shaun&miranda
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Dec 25, 2005
- Messages
- 221
My DH and I ate at Victoria and Alberts in the main dining room in early October 2011. For those who don't know much about V&A's it is a small but beautiful restaurant in the Grand Floridian.
The main dining room is a fairly small circular room, with a large floral centrepiece table under a glass dome in the middle of the room. There are then a few tables around this centrepiece (one of which was ours) and then there is a small dividing wall at about waist height, with another set of tables circling the outer wall of the room. A live harpist provided the only musical backdrop.
I had read on the boards about the effect of sitting under the dome where occasionally you think someone is talking behind your ear, but actually it is sound reflected across the dome from the other side. This happened to me once or twice in our meal, and I was glad I knew what was happening, as otherwise I would have thought I was hearing voices!
The service was absolutely wonderful. We were greeted at the door by name, even though we have never eaten there before. We were shown to our table and given our personalised menus. This means we were each given a copy of the menu which had the date and our names printed at the top, and that the dishes listed took account of any allergies we had told the restaurant about in advance. The server also placed a vegetarian version of the menu on our table and said we were welcome to order off that menu for any course if we chose to.
My only criticism of the service was that the head server came to welcome us, and again later to check we were happy and he spoke so softly I could barely hear him! It is a quiet place, where you speak in low tones. It is definitely not somewhere I could imagine having a raucous meal with laughter and friends. It is much more intimate.
The way the ordering works is that there is one charge for the whole meal, which consists of 8 courses. So long as you only order off the main menu, that is the only charge for your meal. For each course there were two or three options to choose from, some of which carried an extra charge. You order all your food at the start of the meal - including your dessert, which I found a little challenging! There is a wine pairing for each course, or you can order by the bottle. DH chose to have the paired wines and loved them all. They kindly poured me a sip of his champagne at the start to toast the meal, which was a lovely touch.
Our menu (on 3rd October 2011) was the following. I have marked my choices with
and DH's with 
Amuse Bouche (a plate with 4 quadrants, featuring 4 small tastes - a crab pancake, a shrimp and mango cocktail, a seared tuna and a melon salad
___________
Heirloom tomatoes, Octopus and Burrata Cheese with Yellow Tomato Gazpacho OR
Applewood Smoked Buffalo Waldorf
Galilee or German Osetra Caviar with traditional garnish for a large supplementary cost (USD 90-180 or 60-120 for half of full ounce respectively)
___________________
Diver Scallop with Braised Fennel and Blood Orange Gastrique OR
Roasted Alaskan Sablefish with Arugula Pudding
___________________
Roasted Butternut Squash Soup with Tortellini OR
Roasted Quail with Asian Pears and Serrano Ham Jus OR
Duck Breast, Duck Sausage and Confit, with strawberry-rhubarb puree
________________
Kurobuta Pork Tenderloin and Belly with verjus-bacon vinaigrette OR
Poulet Rouge with house-made gnocchi and jumbo asparagus OR
Niman ranch lamb with candied marble potatoes and english peas OR
35 USD upgrade to Australian Kobe-style beef tenderloin with smoked garlic potato puree OR
80 USD upgrade to Blackmore Wagyu Strip Loin with oxtail jus
_________________
Cheese plate (Goat Gouda, Parmigiano-Reggiano, Gouda Reypenaer XO, Goat Brie OR
White Chocolate Gelato with tableside shavings and micro mint
________________
Tanzanie Chocolate Pyramid with a champagne-chambord truffle OR
Meyer lemon and blood orange purse with blackberry-violet sherbert OR
Caramelised banana gateau OR
Vanilla bean creme brulee OR
Grand Marnier Souffle OR
Hawaiian Kona Chocolate Souffle
_____________
Coffee, Tea and Friandises (Home made sweets - pumpkin praline, salted caramel and redcurrant jellies)
Everything was amazing. The flavours and textures were unbelievably well paired. While DH drank his wine pairings, I stuck to water as I didn't want to spoil the flavours of my meal with a sugary drink. The check was still a nasty shock, but we definitely felt it was worth it. My only regret is that I should also have had the Kobe beef - it was unbelievably delicious! I had the lamb which was good, but next to the Kobe was a bit dull.
We will definitely go back to V&A's another year. A few tips I would pass to other guests for their visits:
The aircon is very cold. I was frozen in my pretty evening dress!
I had taken a wool wrap and was still cold. My husband was fine in his dinner jacket outfit, but ladies, be aware that you may be cold in strappy dresses! The temperature is set for gentlemen to be comfortable wearing jackets and long trousers. The servers will lend ladies a wrap to wear if they seem cold, but I am taking a warmer wrap and wearing tights next visit! 
There are restrooms inside V&A's. You don't need to leave the restaurant just go back to the reception desk and take a right. The servers will always give you a fresh dinner napkin on your return which I found quite funny.
Some reports have said bottled water is served at V&A's for free. The water is poured from a glass bottle, but it is actually filtered and chilled tap water, which is why it is free. It tasted nice and they keep you well topped up, but don't think it's commercial bottled stuff!
Try the breads with and without the butters they come with. There are 3 bread "courses" which come between the first 3 courses and each type of bread is paired with a particular flavoured butter. It was interesting to see how the butters changed the tastes of the breads (which were all delicious).
Finally, I would book earlier rather than later in the evening to get the best of V&A's. Our table was at 9pm and we only had one or perhaps two "sessions" of the harpist playing while we were there (2 and a half hours) before she packed her bags and discreetly went home. We were the last people there, and there was no chance of a kitchen tour after our meal as the lights were off and they were clearly closing. It gave a nice feeling of exclusivity, but I would have loved the chance to see the kitchen and hear more of the harpist I think.
I hope this review is helpful to others, I was so uncertain about going to V&A's but I am so glad we went. I heartily recommend it!
Miranda
The main dining room is a fairly small circular room, with a large floral centrepiece table under a glass dome in the middle of the room. There are then a few tables around this centrepiece (one of which was ours) and then there is a small dividing wall at about waist height, with another set of tables circling the outer wall of the room. A live harpist provided the only musical backdrop.
I had read on the boards about the effect of sitting under the dome where occasionally you think someone is talking behind your ear, but actually it is sound reflected across the dome from the other side. This happened to me once or twice in our meal, and I was glad I knew what was happening, as otherwise I would have thought I was hearing voices!
The service was absolutely wonderful. We were greeted at the door by name, even though we have never eaten there before. We were shown to our table and given our personalised menus. This means we were each given a copy of the menu which had the date and our names printed at the top, and that the dishes listed took account of any allergies we had told the restaurant about in advance. The server also placed a vegetarian version of the menu on our table and said we were welcome to order off that menu for any course if we chose to.
My only criticism of the service was that the head server came to welcome us, and again later to check we were happy and he spoke so softly I could barely hear him! It is a quiet place, where you speak in low tones. It is definitely not somewhere I could imagine having a raucous meal with laughter and friends. It is much more intimate.
The way the ordering works is that there is one charge for the whole meal, which consists of 8 courses. So long as you only order off the main menu, that is the only charge for your meal. For each course there were two or three options to choose from, some of which carried an extra charge. You order all your food at the start of the meal - including your dessert, which I found a little challenging! There is a wine pairing for each course, or you can order by the bottle. DH chose to have the paired wines and loved them all. They kindly poured me a sip of his champagne at the start to toast the meal, which was a lovely touch.
Our menu (on 3rd October 2011) was the following. I have marked my choices with
and DH's with Amuse Bouche (a plate with 4 quadrants, featuring 4 small tastes - a crab pancake, a shrimp and mango cocktail, a seared tuna and a melon salad
___________
Heirloom tomatoes, Octopus and Burrata Cheese with Yellow Tomato Gazpacho
ORApplewood Smoked Buffalo Waldorf
Galilee or German Osetra Caviar with traditional garnish for a large supplementary cost (USD 90-180 or 60-120 for half of full ounce respectively)
___________________
Diver Scallop with Braised Fennel and Blood Orange Gastrique
ORRoasted Alaskan Sablefish with Arugula Pudding
___________________
Roasted Butternut Squash Soup with Tortellini OR
Roasted Quail with Asian Pears and Serrano Ham Jus
ORDuck Breast, Duck Sausage and Confit, with strawberry-rhubarb puree
________________
Kurobuta Pork Tenderloin and Belly with verjus-bacon vinaigrette OR
Poulet Rouge with house-made gnocchi and jumbo asparagus OR
Niman ranch lamb with candied marble potatoes and english peas
OR35 USD upgrade to Australian Kobe-style beef tenderloin with smoked garlic potato puree
OR80 USD upgrade to Blackmore Wagyu Strip Loin with oxtail jus
_________________
Cheese plate (Goat Gouda, Parmigiano-Reggiano, Gouda Reypenaer XO, Goat Brie
ORWhite Chocolate Gelato with tableside shavings and micro mint
________________
Tanzanie Chocolate Pyramid with a champagne-chambord truffle
ORMeyer lemon and blood orange purse with blackberry-violet sherbert OR
Caramelised banana gateau OR
Vanilla bean creme brulee OR
Grand Marnier Souffle OR
Hawaiian Kona Chocolate Souffle
_____________
Coffee, Tea and Friandises (Home made sweets - pumpkin praline, salted caramel and redcurrant jellies)
Everything was amazing. The flavours and textures were unbelievably well paired. While DH drank his wine pairings, I stuck to water as I didn't want to spoil the flavours of my meal with a sugary drink. The check was still a nasty shock, but we definitely felt it was worth it. My only regret is that I should also have had the Kobe beef - it was unbelievably delicious! I had the lamb which was good, but next to the Kobe was a bit dull.
We will definitely go back to V&A's another year. A few tips I would pass to other guests for their visits:
The aircon is very cold. I was frozen in my pretty evening dress!
I had taken a wool wrap and was still cold. My husband was fine in his dinner jacket outfit, but ladies, be aware that you may be cold in strappy dresses! The temperature is set for gentlemen to be comfortable wearing jackets and long trousers. The servers will lend ladies a wrap to wear if they seem cold, but I am taking a warmer wrap and wearing tights next visit! There are restrooms inside V&A's. You don't need to leave the restaurant just go back to the reception desk and take a right. The servers will always give you a fresh dinner napkin on your return which I found quite funny.
Some reports have said bottled water is served at V&A's for free. The water is poured from a glass bottle, but it is actually filtered and chilled tap water, which is why it is free. It tasted nice and they keep you well topped up, but don't think it's commercial bottled stuff!
Try the breads with and without the butters they come with. There are 3 bread "courses" which come between the first 3 courses and each type of bread is paired with a particular flavoured butter. It was interesting to see how the butters changed the tastes of the breads (which were all delicious).
Finally, I would book earlier rather than later in the evening to get the best of V&A's. Our table was at 9pm and we only had one or perhaps two "sessions" of the harpist playing while we were there (2 and a half hours) before she packed her bags and discreetly went home. We were the last people there, and there was no chance of a kitchen tour after our meal as the lights were off and they were clearly closing. It gave a nice feeling of exclusivity, but I would have loved the chance to see the kitchen and hear more of the harpist I think.
I hope this review is helpful to others, I was so uncertain about going to V&A's but I am so glad we went. I heartily recommend it!
Miranda
