Speciality Restaurants

hi

I am new to this site I need advice, I am wondering if it’s worth booking the speciality restaurants aboard the Nieuw Amsterdam ? Or is the food just as good in the main restaurant? I am off on the Alaskan Cruise on the 8 th September really looking forward to it. So many trips to choose from I am baffled so any help would be great fully received.

Thank you

I recommend booking Tamarind for 1 nite. The food is outstanding and the service and location are equally top notch.

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Welcome to Cruise Critic.

You are going to get all kinds of answers here -- some like the dining room -- some don't and others are in between. We all have different tastes.

For us -- we don't care for the dining room food.

One restaurant I highly recommend on this ship is the Tamarind Restaurant. Pan Asian food. You can have them hold the spices or make it spicier.

The Pinnacle Grill comes second on our list.

We do not care for the Canaletto -- others love it.

Food is fine in the MDR, but it is our least favorite actual dining room setting - something feels cramped and busy about it. Tamarind is beautiful -went twice, Pinnacle was okay, and did not try Caneletto.

Don't forget room service for a nice dinner alternative too when you just don't want to get dressed up or go out after a long day. Either their very good included items, special fee items or even regular dinner menu if ordered during the dining hours.

Another tip is have a late afternoon something (Dive In/ Nacho Bar/ Salad Bar/ Small Plates/ Grab and Go), skip dinner that night and stay up for the late night buffet which sounds pretty interesting. Or plan on a lunch in the Pinnacle mainly offered during at sea days (check daily schedule), and you probably won't want a full dinner that night too if you enjoy all the courses.

Another vote for Tamarind. We will always eat at Tamarind one night if there is one on the ship.

Pinnacle Grill (if you like steak).

We also don't care to spend extra for Canaletto - it isn't that special.

We do like the MDR (main dining room) and typically eat dinner there.

And yet another vote for Tamarind. We already have our reservation made for our upcoming Eurodam Sailing. We also always do PG... have never been disappointed there.

That being said, we enjoy the MDR and try to dine there most nights.

Food is fine in the MDR, but it is our least favorite actual dining room setting - something feels cramped and busy about it.

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We feel the same. Maybe because it is cramped and busy (and noisy)? :o

When we cruise, we review the dinner menu in the main dining room first. If there are menu options on there that we enjoy then we give it ago. On the nights that there are not options that appeal to us we try somewhere else like the Tamarind.

We had a delicious starter in the dining room his last cruise, Thai crispy spring roll; however the rest of the menu wasn’t fantastic so I swung by the Lido Market and supplemented with something there although I should have asked for another spring roll...it was very tasty.

This most recent cruise we had lunch in the Pinnacle Grill and hands down it was my favorite meal and dining experience of that cruise. I have only dined one other time in the Pinnacle Grill and that was at dinner and it was also 8 years ago. I didn’t have the best experience so I haven’t repeated it, but will some day.

We dined in the Canaletto one night and didn’t enjoy the experience. I think for us it would have been better with a big group with lots of different food to try. Although, I am not sure that would have change the taste of some of the food.

Food is so subjective, I love food but am very picky as well.

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Our recommendation is try it all & then decide for your selves:p

Another vote for the Tamarind and Pinnacle Grill lunch (sea days only I believe). We, too, review the MDR dinner menu and then decide where we will go. On K'dam, the Sel de Mer is a favorite of ours.

When we cruise, we review the dinner menu in the main dining room first. If there are menu options on there that we enjoy then we give it ago. On the nights that there are not options that appeal to us we try somewhere else like the Tamarind.

 

We had a delicious starter in the dining room his last cruise, Thai crispy spring roll; however the rest of the menu wasn’t fantastic so I swung by the Lido Market and supplemented with something there although I should have asked for another spring roll...it was very tasty.

 

This most recent cruise we had lunch in the Pinnacle Grill and hands down it was my favorite meal and dining experience of that cruise. I have only dined one other time in the Pinnacle Grill and that was at dinner and it was also 8 years ago. I didn’t have the best experience so I haven’t repeated it, but will some day.

 

We dined in the Canaletto one night and didn’t enjoy the experience. I think for us it would have been better with a big group with lots of different food to try. Although, I am not sure that would have change the taste of some of the food.

 

Food is so subjective, I love food but am very picky as well.

 

 

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8 years ago we felt the same way about the Pinnacle. It has improved immensely in a lot of way, but still too inconsistent to give it a 100% thumbs up. But picking carefully, one will be very pleased with the changes from 8 years ago.

HAL listened to those earlier complaints, but went overboard in pretense and menu choices for a while and then scaled back to more basics of late. No, we really did not need four colors of salt. In the interrum period however they offered the very best seasoned lamb kabob, that I miss greatly. They unfortunately made it an overly fussy "flaming presentation" which could have been easily eliminated, while keeping the very tasty menu item sans flambée. I keep asking for it back on my post-cruise evaluations.

Our recommendation is try it all & then decide for your selves:p

This is great advice! I should book another cruise ASAP. Lol. :)

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We are fine most nights with MDR menus, but on any ship with a Tamarind we have eat there at least twice to get my favorites, the wasabi-encrusted tenderloin and the lobster! If we look over the MDR menu around Noon and nothing "hits" us we'll try to get a Canaletto reservation just for a change-of-pace. We only go to the Pinnacle Grill when we have a freebie, as we think they are too "stuffy".

... I am wondering if it’s worth booking the speciality restaurants aboard the Nieuw Amsterdam ? IMO, yes the specialty restaurants are worth booking, with our order of preference being: 1. Tamarind; 2. Rudi's Sel de Mer; 3. Pinnacle Grill; and 4. Canaletto. Or is the food just as good in the main restaurant? IMO, no the MDR food is generally not as good as the food in the specialty restaurants. ...

IMO Tamarind is a "can't miss" experience, while Canaletto is a really good value. I'd book at least one meal in each and then go back for a second meal at any that you particularly liked.

My experience is (and it's not shared by most people here) that if you don't get the Speciality Restaurants as a gift or included with a package or perks, they are not worth it. I love the lavash in the Pinnacle Grill, but it's not worth the upcharge, even with a 5-Star Mariner discount.

I have never had a truly awful meal in the Main Dining Room, though I will be honest, there have been occasions when nothing in the menu appealed to me so I went with the always-available chicken or salmon and a baked potato.

If they offer the Sel de Mer dinner in the Pinnacle one night it is absolutely the best! Also another vote for Tamarind. We've had hit or miss dinners in the Pinnacle...more hit than miss.

Definitely recommend Tamarind (are you sensing a trend?) My husband is not even a big lover of Asian cuisine, but there are several dishes he enjoys there.

We are not big Pinnacle Grill lovers. We've been a few times and each dinner was just a little, meh. Some dishes were superb, others not and the service is strange. I like a leisurely dinner but not quite that leisurely. Plus, one time, when my wine steward never came back to my table, I mentioned I would like to order a glass of port, I was schooled by my waiter on the fact that taking that order was not his job. Okkkay.

We are more likely to do Canaletto on a longer cruise, just looking for something different. It used to be free and considering the quality, I think it should still be free.

St. Louis Sal

The Hal Blog had a nice article on their on-board Specialty restaurants today.

Here’s the link.

https://www.hollandamerica.com/blog/topics/food-beverage/why-specialty-dining-is-an-exceptional-value/

A solo cruiser cannot now EAT t in Canelttto.

Shortsighted when they changed from the old format . IMO

They are willing to seat a solo in Pinnacle.

A solo cruiser cannot now EAT t in Canelttto.

 

 

Shortsighted when they changed from the old format . IMO

 

They are willing to seat a solo in Pinnacle.

A solo cruiser cannot now EAT t in Canelttto.

 

 

Shortsighted when they changed from the old format . IMO

 

They are willing to seat a solo in Pinnacle.

A solo cruiser can eat in the Caneletto. The menu only suggests shared plates. The waiters are there to look after you - they won't bully you. :)

A solo cruiser can eat in the Caneletto. The menu only suggests shared plates. The waiters are there to look after you - they won't bully you. :)

Exactly (yn)

+1

hi

 

I am new to this site I need advice, I am wondering if it’s worth booking the speciality restaurants aboard the Nieuw Amsterdam ? Or is the food just as good in the main restaurant? I am off on the Alaskan Cruise on the 8 th September really looking forward to it. So many trips to choose from I am baffled so any help would be great fully received.

 

Thank you

We love the Pinnacle as first choice and Tamarind as second choice. We normally eat at the speciality restaurants every night because we don’t like MDR food or atmosphere on any cruise.

We love the Tamarind above all restaurants onboard (and most on land, too!). We find Pinnacle Grill to be hit or miss -- mostly miss.

We were okay with the Sel de Mer on the Konigsdam but had a very unsatisfactory experience on the pop up Sel de Mer on another ship.

We truly enjoyed Canaletto in its current form after being disappointed by its original offerings years ago. I dined there as a solo guest in April with no problems at all.

A solo cruiser cannot now EAT t in Canelttto.

 

Shortsighted when they changed from the old format . IMO

 

They are willing to seat a solo in Pinnacle.

As a solo cruiser, I dine in the Canaletto at least once on every cruise. When ordering an entree, I ask for just a portion for one.

I enjoy the Zuppa di Pesce with its flavorful broth and lots of seafood at every Canaletto meal. The daily special, Osso Bucco Milanese, is quite good.