Is Victoria and Albert’s Worth the Extremely High Price Tag?

Be Our Guest as Victoria and Albert’s Present Our Dinner! It’s the most expensive meal at Walt Disney World. Is it worth the hefty price?  Read on to learn about our experience dining in Victoria and Alberts.

Victoria and Albert’s

The Victorian-themed restaurant, Victoria and Albert’s, is a nod to the king and queen of England. The dining restaurant is on the second floor inside Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort and Spa at Walt Disney World. When people hear this restaurant’s name, they quickly make various assumptions that it is expensive fancy foods. So, are they right to make those assumption?

When dining at Victoria and Albert’s, guests can enjoy the restaurant in three different experiences.

The Dining Room is reminiscent of a beautiful garden as butterflies and flowers adorn the ceiling and walls. Queen Victoria’s Room is set behind frosted glass doors and it accommodates no more than 8 guests per night!

Lastly, the Chef’s Table is located within the Victoria and Albert’s kitchen, which includes beautiful Victorian elegance and furnishings. Throughout the dining experience, the culinary team interacts with guests as they prepare the culinary expertise that guests embark on.

Reservations can be made online and in Disney’s My Disney Experience app. They can also be made by calling the Walt Disney World dining reservation line. Guests ages ten and up can dine at Victoria & Albert’s. Is it an age appropriate experience for children? More on this soon!  Reservations are limited to 14 tables in The Dining Room and 8 guests in Queen Victoria’s Room.

Therefore, it is imperative that if you want to dine in this particular location you are ready to go when reservations first open up! It’s kind of like the whole “walk but don’t run” mentally! Reservations open at 6:00 AM daily.  When they opened, I (Marisol) was lucky enough to secure my reservations on the dot.

After confirming my reservation, I went back to check availability, and they were completely booked in all three dining locations. They go quickly!

What to Wear

Immediately after securing our reservation, my friend and I asked each other what we were going wear to our fancy dinner. I felt like I was back in high school all over again picking out a prom dress. What a great excuse to go shopping!

The Walt Disney World website states that guests are to dress in semi-formal/formal attire that respects the elegant and opulent aesthetic.

However, my friend and I saw guests dressed super fancy and some not dressed very fancy at all. One individual was wearing what looked like a cable-knit sweater, while another wore slacks and a button-down blouse. At the same time, a couple of tables over, an individual wore a three-piece suit. As long as you aren’t walking in with flip flops and a bathing suit, you are good to go.

Again, it is a great excuse to go on a shopping adventure for dress-up clothes! Those days are far and few for me these days!

Dietary Needs

Victoria and Albert’s has you covered if you need plant-based offerings and dietary needs. They are impeccable when personalizing their menu to fit the needs of their guests. For example, about a week before our arrival, I received an email asking if anyone in my party had any dietary restrictions.

My friend is allergic to crab.  She also noted that she has an intolerance to hot peppers. Not even a day later did I receive another email listing a variety of peppers used in the kitchen and verifying whether she could enjoy them. They were so diligent that I received four emails from them even before stepping inside the restaurant!

During our dining experience, our servers provided us with a description of each dish and would also include whether my friend’s dish did not include pepper and spices. They are excellent regarding dietary needs, but it is no surprise as Disney consistently pays attention to this area of allergies and dietary concerns.

What We Ate

Guests have the option of ordering from different menus. The traditional menu includes an 8-course meal and is $295 per guest. An optional wine pairing is available for $150. There is also a zero-proof pairing (alcohol-free) for $110.

The second option is a 10-course meal, which costs $375 per guest, with the optional pairing available for $200 and the zero-proof pairing at $140.00.  An alcoholic, coffee, and tea menu is also available.

For my personalized culinary adventure, I embarked on the 10-course meal, which includes two additional courses. They are the Spanish Carabinero, Saffron, Sweet Plantain, and the Miyazaki A-5 Nîgata Koshiibuki Rice with Chanterelle Mushrooms.

Our adventure began when we were seated and provided what seemed like a royal proclamation.  It was our menu for the evening.  We were then treated to a welcome drink, a zero-proof glass with notes of plum.

The first course was the most beautiful trio of petite dishes that were too pretty to eat, as the color palette and presentation were beautifully arranged.  These included Japanese Wagyu with capers and Calabrian chili, Maine Lobster Tartelette with watermelon and coriander, and Cinco Jotas Iberico ham with Bonny Melon and Black Lime.

Of the three dishes, my friend loved the last one. Throughout the meal, she repeated that she loved the freshness of the melon and how it balanced with the rest of the ingredients and that she wanted more. This was just the beginning of our culinary adventure.

The Adventure Continues!

The second dish of the night was the Royal Belgian Caviar with corn flan served with chicharrónes. It was one of my favorite dishes. As the daughter of immigrant Mexican parents, when I think of chicharrónes (fried pork rinds), I never imagined placing it alongside fancy caviar fish eggs. It made me giggle as I wondered if my parents could only see me now!

Our first serving of bread was brought out before indulging in our third dish. To say that I love bread is an understatement. I’ve been known to purchase a full-size baguette at Les Halles Boulangerie-Patisserie in the France pavilion and eat it.  This bread service was my favorite of the three we received throughout the night. I would have been quite content had the entire meal been a basket of this baguette. The fancy-shaped butter with sea salt on top was too cute to eat!

The presentation of our third dish was impeccably beautiful: King Salmon with English Peas, and Whey. This was yet another dish’s presentation that would have indulged Master Chef Gordon Ramsey. The taste of the green and the purees alongside the King Salmon was terrific.  The next bread service arrived.

My additional dish was presented before me at this point of the meal. The Spanish Carabinero, a giant prawn with saffron and sweet plantain, was good but not worth the upcharge. Perhaps it is because they are the world’s largest prawns. When I look back on my pictures, no memories of a ‘la Anton Ego from Ratatouille come to mind.

The last bread service arrived, which was multi-grain bread.

Is It Almost Dessert Time?

Our next dish was the Glacier 51 Toothfish with squash blossom and charred zucchini. One of my favorite dishes of the night was the fish combined in a deep-fried squash blossom, thanked by my tastebuds. Ugly-looking fish, but tasting wise it was excellent!  The St. Canut Cochon with nectarines and fennel was our next dish. It was beautifully presented, and the taste was decent.

The Rocky Mountain Lamb with Sicilian pistachio and Castelvetrano olives was the dish my friend and I renamed “in a cabin woodsy dish.” It was heavy and hearty but not my cup of tea, especially since the other words were more fragrant and lighter.  This was my friend’s last meal before the Preparation of Cheese plate and the desserts.

I felt so full at this point, but I knew I still had one more dish ahead of me as part of my upgraded experience. It is also one of my favorite foods to enjoy during special celebrations: Miyazaki A-5 wagyu beef.  It was plated alongside Koshiibuki rice with chanterelle mushrooms.  The A-5 is already delicious on its own. I could have enjoyed it on its own rather than in the sauce it was on.  The sticky rice was so good, but it was hard to finish as I was getting full.

The Preparation of Cheese plate was the last dish before the desserts. Cheese three different ways with a cracker wafer with one of them being a cheese mousse. Its practice is exquisite, as one would never be able to compare it to a traditional cheese platter.  I can say 110% that it did not reflect my personal glorified Lunchable charcuterie boards!

Dessert Time!

Dessert had finally arrived, and I did not know if I had it in me to eat any more food. To be frankly honest, I’m not a huge dessert person after having a big meal. My dress was feeling tighter around my tummy by the minute! However, how can one say no to Mascarpone ice cream, the Strawberry Spectrum that we dubbed Spaceship Earth, Goat Cheese Marshmallow, Honey Caramel Bon Bon, Meyer Lemon Gateau, and the Hibiscus Sumac Tuile?

Of all the desserts, my favorite was the goat cheese bon bons. It had the texture of a marshmallow with the flavors of goat cheese. Who on earth ever thought of putting the two together? Interesting combination by far!

To finish up the meal, I ordered the Indonesia Organic and Fair-Trade Coffee to accompany my desserts. I am so happy that I did, and it turned out to be one of my favorite parts of the meal as it was quite the visual presentation to see as it resembles a science project connection. Our server told us that they are not very expensive and readily available to purchase online.

Would I Dine Here Again?

Upon stepping inside Victoria and Albert’s, we were treated well and felt like royalty. We were escorted to our seats, introduced to our servers, and greeted by a live harpist who immediately set the tone for this unforgettable evening.

Not to mention that every time we arose from our seats to use the restroom, which offered a complimentary bottle of Chanel perfume to spritz ourselves with, we were always escorted back to our seats with a newly pressed napkin placed on our laps. Even our purse, well, in my case, my Mickey Pumpkin Loungefly bag, had its proper seat at our table.

One thing to remember when dining at Victoria & Albert’s is the amount of time you will spend during your culinary adventure. Our reservation began at 5:50 p.m. We left the restaurant at 10:10 p.m. It is a journey, not a race. That said, enjoying this meal is meant for guests willing to give up precious park time!

Therefore, it would be best to book this experience the first night of arrival or even on a night when an after-hours event when the park closes early.

The portions are bite-sized, so did we get full? You wouldn’t think it, but after indulging in every culinary creation, we were stuffed! There was a point between enjoying the Rocky Mountain Lamb dish and the Preparation of Cheese dish where I had to take a fifteen-minute time out because I knew I would not have room for dessert! So yes, you will be full by the time the meal concludes.

Is It Worth the Price?

Was it worth the price? This question is hard to answer because it is an individual decision and case study person by person.  To some people, the price point is not a big deal; for others, this could mean feeding a family of four for a couple of weeks! My total bill prior to adding on tip was $452.63. This included the upgraded menu for $375.00 and two adult beverages.

Personally, my husband and I have always enjoyed fine dining, especially when visiting Las Vegas. After all it is a mecca of unique culinary experiences. I also love to try new foods and creative creations. So when it comes to food, it was worth it. However, I only paid for myself as my husband did not join me on this trip.

Would I come back with my husband? It depends on whether we’d prefer to utilize those four hours at the parks or elsewhere and if we were celebrating a special occasion. I could see us enjoying Victoria Albert’s for milestones such as birthdays, anniversaries, or graduation.

Would I bring my kids, who are ages ten and older? If your child has a refined palate, I would give you the green light.  If you have a child who loves those chicken nuggets, it is probably not worth it considering the price point per guest. In fact, during our visit, we mostly saw adults roughly ages 25 and older.

Overall, I am happy I could dine at Victoria and Albert’s, as it has been on my bucket list at Walt Disney World. I’m looking forward to visiting again soon. Would you eat at this exclusive dining experience? Please share this article with a friend interested in Victoria and Alberts, located inside the Grand Floridian Hotel.