Victoria & Albert's Restaurant at Walt Disney World's Grand Floridian resort is a AAA Five Diamond Award winning restaurant. Whether you are a foodie or a wanna be foodie, this amazing experience(because it's more than a meal) needs to be on your bucket list!
I'm going to be up front. I am not a foodie. Not even close. I'm one of the pickiest eaters you will find. I'm a meat and potatoes kind of girl, and even then, the potatoes have to be mashed a certain way for me to eat them. Victoria & Albert's was very much out of my comfort zone. I read other blogs and articles on it but they were all from the perspective of someone who knew foie gras from a french fry. While I was excited about the experience, I was also a little nervous that I'd be spending quite a good deal of money on food that I wouldn't like. I made myself a promise that I would try each thing put in front of me. With that, a few friends and I made a reservation for the evening after running the full marathon at Walt Disney World. If anything would get me hungry enough to eat food I couldn't pronounce, it would be running 26.2 miles.
First, a little background and information on Victoria & Albert's. There are 3 dining areas to choose from, the main dining room(where we sat), Queen Victoria's room and the ultimate experience, the Chef's Table. In the main dining room, you can choose from a 7 course meal, where each course offers you choices to pick from, or a 10 course set offering. If you choose to dine in Queen Victoria's room or at the Chef's Table, you only have the option of the 10 course meal. Wine pairings are available at an additional charge.
Each room has only one seating per evening. You will be the only guests at your table that evening. The meal itself can take 3-4 hours and you are not rushed at all. Only guests ages 10 and above are invited to dine and you must wear the proper attire, with no jeans, sandals or any other casual clothing.
To begin your evening, you are greeted by the first of your team of 3 servers. And you start off with a welcome drink. The server explains each drink, a limeade drink mixed with champagne and vodka and a non-alcoholic fruit drink. I opted for the first and it was just amazing.
After your drink, you are presented with your menu and the menu is explained. The menu is not your standard menu. It is personalized with your name and the date. If you are celebrating anything from a birthday to finishing a marathon, this is noted on your menu as well. You will be asked when making reservations if you'll be celebrating.
If you are eating in the main dining room, the menu will contain the offerings from the 7 and 10 course meals and you will pick which one you want. If you choose the 7 course meal, each course has two choices and you will give your server each choice. Shortly after, your journey(and that of your taste buds) will begin.
I chose the 7 course meal. While portions for each course seem very small, I was warned ahead of time that, paired with the bread, it will fill you up. I also wanted a little more freedom to choose what I was eating, instead of the set offerings with the 10 course meal.
First up: Amuse-Bouche
Amuse-Bouche translates to mouth amuser. That's exactly what it did.
When you have finished, the server cleared our plates and brought us our first round of bread. We received 3 servings of bread throughout the meal. Each if different, with a different type of butter paired with it. As a carb lover, this was one of my favorite parts of the meal. The bread will vary depending on different ingredients in season.
Second course: Black sesame crusted tuna with soba noodles.
This was probably my favorite course. I'm a big sushi/Japanese food lover and this was just perfect. I even ate the mushrooms that came with it(remember, picky eater, normally mushrooms are a no go).
Third course: Seared Maine diver scallop with roasted cauliflower
While the scallop was phenomenal, I'm not a cauliflower person. I tried to be, because previous courses had proven me wrong, but it just wasn't for me.
Fourth course: Long Island duck with turnip kraut
While I love duck, turnips are usually on the same list as mushrooms. I did love the duck and surprisingly enough, the kraut was pretty good too. It didn't thrill me but I did enjoy it enough to finish it.
Fifth course: Australian Kobe style beef with Bordelaise sauce
This was considered the main course. It was brought out in a covered dish and revealed in front of us. Again, it was amazing.
Sixth course: Selection of cheese from the market.
My choices were a cheese plate or somewhat of a pre-dessert dessert, and just like carbs, cheese is my weakness. Each cheese is paired with an accent. Some cheeses I loved, some not so much.
Seventh course: Tanzanian Chocolate Mousse with Orange-scented Milk Chocolate Gelato.
Dessert! While I'd normally be all over dessert, as I mentioned before, this is a deceivingly large amount of food. I was so stuffed by this point. I had to convince myself to power through and finish my dessert. It was actually sprinkled with 24k gold flakes, and I think there might be a law against not eating dessert sprinkled with actual gold.
I also shared a bit of my friend's dessert, something almost too gorgeous to eat, the caramelized banana gateau.
While dessert is being served, we were also given coffee and tea. After dinner coffee or tea is quite common. How it's served at Victoria & Albert's is not as common.
Coffee and tea is brewed and served in vacuum pots, something I had never seen before and was absolutely fascinated with. When your dessert is finished, it's not over yet. A chocolate cart is brought to your table, with different selections of chocolate to choose from. I chose just one piece and sat with it in front of me for a few minutes, convincing myself to eat it. I had eaten so much by this point, I wasn't sure I'd be able to move from the table.
Before leaving, roses are brought to each woman at the table, as well as your keepsake menu.
Aside from the most amazing meal I've ever eaten in my life, Victoria & Albert's pays attention to every detail and no luxury is overlooked. For the ladies with purses, they bring purse tuffets to your chair side to set them on. If you don't know what a purse tuffet is, welcome to the club. It's a small stool to set your purse on to avoid placing it on the floor or your chair. If you are cold, the greeter or one of your servers will be happy to provide a pashmina to wrap around yourself. I was cold and the greeter personally wrapped it around me.
Even details like ice for your tea are given attention. If you order an iced tea, you iced tea will have tea ice. The ice cubes in your tea are actually made of tea. Why didn't I think of this? The bathrooms are also amazing.
I can't stress enough how amazing this meal and the experience that went with it were. Sure to please even the pickiest of eaters and the most sophisticated of palates, if you are looking for an extra special meal while visiting Walt Disney World, this is it. Yes, it is definitely pricey but it's a once in a lifetime experience you won't forget or regret. Because there is only one seating per evening and seating is very limited(especially if you want to sit in Queen Victoria's room or at the Chef's Table), so advanced reservations are a must. Reservations can be made up to 180 days in advance, and the earlier you can make your reservations, the better. It's a meal you'll never forget!
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