Having seen the menu for lunch at Chefs de France, I always wanted an excuse to try the lunch special. Mike and I were fitting in one last day at Epcot, and I asked him where he wanted to go to lunch. He debated between Chefs de France and Garden Grill, and decided on Garden Grill. We went over to Garden Grill and thought about making a priority seating for lunch, but decided to do it for a late dinner instead and do Chefs de France for lunch. Having made our priority seating at the Garden Grill, we hopped over to France just before Chefs de France was about to open. We waited in line to put our name down, and Mike asked for the Bistro de Paris because I had been telling him the difference between the two restaurants. The hostess looked confused and said that the Bistro was only open for dinner, so I had to explain that Mike never seems to know whats going on, and that we wanted to go to Chefs de France. She took our name, and said that names would be called shortly. As we waited, we walked around the outside of the restaurants to take some pictures of the area.
A few minutes later we were called, and seated at a great table for two right up against the window in the sunny front room. I loved our seat, it gave us a nice view of both the inside of the restaurant and the people walking by. It also had a slight view of the lagoon, which could possibly be a place to sit to see the tops of the fireworks during Illuminations. Our server came by and poured us both glasses of water and I asked for a glass of chardonnay ($6.50) while Mike had his usual diet Coke. My wine was very nice, and next time I go I will have to get the name of it. One unusual thing we noticed about the servers was that they set up their trays away from the main dining room, and carried everything separately over to the tables.
We both ordered what was called the French Menu, or the lunch special: French onion soup, croque monsieur (ham and cheese sandwich), side salad, and crème brulee, all for $14.95. What a deal! The French onion soup was brought out immediately. I think they plan for a lot of people to order this special and have the food ready and waiting in the kitchen, by the speed with which our meal and other tables meals were brought out. The French onion soup was in a very large bowl, with a thick piece of bread and quite a bit of Gruyere cheese browned on top. It was traditional French onion soup with a bit less onion than Im used to, but it was absolutely delicious. We were also brought rolls with unsalted butter (unsalted butter! Thats the real stuff), and the rolls were perfectly textured, with the inside not too light or dense, and the crust tore just right.
No sooner had we started in on our soups than the sandwiches were brought out. These were also very large sandwiches, cut into three pieces. One of the three pieces would have been plenty. The ham appeared to be thick sliced deli ham. There was a large sliced tomato that I picked out, and the sandwich was also resting on a plum tomato. The sandwich had been pan fried in butter, and the outside was crispy and delicious, with the crusts being almost too hard. The sandwich was wonderful dipped in the soup, and I hope no one noticed! The side salad was made of mixed baby greens and an extremely acidic, fresh tasting citrus vinaigrette. It tasted as if there wasnt quite enough oil in the dressing, but also as if the vinaigrette was made with fresh-squeezed juice. It lightly coated the leaves, and there wasnt a lot of dressing used it wasnt needed, really, with how strongly it was flavored.
We had just finished our soups and sandwiches when our server asked if we were ready for dessert. We asked for a few minutes to wait, and I ordered the same type of Muscat ($10.00) that I had tried at the kiosk right outside. Our server always kept our water glasses and Mikes soda glass full, and took our plates as soon as we were finished. Once we had waited a few minutes, he came back to ask if we were ready, and we said that we were this time. He brought out two dishes of crème brulee, each were fairly large with a half of a strawberry and a madeline cookie. The caramelized sugar on top was just fabulous; it was thick and nicely browned. Underneath the custard was slightly less flavorful than the one at the Rose and Crown, but the great crust made up for it.
The entire meal was just perfect and a great deal, especially with the huge portion sizes. Mike and I will definitely return many times, and next time well ask if we can split the one lunch menu, as it was more than enough for two people to share, and we have large appetites. Service was extremely quick and courteous, and friendly but not overly friendly as some of the Cast Members weve had. Sometimes its nice to not have to make small talk, though. There were quite a few people waiting outside when we arrived, but there was plenty of room for everyone and more. We were also there long enough to see the comical waiter show, and we had a great view from our table. The sunny front room was great for lunch, and the inner area might be better for dinner as it seemed more intimate. This was one of my favorite meals that Ive had at Disney, and I highly recommend it.
Photo gallery
A few minutes later we were called, and seated at a great table for two right up against the window in the sunny front room. I loved our seat, it gave us a nice view of both the inside of the restaurant and the people walking by. It also had a slight view of the lagoon, which could possibly be a place to sit to see the tops of the fireworks during Illuminations. Our server came by and poured us both glasses of water and I asked for a glass of chardonnay ($6.50) while Mike had his usual diet Coke. My wine was very nice, and next time I go I will have to get the name of it. One unusual thing we noticed about the servers was that they set up their trays away from the main dining room, and carried everything separately over to the tables.
We both ordered what was called the French Menu, or the lunch special: French onion soup, croque monsieur (ham and cheese sandwich), side salad, and crème brulee, all for $14.95. What a deal! The French onion soup was brought out immediately. I think they plan for a lot of people to order this special and have the food ready and waiting in the kitchen, by the speed with which our meal and other tables meals were brought out. The French onion soup was in a very large bowl, with a thick piece of bread and quite a bit of Gruyere cheese browned on top. It was traditional French onion soup with a bit less onion than Im used to, but it was absolutely delicious. We were also brought rolls with unsalted butter (unsalted butter! Thats the real stuff), and the rolls were perfectly textured, with the inside not too light or dense, and the crust tore just right.
No sooner had we started in on our soups than the sandwiches were brought out. These were also very large sandwiches, cut into three pieces. One of the three pieces would have been plenty. The ham appeared to be thick sliced deli ham. There was a large sliced tomato that I picked out, and the sandwich was also resting on a plum tomato. The sandwich had been pan fried in butter, and the outside was crispy and delicious, with the crusts being almost too hard. The sandwich was wonderful dipped in the soup, and I hope no one noticed! The side salad was made of mixed baby greens and an extremely acidic, fresh tasting citrus vinaigrette. It tasted as if there wasnt quite enough oil in the dressing, but also as if the vinaigrette was made with fresh-squeezed juice. It lightly coated the leaves, and there wasnt a lot of dressing used it wasnt needed, really, with how strongly it was flavored.
We had just finished our soups and sandwiches when our server asked if we were ready for dessert. We asked for a few minutes to wait, and I ordered the same type of Muscat ($10.00) that I had tried at the kiosk right outside. Our server always kept our water glasses and Mikes soda glass full, and took our plates as soon as we were finished. Once we had waited a few minutes, he came back to ask if we were ready, and we said that we were this time. He brought out two dishes of crème brulee, each were fairly large with a half of a strawberry and a madeline cookie. The caramelized sugar on top was just fabulous; it was thick and nicely browned. Underneath the custard was slightly less flavorful than the one at the Rose and Crown, but the great crust made up for it.
The entire meal was just perfect and a great deal, especially with the huge portion sizes. Mike and I will definitely return many times, and next time well ask if we can split the one lunch menu, as it was more than enough for two people to share, and we have large appetites. Service was extremely quick and courteous, and friendly but not overly friendly as some of the Cast Members weve had. Sometimes its nice to not have to make small talk, though. There were quite a few people waiting outside when we arrived, but there was plenty of room for everyone and more. We were also there long enough to see the comical waiter show, and we had a great view from our table. The sunny front room was great for lunch, and the inner area might be better for dinner as it seemed more intimate. This was one of my favorite meals that Ive had at Disney, and I highly recommend it.
Photo gallery
