Remy Dinner Review

For those of you not familiar, Remy is the fine-dining adult restaurant on the Dream and Fantasy.  It is a step above Palo, the other adult-only restaurant, which appears on all 4 ships.  It is open for brunch, dinner, and an afternoon dessert experience and reservations are required.  You can reserve a spot prior to your cruise during the online check-in process.  There is also a strict dress code which they do enforce (you can read all about the dining dress codes on DCL here).

I have never had the pleasure of dining at Remy, but my recent guest blogger Sara dined at Remy for dinner on her September cruise on the Dream (full trip report here) and was kind enough to share her experience with us!  Let’s get started!

Our first experience at Remy was one of a kind. We have dined at Palo a few times and were interested to experience Disney Cruise Line’s second adult-exclusive restaurant.

Typically, I walk into a restaurant like this with two reservations. First, I don’t eat at places like this regularly, and I always wonder if the wait staff will pick up on this. Also, my husband and I do not drink, and at times (though never on Disney Cruise Line) this has impacted the level of service we receive (due to the lower ticket average, I assume).

As our experience began, both of these concerns quickly faded. When we told our server, Angelo, that we don’t drink, he didn’t bat an eye and quickly offered us alternatives. Our server was always professional, even after we asked, “What are we eating again?” more than once. At the start of every course, Angelo would explain each dish, and how to eat it as originally intended.

The restaurant is beautifully decorated, with very subtle aspects of the décor paying homage to the Disney movie Ratatouille. In fact, if you haven’t seen the movie, you might overlook the hidden “Disney” theming altogether. This Ratatouille tribute can be found on the wall of the staircase before arriving in the restaurant lobby.

As we entered the restaurant, the hostess walked us past a huge wine cabinet highlighting a specific bottle. Just as I started to explain that we don’t drink, she let me know that the bottle would set us back a cool $25,000. After a little bit of research, I found that this bottle is Château Cheval Blanc 1947.

We were seated in a private room with an ocean view, a look into the Ratatouille Kitchen, and Paris at our backs.

We watched the sun go down as Angelo explained the menu.

The five course meal is set by two restaurant chefs. The left side of the menu is designed by a French chef, while the right side is designed by an American chef. Angelo suggested that one of us order each side of the menu, so we could share and experience all that Remy has to offer. At the bottom of the menu, each item is listed a la carte, so you may select your own menu if there are certain items you want to avoid. We don’t have any major food allergies so we ordered each menu as designed.

Next, we were given a caviar and wine menu. There are several caviar options available for an additional charge. Also on this menu is Miyazaki Beef. I had read several Remy reviews prior to our trip and knew that this beef would be offered, so I walked in prepared to say “no.”

A 2 oz portion of the beef is available for an additional $55, while a 4 oz portion is an additional $110. Walking in, I wouldn’t even consider paying that much more for such a small portion…until Angelo explained what makes these Japanese cows so different. There are two farmers for every cow, and they are not approached by humans in an effort to avoid unnecessary stress. When the farmers prepare the cows for slaughter, they play classical music to keep them relaxed. Finally, each cut of beef is shipped alongside the cow’s nose print. Apparently, the nose print is as unique as a person’s finger print, so this is used to track the individual cuts of beef back to a specific cow (although I wasn’t sure what to do with this information…perhaps I should have asked for its name?). Remy is on a very short list of restaurants that are able to serve Miyazaki Beef (also on the list: Victoria and Albert’s at Walt Disney World’s Grand Floridian Resort). At some point during this explanation, my curiosity peaked; and that is the story of how I ordered a $55 piece of beef on impulse.

Each meal starts out with a cocktail. This is the Linguine, a non-alcoholic cocktail. It was passion fruit mixed with other flavors and was very refreshing.

Our meal also included several surprises from the kitchen: this was the first. We were instructed to eat the one with the green toppings last:

This was another surprise addition to our meal. It was a thin wafer on top, with a foamy sauce underneath, and under that was a vegetable puree:

King Crabe: Alaskan King Crab wrapped in steamed cabbage and served with sauce poured table side. It was delicious and one of the highlights of the meal:

Himachi: This was a seared fish filet that was thoroughly cooked but served cold. Interesting flavor, but not a favorite:

Somehow, I missed pictures of the second course: Pain de Poisson and Lobster. Both were very good.

The motion of the ship was very noticeable in Remy. The dim lighting and gentle rocking began to make me tired so I ordered an espresso, which Angelo said he would, “organize for me.” He then turned around and served me an espresso moments later:

Pork: Served with potato and sauce. Another highlight of the meal:

Fletan: Halibut, which was very good:

Even though the portions look small (and they were small compared to what you would find in the main dining room), we started feeling full.

Beouf de Wagyu: In the bottom right corner, is the steak served on the standard menu. In the bottom left is the Miyazaki Beef. I liked that they were served together, making them easy to compare. I tried the beef on the right side first, which was served medium and was absolutely delicious. Then came the Miyazaki Beef, which was exactly as they described. The texture was like butter, and it melted in my mouth. It was excellent and an experience of its own. I did find the texture to be a little unusual for steak. The steaks were served with sauce (in the small pitcher) and potato. If you look closely at the picture, the potatoes were sliced very thin, and served in a perfect, rectangular stack.

Lamb: Served with chickpea “fries.” I’m not a huge fan of lamb in general so this was not a favorite, but it was good overall:

Angelo stopped by to ask us if we wanted to experience the cheese course; otherwise, we could skip to the dessert course. As you can see, we did not skip the cheese course. There were several cheeses to choose from, and Angelo described each of them in great detail. After the explanation, I asked him to choose six cheeses for me. He arranged them on the plate, and suggested I eat them starting at the top, going clockwise around the plate. He recommended I eat the last selection with a bit of honey for balance. I recommend the “King of Cheese” if you choose the cheese course.

The dessert course came just as we were ready to burst.

Miel: A chilled, creamy dessert served between two honeycomb-style wafers and finished with raspberry sauce. This was amazing and I have continued craving it since we disembarked:

Peruvian Chocolate: A beautifully presented chocolate mousse. The mousse was rich and creamy, served alongside a mocha flavored gelato. Another excellent dessert:

A coffee and loose leaf tea menu was presented with our dessert. Because I already had espresso, I decided on “Monkey Picked Oolong” tea. This tea was once picked by trained monkeys and I ordered it out of curiosity. It has a very light flavor, and was great alongside a rich dessert:

We were stuffed to the brim when Angelo said he had another surprise for us. He promptly served all of this:

On the round plates: a celebration dessert in honor of my husband’s birthday. It had a hazelnut crust, chocolate mousse, and chocolate ganache topping. It was the most magical dessert of the evening. We felt we could have eaten the whole cake. On the silver tray: a mixture of fruit candies, and chocolates made at Remy. Both were excellent. In the silver box: raspberry and caramel lollipops also made on site. They were very good. We were instructed to eat the two round cakes in the middle last. The chocolate first, then the citrus flavor to cleanse the palate. The chocolate was amazing. The citrus was extremely strong and definitely left your mouth feeling “clean.”

After we tasted everything and had Angelo pack up the candy and lollipops, he said he had one more trick up his sleeve and left the table. I couldn’t imagine eating another bite. When he returned, he presented me with a rose and a box of chocolates to enjoy later.

Overall, dinner was like nothing I’ve ever experienced before. All of the food was delicious, but the attention to detail made the meal feel like a show. The servers would coordinate before serving each course. Each person was presented their plate at the exact same moment (Angelo recruited other servers each time a course was presented). If the plate was served with a lid, the servers removed the lid simultaneously. Every detail was personalized and intentional. If the exceptional meal isn’t reason enough, go for the experience. Remy will not disappoint!

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Thank you Sara for your amazing review of Remy!  I hope to one day experience this for myself!