The Solo Scale:

---

When I booked a birthday trip to Walt Disney World, there was one thing on my bucket list that I felt had to happen. Come hell or high water, I was going to dine at Victoria & Albert’s. Two months before my trip, I was in New York City travelling. I set myself an alarm for thirty minutes before 6AM to make my reservations. The night before, I had nightmares about not getting it. Luckily, when the time came, I had several time slot options. I did have a 9 day trip, with my birthday falling on about day 6 (in a January time-frame). That absolutely helped in giving me more options.

I chose a 7:20PM start time, though in retrospect, I would have picked an earlier seating. It’s a very long dinner (by design), and so you’ll be there about 4 hours. If you’re hoping for a delicious, but quick dinner, Victoria & Albert’s isn’t the choice for you. If you have the time and the patience, you’re in for a treat.

Want a breakdown of the top three finest Disney dining experiences? Read about all three here.

I do have somewhat of a culinary background, as part of my minor at school required several classes about the science of food as well as practical classes. This includes running a mock restaurant from the ground up and understanding how to properly taste wines. This is where part of my love of eating at fine dining comes from. I still have to budget for it, which is why it’s important to me that when you pay this much, the value holds up. That could come in the form of ingredients, drinks, ambience, or service.

Prior to my visit, I received an email a week ahead of my visit with several questions about my dining preferences, whether I was celebrating, and generally outlining the rules like dress code. When dining, I asked if they modified their menus for allergies & intolerances. They confirmed that the chef can do that for any potential dietary restriction, even for serious afflictions like gluten-intolerance.

Right up front, I’ll acknowledge that this isn’t a cheap experience. However, despite the price, I felt like it was worth every single dollar. The service is extraordinary, the drinks are amazing, and the food is truly memorable. There’s even live entertainment with a harp player who comes out to do sets that really amp the ambience without being distracting.

Victoria & Albert’s is behind a set of opaque doors to the left of the Citricos entrance, giving it a fair amount of privacy. At the entry spot, they took my shopping bag away and checked it in so I wouldn’t have to keep it with me. The host guided me to my table within the oval dining room, where there was a small ottoman waiting for my purse. Truly, everything that you might potential want is anticipated. It all adds to the smooth experience.

In total, the dining room only has twelve tables. It’s part of what makes it such a difficult get when it comes to reservations (in addition to the fact that it’s closed on Monday and Tuesday, which already limits when you can dine). The ambiance is immediately fantastic with a harp player situated right in the middle of the room. If you do need a washroom break, you’ll get a private room that has all the amenities. It really heightens the experience as it feels like no stone is left unturned. When you return to your table, your waiter will even be there waiting for you to tuck your chair back in.

To begin with, my service team of two began with introductions, my menu and explanations, and a non-alcoholic welcome drink — a Gluhwein with strong cinnamon notes to evoke the sense of Christmas in Germany. There are butterflies around the restaurant, which adds a lovely touch of decoration. I had a little companion butterfly with me the whole evening, which was a lovely touch.

As I enjoyed my initial drinks (with water choices of still & sparkling), I had time to decide whether I wanted to do the seven-course menu or if I wanted an additional two courses for a nine-course menu. On top of that, I could also decide whether I wanted to add the wine pairing to the meal.

Because I was celebrating my birthday, I had already decided that I was going to indulge, which meant that I selected the larger menu with a wine pairing (ten courses total with all the bites). The menu is yours to keep. It comes in a little envelope. As I was celebrating my birthday and communicated that to them, mine also had a nice stamp to wish me a happy birthday. There were no additional treats, even though I saw other tables receiving cookies, I wasn’t sent any to go, so don’t go in expecting any extras for special occasions. In a way, it makes sense. It’s a restaurant that’s often for special occasions, so they would constantly be giving something away.

Once you’ve selected your menu, the experience begins. In general, the menu changes for the seasons, so you may not experience the same things that I did. As you read my review on my meal, you can take heart that the chef will apply the same degree of care and talent to your meal, no matter the ingredients. Read on not for the menu expecting the exact same thing, but to get a general sense of what the sizes of dishes are, the ingredients, and how things are prepared.

---

Amuse Bouche

The amuse bouche had several components. One was a chawanmushi, which is a custard with sea urchin, served cold. It was an excellent first bite with a bit of a spicy kick to it that wasn’t too overwhelming.

With it came a few light bites. In the picture below from the top right, there’s a gougères (a creamy cheese puff) loaded with crispy chicken skin to give it texture and maple to temper it with sweetness. Then, at 6 o’clock in the picture below was a butternut bite in an edible buttercup and topped with edible 24k gold. It had an extremely rich sauce which packed a punch. Lastly, on the top left, there was a canape of pumpkin which tasted like a pumpkin pie mixed with a pumpkin soup, and the crunch of the pumpkin seeds gave it a great crunch and texture.

---

First Course

The first drink to come out was a sparkling wine that was acidic with light and refreshing notes. It pairs perfectly with the first course, which included caviar. In general at fancy restaurants, I now expect to see truffles, caviar or a foie gras to justify the price. Here, they aren’t stingy at all about these ingredients (not to mention the 24k edible gold they add in!).

The caviar lay on top of an alkaline tuile. Below it was an avocado crema with an oyster mezcal base. At the table, the waiter than applied a mezcal spritz from an aerosol sprayer to the top of the dish. Together, it was the perfect balance of spice, salt, cream, and richness and the mezcal finished it off with a nice final kick. It’s great proof that the chefs really know what to do with flavours. It’s a perfect first course to stoke your excitement about what’s to come.

---

Second Course

The fish continues with king crab. The king crab salad was compressed with chives and a hint of spice. The wine paired with this was crisp and mildly floral, but worked nicely with the salad. Underneath the gorgeous presentation was a nouage foam of lime, yuzu, and cucumber. Under that was a black sesame base that really amped up the richness. Plus, to give it some crunch, there were rice pearls on top. It was the perfect balance of salt, acid, heat, and fat.

---

Third Course

The next course stays with fish. This was an additional item that I added on beyond the regular menu. It’s a butter-poached toothfish, served in a clam bouillon with leeks and potatoes on the side. There’s caviar in this dish too, but here it provides a nice salty touch. However, the bouillon is the star, giving it a super flavourful taste. If that’s not good enough, the leeks were melt in your mouth. Even better, the poach is light and not too heavy on the butter. This is a fish that lives twelve miles down, so it takes a lot to get to the surface. Luckily, the treatment it gets is sublime. It’s served with a Chardonnay with a light crispness that doesn’t overwhelm the fish.

---

Fourth Course

The fish isn’t over yet. Now it’s time for a diver scallop that comes with black winter truffle and heirloom apple, topped tableside with an apple cider reduction. The reduction did have an overly fermented taste that I wasn’t too fond of. It reminded me more of calvados, a super spirited apple liquor, and overwhelmed the flavours. However, the scallop was cooked perfectly.

This dish came with a focaccia with French olive oil from Provence. While they said that the focaccia was someone’s Nonna’s recipe, I actually found it a little on the gummy side. However, the olive oil was super pure and delicious and made even better with the 100-year balsamic they served it with.

This course came with a riesling that had peppery notes. I wish the overall dish was more balanced, but the protein was the saviour and that’s really the most expensive ingredient, so I was still content.

---

Fifth Course

Here, we get into the richer meats and away from the fish. It happens to be an incredibly transition. The fifth course is a 12-year aged duck served with sticky rice with a Grand Marnier sauce made with preserved cherries. It came with a little pastry made with mushrooms and duck confit, inside a Vietnamese fried dough and topped with sesame seeds and herbs (which help to cut the fat).

This course came with a fruity rich red wine. The duck was incredible and though it might not look like it, it had the most delectable crispy skin, similar to Peking duck.

---

Sixth Course

It’s time for more meat, but this time, a braised lamb that spent twelve hours braising. It was served with a sweet potato purée, crispy kale, and leek dust.

On the side was an epée bread and salted French butter. The bread gets its name for its shape, reminiscent of an epée sword. The lamb was so good that it fell apart and was melt in your mouth tender. The crispy kale gave the dish a clever and enriched the composition with fantastic texture.

This dish came with a “No Name” wine, which was fruity and had plum-forward notes.

---

Seventh Course

The meat continues with extremely high quality, which helps to justify some of the price tag you’re paying. The seventh course was Wagyu from a southern Japan prefecture served with a lemon and mushroom espuma on top. The side dish that accompanied it was a real treat. This is cabbage (grilled and braised) and mushrooms with a parmesan foam and a sprinkling of black trumpet mushrooms on top. The wagyu was top notch quality and the demi-glace (with a veal base) was the real star. This was also an additional dish that only comes with the supplemental menu, but was well-worth the additional money.

And yet, that cabbage dish was a home run for such a simple ingredient. The parmesan was an unexpected genius touch, but it really paired together nicely. This dish was paired with a cabernet sauvignon that helped cut the richness.

---

Eighth Course

Finally, eight courses in, you’ve arrived at dessert, but there’s a nice transition dish first. While there’s not an official cheese course, this is Victoria & Albert’s play on it. The drink that pairs with this is a vin santo, which is a sweeter wine which is quite strong. The vin santo with dessert was 12-years old and went great with everything. This is the wine for all three of the dessert courses, so take your time enjoying it.

The dish itself was a guava cheese with guava confit on top and is served with a cracker. Yes, cracker singular. This is a dish that I did feel the ratio was off and could have used a couple more crackers to balance out the size of the cheese as otherwise the balance of richness was a bit overwhelming and the guava wasn’t enough to cut it down. However, the cracker was super flavourful and also had a cheesy bite to it and the guava cheese was a real star.

If you drink coffee or tea (which I don’t), this is also when you’ll be offered the opportunity for a device to prepare your coffee for you with a tableside drip option. It’s a fun little show to watch with the diners around you if you’re not drinking it yourself!

---

Ninth Course

The next dessert is a bit on the sweeter side, but not overly so. It included a malted ice cream which balanced savoury and sweet, a roasted banana, powdered peanut, and topped with a Costa Rican banana caramel, made with Whistlepig. This entire dish came on ice so the ice cream didn’t melt. It’s a small touch, but extremely appreciated.

In general, this was really a refreshing course and while it was sweet, it didn’t overpower.

---

Tenth Course

Lastly, there’s one last dessert. This was a grapefruit cake served with a compressed tangerine and grapefruit consommé and wrapped in white chocolate. On top was a little grapefruit tuile that made it look extremely delicate and beautiful. The dessert was truly bright with nice acidity and paired well with the richness of the Vin Santo that was poured earlier.

In general, none of the desserts at Victoria & Albert’s are very sweet. This falls in line with most of the other Michelin/fine dining experiences I’ve had. Technique, ingredients, and flavour are typically the stars, which means if you want a super sweet dessert, there are plenty of options for that at other Disney locations to sate that sweet tooth.

---

Mignardises

As with any good fine dining establishment, the bill is softened by a mignardises or a small treat on your way out. With Victoria & Albert’s, it was a beautiful set of bonbons and candies made to look like gems in a jewelry case.

Some other diners on my evening did receive cookies to go. Unfortunately, I didn’t and I’m not sure if it’s because I was the only solo diner or if it was just an oversight. At this point, I was perfectly full so it wasn’t a huge problem for me. However, it’s something to keep in mind if you intend to go!

---

With your dinner complete, there’s one thing left to do — pay the bill.

If you’re coming from an international country (like me) that uses a PIN system, you may have to go back into the kitchen as they didn’t bring the terminal out to me or swipe my card to sign it. I had forewarned the wait staff that this might happen, but it still seemed to throw them off. And yet, it wound up being a unique perk for me, because I actually got to see the back of house operations of Victoria & Albert’s for a couple of moments!

---

Overall, the amount of food that you get is filling, but paced properly because you never feel stuffed. Even with the wine pairing, I appreciated that they paced it in a way that I never felt too tipsy (and they’re not full pours, either). That’s often the sign of a truly great restaurant. When they get the portions and timing right, you’re in for a great experience.

In terms of the food, they boast a lot of expensive ingredients on the menu. So, yes, you are paying a lot of money, but they’re not cheaping out on what they’re feeding you (both on your plate and in your glass).

I heartily recommend this as an experience that you budget for if you’re a fan of fine dining and want a Michelin experience at Disney. Personally, I am making sure I can save up enough to be able to attend again and see what the latest menu is offering, but am also aware that it takes a determined effort to do that saving versus a quick snack at the parks.

However, it truly was an unforgettable birthday dinner that is possibly the best I’ve ever had.

For more information about the Dining Room at the restaurant, click here.

---