The Everything Victoria & Albert's Thread

[coopersmom]

Anyone eaten in the Queen Victoria room want to share their experience? Is it worth the extra money and how long does it actually take to enjoy? (Our son will be at the kids' club and he's little, so don't want him alone too, too long.)

Right now we're booked for the regular dining room, but Queen Victoria was available. I looked at some sample menus and it's tempting, but four hours-plus for dinner. Yikes!

At home, when our son is with babysitter in our house and going to bed? OK, do-able. (We've eaten for five, or six hours even, in France and Napa, but that was B.C. ... before children.) But when he's going to be wound-up like a top in a kids' club and awake long past his normal bedtime? Just doesn't seem feasible.

I also have a possibly gauche wine-pairing question ... We love wine ... just not white wine. I know, I know, pairings are sacrosanct and I can appreciate a wide variety of grapes and what they bring out in the food. But, yeah, I've learned over the years, that really only applies to red wine. (And we've done some really high-end food and wine pairings in the past.) Champagne is OK (still not a favorite), but offer me Chardonnay or Riesling, even really nice ones, and I'd rather have diet Coke. (Yes, I am a Philistine, thanks for noticing.)

Anyone experienced how they feel about substitutions in general and more specifically with the wine? I know we could order a bottle instead (and may very well ultimately do that) but, overall, I do appreciate the delicacy of the paired choices with the different courses and think it adds to the experience to let the sommelier select. I'd just rather guide that selection to a broad category.

 

[JenKatt]

Anyone eaten in the Queen Victoria room want to share their experience? Is it worth the extra money and how long does it actually take to enjoy? (Our son will be at the kids' club and he's little, so don't want him alone too, too long.)

Right now we're booked for the regular dining room, but Queen Victoria was available. I looked at some sample menus and it's tempting, but four hours-plus for dinner. Yikes!

At home, when our son is with babysitter in our house and going to bed? OK, do-able. (We've eaten for five, or six hours even, in France and Napa, but that was B.C. ... before children.) But when he's going to be wound-up like a top in a kids' club and awake long past his normal bedtime? Just doesn't seem feasible.

I also have a possibly gauche wine-pairing question ... We love wine ... just not white wine. I know, I know, pairings are sacrosanct and I can appreciate a wide variety of grapes and what they bring out in the food. But, yeah, I've learned over the years, that really only applies to red wine. (And we've done some really high-end food and wine pairings in the past.) Champagne is OK (still not a favorite), but offer me Chardonnay or Riesling, even really nice ones, and I'd rather have diet Coke. (Yes, I am a Philistine, thanks for noticing.)

Anyone experienced how they feel about substitutions in general and more specifically with the wine? I know we could order a bottle instead (and may very well ultimately do that) but, overall, I do appreciate the delicacy of the paired choices with the different courses and think it adds to the experience to let the sommelier select. I'd just rather guide that selection to a broad category.

We did the Queen Vicky room in March. We loved it. We've eaten in every part of V&A (chef's table, regular room, QV Room). Each offers a different feel. You don't have to take 4 hours to do the QV Room. We did, but another couple was in and out in 2, partly because they did not do the wine pairings and they wanted to get back to their kids.
The food, wine and service were great. Having Isreal prepare a dish at the table was a special treat.
I'm sure they would work with you to substitute wines. My mom doesn't drink red wines due to sulfites, and V&A has always substituted all the reds with whites, with no problems.

 

[thumper*]

Anyone eaten in the Queen Victoria room want to share their experience? Is it worth the extra money and how long does it actually take to enjoy? (Our son will be at the kids' club and he's little, so don't want him alone too, too long.)

Right now we're booked for the regular dining room, but Queen Victoria was available. I looked at some sample menus and it's tempting, but four hours-plus for dinner. Yikes!

At home, when our son is with babysitter in our house and going to bed? OK, do-able. (We've eaten for five, or six hours even, in France and Napa, but that was B.C. ... before children.) But when he's going to be wound-up like a top in a kids' club and awake long past his normal bedtime? Just doesn't seem feasible.

I also have a possibly gauche wine-pairing question ... We love wine ... just not white wine. I know, I know, pairings are sacrosanct and I can appreciate a wide variety of grapes and what they bring out in the food. But, yeah, I've learned over the years, that really only applies to red wine. (And we've done some really high-end food and wine pairings in the past.) Champagne is OK (still not a favorite), but offer me Chardonnay or Riesling, even really nice ones, and I'd rather have diet Coke. (Yes, I am a Philistine, thanks for noticing.)

Anyone experienced how they feel about substitutions in general and more specifically with the wine? I know we could order a bottle instead (and may very well ultimately do that) but, overall, I do appreciate the delicacy of the paired choices with the different courses and think it adds to the experience to let the sommelier select. I'd just rather guide that selection to a broad category.

We dined in the Q V room on 9-14. Loved it.
We did the wine pairings and loved it. We also are not white wine fans but the whites we had weren't too sweet.
The table next to us split 1 wine pairing between them and she had a bottle of wine and he had 7&7's as well. Nothing seemed frowned upon. I would agree with pp that you could substitute. You could always ask your server at the beginning of service.
I will be writing up a report on our experience and will post a link on this thread once done.
Until then water over this wonderful Salmon...this had dried exotic mushrooms on the top they were awesome

 

[ChildAtHeart82]

Looks and sounds delicious! Looking forward to your report.

 

[nbs2]

I couldn't read this entire thread so maybe this has been asked before but has anyone done V&A while pregnant?? I booked it then found out I'm pregnant and I will be about 22 weeks along at the time of going there. There are certain things I can't eat (raw/rare meat, soft cheeses, etc) and man, does it make me sad! Normally I would eat anything V&A puts on my plate but being pregnant there are limitations.

I'm definitely going to call them to make them aware of my situation.. just wondered if anyone has experience with this. I'm SO sad I can't eat any soft cheeses! boo! I'm sure V&A has some amazing ones!

I haven't eaten at V/A before - I just ventured into this thread out of a bit of curiosity. However, we have done tasting menus while the missus was pregnant.

Any quality place (and this appears to be one) will accommodate your needs. In her case, that meant not only catering to her restrictions, but to her particular issues. In some cases, the resolution turned out to be creations that were superlative in comparison to their already outstanding dishes. The most notable was a watermelon soup that was served in alternative to my alcohol soaked Napoleon. In the middle of summer, that was possibly the most perfect dessert I could have imagined. Of course, that was the best restaurant I've ever been to. I, a grown man, couldn't stop myself from hugging the manager.

 

[Poppinsme]

We dined in the Q V room on 9-14. Loved it.
We did the wine pairings and loved it. We also are not white wine fans but the whites we had weren't too sweet.
The table next to us split 1 wine pairing between them and she had a bottle of wine and he had 7&7's as well. Nothing seemed frowned upon. I would agree with pp that you could substitute. You could always ask your server at the beginning of service.
I will be writing up a report on our experience and will post a link on this thread once done.
Until then water over this wonderful Salmon...this had dried exotic mushrooms on the top they were awesome

Looks great. Can't wait to see your report!
And we are so excited about dining here in December.

 

[opaleyes]

Just wanted to add a quick note- I didn't read every page in this thread, but looked through a lot of them. At the beginning I saw people saying that V&A's does not allow advance payment, but that is exactly what we have done for when we will be dining there in December. My father is buying us the dinner as a gift, and they took his credit card information, and marked us as pre-paid. Either for some reason they made an exception for us, or the rules have changed. If someone else has already pointed this out, apologies!

 

[thumper*]

Just wanted to add a quick note- I didn't read every page in this thread, but looked through a lot of them. At the beginning I saw people saying that V&A's does not allow advance payment, but that is exactly what we have done for when we will be dining there in December. My father is buying us the dinner as a gift, and they took his credit card information, and marked us as pre-paid. Either for some reason they made an exception for us, or the rules have changed. If someone else has already pointed this out, apologies!

You have to give them a CC # to make a reservation to cover cancellation fee if you don't show up. So I'm guessing they got the CC# for that and will hold on to it and charge the CC at the end of your dinner. Enjoy it we sure did.

 

[thumper*]

As promised here is a link to my review of V&A Queen Victorias room.

Warning you may want to have a napkin available to wipe the drool off with.

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=38415846#post38415846

 

[coopersmom]

I'd like to ask a dress code question: My husband would prefer to take a dress shirt, tie and slacks, rather than packing a bulky, wrinkle-prone suit jacket. Is that acceptable for V&A, or is a jacket required?

 

[Cheshire Figment]

Jacket is mandatory. If he does not bring one with him they will loan him one, hopefully it will fit.

 

[engle]

As promised here is a link to my review of V&A Queen Victorias room.

Warning you may want to have a napkin available to wipe the drool off with.

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=38415846#post38415846

Fantastic....thank you. I have been to V&A 4 times now, once to the Chef's Table. I am planning the Victoria Room soon!!!

I also must tell you, if you haven't tried the Yachtsman steakhouse you should...they have marvelous lobster bisque. It might fit the bill you are looking for....you can even order it while at the Crew's Cup Lounge (next door to Yachtsman at the Yacht Club) if they are not too busy. I had it last week and can't stop thinking about it.

 

[figmentgirl]

Just wanted to add a quick note- I didn't read every page in this thread, but looked through a lot of them. At the beginning I saw people saying that V&A's does not allow advance payment, but that is exactly what we have done for when we will be dining there in December. My father is buying us the dinner as a gift, and they took his credit card information, and marked us as pre-paid. Either for some reason they made an exception for us, or the rules have changed. If someone else has already pointed this out, apologies!

They always take your CC# down to hold your reservation as you can be charged for cancelling close to the reservation date. You cannot prepay since the dinner amount may be more due to adding the wine pairing or menu items that add an upcharge.

 

[formytinkerbelle]

Q about drinks...About how much is just 1 glass of wine? Do they have other alcoholic choices besides wine? Is the coffee an extra charge? I'm trying to budget our entire experience.

 

[Cheshire Figment]

Wine by the glass or bottle have varying prices depending on what is ordered. For other alcoholic beverages I don't think they have a full bar internally so they go over to Citrico's and get the drinks there. All non-alcoholic drinks are included (and the water is bottled water) in the base price of the meal.

 

[JulieODC]

Hi Everyone - great information in this thread!

We'll be visiting Disney in December for my 30th birthday, and I am all of a sudden regretting that we didn't book Victoria and Alberts during our trip.

What do you think are the chances that we can get a reservation for Saturday Dec 11 or Sunday Dec 12? I'm guessing the Chef's Table goes fast - but I'm wondering if the rest of the restaurant books up completely typically?

I just tried calling the reservation line, but they were closed for the day...

Anyone have any advice? Thanks!

 

[JenKatt]

Hi Everyone - great information in this thread!

We'll be visiting Disney in December for my 30th birthday, and I am all of a sudden regretting that we didn't book Victoria and Alberts during our trip.

What do you think are the chances that we can get a reservation for Saturday Dec 11 or Sunday Dec 12? I'm guessing the Chef's Table goes fast - but I'm wondering if the rest of the restaurant books up completely typically?

I just tried calling the reservation line, but they were closed for the day...

Anyone have any advice? Thanks!

You should be able to get a reservation in the main dining room without a problem, even the Queen Victoria Room (maybe). Its a lighter time of year, so I doubt it's sold out.

 

[coopersmom]

Hi Everyone - great information in this thread!

We'll be visiting Disney in December for my 30th birthday, and I am all of a sudden regretting that we didn't book Victoria and Alberts during our trip.

What do you think are the chances that we can get a reservation for Saturday Dec 11 or Sunday Dec 12? I'm guessing the Chef's Table goes fast - but I'm wondering if the rest of the restaurant books up completely typically?

I just tried calling the reservation line, but they were closed for the day...

Anyone have any advice? Thanks!

We're going on the 11th and, two weeks ago when we reserved, there were still reservations available on the 11th, 12th and 13th, including several Queen Victoria room openings. The "best" times were taken, but early and late openings seemed plentiful.

 

[west&east]

As promised here is a link to my review of V&A Queen Victorias room.

Warning you may want to have a napkin available to wipe the drool off with.

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=38415846#post38415846

I was excited to find this thread. We our dining in the Queen Victorias room on Dec 19th. An added bonus is that our good friends have decided to join us on our trip. We will switch off adults only nights, so our kids won't have to go to the kids' club but can enjoy the evening with their friends and the parents while we take our time. We'll reciprocate another night.

So, my dilemma is whether to read this review posted by thumper or others. I read one review of the QV room online a few weeks ago which got me interested to begin with. I usually research things to death, but I wonder if I should just go in with a blank slate and let myself be wowed. What do you think?

 

[Cheshire Figment]

I've not done QVR yet, but have done CT four times. The only decision you will have to make is do you want the wine pairings or not. Reading a review will not hurt as there will always be some changes made. Just go in with fairly high expectations and they will be exceeded.