Not on Dining Plan - Is Le Cellier worth the out of pocket $$$?

[3floridarays]

We have a dinner ADR for December, which I still can't believe I was able to get. I just want to make sure it is worth the out of pocket money that we will be shelling out. Are the steaks really good? Like Ruth's Chris or III Forks good? What about the atmosphere? Looking at the pictures, the one thing I'm concerned about is feeling like the tables are crammed together.

 

[goofyintoronto]

We have a dinner ADR for December, which I still can't believe I was able to get. I just want to make sure it is worth the out of pocket money that we will be shelling out. Are the steaks really good? Like Ruth's Chris or III Forks good? What about the atmosphere? Looking at the pictures, the one thing I'm concerned about is feeling like the tables are crammed together.

its nowhere near Ruth's Chris! Not even on the same planet. Is it worth paying OOP?? definitely not. I had the strip steak and was very disapointed with it. If I were paying OOP, i'd be pissed. The cheese soup wasnt anything special, either was the bread. I've had FAR FAR better steak and soup in my hometown. The atmosphere isnt good either, as you said by looking at the pics, it is quite crammed. I heard every word my neighbours were saying, no privacy at all, unless you whisper to the point where only dogs can hear you.

 

[Eeyore98]

The Le Cellier mushroom filet is my personal favorite of any steak I've ever had, and that includes steaks from Yachtsman and Ruth's Chris.

The atmosphere isn't quite as fancy as a Ruth's Chris or Shula's type of place, and they do not serve USDA Prime steaks. Though now that dinner is signature, I don't know if they have done some work to enhance the atmosphere, or what quality of Canadian beef they serve.

 

[chabs]

LeCellier has to be one of the worst values on Disney property. The portion sizes are extremely small, even for the kid's meals. So small that the kids were laughing when the waitress put the food down in front of them (I think it was a tiny chicken breast). Even the waitress had to keep from laughing.

That being said, the food is ok. I don't think that any of the food at Disney is 5 star, but LeCellier is one of the places that we will actually eat at again. You will never get the value for the money that you paid, but I find that this is true for anywhere we eat at Disney. I do really like the filet with mashed potatoes and the chocolate mousse.

There is always a long wait though, just to sit down and we never get out of there within an hour.

 

[momof3poohlovers]

The Le Cellier mushroom filet is my personal favorite of any steak I've ever had, and that includes steaks from the Yachtsman and Ruth's Chris.

The atmosphere isn't quite as fancy as a Ruth's Chris type of place, and they do not serve USDA Prime steaks. Though now that dinner is signature, I don't know if they have done some work to up the atmosphere or what quality of Canadian beef they serve.

I agree with this. The mushroom filet is one of my favorite meals anywhere, not just at Disney so for me, it would be worth it to pay out of pocket. We have eaten at Ruth's Chris, Morton's, etc. and Le Celiier is definitely not as "nice". If the filet was taken off their menu though or you don't like Mushrooms then I would probably skip it.

 

[mmtska]

We paid OOP this past trip for lunch and it was worth it. Then again we didn't get a steak or anything. I thought the cheese soup and pretzel bread were both amazing and everyone in our party really enjoyed their meals.

 

[Eeyore98]

The portion sizes are extremely small...

Different experiences for different folks on this, I guess. This hasn't been the case for us (and neither DH or I have small appetites, believe me!).

We have been to dinner before it was signature once, and to lunch once. Even with the smaller steak at lunch, we have been too full to even think about dessert after the bread, soup, and steak. Can't speak to the size of the kids meals at all, though.

 

[wish*i*was*in*the*vi]

We ate there in January, one of the worst restaurant experiences anywhere that we've ever had. Our neighbors were practically sitting on our laps and my steak was absolutely disgusting. I had the coffee rubbed strip and it was like someone had dumped a whole pot of coffee grinds on my steak and then burned it. Friends of ours were dining there at the same time but at a different table and one of them ordered the coffee rubbed steak and it had just a "rub" of grounds on it as I had been expecting. I am not a picky eater but they should have been ashamed to serve this. And nobody, not the server or management cared. I ate 2 bites. Our server was awful, didn't bring my daughter her soup and was basically AWOL during the meal. And the icing on the proverbial cake was the ladies restroom was totally out of toilet paper.
We ended up complaining to guest services on our way out of the park, they were not happy at all.
We will never go back and I would definitely suggest saving your $ and eating elsewhere.

 

[cymbaldiva]

While I wouldn't put it nearly as harshly as some of the previous posters, no the steaks don't compare to higher end steak houses, and no, IMHO it's not worth the price OOP - not worth the 2 dining plan credits either.

Once again, just my opinion - YMMV

 

[danceintherain]

We loved our meal at Le Cellier.

That said, we were on the Dining Plan, when it was a single credit. I don't think I would ever pay OOP or 2 TS credits for it. While my Filet and risotto were very tasty, I feel as if the restaurant was lacking in other amenities I would expect from a restaurant that charges $50 for a meal. They cram as many people into that place as possible, and our wait time was crazy. While I never expect to be seated immediately after checking in at Disney, we waited well after our ADR time, and the service was slow.

I would have no problem paying lunch time prices, though I would likely get the earliest ADR possible, so I didn't have to sit around waiting for too long.

 

[OhThePain]

In a word... no. In two words... absolutely not. You can get better steaks at Shula's or Artist Point that are worth the price you pay.

 

[minnierocks]

It is the one restaurant at WDW that we will never dine in again. We paid $130 for lunch, and I couldn't even eat my steak. The risotto (which I was very excited about trying) was so salty that it was inedible. Did I complain? No, our waitress did not return to check on us until everyone was finished eating. My plate was still full and when I told her it was awful her reply was "You should have told me and I would have gotten you something else." Well, I might have but you didn't stop to see if everything was ok.
I will say that my DS enjoyed his burger very much, but service was awful, the atmosphere wasn't anything special and the food was horribly over-priced. I know that there are many who love it there and I understand that any establishment can have a bad day, but I frankly will never shell out that kind of money again just to "give them one more chance."

 

[tinkandpan]

Here's the reason you were able to secure a reservation- it is now 2 credits on the plan. When it was one credit , i think people on the dining plan thought it was a good value. I personally don't like this place. The tables are cramped, the room is small and dark and the steaks are nothing to write home about. In fact, this was one of the most disappointing meals I have had at WDW.

 

[disneychic2]

Le Cellier is one of our favorite places to eat. But I wouldn't pay oop nor would I use 2 dining credits. We are booked for lunch in Sept and will enjoy it very much. Everyone has different tastes and you will see a wide variety of opinions, so, ultimately it is up to you to decide. Good luck and enjoy your trip!

 

[River Country]

Le Cellier is one of our favorite places to eat. But I wouldn't pay oop nor would I use 2 dining credits. We are booked for lunch in Sept and will enjoy it very much. Everyone has different tastes and you will see a wide variety of opinions, so, ultimately it is up to you to decide. Good luck and enjoy your trip!

Ditto

You can now close this thread because that about sums it all up.

 

[TDC Nala]

The food was quite good for dinner. I didn't have cow steak though. I had buffalo. It was cooked well. Service, however, was NOT good that night (I have had good service at Le Cel before) and yes, the tables are squished close together, and it was quite loud in there. The kids at the next table got bored, they were up and walking around. One of the adults at their table started tickling them, and they began shrieking. It was a late reservation (8:30) and the place was packed. I also refused to pay nine bucks for the cheese soup, although my friend had a bowl.

 

[heatherandnick]

We love LC and it has become a tradition for us each trip.

We LOVE LOVE LOVE the cheddar cheese soup and pretzel bread. So much, in fact, that we found the recipe online and eat it at home a few times a year. We always get the filet with mashed potatoes (no mushroomd for either of us) and it is delicious. The service there has always been fantastic, too.

I agree, it is a bit cramped in there, but I love the whole "wine cellar" feel.

Everyone has different opinions of everything. I suggest just looking at the menu and deciding if it's worth it to you. I would say, however, that it is more worth paying OOp or going for a 1-credit lunch on the DDP, rather than a 2-credit dinner. Just my opinion.

Have fun!

 

[Silver Queen]

We definitely do not feel that Le Cellier is a signature quality restaurant. The steaks are only fair and the service was very poor when we were there in March. They served us our entrees immediately after they served our appetizers. The table (which was very small) was covered with plates with not room to move anything. The filet was not at all exceptional, nothing like Shulas. We won't be going back there for a long time (if ever).

 

[hooch11bear]

We love eating at Le Cellier. We normally eat dinner here but this year we are trying lunch. We pay OOP for every visit. We like the atmosphere too. My daughter loves the cheddar cheese soup and the Filet is very good. I absolutely love the maple creme brulee. We are excited to eat here this trip too.

 

[3floridarays]

We will be staying at the Dolphin, so I think I might change our plans and do Shula's instead. And if I can snag a coupon on restaurants.com, even better!