Palo/Remy - too fancy for me?

[auntlynne]

What others have said: if you want to try an elevated dining experience, consider Remy. The pressure to do things “correctly” won’t be coming from your waiter, as it might when on land.

They do change silver with every course. So no having to pick the right one. (If ever in doubt, start with the piece furthest from the plate - to the left or right). The waiters are attentive, without being like stalkers, and pretty much can tell when you are done. I usually just lean back a little (naturally), and usually just push the plate slightly away from me, leaving the silver on the plate. Sometimes I cross the fork and knife; that’s my memory of childhood etiquette. (We have the internet; I could go look it up ).

A big habit that can be hard to break is wanting to stack your plates to be helpful. Just eat and then relax.

Communicate with your server. If something doesn’t sound appealing, let him know. They have alternates for many dishes. Some people don’t like certain meats - or any. No need to apologize, just a simple request suffices. Have fun with it and you may discover you enjoy something you never would have suspected.

 

[ArtemisPhoenix]

Honestly I loved both restaurants and neither felt snobby! Rémy was such a fun experience, if you’re curious and want to try food that you haven’t before or just haven’t had it prepared that way before. I had a lobster dish that I swear was a religious experience. The waiter was lovely and made me feel completely comfortable asking questions. It’s a very nice restaurant and, like someone said, over the top, but in a good way. But it’s like a three hour experience. Not something I’d necessarily do every time, but it’s been 5 years and I still remember so many of the dishes clearly. So I’m glad we did it at least once.
Palo is nothing to be intimidated by. It’s very good food. Very friendly waiters. Nothing to be worried about.

 

[chuff88]

We've dined at both Palo and Remy. If you're unsure I would start with Palo, since Remy is so much more expensive. But, I will say that the experience at Remy was amazing (to us, anyway). The service is fantastic. We've done the Prix Fixe menus with the wine pairings. Totally over the top, but in a great way.

We sail on the Wonder quite a bit, which doesn't offer a Remy style restauraunt. We always try for a reservation at Palo on the Wonder. It's just a very nice, higher end, restaurant. The filet of Dover Sole is just delicious. And the Sommelier will be more than happy to pair wines per course, or suggest one bottle to share for the entire meal.

I was coming to say basically this - if you're unsure definitely start with Palo, as it's a little less formal and not as expensive. I just got off the Wonder a couple of weeks ago and we did both brunch and dinner, and if you're choosing the two I'd definitely recommend brunch as it's a bit more laid back. Our server was wonderful, she was kind and attentive and not at all pretentious. It was clear that her goal was for us to enjoy ourselves as much as possible. Brunch also makes the wine question easier in my opinion - we just stuck with the welcome drink (which is a mimosa) and then each had a bellini (basically a peach mimosa) for our second drink. Dinner was also very good, but I honestly think brunch is the real star at Palo.

I have also dined at Remy on the Fantasy for both brunch and dinner, and felt it was the opposite of Palo. Brunch was very good, but dinner was fantastic. It is definitely "fine dining," but I personally find French food to be fairly approachable. We had the same server for both meals in Remy and she was also wonderful. Very sweet and accommodating, attentive but not overbearing, and happy to answer any questions that we had. I am also the first to admit that I am not a wine drinker (and I said as much to the equally lovely sommelier), but my mom and I both wanted to try the wine pairing and it did not disappoint. It turns out that I am a wine drinker, I just have very high-end taste in wine.

That out-of-place feeling is very personal and sometimes not something that you can rationalize yourself out of, but I will say that in my experience the staff at both Palo and Remy have gone out of their way to make sure that I felt welcome and comfortable in their dining room. I can't imagine that any feelings of being out-of-place would come from anyone but yourself. That said, I can absolutely understand that feeling (I was just telling my DVC guide that I would never really want to stay at the Grand Floridian because, despite my very fancy taste in food, I would feel like I didn't belong there), so it's up to you to decide if it's something you'd be able to overcome.

ETA: Sorry JWelch62 - this started as a quick seconding of your post and ended up being a much longer post in response to the OP.

 

[mamaburrito]

I’m not a super adventurous eater and I don’t eat seafood but my meal at Remy is probably in my top 5 meals ever. I even tried the fish dishes and they were so yummy. Nothing like I have ever had in my life. Though if you truly don’t want to eat a type of item - let your waiter know and they will work with you.

The staff is there to guide you during the meal and will go out of their way to make you feel comfortable.

 

[3 Hobbits 2 Disney]

A good overview that may assuage angst. https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct...=QNOYwn52y_M&usg=AOvVaw3aBtBuJWpndkiRT6hp-qsU