Le Cellier Steakhouse | the disney food blog

New! DFB Podcast Episode 6: Steakhouse Showdown

Hey all! Great news today for all you commuters, walkers, runners, gym-goers, and other assorted podcast listeners!

Just wanted to drop a line this afternoon to let you know that the sixth episode of our DFB Podcast is now posted and ready for downloading!

In this episode we cover the latest Disney Food News, discuss two great Disney steakhouses, answer a few reader questions, and reveal the answer to our Episode 5 trivia question (as well as give you a brand new trivia question)!

Click here to go to the Podcast page for Episode 6. And don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast via RSS or on iTunes!

Take a listen and let us know [Read more…]

Review: Le Cellier Steakhouse Signature Dinner

By AJ 47 Comments

Learn About:Le Cellier Steakhouse

Epcot Restaurants
Disney World Restaurants

Time to revisit a fan and Disney Food Blog Favorite: Le Cellier Steakhouse in Epcot’s Canada Pavilion!

Signature Dinner, One Year Later

You’ll remember that we visited Le Cellier last March for dinner, just after Le Cellier dinner became a signature meal on the Disney Dining Plan (meaning it now will cost you two table service credits to dine there, rather than one).

At that time, we were focused on whether the menu could really deliver an experience that was significantly different than it had been before, and whether dinner would be worth the much higher prices than you’ll find at lunch. We walked away somewhat let down by the meal — especially disappointing was the ribeye with maple butter, a flavor combo that just seemed all wrong — but we were confident that they would pull it together. We also wondered right along with you if lunch would also become a signature meal, and if dinner would continue to be a signature meal.

Fast forward a year from that first signature dinner! It’s time to see what, if any, evolution has taken place!

Atmosphere

In the year since we last visited, only two real changes have taken place in the dining room during the Signature dinner meal. Remember those snazzy little maple leaf napkin rings that I told you about last year? Those are gone from the tables, as are the table votive candles and their pretty little holders.

If I had to guess why, I would figure that they were so cute, they proved to be irresistible to snag as a souvenir. 😉 But that same upscale, wine cellar feeling with arches, candlelight sconces, deep reds, and dark woods throughout still signal that you are someplace lovely, cozy, and probably surrounded by snow.

Dining Room

As you can see, the lack of table candles and napkin rings makes dinner pretty indistinguishable from the lunch setting.

Seating

Eats

After we were seated, our server, Gabby, greeted us cheerfully. She was wonderful from the get go! We learned that she was on her second Le Cellier tour with the International Program, and she proved to be helpful and knowledgeable as we made our choices. Of course, we started with a few drinks.

Beer Menu - click image for larger version

First up: the [Read more…]

Disney Food Post Round-Up: March 25, 2012

By AJ Leave a Comment

Citrus Swirl

We gathered a delicious assortment of food info during our recent visit to Disney World! And we even discovered more about the as-yet-unannounced Epcot French Bakery expansion!!! (So excited about that!)

See some of our treasured finds below (citrus swirl -sigh!) and stay tuned for more discoveries, which we’ll be sharing soon.

The best part? We’re headed back in just one month to gather even more news and details for you! In the meantime, please keep sending along any news, menu items, and or other info you discover on your visits! We appreciate the help!

Disney Food News

Here’s the latest…

The Citrus Swirl is back in Disney World’s Magic Kingdom. We hope it stays!
We dug up a few more details about the Epcot French Bakery expansion, including a slated opening date and more about the menu!
Epcot’s Le Cellier Steakhouse has undergone another menu change. Take a look at the new lunch menu, and stay tuned for our one-year-later review of the Le Cellier Signature dinner!
There are new Rose and Crown menus in Epcot’s UK pavilion. We see some old favorites removed from the menus. Take a look!
A peanut butter cup cupcake gets a rave review! Check it out for a limited time in the Magic Kingdom’s Main Street Bakery.
A tongue-in-cheek report on the eats from the New Fantasyland’s Storybook Circus in the Magic Kingdom of Disney World!

We’ve got LOTS more sweet and savory food news on our Disney Food News Pin Board, where Disney Food News is updated on a regular basis!

The Disney Food Blog Mini-Guide to Magic Kingdom Snacks e-Book

The DFB Mini-Guide to Magic Kingdom Snacks e-Book

is proving invaluable to food-lovers headed to Disney World!!

We couldn’t fit this detailed information into our overview book, The DFB Guide to Walt Disney World Dining, so we’ve created an entire guide detailing over 70 Magic Kingdom snacks!

You’ll see photos, reviews, costs, and Disney Dining Plan snack credit information about each featured snack! Be sure to check out http://DFBMiniGuides.com for details about the e-Book, sample pages, and even a list of the bonus items in the book!

To grab a 20% discount today, use code MAGIC at the check-out!! We hope you enjoy!

Want even more? Pick up our 250-page, picture-packed DFB Guide to Walt Disney World Dining, or our DFB Mini-Guide to Epcot Snacks e-Book while you’re at it! 🙂 Thanks for supporting the Disney Food Blog!

On to the Round-Up

Walt Disney World for Grownups

compares the breakfast buffets at Chef Mickey’s and Cape May Cafe.

MiceChat spotlights a former cast member who worked at the Columbia Harbour House when the Magic Kingdom first opened.

Main Street Gazette alerts us to the Fresh Florida Strawberry Ice Cream Sundae, a special treat offered at the Fountainview Cafe in Epcot in honor of the Florida Strawberry Festival. So jealous!! 🙂

Daveland visits the Blue Bayou restaurant in Disneyland.

DisneyParks Blog entertains us with a time lapse video of the installation of the neon sign at Flo’s V8 Café.

Mouse Junkies writes an ode to Free Dining. Hilarious, Bill!

Disney Travel Babble shares the decadence of ordering mini-cakes from Walt Disney World bakeries!

Stuff from the Park highlights a 1958 photo of a popcorn stand. Yes, that popcorn was selling for 15 cents!

Menu Changes: Epcot’s Le Cellier Steakhouse Lunch Menu

By Kim LaPaglia 29 Comments

Learn About:Le Cellier Steakhouse

Epcot Restaurants
Disney World Restaurants

Epcot’s Le Cellier Steakhouse in the Canada pavilion has changed up their lunch and dinner menus yet again. We’ve got the lunch menu for you here, but I’ve got a full review coming up for dinner very soon!

In fall of 2011, we reviewed the eats during the last menu change.

Let’s take a look at the most recent alterations! No worries — many fan favorites remain, like the Canadian Cheddar Cheese Soup, Mushroom Filet, and Maple Creme Brulee!

Le Cellier Dining Room

Menu Items No Longer Offered [Read more…]

2011 DFB Choice Award Winners!

By AJ Leave a Comment

It’s time to announce the winners of the second annual DFB Choice Awards!!

The awards are 100% based on Disney Food Blog reader choices. Nominations and final winners are selected by DFB readers who participate in the process. Everyone is welcome to participate! If your favorites didn’t win this year, be sure to nominate and vote for them next year! 🙂

Thanks to those of you who took the time to nominate your favorites, and to vote for the winners!

Without further ado, here are this year’s DFB Choice Award winners!

[Read more…]

Le Cellier Lunch Menu Shifts

By AJ 10 Comments

Le Cellier gradauted its dinner menu to a Signature Dining option earlier this year (see our review here), but that wasn’t the end of the changes!

Our good friend Andy from Eating (and Drinking) around WDW recently sent over these photos of the new lunch menu at Le Cellier, which has been spiffed up a bit to accompany the restaurant’s new ‘spensive dinner menu.

Lunch Menu -- click for larger version

Gone are the Grilled Sirloin Salad and the Open-Face Canadian Cheese Steak Sandwich, replaced with a Crispy Fried Steak (roasted peppers, field greens, boursin cheese sauce (hubba hubba!!), and potato salad) and Le Cellier’s Steak and Potato Skillet (Beef tenderloin, mushrooms, and [Read more…]

Guest Review: Le Cellier…From a Canadian Point-of-View

By AJ 23 Comments

Welcome back James Hummel (@DisneyNorth on Twitter) with a review of Le Cellier. As a Canadian, James offers a unique perspective when reviewing this popular restaurant! He also gives us a glimpse of a proper poutine.

I figured it was high time that a Canadian review one of the most popular restaurants in Walt Disney World. I do want to give a disclaimer first though: these are my opinions only and do not represent all Canadians. And no, I don’t know Jimmy, Sally or Suzy from Canada (the Canadian readers will get that joke).

The entrance to steak heaven

So, as they say in Quebec, Allons-y!

Atmosphere
You’ve seen the pictures, maybe even the outside of the restaurant and, if you are really lucky like me, seen the inside too (multiple times). Le Cellier is a hidden restaurant in EPCOT. No, not hidden gem… I mean really hidden! If you didn’t know where to look, you would literally walk right by it. I mean, there is no giant doorway for this place. You have to go through the wonderful Victoria Gardens to find, what appears to be, a doorway to an underground bunker. But of course, it is all about the story. Enough talk about the outside, let’s get in from the snow…er…I mean oppressive Florida heat.

The inside of Le Cellier is inspired by the large wine cellars of the grand Chateau style hotels in Quebec City and the Rockies. For me, the restaurant reminds me of [Read more…]

Review: New Le Cellier Signature Dinner

By AJ 38 Comments

Learn About:Le Cellier Steakhouse

Epcot Restaurants
Disney World Restaurants

You remember when we analyzed the brand new Le Cellier Steakhouse Signature dinner menu a few weeks ago, right? Well, I finally had the chance to try it myself.

For those who are just tuning in, one of Disney World’s most popular restaurants, Le Cellier in Epcot’s Canada pavilion, began offering a signature dinner menu (e.g. super expensive) at the beginning of March 2011. While the restaurant remained priced at one Disney Dining Plan credit for lunch, the dinner menu cost two Disney Dining Plan credits. For those of us who don’t purchase the dining plan, that means that the dinner menu was renovated and all prices bumped up a few bucks…or more.

Atmosphere
The decor and atmosphere at Le Cellier hasn’t changed at all. You’re still dining in a very small “cellar,” featuring candlelight sconces on the walls (not real candles, of course), rich woods and deep maroon fabrics, and stone archways creating the structure of the restaurant.

Le Cellier Dining Room

Le Cellier Ceilings and Chandeliers

The only thing upon arrival that makes you think something might be slightly different is the presence of some snazzy new napkin rings (I’m pretty sure I’ve never seen napkin rings at a Disney World restaurant…) and candles on the tables… [Read more…]

Disney Food Trend: Trios

By AJ 12 Comments

Obviously Disney’s keen on the fact that most of us can’t make up our minds about what we want to try in their restaurants! They’ve slowly, but surely, started introducing ways for us to sample a little bit of everything — even when we’re not at a buffet.

Trios of dishes — small portions of three menu items served together as one dish — are popping up everywhere, from casual to signature dining. And while these used to be relegated to the dessert menu, we’re now seeing trios pop up in the appetizer and entree sections of the menu. Here are a few examples…

Appetizer Trios
Epcot’s Le Cellier put a trio of appetizers front and center on its menu a while ago, giving guests an opportunity to sample three of their most beloved apps: Cheddar Cheese Soup, Lump Crab, and the Tomato Stack.

Le Cellier Lunch Menu Appetizer Trio

Sanaa, in Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge, has followed suit with trios of salads and appetizers. The one below includes [Read more…]

Analysis of Le Cellier’s New Dinner Menu (What Should I Order?)

By AJ 40 Comments

The time has come. As we reported last August, Le Cellier is now a 2-credit, signature dining location for dinner.

And we finally have the menu! Now we can find out what we’re eating when we spend 2 Disney Dining Plan credits at Epcot’s Le Cellier Steakhouse at dinner time (lunch is still 1 credit)!

The veggie entree sounds great. But what are pea tendrils? I’ve posted the full menu at the bottom of this post, but first, let’s analyze what’s different…

Menu Analysis: What’s New and What’s Staying?

Appetizers

have almost completely changed out. Remaining are the cheddar cheese soup (now priced at $9 versus the previous $6.99) and the Spicy Chicken and Chipotle Sausage with roasted corn polenta and sweet onion jam (now called “artisan” spicy chicken and chipotle sausage with roasted corn polenta and sweet onion jam, and priced at $12 instead of $9.99…that’s one pricey “artisan”).

Cheddar Cheese Soup

The steakhouse caesar salad is still around, but this time it costs $9 instead of $6.99, and it has pretzel croutons versus the sourdough croutons it sported in the past.

I’m LOVING the addition of the artisinal cheese plate, of course. And there’s honeycomb, which means I’m happy as a clam.

Entrees: The basics have stayed the same. The New York Strip is still there, but now costs $42 instead of $34.99; the salmon is now Pacific King Salmon instead of [Read more…]

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New! DFB Podcast Episode 6: Steakhouse Showdown