You may need to bring a fat wallet when dining at Victoria & Albert’s at Disney World in Florida.
Orlando Sentinel / Contributor / Getty Images
After reopening after the pandemic in July, the restaurant’s cheapest option went from $185 to $295 for a tasting menu. It’s also one of the most expensive restaurants in Orlando – and costs about the same price as high-flying Michelin restaurants.
Disney has released photos of the new restaurant:
Victoria & Albert’s at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa opens July 28, but today we’ve got your first look at some new interior details. From delicate scrollwork to glittering chandeliers, take a look at the timeless opulence that awaits you. pic.twitter.com/vdLc0vDc6n
— Disney Parks (@DisneyParks) July 18, 2022
What’s going on with Victoria & Albert’s?
Victoria & Albert’s is a Victorian-era restaurant in Disney’s upscale Grand Floridian Hotel & Spa. The hotel itself open in 1988, and Victoria & Albert’s has been operating there since at least 1993.
It reportedly serves items (they are not listed on the official website and change often) such as “New Zealand Langoustine with Passion Fruit Nuoc Cham” and “Soft Poached Quail Egg with Galilee Caviar,” according to a Disney blog. In addition to luxury food, you get a menu with your name on it and can hear a harpsichord during dinner.
But all that luxury apparently comes at a price.
The restaurant’s three areas are The Dining Room, Queen Victoria’s room and The Chef’s Table. After the restaurant reopened in July, prices for all three rooms rose. according to Disney Food Blog.
The cheapest option, The Dining Room, saw its prix-fixe menu go from $185 to $295 per person. If you want wine pairings it will cost an extra $150. The “zero-proof” options come in at $110.
It costs $375.00 for the set menu for one person in Queen Victoria’s room. That’s over $250 in 2020. Finally, to eat at the fanciest place, The Chef’s Table, it will cost you $425 per person, up from $235.
None of this includes gratuities or taxes, according to the website.
How do people react?
Some people wonder if it’s worth the money, according to the New York Post.
Victoria & Albert’s has been on the AAA Five Diamond Award list every year since 2000. It has 4.8 stars on Google.
“Expensive, but worth it for a world-class dining experience,” wrote one Google reviewer. But others on Reddit, as the Post noted, were concerned about the pricing.
“We ate there in the 90s for our honeymoon and paid about $100 each. It was always on my bucket list to go back someday, but not for $445,” said one Reddit user.
Another mentioned the zero-proof price. “What could you get for $110 worth of mocktails?” they said.
TikTokers, as the Post noted, have been more free of the stunning visuals of the dining experience in the restaurant. “I’m pretty sure I’ve had a religious experience with some of these dishes,” says a TikToker said.
Others complimented the attentiveness of the service and the narrative elements of the food.
@touringplans This is the most expensive restaurant in Disney World, Victoria & Alberts in Grand Floridian. ✨ Come and have dinner with us on the reopening evening. #Disney World #disney #disneyparks #disneydining ♬ Darling – Trees and Lucy
How others do it
Disney World is home to plenty of upscale restaurants – one of the restaurants, Capa, received a Michelin star in 2022, per Disney Food Blog. Victoria & Albert’s is billed as a top pick, but there are also Narcoossee’s, according to a Disney fan magazinewho ranked it above Victoria & Albert’s in 2019.
But it’s not even the most expensive restaurant in the Disney stratosphere. 21 Royal at Disneyland in California costs $1,250 per person, according to Eater. A relatively upscale restaurant, Bice Ristorante in competing Universal Studios park, has entrees going up to $50.
A Redditor pointed out that you can eat at three Michelin star Alinea in Chicago for “the same price” as some of the fare at Victoria & Albert’s. That’s actually true – the cheapest option at Alinea is $295, per Insider. (But meals can go up to $800.)
Disney didn’t respond to entrepreneurs request for comment.
