Michelin awards first star to a Walt Disney World restaurant: Victoria and Albert's

You mean Aunt Granny’s doesn’t have one?
I’ll do V&A’s someday but so far I can’t bring myself to pack a coat, tie, and shoes let alone wear them when I get there.

Yeah, I'm decidedly non-fancy, and too picky of an eater (#autism) to eat probably most of what they offer. Although, they made grilled chicken for me at Le Cellier, though I believe they had it on hand for the kids menu. I assume most good restaurants will work with you. The nicest place I've been in Disney's portfolio is probably Palo on the cruise ships, where mercifully you can get away with wearing a polo.

I’m the same way….not packing a dinner jacket just for a meal at V&A, regardless how good it is.

And for the remaining (small) handful of really good restaurants on property, all are casual in the sense that you don’t have to dress up necessarily aside from ditching the sweaty t shirt and backwards hat…

Flying Fish on the a boardwalk is still my favorite. Yea, it will set you back $200 for two with no alcohol, but still a treat and on par with the best restaurants on property.

Fancy-ish places I love at WDW:

-Le Celier

-Yachtsman Steakhouse

-Steakhouse 71

I like steak if you can’t tell. Briar Rose at the Grand Californian is also amazing and far more fancy. I just really like taking a break from theme parking at Disney parks mid afternoon and taking 90 min to relax and have a good meal before watching the nighttime spectaculars and getting some night rides to close the park. As I’m there rope drop to close, I need that break to recharge l. It also takes me out of the crowds when at the time of day when everyone is the crankiest and most unpleasant. I usually shoot for a 5pm reservation.

My go to list includes Tiffins, Jiko, and Citrico’s. California Grill is an “I’ll eat a light bite at the bar” place if there is room but the new price fixe menu doesn’t do it for me. I’ve been meaning to try Flying Fish but haven’t managed t9 fit it in yet. I’ve done the multi-course tasting menu thing at other places. It’s great fun if you are a foodie, but probably of limited appeal otherwise.

If I could only pick one it would be Tiffins. I love the atmosphere there, and have yet to have anything that wasn’t great. The whole fish in particular was amazing, though the server checked with me two or three times to make sure I knew what I was getting into, and even then seemed surprised I genuinely liked it. Sounds like a lot of people get squeamish about it in the moment of truth.

I'm hesitant to try Tiffins because their one chicken dish by default has a lot of things that I don't like in terms of texture, and I'm not sure how accommodating they might be. Probably very, if I were to ask. We do stop in at Nomad Lounge (same kitchen) whenever we can though. That's a great spot to sit outside, if it's not too hot.

Our meal at Flying Fish was one of the best dinners we’ve ever had at WDW. Plus you get to look at a vintage Flying Turns car.
California Grill was always our go-to but the last couple of dinners were a little disappointing. But you get to look out the window at a sparkling castle and fireworks.
I’ve said it before but the chef-driven options at Springs are always excellent choices. Morimoto, Art Smith, Jose Andres, Wolfgang Puck. Not Guy Fieri, I guess I shouldn’t say “always”.

IMO, the best takedown restaurant review ever was the NYT on a Fieri place. I'm spending one of my ten monthly Gift Articles on this, because everyone deserves to read this masterpiece:

https://www.nytimes.com/201...=url-share

Disney Springs in general has some good food. Boathouse has always been at least "pretty good" and often quite a bit better than that. Frontera is pretty good too.

That's awesome. That guy annoys the crap out of me (pun intended). His food at Springs is remarkably uninteresting. To get fried food wrong takes effort.

I remember that brutal review, and in a city where a bad review can kill your business, it did this one. His Times Square location has been closed for a while.
I went to his place in Pigeon Forge last year and was overwhelmed by the size, the decor, the menu and the prices. It tried really hard to be a tourist attraction that’s kind of a restaurant- there was a coin op games area that was huge and nobody was playing. I sat at a bar and had a coke, looked at the menu $$$ and said no thanks.
Funny thing about Guy. He was the winner of a tv contest and they awarded him the obligatory Sunday morning cooking show. After that he developed DDD and then Grocery Games and I swear he never picked up another spoon. I always said he wasn’t much of a cook but had personality. One that I tire of quickly.
He was born here in Columbus and continues to haunt us. He planned a Flavortown Fest event here that got mysteriously canceled. The casino is opening up a restaurant that is an Italian place with a “Fieri twist” whatever that is and I shudder to think.
When there was a call on social media to change the name of Columbus Ohio, a wild internet rumor was that we would become Flavortown and people actually bought it.
Well, I shan’t dog him any further. I feel bad because he always speaks highly of me.

Anyone who wears sunglasses on the back of their head in the interest of being cool deserves all of the criticism that comes their way. He's such a tool.

You know, I like DDD. A lot. It's like the Food Channel version of the romance genre. You know how it is going to end, and what drama there is never generates emotional torment. It's comfort food for your TV.

I too used to watch DDD, MvsF, etc. They do showcase some truly interesting places and we've eaten at a few.

Now a new hit show The Bear, is shining a light on "starred" restaurants and I gotta say I'm intrigued by that world. My wife, who eats like a 5 year old, would never set foot in a place like that, but I travel for work and do get a chance to eat good food on the road.

The Bear is legit. One of the best series I've ever watched.

In other news, I didn't know people cared enough about Guy Fieri to talk that much **** about him. Not a judgment, just an observation.

“Forks” from the second season is hands down my favorite episode of any show I’ve watched.

Well, that's a pretty brutal and very entertaining review.

I must say that while Guy annoys me somewhat, I did used to enjoy watching DDD to see the places he highlighted in different cities, and I have visited some of them while traveling.

And while he may come off as a tool, I think that is mostly a TV persona. From what I've read about the guy in real life, he's a good person. He cooks for first responders after natural disasters, has a big charity foundation, brings disadvantaged people to the restaurants he showcases when he's in town. When covid happened, he gave millions of dollars to struggling restaurant workers.

I think the hair, sunglasses, and general personality are for ratings. If people wanted to watch a regular guy sit at the bar and eat food off the menu, then they'd give me a show. With hookers and blackjack. In fact, forget about the show.

I don't understand how there is enough dislike for him to derail a thread about a Michelin star restaurant. I think the Internet is mad at him now because he talked to Donald Trump at a UFC fight.

kpjb:

he gave millions of dollars

He helped raise the money which is still a good and impressive thing to do but it wasn't his money.

How many people have been to a Michelin rated restaurant? I haven't. There are fewer than 200 in the US out of more than 700k restaurants. Outside a small number of cities in California, Illinois, Florida, NY and DC, there are pretty much none. Not sure how many people in the US care about the designation (or even have a clue it exists).

Ask any GP on the street why a tire company is rating restaurants and they likely won't know or care. Ask someone who is into food and they know, they will all know. Since it is a French company, ratings are much more common across Europe than in the US, but that has been recently changing. Florida never used to have any restaurants, nor did a few onther states that have popped onto their ratings guide.

I always knew V&A was a Michelin star worthy place, just figured that they never actually got rated by one of the Michelin peeps.

For those who have never been, it isn't just good food, and by that, I mean really really good food. Michelin food isn't just good food, it is about cramming as much flavor as possible into each bite, and balancing those flavors perfectly so that nothing overpowers anything else. I am slightly picky about food, but will not hesitate to eat anything served on a Michelin tasting menu. I have yet to be disappointed or dislike something. I have eaten thing I would normally hate and been pertfectly fine with them, again because the strong flavors I typically hate about a certain food, simply aren't present in those balanced dishes.

But as I said it isn't just food, it's about not being overcrowded while eating, not having a bunch of servers cluttering up the floor, you won't hear dishes clanging together, unless it is another diner who did it. Bottles of wine and champagne are opened in a manner that is non-disruptive and generates no noise. Having blankets for a diner who might be chilly, which fit with the theme of the restaurant. Vast knowledge of the food being served, where it is sourced from, preparation methods. I can continue typing things but you get the idea. If you haven't been to a Michelin rated tasting menu do yourself a favor if you like food and try it.

For the majority of people, a one-star experience will be life changing, and then you look for more, and you get into two and three star experiences. It is almost indescribable.

The only downside to these restaurants, at least in the US is the cost. Michelin starred restaurants aren't as expensive in Europe. There are one-star places that you can get a plate for $25-35. But good luck finding something like that over here, most places are far more expensive. But again, it is absolutely worth it.