Standard for a "great meal."

In a recent CC post, someone referred to a steakhouse meal on a cruise ship as one the five best meals they've ever had. While that statement may be true for that person, it proves once again that food is subjective and people's experiences vary significantly.

That said, I think it would be very informative to hear from CC folks regarding what has been their very best (maximum of three) "dining out" experience(s) in the last five years and why.

I'm guessing that cruise ships (even including their specialty restaurants) will be few and far between in the citations. At the same time, this exercise may provide some framework for better understanding what are the common elements of a memorable meal while also offering up some suggestions for dining out at ports or elsewhere during our travels near and far.

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We have eaten twice in a specialty restaurant on Carnival. I had the lamb both times. The size of all the chops were three+ times the size you get in the dining room and I think I had 4. They sat on more lamb. The onion soup was so much better than in the MDR and I had the creamed spinach you don't get in the MDR. All the food was better and so was the presentation. The cost was $35 each but ours was given to us by Carnival when we became Diamond.

The 1st time we ate with the Captain, didn't ask him if he eats there often but he too had the lamb. He is Italian and cooks for himself in a kitchen just for him. He explained once what he had cooked and the only thing I understood was 'rice'.

The steak house on Carnival Legend and breakfast in Sabatinis on Coral Princess. At home we prefer chef owned restaurants.

All of the best meals I've had in 30 cruises on all but Costa & MSC have been in the specialty venues...they include Le Bistro & Teppanyaki on NCL, Palo ( brunch AMAZING!) on Disney, 150 Central Park on Oasis Of The Seas, and Chops on RCI..BUT, we also go for the ambiance of the dining: low lighting, soft music, sometimes a table for 2 by a window overlooking the sea, better menu options, MUCH better side dishes, but mostly because we like dining with 50-100 people vs. dining with 1000-1500 ....MDR food is ( to me) usually anywhere from "pretty boring" to "pretty good"...rarely I come out after dinner saying,"wow, that was fantastic!"...another reason is that my wife works very hard and I like to treat her to a dinner that's special- dining with all those people with hundreds of waiters criss crossing back & forth with trays and very loud passengers, loud music, dancing waiters, etc., is not my idea of a special night...and yes, food is THEE most subjective element of cruising, so I always tell people ( I'm both a cruise agent & frequent cruiser) only what I thought of the food, and say, "food is very subjective, so be aware.."....

Big Al

In a recent CC post, someone referred to a steakhouse meal on a cruise ship as one the five best meals they've ever had. While that statement may be true for that person, it proves once again that food is subjective and people's experiences vary significantly.

 

That said, I think it would be very informative to hear from CC folks regarding what has been their very best (maximum of three) "dining out" experience(s) in the last five years and why.

 

I'm guessing that cruise ships (even including their specialty restaurants) will be few and far between in the citations. At the same time, this exercise may provide some framework for better understanding what are the common elements of a memorable meal while also offering up some suggestions for dining out at ports or elsewhere during our travels near and far.

 

 

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Jiko at Animal Kingdom Lodge

Le Cellier in Canada/Epcot

Sanaa at Animal Kingdom Lodge

we did Disney last September for our anniversary. had we sprung for Victoria And Albert's that would've supplanted Jiko.

have not found any truly outstanding local in San Antonio yet( we've only been here since August). But DC and Baltimore abounded with fine dining, and do not get me started on San Diego and Tokyo.

I want fresh food prepared well without being dumbed down for the bland boring American palate. I want quiet but attentive service from a personable server. I want a winless that goes with the food offered and a sommelier or Wine steward to be able to make recommendations based on my chosen meal . I want the ambience to be quietly elegant without being disturbed by unruly children( or adults) and I want it light enough to see my dining companion across the table but not so bright I need sunglasses

Jiko at Animal Kingdom Lodge

 

 

 

Le Cellier in Canada/Epcot

 

 

 

Sanaa at Animal Kingdom Lodge

 

 

 

 

 

we did Disney last September for our anniversary. had we sprung for Victoria And Albert's that would've supplanted Jiko.

 

 

 

have not found any truly outstanding local in San Antonio yet( we've only been here since August). But DC and Baltimore abounded with fine dining, and do not get me started on San Diego and Tokyo.

 

 

 

 

 

I want fresh food prepared well without being dumbed down for the bland boring American palate. I want quiet but attentive service from a personable server. I want a winless that goes with the food offered and a sommelier or Wine steward to be able to make recommendations based on my chosen meal . I want the ambience to be quietly elegant without being disturbed by unruly children( or adults) and I want it light enough to see my dining companion across the table but not so bright I need sunglasses

Thanks for the input.

I find it interesting that the first few posters did cite meals on ships! I'm hoping they didn't misread my OP about land OR sea. But, then again, the ship meals may truly be their best recent experience.

Hopefully, we'll get more responses.

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It is totally subjective, but I look for very fresh food, great service and an ambiance which suits the local. Here are three of my favorites:

Wild Caraway in Advocate Harbour, Nova Scotia - relaxed country atmosphere combined with amazing, innovative, and very local food, great view of the tides coming in and out of the harbour.

Le Patriarche in Quebec City, old stone building befitting the city, innovative food, great service.

Square 24 in Siem Reap, Cambodia - local and fusion food, wonderful service and outstanding decor.

I have had some great food on cruises with Azamara, especially the chef's connoisseur dinners. Recently on Dragon's Pearl on Halong Bay we had some wonderful multi-course meals.

We don't eat out very often and when we do it's not "fine" dining (we just had dinner at a local Italian restaurant that was very good that cost about $50 for the two of us), so the meals onboard are far above what we are used to and are memorable from that viewpoint. We did eat at a very nice restaurant in Mystic, CT once (probably 5-6 years ago) that was very nicely done that probably cost our host at least $500 for the 8 of us. While cruise ship cuisine doesn't rise to that level it does meet our needs and most of time exceeds expectations (i.e. we don't expect 4 star cuisine for the price we pay).

Thanks for the input.

I find it interesting that the first few posters did cite meals on ships! I'm hoping they didn't misread my OP about land OR sea. But, then again, the ship meals may truly be their best recent experience.

Hopefully, we'll get more responses.

 

 

 

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don't get me wrong,. I'd would have eaten at Palo every night if I could on my Disney cruise( the MDR sucked royally but reservations were impossible plus after paying all that money to get on a Disney ship in the first place it irked me to spend more just to eat decently) and we have loved our Chops, Izumi and Giovanni's experiences on several Royal ships

but I agree, while VERY nice experinces, my OMG meals have tended to be on land in better venues.

Since fresh ingredients and a really good selection of wines are, in my mind, essential to a great meal, I think cruise ships - even in their special venues - are at a competitive disadvantage.

I would say from recent memory Le Petite Café in Branford, CT offered my best. Still, it is always subjective.

I saw that same reference on another thread.

I will add that the steakhouses on both the Explorer of the Seas and Carnival Splendor are excellent and are worthy of my top 5.

French Manor in Poconos PA served a really divine breakfast.

I will stop at these three.

Ardour at St. Regis Hotel, NYC

(sadly, that restaurant no longer exists)

Hassler Roof Restaurant, Rome, Italy

St. Gertrude's Closter, Copenhagen, Denmark

Steakhouses: Capital Grill, Seattle, WA; Morton's, Fort Lauderdale

Hmmm, tough one....

Bacchanalia (Atlanta) -- 5 course prix-fixe menu, organic, changes seasonally (have eaten there twice, best was February 2013). Undoubtedly the best restaurant in Atlanta.

Café Zimmer (Paris) -- New Year's Eve 2013. The thought of the foie gras, perfectly cooked steak and the chocolate dessert still makes my mouth water.

Armando al Pantheon -- November 2014. Resisted going here for years, I thought it would be touristy. Instead they serve delicious and thoughtfully edited authentic Italian food. Best antipasto I've eaten: grilled bread with cured lard, quail egg and black truffle.

The only awesome meals aboard ship have been in the Vintage Room on Crystal. These are custom wine-pairing meals for a set dinner of 10-12 people. Otherwise, ship food can be very good to excellent, but nowhere near the gourmet quality I find on land. A couple of great spots include Sbraga in Philadelphia, The Nest in Siem Reap, and any Tom Colicchio restaurant in NYC. And they all blow away shipboard dining.

If the best meal you've ever had is an a shipboard steakhouse, you need to get out more, IMO. Maybe even in SoFla before/after a cruise.

The only awesome meals aboard ship have been in the Vintage Room on Crystal. These are custom wine-pairing meals for a set dinner of 10-12 people. Otherwise, ship food can be very good to excellent, but nowhere near the gourmet quality I find on land. A couple of great spots include Sbraga in Philadelphia, The Nest in Siem Reap, and any Tom Colicchio restaurant in NYC. And they all blow away shipboard dining.

 

If the best meal you've ever had is an a shipboard steakhouse, you need to get out more, IMO. Maybe even in SoFla before/after a cruise.

To each his/her own :cool:

 

If the best meal you've ever had is an a shipboard steakhouse, you need to get out more, IMO. Maybe even in SoFla before/after a cruise.

you have a point. how many threads do we see complaining about the 'exotic' and 'fancy' menu listings.

"my kid only eats chicken fingers and pizza" or " I only eat french fries" are common themes.

if your idea of fine dining is going out to Chili's or TGIF, a specialty restaurant on board IS going to be a magnitude above.

I live in NYC, so I would say that my usual weekly dinners out usually top what I experience on cruise ships. But since you asked, my favorite meals in the past five years have probably been at:

Le Grenouille, Daniel and Bouley - all NYC.

French isn't even my favorite cuisine, but those places really give the best in experiences plus food IMHO. And also I haven't paid for any of those meals (all through work), so that doesn't hurt haha.

if your idea of fine dining is going out to Chili's or TGIF, a specialty restaurant on board IS going to be a magnitude above.

Unfortunately, where I live, Chili's is "fine dining". TGIF doesn't exist.

We have a handful of chain "family restaurants" and a bunch of taco stands:(

So for us, even the buffet on cruises is gourmet.

I'm a chef/event planner, so I'm pretty spoiled to begin with as I am constantly working with innovative food ideas and new recipes, but my most memorable recent meals out were:

The Restaurant, Meadowood Resort, Napa, CA

The Dining Room, Salish Lodge, Salish, WA

Bottega Ristorante, Yountville, CA

with

Farm at the Carneros Inn, Napa, CA a close 4th place runner up for their tasting menu.

Locally I want to give props to:

Bijoux, Dallas, TX, Chef Scott Gottlich

Yao Fuzi, Plano, TX for Chef Chris Yao's innovative wine tasting dinners and Chinese fusion cuisine.

My all-time favorite, the now defunct:

El Bulli, Catalonia, Spain

I have, so far, never been on a cruise ship that could approach any of the above restaurants in level of service, culinary innovation and quality of food. That doesn't mean cruise ship food isn't good, however. My expectations of a cruise ship are different than for a land based restaurant and also different than for a 5-star (US rating) dining experience or 3-star Michelin dining experience.

My list:

Le Bernadin - NYC. Satisfied my bucket list item of dining once in a Michelin 3-star restaurant. Heavenly fish!!

Armando al Pantheon - Rome. Yes, I badgered cruisemom42 into trying it on her last trip. Happy to hear she found it as good as I do! It's always my first restaurant I visit on my trips to Rome.

Roscioli - Rome. It was here that I discovered that amatriciana is soooo much better prepared with guanciale!! I loved that I had a little discussion with my server about what type of wine I like (flavors and such, not "red, white") and he surprised me with an Amarone that I would have never thought of - it went fantastically well with my meal. And, then he brought an amazing little dessert wine at the end of the meal.

Bouchon - Las Vegas. A little different here. I ate at the bar at the dining room. Just had some small plates. BUT, the escarole salad with the lardons and poached egg was spot on, and the marrow bone was scrumptious. It would have been the same food at a table in the dining room, but it was a last-minute decision and there were no reservations.

forage - Salt Lake City. Yes, folks, Salt Lake City. A little restaurant with a constantly-changing tasting menu. Wild things (hence the "forage" name), local-raised or produced items.

Ardour at St. Regis Hotel, NYC

(sadly, that restaurant no longer exists)

 

Hassler Roof Restaurant, Rome, Italy

St. Gertrude's Closter, Copenhagen, Denmark

 

Steakhouses: Capital Grill, Seattle, WA; Morton's, Fort Lauderdale

Agree on the Hassler - wine, food and ambience make for an unbeatable combination.

While I really enjoy steak, I think a prime cut from a good butcher grilled at home will surpass what any steakhouse can do. Of course it is served with a touch less panache, and the quality of the side dishes will depend on your sous chef.

Agree on the Hassler - wine, food and ambience make for an unbeatable combination.

 

 

 

While I really enjoy steak, I think a prime cut from a good butcher grilled at home will surpass what any steakhouse can do. Of course it is served with a touch less panache, and the quality of the side dishes will depend on your sous chef.

This was another reason I asked the original question. With usda prime cuts readily available (even if it means mail order for folks in out-of-the-way places), I generally will shy away from steakhouses since it's something we can do at home.

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you have a point. how many threads do we see complaining about the 'exotic' and 'fancy' menu listings.

 

"my kid only eats chicken fingers and pizza" or " I only eat french fries" are common themes.

 

if your idea of fine dining is going out to Chili's or TGIF, a specialty restaurant on board IS going to be a magnitude above.

Chili's doesn't mean fine dining to me, but it does represent what type of fare (ish) we typically eat when we do eat out. I have eaten in some fine dining establishments in my day but don't really care for it (as an every day thing anyway), but then I am far from a gourmand.

What an interesting idea. To say that something is "good" or "not good" is not very informative unless you know what that person is accustomed to.

I have only ever sailed on Celebrity so I will compare my "land" experiences to that. To sum it up: Cruise food in the main dining room is going to be better than the average chain restaurant, and most of the specialty restaurants on Celebrity are "quite good" but (with some exceptions) will not blow you away or win any James Beard awards. The service, however, is excellent and typically on par with a very good chain restaurant (Houston's or any of the Hillstone restaurants).

To give you a baseline (which I think is the point of the OP), I am no stranger to fine dining and have enjoyed some excellent restaurants over the years - French Laundry, L'Atelier by Joel Robuchon, Bouchon, Uchi and Wink (Austin, TX), Scarpetta, Craft, etc., but I won't pick favorites. I agree with some other posters that for the most part, cruise ship food is not going to come close to those types of experiences; however, that being said, one of the best dishes I have had in my life was served at Murano on the Equinox, and the entire experience at all specialty restaurants on that ship were quite good (the worst being the pan-Asian restaurant, which was on par with tasty-but-not-exactly-fine-dining PF Chang's).

On the other end of the spectrum, to make a comparison to a land-based all-inclusive vacation, I have found the food and wine on Celebrity ships to be MILES above what I could get at Sandals Emerald Bay in the Bahamas, which was mediocre.

I again agree with other posters that if you are accustomed to very good restaurants in major cities, you will need to adjust your expectations for a cruise ship (mostly as to quality of ingredients), but you can still find very tasty food at sea.

My ex sil has cooked the best 2 meals i've ever had when he worked for Todd English in Boston and marriott in Seattle on the water...the third was moderno on ncl dawn...it is subjective but that boy can cook!