Exclusive: Ratatouille Restaurant & Shop in Disneyland Paris

Firstly, apologies for the lack of updates lately, to use the word hectic would be a huge understatement. Anyway, on with the news, which comes from a source deep within Disneyland Paris and concerns the new Ratatouille attraction, or more specifically the restaurant and shop that are also being built.

Starting with the restaurant, here is what we know:

• It will be called Bistrot Chez Remy
• It will be decorated with oversized props, continuing the theme of the guest being the size of a rat in the attraction
• The various sections of the restaurant will be divided by giant plates, knives and forks
• Giant cocktail umbrellas will decorate the restaurant
• It’s going to be a hybrid between table service and buffet, with only one fixed main course that everyone receives automatically: an entrecote of beef with ratatouille
• There will be vegetarian and kid’s options available
• The only things you choose are how you want it cooked, your drink and your dessert, which comes from a buffet selection, and probably your starter too
• The plan is to have an average of 45 minute turnaround on each table

Maybe it’s because I don’t eat beef, but the thought of only being offered one main course is a huge let down for a restaurant I had high hopes for. Yes I could have the vegetarian option, but I was expecting a varied menu and lots of great dishes to choose from. I’m not sure I like the idea of a restaurant where I have to have the same meal every time I visit, even for someone as indecisive with menus as I am.

According to my podcast co-host Mark there is a popular restaurant near where he works, Relais de Venise, where they only serve steak and chips, with a vegetarian option, and they have people queuing out of the building every day for a table. So it seems it is a popular concept, and very French, as suits a restaurant in this mock Parisian designed area of Walt Disney Studios.

The time spent at your table, 45 minutes, doesn’t sound a lot, and far from a relaxed meal you might be looking for. But then the meals are no doubt being prepared continuously, and there will be little in the way of decision making time. Still, it’s never nice to feel rushed and I fear 45 minutes for a meal can’t anything but that.

The theming sounds interesting, and more fitting to the the type of menu we now know it offers, than the brasserie type establishment I was expecting. It will carry on the style of theming seen in the nearby Toy Story Playland by the sound of it. I wonder if Remy himself will make an appearance, like he does currently in Restaurant des Stars, also in Walt Disney Studios.

httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ORzop8Kry6g

It’s great for people who like to spend as little time as possible doing anything other than attractions and character meets, and could potentially cut down on wastage that other restaurants will experience. I think I’m just in shock that it’s so very different from the classy restaurant I imagined going back to time and time again to try different things from the menu. Maybe the vegetarian option will be delicious and the dining experience will be fantastic, and it’s just the fear of something new that is putting me off. I’ll only really be able to judge it once I’ve had a meal there, or at the very least read first hand accounts from diners who have eaten there.

The information I have for the shop is not as plentiful, but we know it will open in Autumn 2014 and will be called ‘Chez Marianne Souvenirs de Paris’, after the symbol of France that can be seen all over France. Interesting that they have gone for something from French culture rather than taking the name from the film from which the inspiration for the attraction and restaurant came. I just hope the shop has a bigger variety of merchandise on offer than the menu has dishes!

So dear readers, I now ask for your feedback and to vote in the poll! If you have more to say then please leave a comment, and we’ll use as many of them in the next episode of the podcast as we can – hopefully all of them!

[poll id=’3′]