond your previously mentioned long wait at Le Cellier, did you have any other long waits in spite of ADRs?

We LOVE Whispering Canyon, but then we love anything WL/VWL, so we may be prejudice! The last time we were there, Dec 06, we had the most awesome server! She came out, threw our napkins in the air, the DH and I were like, holy cow! She was awesome, very attentive, very funny, as always the food was VERY GOOD, especially the ribs, chicken, potatoes and corn on the cob, we like to go for a "late lunch" early dinner, eat all you want for a fraction of the dinner price, and the only thing missing, I think, from the skillet is the beef stew and pulled pork, I don't think you get a salad either-----but-----you don't miss ANY of it! Word of caution though, it's rowdy, it's wide open and you be best prepared to expect anything, so if you're tired, have a headache, etc., you may want to skip this restaurant---but if you're in the mood for some entertainment, awesome ribs and such, belly up, because it's worth it!!!!!!!

 

[disneyfan551]

Buffet was ok--I guess again it was that I had read such good reviews that I was expecting more. IMO, Crystal Palace was better for dinner. Hope this helps...

I agree 100%!! We love CP, but 1900 PF will not be on our return list any time soon!

 

[Disney owl]

Thanks for sharing

 

[RAIDER]

Out of 10 i would give it a 8 ...

The food cant be faulted except if your really hungry this is the place not to go .
I found it a tad expensive as well for what it is which is really a steakhouse as such .

However its worth the experience and they must be doing something right as its one of the few places you have to beg for a reservation