From the moment you step into the lobby of this stunning hotel, you feel like you have arrived somewhere very special. It is worth arriving an hour before your reservation, so that you can explore a little of the hotel and enjoy a pre dinner cocktail in the bar just along from the restaurant.
It is one of the few restaurants in Florida that has a dress code, gentlemen are required to wear a jacket and ladies must also be dressed appropriately.
We have eaten at this very special restaurant on three occasions.
The first time we visited was at the recommendation of friends, and on our very trip to Florida.
We had booked about 2 weeks before, however if you want a Friday or Saturday in high season you will probably need to book earlier than this and to dine at the Chefs Table you need to book 90 days in advance. They will also ask for the names of all the guests dining and take a credit card number to secure the reservation – this is only charged if you don’t give 24 hours notice of cancellation.
As we entered the restaurant we could hear the harpist playing and the maitre’d welcomed us by name, I have since found out that every reservation is fifteen minutes apart so they know who they are expecting and at what time.
We were shown to our table by “Victoria” and “Albert”, our servers, who presented us with our personalised menus before taking our orders.
The food is not only delicious but presented so beautifully that it almost feels like vandalism to eat it. The restaurant is famous for it’s soufflés and having tried both the chocolate and the Grand Marnier versions I think my favourite is the latter! But it’s a tough call!
They do a wine pairings which if you haven’t tried it before, involves a different wine being served with each course, for a set price, we tried it the first time we ate there but on subsequent evenings decide to select our own wines.
Although wonderful for small groups and couples as it is so romantic, it really isn’t for young children, there is no children’s’ menu and we have only once seen a young boy of around 13 dining with his mother. It is a fixed price menu of around $80 - $85 per head not including wine or gratuities.
I don’t want to spoil the experience by giving away too many of the restaurants secrets, but suffice to say this is Disney for “grown ups!”