A Review of Victoria & Albert's 7/19/2014

[TheJuiciestOfJs]

This will be my first post on the boards. I've followed the unplugged podcasts for quite awhile. My time is due to participate.

My wife and I just returned from a trip to WDW. We try to make it our annual vacation. We started the tradition with our honeymoon in 2012. Having said that, another annual tradition we have is going to Victoria and Albert's for our last dinner. Eating their for our honeymoon was a life-changer. This meal alone is worth saving for every year. Despite this, I've never reviewed the place and have found myself forgetting some of the details from out first trip there. I want to share with you our experience and at the same time, catalog it for my future reference.

I hope everyone enjoys!


We dined here on 7/19/2014. The restaurant is located on the second floor of the Grand Floridian and is to the left of the band that plays on the floor and just before the entrance to Citricos (if I remember correctly). There are some unassuming doors that showcase the entrance to the restaurant. They must use facial recognition because we weren't 20 feet from the entrance and the doors are opened by two people who then flanked us as we entered to greet us. We were promptly seated in the dining room. Eating in this room is like taking a vacation from your vacation for a few hours. I don't have any pictures pertaining to the ambiance, but I'm sure there are many sources if you feel so inclined to find them. Below is a picture of the menu for the night.

You get to select 1 dish from each course. Here is how it progresses... You start with the amuse-bouche which is a 1 - 2 bite morsel to get your palate going. It's whatever the chef is making that day. The remaining dishes are cold appetizer, warm fish course, game course, main course, cheese course, and dessert. There is also the option of a caviar course and courses that have a supplemental price added to them.

There is a separate vegetarian menu for those who happen to require it. They are also extremely accommodating to anyone with dietary restrictions. A neighboring table had a laundry list of restrictions and the servers and chefs altered the menu for them.

Anyhow, on to the food...

 

[TheJuiciestOfJs]

The Amuse-Bouche...

This was sous-vide octopus that was then grilled and sliced. Underneath are bits of finely diced melon and what I believed to be apple. The sauce was a melon sauce and the brown bits you see is crispy bits of prosciutto. They said it was a play on the classic prosciutto-wrapped melon. It was delicious. It was the most tender octopus I've ever had and the melon sauce with the diced melon and fruit was perfect. It was a great way to start the meal.

The Cold Appetizers

I chose the Pintade Fermiere Verrine with Fuji Apples and Walnuts (see below)
This roughly translates into game fowl (in this case a pheasant) in a jar.

As you can see there is a mini jar on the right. This was filled with a fuji apple puree and then on top of that a "chicken salad" made with jicama and a confit of the pheasant thigh and leg meat. Let me tell you. I hate chicken salad. I hate all mayo based salads. However, this blew my mind. I would have eaten a full mason jar of the stuff had they let me purchase it.

In the middle there was a salad of apple that had been sous-vide and poached in some liquid along with a banana(?) chip, various contrasting greens, and some ground walnuts. This was very tasty when eaten together, but not mind blowing.

To the left was a piece of breast meat that I think was also sous-vide and then seared. Below it was a mustard sauce. The meat was incredibly delicious and had me ready for the next course.

My wife chose the Jumbo Lump Crab with Cucumber Gelee

This was a cold crab salad that was encased with a ribbon of cucumber and was placed on a green disc of cucumber jelly. I cannot remember the orange sauce. I only had a bite of this (as I did with all her dishes) so I cannot attest to the full experience. However, it was quite good.

The warm fish course was next...

 

[TheJuiciestOfJs]

Now the Warm Fish Course...

I had the Alaskan King Salmon with Charred Lettuce and Cauliflower

The salmon was wild and caught from the Copper River in Alaska. I've only had wild caught salmon a couple times before and I'm not sure if it's a mental alteration of taste when I know where it's from or if those that prepare wild salmon are just better trained chefs, but the taste and texture is always superior. I still found this to be true.

The salmon was cooked on one side. From the bottom to the top it ranged from a doneness of medium to raw. It was deeeeelicious. The sauce underneath was a cauliflower puree and the sauce to the side was a puree of greens and herbs I think. It was also served with purple cauliflower, romanesco, and charred leafs of lettuce. The charred lettuce really did some awesome things with the paired wine. When the combined, there was this burnt sugar flavor that just came out of nowhere and I loved it.

My wife had the Wild Turbot with Toasted Capers and Preserved Lemon

This is a supplemental dish. It's one we've gotten every time we have been. It is that good. Hands down it is the best fish dish I or my wife has ever had. She's had the pleasure of having it 2/3 times we've ordered it. Turbot is a fish caught off the coast of Portugal. The fish itself is perfectly seasoned and cooked. Basting it with the preserved lemon beurre blanc imparts it with an indescribably good flavor. The greens sop up that sauce too and it works so well. That and the saltiness added by the capers tops it off. Do not miss this dish if you can help it.

 

[TheJuiciestOfJs]

Onward to the Game Course...

At least I think they called it the game course. Either way, it was tasty.


I got the Berkshire Pork with Mustard Spaetzle

The dish was composed with a piece of pork tenderloin, an arugula type custard dome, really well done spaetzle in a mustard sauce, a reduction sauce of the juices, some roasted fennel, ground mustard seeds to the right, and to the left some puree of mint and fava beans.

This dish kinda trashed on our earlier meal at Biergarten that week (which I actually really enjoyed and will return to. I'm not sure why there is a lot of disdain for the place). This was another great dish that I ate every bit of. I particularly enjoyed the mint and fava bean puree with the pork. Delicious.

My wife had the Palmetto Farms Quail with Asian Pears and Serrano Ham Jus

This was the better of the two dishes for sure. The pork was solid, but this had some serious flavor. A quail breast was pounded thin and the made into a roulade with Serrano ham, some pear, and other seasonings. There are poached pears, the white sauce was a pear sauce, the red was a ham jus, and the green was an herb sauce. Lastly there was a soft-poached quail egg to finish it.

Onto the main...

 

[TheJuiciestOfJs]

The Main Course....

I had the supplemental Australian Kobe-Style Beef with Oxtail Ravioli

This is something that has been on the menu every time. Every time I have eyed it. I acted on it this time. It was worth it. So worth it. The best beef tenderloin I have ever had. I am more of a New York Strip guy. I prefer the flavor. This tenderloin was full of flavor and tender. Fork-tender is not an exaggeration. I'm not sure how the $110 supplement for true Kobe could be worth it when this one sets the bar so high.

I got a little antsy and took a bite before I remember to snap a picture of it. I got excited, what can I say.

There were 3 slices of the tenderloin along with some roasted root veggies. The sauce was a 2-day reduction of the beef juices. The ravioli was so fresh and topped with a slice of blackened garlic (think super powered roasted garlic) which really added a lot of flavor to the ravioli. I will have a tough time passing this up next time.

My wife had the Marcho Farms Veal with Peas, Carrots, and Morels

This dish had a pretty elaborate plating. The left dish consisted of peas, morels, and a pea puree. I hate mushrooms (especially button mushrooms) and I greatly enjoyed the bite I had. The veal on the right was topped with crispy sweetbreads and had a reduction sauce below. To the right of the veal was roasted root vegetables.

This was the first time my wife had veal and she really enjoyed it.

We both had the Cheese Course...

It was staged from left to right progressing from the mildest to strongest.

The Flagship Reserve was a pasteurized cow's milk cheese with some preserved fruit (? I forgot), then there was some honey and the Comte St Antoine as an unpasteurized cow's milk cheese, next there was a dried fruit cake slice and the Wyngaard Chevre Affine goat cheese and a slice of dried fig, finally there was the Colston Bassett Stilton bleu cheese with a partially dried apricot and a port reduction.

 

[TheJuiciestOfJs]

Coffee here deserves it's own post. The brewing system here is just great. It works wonderfully and it has a bit of a show to it as well. They use a Cona brewer. I think they are pretty costly. It relies on pressure built up by a heat source at the bottom and the vacuum caused by the removal of the heat. There is no filter. The filtering is done by a crystal rod that sits in the joint of the two chambers.

As the water heats up, the water flows to the upper chamber where the coffee grounds are. After ample time for brewing once the upper chamber is full of water, the heat source is removed. The coffee quickly gets sucked back down into the bottom chamber for serving. I took some photos of the process...

Water heating up in the bottom chamber.

Water has reached the upper chamber to brew.

The heat source has been removed and the coffee is being sucked back down into the lower chamber

The coffee is ready to drink

 

[TheJuiciestOfJs]

Finally we have dessert...

I ordered the Peach Quark Panna Cotta

Quark is a type of dairy product similar to a thickened sour cream. The plating is gorgeous. Just look at it. The panna cotta itself had a similar consistency to cheesecake mixed with a panna cotta. I assume that has to do with the quark. It was on top of a shortbread cookie. On top the red ball is a pearl of blood peach puree. There was some sponge cake pieces along with cubed peaches that had been sauced on top of a peach jelly. The structure is simply poured sugar. I really enjoyed this one.

My wife had the Caramelized Banana Gateau

This is essentially an extremely delicious, extremely fancy banana cream pie. A pastry cream and bananas are on top of a sponge cake that are wrapped in a macadamia nut twill cookie. There is a caramel drizzle and some spun sugar on top. This is a favorite of many of the wait staff. I can understand why.

After Dinner Treats

After we had stuffed our faces, they present us with one more plate of treats. From left to right we have a strawberry and basil jelly, a dark chocolate rum cordial with salt, a banana's foster truffle, and a marzipan truffle.

My wife was too full to eat them. I graciously had all of these. I wish I could buy them by the box. Especially the banana's foster and marzipan. Amazing.

 

[TheJuiciestOfJs]

And that completed our dinner at Victoria and Albert's. I think it was the best meal we have had there. The service and food is just unparalleled.

Not to mention the harp player. She was incredible and even played Death Cab For Cutie - I Will Follow You Into the Dark and Ben Folds - Fred Jones Pt 2. I'm almost positive she plays these for herself and they just sound pretty to most of the guests. She really lit up when I complimented her on her song selections.

As far as cost goes... With tables in wonderland (auto 20% tip), 2 wine pairings, and 2-$35 supplemental dishes the grand total was just shy of $500. Worth it. I'll do it again in a heart beat (just not this year. Gotta have time to save!).

I hope everyone enjoys reading this and viewing the dishes. I'd like to know other experiences y'all have had there. Also I'm more than happy to answer any questions. Thanks!

 

[tinkerbella16]

Wow what a wonderful review! Thanks for sharing!! I really wish I could dine there someday. I am just afraid that I won't really know much about the food. I look at the menu and I have no clue what the items are so I would be that customer asking questions about everything is lol. The reviews on V&A's are always incredible!

 

[TheJuiciestOfJs]

I am just afraid that I won't really know much about the food. I look at the menu and I have no clue what the items are so I would be that customer asking questions about everything is lol.

Thanks!

The staff there is more than accommodating and take time to explain every single dish on the menu before you order it. There were people that were asking questions that others might find trivial. That's what they are there for. Some people may find it pretentious, but they are just there for your experience.

 

[gretchenohar@hotmail]

Thanks for the fabulous review & pics! Making my mouth water.....

 

[BuzzyBelle]

Great review and pics! I look forward to eating here someday, but for now it was great to see such in depth details about your experience.

 

[laurapoppins18]

Wow great review, we are going in October and the pictures and your descriptions have made me even more excited. Thank you

 

[DeborahA]

A wonderful detailed review. We are going to be celebrating our 35th anniversary at V & A in Sept. Our children presented us with dinner as a gift. It includes the wine pairings. My question --are the wine pours a standard pour or smaller. I am a little afraid we will have a hard time getting back to our room. We usually only have a glass or two at dinner. We are really looking forward to this experience.

 

[momto1]

Great review! It's on my bucket list! Someday...
Lori

 

[mare1203]

What a wonderful review! Brings back some delicious memories of our last trip to V&A's.

The first time we ate at V&A's my dad got the Japanese Kobe. Here's the biggest difference...if you are a filet fan you should go with the Australian Kobe. It's tender and melts in your mouth. If you tend to prefer your meat to be a little tougher then go with the Japanese Kobe as it is has more texture and is more akin to the strip/ribeye than the filet.

 

[Mich123]

Fabulous review! I'm going to start saving...now!

 

[TXAKDisneyFan]

Well, this explains why the Kobe is so highly priced:

http://www.forbes.com/sites/larryolmsted/2014/01/07/the-new-truth-about-kobe-beef-2/

I wasn't aware the US gov was letting Japanese beef into the country again (guess I'm behind the times).

Glad you had another great trip to V&A. We went back in 2009 and loved it!

 

[gretchenohar@hotmail]

That was a very interesting article, TXAK.
I think you've opened a can of worms....

 

[waitomo]

Thank you for the wonderful post! Perfect timing--we go Monday for our anniversary