Victoria and Albert’s is the signature restaurant at the deluxe Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort and Spa. Its breathtaking prix fixe menu and flawless ambiance help to make this restaurant one of the most exclusive and exceptional dining experiences in all of Disney World Resort – or really anywhere for that matter. Victoria And Albert’s Restaurant consistently receives the prestigious AAA Five Diamond award for fine dining – an award bestowed upon only the very finest dining establishments.
Reservations are required, and if you have young children you will need to arrange childcare for them. Dinner at Victoria and Albert’s is both an expensive and a time consuming venture, so be sure to prepare your budget and your schedule for a leisurely and luxurious experience.
The beautiful Grand Floridian Resort, a tribute to Florida’s Victorian-era seaside, is one of the most impressive sights within the Magic Kingdom Resort Area. From its jewel-red roofs to its chandeliered lobby, the Grand Floridian captures the beauty and elegance of the Victorian years in opulent fashion. Victoria and Albert’s embraces this theme to the fullest, and provides each diner with an experience that goes far beyond the delicious food.
A double layer of embroidered and white table clothes adorn each table. Places are set with silver and imported crystal, and long-stemmed roses for the ladies in every party. Harp music, usually by a live harpist, helps to set the elegant scene. Complementary valet parking is available outside the restaurant, and a dress-code is enforced. Gentlemen are asked to wear slacks and dinner jackets, while ladies may wear cocktail dresses or other nice dresses, dressy pantsuits, or slacks and blouses. Shorts, sandals, jeans, Capri pants, or tennis shoes are not permitted. To help maintain the upscale atmosphere for all guests, children under ten years of age will not be served.
The Menu
The menu at Victoria and Albert’s is unique every night. Guests pay a prix fixe, or fixed price, for a six-course meal created and prepared by the chef every night. The cuisine is contemporary American, but don’t expect to see typically American hamburgers, fried chicken, hot dogs or the like on the menu. What you will experience is anything but typical amusement park food.
The chef selects from locally available fresh ingredients on a daily basis, and the dishes take on the flavor and colors of the different seasons. Dinner begins at $125 per person for the six-course experience, and another $60 per guest for wine pairings by the resident sommelier from Victoria and Albert’s award-winning wine cellar.
A sample menu at Victoria and Albert’s might begin with white truffle, a rare and highly prized fungus harvested from Italy. This is typically followed with a selection of small appetizers know as amuse bouche. After these appetizers, a preparation of Osetra caviar might follow – a prized and expensive caviar that many foodies believe to be the best in the world. A fish dish will usually comprise the third course, such as a Sake-Soy-marinated Alaska King Salmon. The main dish follows, with selections such as Niman Ranch lamb or duck breast. After the main course might come a plate with a selection of strong cheeses. Finally, the time for dessert has come, and it might take the form of a Hawaiian Kona chocolate soufflé, or a Tanzanie chocolate pyramid with a champagne-chambord truffle. If you choose to conclude your meal with coffee or tea, the chef will provide some small treats to compliment your selection.
Wine parings for each dish on a given night have been carefully selected, and the fixed price for these selections allows you to pair the sommelier’s choice with each of your courses. Victoria and Albert’s can accommodate dietary restrictions of any description; however, for more unusual limitations it is best to notify the restaurant when you make your reservation so that the chef can make any necessary accommodations while planning night’s menu.
Queen Victoria’s Room
For an even more luxurious experience at this exceptional restaurant, consider making a reservation in Queen Victoria’s Room. This exclusive room has tables for no more than four parties of four guest each, and the opulent décor echoes the upscale dining rooms of Victorian-era London and Paris. Each table is waited on by its own server in Victorian dress. The server provides French Gueridon service, which means that they bring each partially prepared dish to the table and finish the preparations before the seated guests. As the name of the dining room would suggest, the goal of this exclusive experience is to make you feel like a queen (or king)!
Dinner in Queen Victoria’s room begins at $200 per guest, and meals here can comprise up to ten courses. Wine pairing for the full meal begins at $95, while private consultations with the sommelier can be more expensive. The dress code for this dining room is the same as the larger dining room, and children age ten years and older are welcome. Reservations are required for Queen Victoria’s room, and can be made up to six months in advance.
The Chef’s Table
Dining at the Chef’s Table at Victoria and Albert’s is not just exclusive, it is truly an experience like no other. This is table is actually located within the restaurant kitchen, where guests are treated to an up-close-and-personal view of the head chef at work for the duration of their ten course meal. While dining, the chef may provide exclusive insight about the preparation and origin of each dish, and can answer questions from the curious foodies among his guests. The chef may also provide diners with tasting samples as he cooks a custom meal for the guests at his table.
Reservations at the Chef’s Table can me made for as few as two people or as many as ten. This is a big difference between the dining experiences at the Chef’s Table, where large groups can enjoy a lively meal together, and Queen Victoria’s Room, where the group size is limited to four. Although couples and small families are welcome at the Chef’s Table, the interactive nature of the meal and bustling setting within a working kitchen make this option ideal for larger groups of diners. Queen Victoria’s Room, with its small tables and intimate setting, is the more romantic option ideal for couples celebrating a special night out.
Like Queen Victoria’s Room, the prix fixe for the Chef’s Table starts at $200 per guest, with an additional $95 for wine pairings. In addition to attention from the head chef, the table is waited on by a butler and a maid. In spite of the proximity of the working kitchen, the table is elegantly situated and decorated, and the exceptional service extends the Old World charm that characterizes the rest of the restaurant.
Whichever dining experience you choose at this restaurant, dinner at Victoria and Albert’s promises to seduce you with its lovely setting and extraordinary cuisine.