Boundless Horizons

Remy Champagne Brunch

On the Disney Dream and Disney Fantasy, there are two adult-only dining restaurants, Palo and Remy. Palo is also on the Disney Magic and Disney Wonder, and we had the chance to try Palo brunch on our first ever cruise onboard the Magic. Palo is upscale Italian dining, inspired by the first two ships being built in Italy, and having loved our meal there we were really keen to try Remy.

The Wish-class ships (Disney Wish, Disney Treasure, Disney Destiny… so far!) have Palo Steakhouse and Enchanté, which take inspiration from Cogsworth and Lumiere from Beauty and the Beast. It’d be lovely to try those one day!

Remy takes its name from the little chef from Pixar’s Ratatouille, and there are little nods to the movie all through the restaurant. The restaurant serves a French-inspired menu designed by Chef Scott Hunnel, from Victoria & Albert’s at Walt Disney World, and Chef Arnaud Lallement, a 3-Michelin-starred chef whose restaurant l’Assiette Champenoise is located just outside Reims, France. Victoria & Albert’s also received a Michelin star this year, so they definitely know what they’re doing!

This brunch reservation was tough to get! The restaurant offers dinner each night, but the Remy Champagne Brunch is only offered on sea days, and there’s also a Remy Dessert Experience which is only on sea days on sailings of 4+ nights. We weren’t able to get reservations for either of those on our 7 night Disney Dream cruise in 2023 as they were fully booked. Since this was a 3 night sailing, the Dessert Experience wasn’t offered and Brunch was fully booked when the Silver Castaway Club activity booking window opened. I kept checking the app and a couple of weeks before the cruise, a slot opened up!

An important thing to note about the adult-only restaurants is that there is a dress code. I was trying to pack light for this trip, but I managed to find room for a Steamboat Willie cocktail dress that I picked up on sale from Funko Europe and paired with matching Loungefly Steamboat Willie ears. Rhys had a Ratatouille shirt from RSVLTS. I definitely recommend checking the DCL website for the latest dress code as it’s updated from time to time.

Our Remy reservation was for 11:45am. As we were ready early we decided to check in for our reservation around 11:15am and grab a drink in Meridian while we waited. Meridian is located between Remy and Palo, and they share a host stand right outside.

While we were finishing our drinks, the host asked if we’d like to be seated early, as there was a table available at the 11:30am seating. We followed her to the restaurant, where she seated us at a window table with a perfect view! It definitely paid to arrive early.

This was an excellent five course brunch which took a full two hours from start to finish. The restaurant was wonderfully quiet, which was a real contrast to the otherwise busy ship since we were on a full capacity sailing with everyone on board due to the day at sea. While definitely upscale, the cast members are wonderfully welcoming.

Remy Champagne Brunch is currently priced at $80 per person, including one glass of champagne. There are some optional extras which our server explained. We added the Champagne Experience ($44 per person) which gives an additional three two-ounce pours of champagne. For the non-Americans, that’s around 60ml per glass. There’s also a Champagne Journey ($187 per person) which adds five two-ounce pours.

The other optional extra was a Wagyu upgrade ($70, including red wine pairing), which replaced the Poulet Rouge as a main course. We decided to add one of those and share it so we could both try all of the courses.

While I don’t usually care for seafood, I wanted to try the menu as designed so I didn’t substitute any of the dishes, though I’ve seen from reviews that they would do that. Our server checked that there were no dietary restrictions, and then onto the meal!

Course 0

We began with a glass of Taittinger champagne (included in the brunch). and a little pea sorbet with a dusting of serrano ham as a palate cleanser. This was delicious, really refreshing and the ham added just the right amount of saltiness.

Course 1 – Asperges

Our sommelier brought the first of the champagnes from the Champagne Journey, a Ruinart Blanc de Blancs.

Our server brought over some sourdough bread made onboard by their Parisian baker. This was accompanied by three different butters, one with red pepper, one unsalted, and one made with nori. There was also a little cellar of fleur de sel for us to add. We both agreed that the nori was our favourite, the seaweed added the perfect amount of saltiness, and the sourdough bread was excellent.

The menu describes this course as Asperges – Jaune D’Oeuf / Citron Noir (Asparagus – Egg Yolk / Black Lemon). I really wish I could remember the way our server described this dish because that does not do it justice! It was certainly more complex than the menu described, and the sauce included mussels so this is one of the dishes that would be The asparagus was perfectly cooked, and the sauce had a great consistency which complemented each other so well.

Course 2 – Cannelloni

This was a delicious cannelloni with a beef filling and a foamy carbonara sauce that our server added at the table. He also recommended using some of the sourdough bread to finish the sauce, and brought us each another piece. It’s really difficult to pick a favourite course, but this might be it.

Course 3 – Toothfish

Onto our next champagne pairing, this time a Bollinger Special Cuvée – my favourite!

I was really intrigued by this course, described on the menu as Toothfish – Potato / Dill Buerre Blanc. Our server explained this was a Patagonian Toothfish, also known as Chilean Sea Bass. This is a deep-sea fish with a really subtle flavour. It was perfectly seared and served on a bed of creamy potato, with a dill buerre blanc sauce. This was a really light dish, which was just right, as up next was the main course.

Course 4 – Poulet Rouge / Wagyu

The standard fourth course on the menu is Poulet Rouge – Mushroom / Chicken Truffle Jus. This was a chicken roulade on a bed of mushrooms in chicken truffle jus (I guess pretty much as the menu said). The chicken was excellent, and I love mushrooms anyway but these were perfect.

The optional Wagyu upgrade replaces the Poulet Rouge and comes with two pieces of beef – one Japanese Wagyu and one American Wagyu. These are served with a layered potato and a little jug of jus. The price of the upgrade also includes a red wine pairing, a Numanthia 2014. We purchased one upgrade and each had half of the Poulet Rouge and half of the Wagyu to let us sample everything.

Our server suggested having the beef cooked medium, and recommended pouring a little of the jus in the middle of the plate to try a bite without sauce and then a bite with. He also suggested trying the Japanese Wagyu first (on the left of the plate) and then the American Wagyu (on the right).

This was really excellent, the Japanese Wagyu just melted in the mouth, and we both agreed that it didn’t need the jus. The American Wagyu was great, but it benefited from adding a little jus.

Course 5 – Baba au Rhum

Finally it was time for dessert, and our final champagne pour. This was a lovely Moët & Chandon Ice Impérial, served over ice as intended. The first time we tried this was at our Champagne Tasting on the Dream last year, so when they brought over glasses with an ice cube in them I guessed this was coming. Sweet and refreshing, I really enjoyed this.

This course was a Baba au Rhum served with Crème Diplomate, and a little jug of rum to add to our taste. Naturally, I added all of mine, and what was left of Rhys’s! It was wonderfully light after the richness of the previous courses.

Served alongside this was a little tray of canelés, which were excellent. They’re just a couple of bites each and give a little bit of sweetness to end the meal.

Our Thoughts

While I absolutely adored this meal, I want to say you can have a perfect cruise without stepping foot inside Remy, Palo or any of the other adult-only restaurants. We didn’t do any additional charge dining on our 7 night Mediterranean sailing (other than a couple of scoops of gelato at Vanellope’s!) and we don’t feel like we missed out at all. We loved Palo brunch on our first ever cruise, but it took quite a bit of time out of a short sailing. Especially since we were so full afterwards that all we wanted to do was lie down!

Brunch at Remy was excellent, easily the most incredible meal either of us has ever had. It was also the most expensive meal either of us has ever had! It was a wonderful experience and I’d definitely recommend it if you can get a reservation. I’m really glad we booked it, it’s definitely got me questioning whether we book dinner to try that menu too.