Specialty Restaurants on the Bliss

I know that restaurant preferences are highly subjective, but I would appreciatiate your opinions anyway. I have never sailed on an NCL ship so I am flying blind, so to speak. For those who have been on the Bliss, how would you rate the Specliaty Dining venues? I have a 4 meal SDP for a 7 day cruise. Where would you spend the 4 SDP's at? Thanks in advance for your opinions!:) I am considering Cagney's, La Cucina, Le Bistro, Q, and Los Lobos. I am not really interested in Teppanyaki or Ocean Blue.

Just off the ship yesterday. We did 4 restaurants, and the four of us in our party couldn't agree on which was best, so it's hard to share with you. However, since you asked.

4. La Cucina - None of our party were impressed. It may have also been the terrible service, but the food was also average at best.

3. Cagney's - We all agreed my porterhouse was slightly undercooked for "medium rare" as was my friend's.

2. Los Lobos - Ok I liked this one, but I'm a Mexican food fan anyway. The table-side guac is what it is, it's hard to mess that up. But we loved the fundido and I had the asada which was cooked perfectly, albeit the chimichurri sauce was slightly bland. I also had a chicken quesadilla because I tend to overeat on cruise ships, and this was surprisingly pretty close to what a Q should be.

1. Q - Yes, the Texas smokehouse. All 4 of us were extremely surprised by this place. From the perfect deviled eggs to the banana pudding, this place nailed it. I didn't care for the tortilla soup though.We did the sampler to try as much as we could and liked the brisket and ribs the best. One friend had pulled pork and thought it was great! The other friend won with a beef rib. This place might not compete with some BBQ joints on land, but I'd say it comes close!

Note - first sea day, there is a seafood feast in the garden cafe. They had LOADS of unlimited snow crab legs and shrimp so YEA, if you're into that sort of thing, get there BEFORE they open because the LINE will grow all the way back to end of ship!

Thank you for that detailed reply. I was afraid that you were going to say that about La Cucina. I may have to take it out of consideration. I love Mexican food too, just not sure if I could eat enough of it to use on the SDP. I am thinking maybe 2 nights at Cagney's, 1 at Le Bistro, and 1 at Q (or maybe 2 at Q instead of Cagney's). For Los Lobos, I will probably go A la Carte for a couple of nights, so many things that I want to try there 😁 Thanks again.

Cagney's - Good - Great traditional steakhouse - We would go here any cruise.

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=56215247&postcount=36

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=56215261&postcount=37

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=56215265&postcount=38

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=56266632&postcount=446

La Cucina - Nothing Special - It is just an O.K. Italian Restaurant.

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=56247602&postcount=283

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=56247602&postcount=284

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=56266771&postcount=449

Le Bistro - No High on our List - It is a good French Restaurant. But we have been unhappy with the evolution of its menu over the years. If you want some French Food, they book a table here.

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=56220457&postcount=77

Q - O.K. - Good BBQ considering that there is no open flames on the ship. Good flavor. Worth a try if you like BBQ. We went in later, so Camille Ray was performing during dinner. The music was intolerably loud.

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=56232149&postcount=161

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=56232151&postcount=162

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=56265895&postcount=439

Los Lobos - Great - This is our favorite restaurant on the ship. Great Flavors without being spicy. We actually at at Los Lobos twice.

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=56239869&postcount=233

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=56239869&postcount=234

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=56262472&postcount=421

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=56262472&postcount=422

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=56262472&postcount=423

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=56266667&postcount=447

Ocean Blue - While not on your list, Good - This is a brand new menu for NCL so we were sampling different dishes. Worth the $15 upcharge.

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=56223815&postcount=110

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=56223815&postcount=111

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=56223815&postcount=112

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=56262548&postcount=426

For an additional fee (not covered by your SDP), the Food Republic has wonderful small dishes. Our second favorite restaurant.

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=56252153&postcount=324

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=56252184&postcount=325

Love reading another rave review of the BBQ place. I love BBQ and good BBQ is hard to find. So glad its good quality and not some simple sauce place.

Birdtravels, thank you for all of those wonderful, informative, links.

I am going to change my dining reservations to take La Cucina off. There seems to be an unfortunate consensus when it comes to this restaurant. In your opinion, is it worth using an SDP on Los Lobos? The a la carte pricing seems very reasonable. As far as Le Bistro, I have never been to a French restaurant so I think that I will give it a try, though really, it's the starters and side dishes that really appeal to me on their menu.

I will have to take a look at the Ocean Blue menu, that may be a better option than double booking Cagney's.

Decisions, decisions..... I think that maybe I am overthinking it!:confused: