Would like opinions on Le Reserve experiences

We will be taking our first Oceania Cruise this fall and are very interested in making reservations in LeReserve. Would appreciate hearing from those of you that have dined there, and the pros and cons of that experience.

We dined in La Reserve last September and it was one of the highlights of our cruise. We have already made reservations for our upcoming Marina cruise this September.

Pros: Incredible food, excellent wine pairings, excellent service, interesting table companions (the tables are configured for six persons), cozy and intimate venue.

Cons: the only thing I can think of is that the chairs are not very comfortable (I have RA so a lot of chairs are not comfortable).

We will be taking our first Oceania Cruise this fall and are very interested in making reservations in LeReserve. Would appreciate hearing from those of you that have dined there, and the pros and cons of that experience.

La Reserve is a lovely way to spend the evening, and well worth the ($95) price tag, particularly if you are a wine person.

As I recall, it was a four course dinner (five if you count the amuse), and with each course, the Sommelier pours a different wine, and does a little talk about what it pairs well with, the history of the wine or vinyard, and discusses the cost.

The pace is relaxed, with plenty of opportunity to ask questions, so expect to spend at least two hours at the table, and those who arrive early can expect to be treated to a glass of champagne while they wait (just don't arrive before 6:30).

Getting to La Reserve early is a good idea, in any case, because the seating is assigned as the guests show up.

There are seven courses (amuse bouche, appetizer, pasta, fish, main course, cheese, dessert) and two menus that are offered (Discovery and Exploration).

http://www.oceaniacruises.com/documents/menus/oclass/la-reserve/01-La-Reserve-Menus.pdf

With the champagne prior to dinner, they also rove around with yummy hors d'oeuvres.

You will not go hungry.

We dined in La Reserve last September.

There are no cons.

The wine pours are very generous and of a very high quality.

Food was delicious.

Hope to do twice on our next cruise but will book onboard as we have a very generous SBC.

Mo

The best dining on the ship(s). ;)

We have been to La Reserve several times on different cruises and it is as wonderful as others have suggested. My only quibble would be that on longer cruises, I would like to see the menu change more often.

Wiks:)

We have been to La Reserve several times on different cruises and it is as wonderful as others have suggested. My only quibble would be that on longer cruises, I would like to see the menu change more often.

 

Wiks:)

I understand that they are introducing a new La Reserve Menu into the mix as of May of this year. :D

I understand that they are introducing a new La Reserve Menu into the mix as of May of this year. :D

Nice to hear. We had the Explorer's menu. I would eat it again in a heartbeat, but the Discovery menu or something new would be even better.

Between this one and the thread on favorite plate of food...y'all are killing me :). Can't wait for our turn in July....btw... Do you know in advance which menu will be featured that evening???

Yes, you know the menu when you book it.

They often add dates after embarkation, and that is what we are hoping for. And apparently there will now be three menus to chose from.

Great evening.

Mo

Yes, you know the menu when you book it.

 

They often add dates after embarkation, and that is what we are hoping for. And apparently there will now be three menus to chose from.

 

Great evening.

 

Mo

Thanks...maybe we are getting new menu #3, because before and after booking La Reserve for a July Riviera sailing....no set menu for our date appeared. :confused:

Yes, you know the menu when you book it.

 

They often add dates after embarkation, and that is what we are hoping for. And apparently there will now be three menus to chose from.

Actually you don't really get to choose between/among menus. On our two week cruise, one menu was served during the first week; the other menu was served during the second week of the cruise. If anyone has problems with an individual dish within the set menu, the kitchen is prepared to make real time substitutions.

I didn't have such a rapturous experience at La Reserve. I'd estimate that three of the courses were inedible due to the chef's heavy hand with the salt shaker. I -- along with two others at our table of six -- took a couple of bites of these salty dishes and just stopped eating. No server or maitre d' seemed to notice that half the members at the table weren't eating the same dishes. No one came around to ask if there was a problem that they could fix.

Incidentally, I am not on a low salt diet at home so I am not used to a limited amount of salt. Furthermore, the three diners who weren't eating did not know one another. It's not as though we were friends who are used to eating bland food when we dine together at home. While it's clear that very, very good quality raw ingredients were used, good sourcing and good cooking were undermined by someone heaping on the salt. The wine choices were sublime.

If I were to go again, I know that in a similar situation, I would not sit silent again.

We did not find that the time of our arrival outside La Reserve had any impact on our seating assignment, except in an indirect way. As we arrived outside of La Reserve, we were told to take a seat for the champagne pre-dinner drink and socializing. Obviously, we took seats to fill in where empty spaces existed around a table. When it was time to enter the dining room, the maitre d' pointed to six of us seated near one another and declared that we would dine together at table number 1 (2 or 3).

At the time we ate in La Reserve last September, we chose the night by the menu. I believe it alternated. Perhaps they find it easier to do a week at a time.

Mo

We have eaten in La Reserve on 2 different cruises and had outstanding experiences both times. It was worth the expense and the food and wine were excellent. I don't salt my food and had no trouble. Luckily we must have not had the heeavy handed chef! They are generous with the purs if you want more, just ask. We try to book it when we don't have an early excursion the next day!

On our 14 night sailing in May, La Reserve is open the 4th and 5th night only so they must not be doing the same menu for a whole week. It did not indicate which menu when we booked our night.

On our 14 night sailing in May, La Reserve is open the 4th and 5th night only so they must not be doing the same menu for a whole week. It did not indicate which menu when we booked our night.

Same here for our June 5th cruise on Riviera. There was no mention of the menu for each of the two dates available.

Same here for our June 5th cruise on Riviera. There was no mention of the menu for each of the two dates available.

Through the very kind efforts of some very good friends who seemingly have connections (Hi Cenia!) we are going to get a chance to try the "new" La Reserve menu on 5/19.

Hondorner will be there too, and since he is much more difficult to please than I am, in a culinary sense, you are sure to get a FULL REPORT. :D

We'll also ask if a "menu schedule" is available for future dates. ;)

When do the open booking on line (how far in advance from the sailing date)??

When do the open booking on line (how far in advance from the sailing date)??

I'm not sure how far in advance it actually opens up, but I did book La Reserve in January for a September cruise.

In a discussion on another thread, another poster pointed out that he was eligible to book Privee almost a year before his sailing date.

Through the very kind efforts of some very good friends who seemingly have connections (Hi Cenia!) we are going to get a chance to try the "new" La Reserve menu on 5/19.

Hondorner will be there too, and since he is much more difficult to please than I am, in a culinary sense, you are sure to get a FULL REPORT. :D

We'll also ask if a "menu schedule" is available for future dates. ;)

Yeah, sure, I'm more difficult to please :rolleyes:. Actually, since I doubt they'll have any baby back ribs or Boones Farm wine, I may be harder to please! ;)

I'm looking forward to it, anyway, always willing to educate my palate...

(Just kidding about the Boones Farm, but maybe not about the ribs...although Okeechobee is better known for beef...)

Through the very kind efforts of some very good friends who seemingly have connections (Hi Cenia!) we are going to get a chance to try the "new" La Reserve menu on 5/19.

Hondorner will be there too, and since he is much more difficult to please than I am, in a culinary sense, you are sure to get a FULL REPORT. :D

We'll also ask if a "menu schedule" is available for future dates. ;)

It would be good if they would publish which menu when making the on-line booking request. I have booked for one of the two nights available but I am mostly interested if it is not the same menu (and wines) than the one we had previously. As much as she enjoyed it previously it took a little convincing DW to sign up again. For her last time our new dinner companions very much made the evening - less the food & wine. So if it is a repeat I may have to rewrite history a little :-)

We won't know until on-board I suppose and then it may be too late to cancel (it is very early in the cruise) and also may not know at that point if they will be offering other dates as they often do.

We dined at La Reserve 4/13/12 and the Discovery Menu was served. Enjoyed the complete menu but thought the Cream of Porcini with Foie Gras bites was exceptional.

They were very generous with the wine pour. The service was excellent and was fun to watch the pastry chef make the raspberry dessert. Enjoy!

We dined at La Reserve on 4/18/12 and had the Exploration Menu. I booked it online "way" before the cruise and wasn't given a choice of menu, only nights. It was absolutely the highlight of our cruise. Our dinner was attended by 20 people, broken down into tables of 8 (obviously with a couple of empty chairs). We did not leave the 7:00 pm sitting until almost 10:30 and enjoyed every minute of it.

I don't recall foods being too salty, but no one at our table helped themselves to the salt choices in the middle of the table. Wines were explained extremely well (only he spoke very quietly) and the pours were the most generous I have ever received!!! I was given extra pourings of the Proseccco once they realized that I wasn't drinking the Bordeaux or Port after the first sip.

I will book this experience EVERY time we sail from now on! :)