Jump to content

QM2 Verandah Dinner Experience


tv24
 Share

Recommended Posts

Curious as to the recent experiences of folks dining in the QM2's Verandah restaurant at dinner time. We have just recently left the ship and dined in the Verandah one night. Our experience was very hit-and-miss, with some nice touches, and some low points. I can fill in some details once this thread gets going. What do the rest of you think about this specialty restaurant at dinnertime?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We found it to be every bit as pretentious and full of itself as Todd English used to be. Dinner should not take 4 hours--at 3 1/2 hours we decided to skip pre-dessert and dessert and go straight to coffee in order to get out before we were falling asleep at the table.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We're re-considering QM2 after a 9-year sabbatical. Is it worth considering Balcony cabins with Verandah dining most nights? Last time we were in Princess Grill on a table for 2, but the current price for the trip we like is somewhat prohibitive, so we thought we would approach it differently, i.e. is Verandah worth the extra?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We were very disappointed. The meal took forever - mostly a delay waiting for the main course. Both the maitre 'd and the waiter stopped by the table to apologize. They were unusually busy. Huh? In the same size restaurant they've been in from the start. And there were at least two empty tables.

 

The food was showier than good. My medium-rare fillet mignon was double-cut and wrapped with bacon. The vertical result was hard to cut as it was was a tower of squish. The so-called seven courses count a tiny amuse bouche and a sticky-sweet bit of sorbet served as a "pre-dessert"

 

Not remotely worth the $50 pp charge. We weren't tempted to repeat the experience on the return crossing.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Curious as to the recent experiences of folks dining in the QM2's Verandah restaurant at dinner time...What do the rest of you think about this specialty restaurant at dinnertime?

 

Dined in the Verandah Restaurant on the May 24 west bound voyage to celebrate a special anniversary. Was a little concerned after what we had read online especially as the per person charge is high. Found the service attentive and smooth. The overall experience from the time we were seated to leaving took a little under 3 hours. Food was approaching excellent for our palates. The rack of lamb was extremely good and my wife's venison carpaccio was excellent as was her beef fillet. The beef was done perfectly. The Baba au Rhum, with Pussers, for dessert, was delicious. Suggest you save some room for the cheese trolley. Wish we had but could not manage another bite. Perhaps one highlight was that Captain Wells stopped by for a chat and to congratulate us. That was very much appreciated. Naturally, each person's experience will differ but the restaurant far exceeded our expectations. Would dine there again. Suggest it is worth a try.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks to all for your participation. So here was our experience...Meh! Some dishes were tasty, but others not so much, and on the whole, the experience was not much better than Britannia, just pretentious. At one point the server argued with us because we pointed out that the breadsticks were stale. Argued? In a fine restaurant? The design flaw in not building one wall to the ceiling left it open to convey the noise of crashing dishes in the kitchen, sort of like sitting in a bad cafeteria. We moved to the other side of the restaurant. The cover charge of almost $50/pp was not worth it. Customer interest reflected the high cost/low value as only about 5 tables were occupied at 8:00, same the next night when we passed by. I don't think it's a success. We've found much better food quality and more down-to-earth professional service in just about all of the speciality restaurants we've tried on other cruise lines.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks to all for your participation. So here was our experience...Meh!...We've found much better food quality and more down-to-earth professional service in just about all of the speciality restaurants we've tried on other cruise lines.

 

It is a pity that you did not enjoy the experience. We must have 'hit it' on a good night as the ambience, food, champagne and service were very good indeed. The restaurant was also crowded. Hopefully you told the maitre d' of your concerns.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Please sign in to comment

You will be able to leave a comment after signing in



Sign In Now
 Share

  • Forum Jump
    • Categories
      • Welcome to Cruise Critic
      • New Cruisers
      • Cruise Lines “A – O”
      • Cruise Lines “P – Z”
      • River Cruising
      • ROLL CALLS
      • Digital Photography & Cruise Technology
      • Special Interest Cruising
      • Cruise Discussion Topics
      • UK Cruising
      • Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
      • Canadian Cruisers
      • North American Homeports
      • Ports of Call
      • Cruise Conversations
×
×
  • Create New...