Le Cirque

Le Cirque - is this night worth the extra $39 pp. We are thinking of booking the Statendam Le Cirque for the night of 11th April, my hubby's birthday, but are not sure if it is worth paying nearly $80 for the 2 of us plus wine. We were happy to pay the $20 extra pp for a special meal but only Le Cirque is available on that night. We are on a limited budget being pensioners so this is a big decision for us.

There are many, many threads debating this special night and CC search is a valuable tool for deciding these sorts of questions. I will share my experience from a recent Eurodam cruise which I posted in this thread:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1357186&highlight=le+cirque

We had a very nice evening at Le Cirque and are happy we tried it but we prefer the regular Pinnacle dinner. I think the menu too limited at Le Cirque and my DH and our friend who shared the steak thought their regular Pinnacle steak was better.

Just our opinion based on only one night there. We enjoyed it and were glad we went but won't hurry back on our next cruise.

we had enjoyable dinner on the nieuw amsterdam

our review:

The first Le Cirque on the Nieuw Amsterdam was on Dec 2, 2010.

And it was excellent!!

The special place settings and decorations had not arrived but the food and service by the Pinnacle staff was great.

The meal was $39 per person and you could buy for $20 per person a special wine offering which was 3 glasses selected for the special dinner.

Each person was first srved an Amuse (just like the regular Pinnacle offers). It was Pate Foi Gras -- goose liver mousse with rhubarb chutney -- very good.

The appetizer was Lobster Salad "Le Cirque" -- poached lobster with haricot and citrus (I will post at a later time the recipe foe this)

Soup - Sweet Corn Soup -- prepared table side. On the bottom of the soup bowl were ground corn fritters, wood ear mushrooms and some whole kernals of corn. The corn soup -- nice and thick and very tasty with a hint of basil -- was served from a tureen.

There were 3 choices for the main menu:

Wild Halibut with leek fondue, Rocca Di Fransinello sauce -- DH had this - very flaky and tasty.

Rack of Lamb - goat cheese panisse, artichokes and arugula -- I had this -- excellent -- very tasty and meaty lamb chops -- got 2 big double ones.

Cote de Boeuf - (aged prime rib steak) - horseradish flan, sweet and sour baby beets for two. Can't comment on this.

Side Dishes:

Seasonal vegetables -- DH had them -- a mixture broccoli, summer squash, cauliflower, bamboo shoots, zuccini in a truffle oil -- excellent.

Pommes Dauphine -- I had them -- mashed potatoes made into tiny puffs and quickly fried -- good -- hot and crunchy.

Desserts:

Chocolate Souffle -- we passed on this as we had already had a couple of chocolate souffles in the Pinnacle.

Creme Brulee Le Cirque -- we both had it and loved it -- recipe will be posted at a later time.

Assortment of Sorbets - again we did not try them - so - no comment.

As I mentioned we chose to try the $20 per person selected wine paring.

When we sat down we were each served a glass of sparkling wine.

For the appetizer and soup we were each served a glass of Ruffino Pinot Grigio, Italy - juicy white peaches and citrus with a flinty-minerality (glass $8; bottle $39)

For the entree we were served Villa Florita Barbera D'Asti Superiore, Italy - persistent and intense, yet warm and harmonic (glass $10; bottle $54)

If you didn't want to go with that offering you could order anything from the list below -- all prices are for the bottle.

White Wine

Michel Redde Pouilly Fime, France - highly expressive nose and a mouth-smaking finish - $59

Cloudy Bat Sauvignon Blanc, New Zealand - herbaceous flavors with hints of citrus fruits - $78

Marques de Caceres, Spain - delicious flavors of pears and apples - $29

Laboure-Roi Pouilly Fuisse, France - collage of white fruits flavors, lively floral undertones - $54

Franciscan Chardonnay, California - lively and lengthy on the palate with a great body - $47

Conundrum, California - peach, apricot, green melon and pear - $39

Red Wine

Meridian Pinot Noir, Italy - bing cherry with hints of strawberry, roses and violets - $37

Chateau Ste Michelle, Canon Ridge Merlot, Washington - a medium to full bodied rich, berry flavored long finish wine - $69

Perrin Reserve Cotes Du Rhone, France - full bodied, rich fruit with peppery finish - $39

Beringer Founders Estate Cabernet Sauvignon, California - bursts with cassis, black fruit and sweet brown spice - $39

Arboleda Carmenerem Chile - dark berries with plum, dark cherries and violets - 449

Castello Banfi Brunello Di Montalcino, Italy - soft and velvety with licorice, spices and cherry notes - $108

I'm gambling it is good. It is on the night of dh's birthday on our cruise, so I think that is a sign ;) Sommelier dinners have been excellent in the past and there is no choice. I am hoping that this will be very good when we sail.

I would definitely try it myself.

We tried it on the O. We had specially designed plates and menus but there was no other type of decoration if anyone is thinking they throw streamers around or hang toy monkeys from the ceiling (the monkey design is on the plates). The idea is to re-create LC's food, not the restaurant itself. I did purchase the creme brulee dish, but I'm a sucker for souvenir dishes.

I asked DH if he wanted to do it again and he said no, because of the cost, but he was glad he tried it once, and we did enjoy the meal.

Thanks everyone your comments are really appreciated and will help us make the right decision.

The reviews have been a little mixed but it seems to me the more recent comments have been pretty positive. We are signed up for it during our cruise this June.

Kirk

Le Cirque - is this night worth the extra $39 pp. We are thinking of booking the Statendam Le Cirque for the night of 11th April, my hubby's birthday, but are not sure if it is worth paying nearly $80 for the 2 of us plus wine. We were happy to pay the $20 extra pp for a special meal but only Le Cirque is available on that night. We are on a limited budget being pensioners so this is a big decision for us.

I reviewed it a couple months ago on Eurodam. Hope this helps.

Sorry, no idea how I managed to not get a picture of the lobster salad, but everything was delicious.

I always have to make the Pinnacle stop during my cruise, so if I had to CHOOSE I would likely make my choice Pinnacle. Otherwise, Le Cirque is great especially for a very special occasion if you happen to be celebrating one

http://www.dutchbyassociation.com/2010/12/dbas-log-in-st-thomas-and-dinner-at-le.html

I reviewed it a couple months ago on Eurodam. Hope this helps.

 

Sorry, no idea how I managed to not get a picture of the lobster salad, but everything was delicious.

 

I always have to make the Pinnacle stop during my cruise, so if I had to CHOOSE I would likely make my choice Pinnacle. Otherwise, Le Cirque is great especially for a very special occasion if you happen to be celebrating one

 

http://www.dutchbyassociation.com/2010/12/dbas-log-in-st-thomas-and-dinner-at-le.html

Thanks DBA, somehow I missed this on your blog (seems hard to believe :eek:) I did notice that the prime rib was described as 'for two' does this mean both people have to order it? thanks so much.

I think I read a post somewhere that they may also offer this for one???? I would think making something for two would make it much less likely that it would be ordered.

Kirk

I think I read a post somewhere that they may also offer this for one???? I would think making something for two would make it much less likely that it would be ordered.

 

Kirk

Thanks Kirk for this - what a relief ;) I can just about guarantee dh will be ordering the fish and it's his birthday so..........I'll still want my beef:)

Thanks DBA, somehow I missed this on your blog (seems hard to believe :eek:) I did notice that the prime rib was described as 'for two' does this mean both people have to order it? thanks so much.

On our December Maasdam visit to Le Cirque, the steak had to be ordered for two. If only one person wanted the steak, they could not order it. That makes the menu too limiting IMO. Perhaps they have changed about requiring two people due to many comments by disappointed people who then had to choose between halibut or lamb. With only three choices, I think all three have to be available to everyone whether they have someone with whom to share or not.

I did post this previously on another sight. Four of us dined at Le Cirque on the NA Feb 10. DH ordered the beef and there was no mention by the server that it was for two. Three of us had lamb and it was A-1, much better than what is served on the Pinnacle menu.

I did post this previously on another sight. Four of us dined at Le Cirque on the NA Feb 10. DH ordered the beef and there was no mention by the server that it was for two. Three of us had lamb and it was A-1, much better than what is served on the Pinnacle menu.

i hope that they change the beef entree to a serving for one on all ships -- just makes sense to me as we saw only a couple of people ordering it on our cruise

i hope that they change the beef entree to a serving for one on all ships -- just makes sense to me as we saw only a couple of people ordering it on our cruise

Me too - that's what I would order. Thanks everyone for all your help on the beef question.

I did post this previously on another sight. Four of us dined at Le Cirque on the NA Feb 10. DH ordered the beef and there was no mention by the server that it was for two. Three of us had lamb and it was A-1, much better than what is served on the Pinnacle menu.

thanks very much - :)

Seems it is not consistent from ship to ship as to whether they permit the beef for one.... at least it wasn't as they started up this new venue.

Not all the ships had the Le Cirque plates etc when it started up and, hopefully, they are now able to offer the whole experience.

On our December Maasdam visit to Le Cirque, the steak had to be ordered for two. If only one person wanted the steak, they could not order it.

That definately must've changed as this single traveller was able to order the steak recently (end Jan.) when I visited Le Cirque as I noted in my review I linked already.

That definately must've changed as this single traveller was able to order the steak recently (end Jan.) when I visited Le Cirque as I noted in my review I linked already.

I referenced Maasdam. I see from your signature, you were on Eurodam. As stated above, it was not consistent from ship to ship. Hopefully it now is so there won't be this confusion.

Thanks DBA, somehow I missed this on your blog (seems hard to believe :eek:) I did notice that the prime rib was described as 'for two' does this mean both people have to order it? thanks so much.

It does. Not sure if there was an option available like in the Pinnacle where it's $10 for another entree, etc. Following that idea it MAY be about $20 extra (half again as much like the $10 in PG) or it may not be available at all.

For me personally, that halibut was so good I could care less about the beef for that menu :D

The halibut is really, really good. :) It was one of the best fish dinners I'd had in a long time. I wasn't aware either Pinnacle or Le Cirque offers Prime Rib(Roast Beef). That is on the dinner menu sometimes in MDR, but I've never seen it in Pinnacle.

They really need to do a steak for one on all the ships. Too many couples or even larger tables are not going to go for a steak for two. I could see having it if the menu was larger but not in it's current form.

Kirk

i talked to a one of the couples who sat near us -- they said that the beef was tough abd definitely not as good as the beef offered on the main pinnacle menu

It does. Not sure if there was an option available like in the Pinnacle where it's $10 for another entree, etc. Following that idea it MAY be about $20 extra (half again as much like the $10 in PG) or it may not be available at all.

 

For me personally, that halibut was so good I could care less about the beef for that menu :D

thanks DBA - I guess since it's dh's birthday, I will go with the halibut/something else. Too bad though. at least, I am prepared. thanks again. much appreciated as always :)