Magical Blogorail: Once in a Lifetime Dining

Welcome to those of you joining me from A World View and those of you who have just hopped aboard.  I am the 3rd stop on our Magical Blogorail.

This month's blogorail topic is "favorite WDW restaurant."  Well, there's my favorite place for a character meal or my favorite spot for a quick bite or my favorite restaurant for a relaxing meal.  I couldn't decide on one overall favorite, at first.  Then I remembered a once in a lifetime dining experience and knew it could rank above all others as "favorite."

Victoria and Albert's Chef's Table  

My father and I dined here two days before my wedding.  I have no pictures at all from the evening.  This was well before I thought of blogging and I'm not sure if my phone at the time even had a camera.  We just relaxed and enjoyed the experience.  The table will seat up to 10 but it was nice to share this ultimate Disney dining night just with Dad.  The photo below is from Disney's official site and shows the table and your view.  Only one party is seated per evening and the 10 course meal takes about three to four hours.

When you call 407-WDW-DINE for reservations at Victoria and Albert's, you are directed to a special area and not routed through the normal process (or you can now call 407-WDW-DVNA.)  In addition to getting your contact information, they want to know about any special dietary needs and if your party is celebrating anything. I know this is common now with the marketing emphasis on special events at Walt Disney World, but V&A is has always been a place that attracts guests treating themselves for a big occasion.

You'll want to dress up for dinner at Victoria and Albert's and the dress code requires it.  Men need to wear a jacket and ladies are encouraged to wear a nice dress or pant suit.  Here's the official wording:

Proper Attire may include the following:

Men: Dinner jackets with dress pants/slacks and shoes. Ties are optional (Please no jeans, shorts, sandals, flip-flops, or tennis shoes)

Ladies: Cocktail dress, dressy pant suit, skirt/blouse or nice dress. (Please no jeans, shorts, capri pants, sandals, flip-flops or tennis shoes)

I wore a black cocktail dress and Dad wore a suit.  At $200 per person for the meal plus $95 per person for the wine pairing (current prices), it only seems right to don fancy clothes. 

After we were escorted through the kitchen to the table and settled in by our butler, the chef came out to introduce herself and check again for any special dietary needs or likes/dislikes (Chef Hunnel was not in on this night.)  Dad and I will both try anything once.  There wasn't anything strange served to us but this might not be the best idea for picky people.  There is not a menu at the Chef's Table.  You are brought a selection that is determined by the chef and it was all DELICIOUS.  On some courses, we were given the same foods and other times Dad and I each had totally different items.  In the latter case, we'd eat half and trade plates so we still got to try everything. 

With each course, the butler would serve our dishes and pour the wine, explaining the pairing.  The chef would go over the food and answer any questions we had about its origin or preparation.  Again, all of the food was amazing.  I can't think of anything we didn't like.  The presentation was impressive too, plated beautifully on a series of creative plates.  How can you not love a place with a chocolate course?!? 

I am a coffee fanatic and was fascinated by the vacuum coffee maker brought to our table at the end of the meal.  It brewed a terrific cup of coffee, as well as being very entertaining.  They get so many questions about it that the butler had business cards for guests who would like to purchase one.  (I included the full link from Amazon so you could see the price.  That's why I haven't ever bought one.)

Since there is no way to remember that many courses, several with multiple dishes within the course, we were given commemorative menus at the end of the meal. I've scanned them and they are below.  They are printed on fine paper with a blue vinyl cover to protect these mementos.  I was given a long stemmed red rose as we were leaving the restaurant. 

While I'd be more than happy to go back, this was a very special night and I was honored to share it with my first love, Daddy.

    

DisneyDad's menu

DisneyDad's menu part 2

Amy's menu

Amy's menu part 2

Thank you for joining me today. Your next stop on the Magical Blogorail Red Loop is WDW Backstage.

1st Stop ~ My Dreams of Disney
2nd Stop ~ A World View
3rd Stop ~ Growing Up Disney
4th Stop ~ WDW Backstage
Final Stop ~ Makin’ Memories