Yesterday, we had lunch at Le Cellier Steakhouse, a signature dining restaurant in the Canada Pavilion in Epcot.
Le Cellier opens at 12:30 every day, and features an all-day menu for lunch and dinner. If you happen to be there when they open, like we were, you can watch the servers sing O Canada before they start seating guests.
You really do feel like you are dining in the cozy cellar of a Canadian chateau when you eat at Le Cellier. My family has been dining here since Epcot opened, back when it used to be a cafeteria-style restaurant.
I am too often unimpressed with the service at Disney's signature dining restaurants, but our server Kayla and Chef Jose both did a great job.
My only complaint about our whole dining experience was that the gluten free tapioca rolls were poorly heated, as they often are, and weren't worth eating, which is sad, because they were served with some lovely butter topped with salt and maple sugar. I much prefer the GNI rolls served at many Disney restaurants, or even Udi's bread toasted, if it is available.
Every time we have dined at Le Cellier since my celiac diagnosis, I have ordered their signature dish, the "Le Cellier" Filet Mignon. A smaller version of this dish is available at the Epcot International Food & Wine Festival.
The Le Cellier Filet Mignon features AAA Canadian beef tenderloin, wild mushroom risotto, heirloom toy box tomatoes, and truffle-butter sauce. The presentation has changed a bit from when we ate there New Year's Eve a couple of years ago. The truffle-butter sauce used to be poured over the steak, but now it is served underneath.
There is nothing not to love about this dish. My steak was incredibly tender, and cooked to temperature. The truffle butter sauce and wild mushroom risotto are really delicious, and I like to have a little bit of each with every bite of my filet.
My husband ordered the dry-aged boneless rib-eye served with watercress, piquillo peppers, fingerling potatoes, sherry-thyme vinaigrette, and roasted garlic butter. He said it was one of the best steaks he has ever had at a restaurant, and it is also gluten free, so I was able to enjoy a couple of bites myself. I'm not sure which entree I liked better, because I didn't sample enough of my husband's steak to judge properly.
For dessert, we all shared one of their very tasty maple creme brulees, which was served with raspberries, lots of whipped cream, and a lovely piece of chocolate.
We don't dine at Le Cellier very often, because it is super pricey, and the filet mignon my husband cooks on his Big Green Egg, topped with herb butter, is just as good, and very inexpensive if purchased from Costco.
We made advance dining reservations for our lunch at Le Cellier Steakhouse a couple of weeks ago, but dinner reservations can be harder to come by, so book as early as you can.
Chef Jose also mentioned that the baby beets & poached pear, and the Le Cellier Romaine salad could be modified to be gluten free. I almost ordered a side of loaded mashed potatoes with Nueske's applewood-smoked bacon and Black Diamond White Cheddar, but I knew I needed to save room for the desserts I would be sampling at the Epcot Flower & Garden Festival. Update - You can view Le Cellier's allergy-friendly menu here.
My gluten-eating daughters both enjoyed their Kids' Meals. Katie had seared salmon with the most delicious looking fresh-cut French fries, and Emma had orecchiette pasta with a white cheddar cheese sauce. You can view Le Cellier's menu on Disney's website here.
What are your favorite gluten free dishes at Le Cellier Steakhouse?
0 comments:
Post a Comment