Tuscan grill review - italian it isn't

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Have tried Tuscan in Silhouette and Solstice,last 18 months.Absoluely disappointing !! Will be on Reflection in January and will definitely avoid it...Positively impressed with Murano,Lawn club Grill; and QSINE was way better than Tuscan

[awhcruiser]

Is the Tuscan Grille food bad on ALL the ships or hit and miss?

[Gonzo70]

Is the Tuscan Grille food bad on ALL the ships or hit and miss?

 

I found Summit's Tuscan Grille disappointing on Summit a few months ago (other than the pasta). I had free specialty dining, and found Luminae to be superior with regards to food quality and service than Tuscan. I would dine at Tuscan again in lieu of the MDR if at a highly discounted price, but not over Luminae and not for anywhere near the full cover-charge.

[MacThespian]

There's one point that's been largely overlooked in this thread. If the food was too spicy, or too salty, it should be sent back.

I admit I don't always do this. I ate at a very fancy restaurant on land where one of my courses was extremely salty. It was very tasty, but it seemed that it must have been salted twice. I should have asked the waiter to taste it, to confirm this, and then sent it back. But especially on a cruise, where they are willing to get you a whole new dish if you don't like the one you ordered, you shouldn't suffer in silence.

[Ma Bell]

There's one point that's been largely overlooked in this thread. If the food was too spicy, or too salty, it should be sent back.

I admit I don't always do this. I ate at a very fancy restaurant on land where one of my courses was extremely salty. It was very tasty, but it seemed that it must have been salted twice. I should have asked the waiter to taste it, to confirm this, and then sent it back. But especially on a cruise, where they are willing to get you a whole new dish if you don't like the one you ordered, you shouldn't suffer in silence.

 

I agree, never had the problem before but I'm not a complainer. What do you do when you tell them and they say it can't be. LOL

[MacThespian]

I agree, never had the problem before but I'm not a complainer. What do you do when you tell them and they say it can't be. LOL

Ask them to taste it.

Sometimes, it may just be my perception of the food; getting the waiter to taste it gives another point of view. And you can always escalate this if needed.

That said, some people are not comfortable complaining That's their choice, and I respect it. I get a mite ticked off when they come to a third party site (such as CC) to complain without giving the supplier the chance to correct the issue. To me, that's passive aggressive, and is not acceptable behavior (well, depending upon how they handle it; if the complaint was that the food was too spicy in a specialty restaurant and the poster says he'll never cruise Celebrity again because of this, that's beyond the pale. I don't think that was the case with the OP here, though.)

[Luvcrusn]

Is the Tuscan Grille food bad on ALL the ships or hit and miss?

We've tried it on Connie and Eclipse. Although it wasn't bad, it also wasn't special except for the room (which is lovely). We will not return. IMHO the cover price of $45 per person (even though we negotiated a heavily discounted price) on top of the included meal price of the cruise should be sufficient to cover the cost of EVERYTHING on the Tuscan menu without another up charge. Certainly the extra cost items are not worth any extra. I'm a good cook and know the costs of good steaks. I understand that there are prep costs and overhead in any restaurant, but the upcharged items are, in my opinion, price gouging!

[andrea2609]

I assume the "fish soup" the OP is referring to is the cioppino. I've had it twice, once on Equinox and once on Silhouette, and loved it both times.

 

 

 

I wish every X ship had a Tuscan Grill.

 

 

 

"Cioppino", despite of its name, is actually an American dish.

Never had one here in Italy

 

 

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[keesar]

"Cioppino", despite of its name, is actually an American dish.

Never had one here in Italy

 

Inviato dal mio iPhone utilizzando Tapatalk

 

No longer on the Tuscan menu. Has met the same fate as the onion soup and the chocolate fondue dessert.

[Gonzo70]

We've tried it on Connie and Eclipse. Although it wasn't bad, it also wasn't special except for the room (which is lovely). We will not return. IMHO the cover price of $45 per person (even though we negotiated a heavily discounted price) on top of the included meal price of the cruise should be sufficient to cover the cost of EVERYTHING on the Tuscan menu without another up charge. Certainly the extra cost items are not worth any extra. I'm a good cook and know the costs of good steaks. I understand that there are prep costs and overhead in any restaurant, but the upcharged items are, in my opinion, price gouging!

 

The food cost for dry aged USDA prime is considerably higher as compared to non-aged USDA choice. Celebrity would not be able to offer dry aged prime without an additional up-charge or they would be losing money on the transaction.

[Luvcrusn]

The food cost for dry aged USDA prime is considerably higher as compared to non-aged USDA choice. Celebrity would not be able to offer dry aged prime without an additional up-charge or they would be losing money on the transaction.

We'll have to agree to disagree on this. Let's for arguments sake say that the costs figured by celebrity for an included dinner in the MDR or Blue or the OVC is on the low side $25 per person and add $45 per on top of that we are looking at $70 per person. When you factor in the fact that dinners eaten in OVC will be cheaper and that not everyone will order the up sell Tuscan items I don't think X is in danger of losing money. You may disagree. It doesn't matter to me since I don't care for Tuscan and won't be dining there anyway. Others have different tastes, likes and dislikes and may have different opinions. I respect that. I wasn't trying to influence anyone, just stating my opinion.

 

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[Gonzo70]

We'll have to agree to disagree on this. Let's for arguments sake say that the costs figured by celebrity for an included dinner in the MDR or Blue or the OVC is on the low side $25 per person and add $45 per on top of that we are looking at $70 per person. When you factor in the fact that dinners eaten in OVC will be cheaper and that not everyone will order the up sell Tuscan items I don't think X is in danger of losing money. You may disagree. It doesn't matter to me since I don't care for Tuscan and won't be dining there anyway. Others have different tastes, likes and dislikes and may have different opinions. I respect that. I wasn't trying to influence anyone, just stating my opinion.

 

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You can disagree if you want, but it would be the equivalent of you disagreeing that today is Tuesday. I am making a factually accurate statement - dry aged prime costs considerably more than non-aged choice (not by a few dollars, but by $10's of dollars). Celebrity is not going to provide dry aged prime at a loss. Either there needs to be an up-charge for it, or they won't have it as an option. As a side, your numbers are way off as well; Celebrity budgets $15 per/person per/day for included food - so an MDR dinner is nowhere near $25 in food cost.

[Luvcrusn]

You can disagree if you want, but it would be the equivalent of you disagreeing that today is Tuesday. I am making a factually accurate statement - dry aged prime costs considerably more than non-aged choice (not by a few dollars, but by $10's of dollars). Celebrity is not going to provide dry aged prime at a loss. Either there needs to be an up-charge for it, or they won't have it as an option. As a side, your numbers are way off as well; Celebrity budgets $15 per/person per/day for included food - so an MDR dinner is nowhere near $25 in food cost.

Okay, by your numbers the per person price for a person dining is Tuscan is $15 + $45=$60. I can, and do provide a high quality dry aged prime steak for less than that. You also need to factor that not everyone in Tuscan chooses that. As I previously stated, I'll agree to disagree. And it certainly is Tuesday.:D

[Gonzo70]

Okay, by your numbers the per person price for a person dining is Tuscan is $15 + $45=$60. I can, and do provide a high quality dry aged prime steak for less than that. You also need to factor that not everyone in Tuscan chooses that. As I previously stated, I'll agree to disagree. And it certainly is Tuesday.:D

 

Closer, but your math is still off. The $15 is for all food in a day - not just one course of one meal. So maybe $3 +$45. Then out of the $45 cover, not all of that is dedicated to the entree as well. Some goes to staff as gratuity, some goes towards paying the kitchen staff, some goes to other courses, some goes to the china, some goes to the cruise line as profit etc. etc. While it is true not everybody dines at Tuscan and not everybody at Tuscan opts for the dry aged prime steak, Celebrity is just not going to provide it for a loss to anyone. Same thing with Murano and the caviar service; has been in upcharge item there as long as I've been cruising. Just because not everybody dines at Murano and not everybody who dines there orders caviar, no way would they provide caviar for no additional cost. Celebrity is in the business of making money.

 

 

On a side note, glad you agree it is Tuesday. :D

[Luvcrusn]

Closer, but your math is still off. The $15 is for all food in a day - not just one course of one meal. So maybe $3 +$45. Then out of the $45 cover, not all of that is dedicated to the entree as well. Some goes to staff as gratuity, some goes towards paying the kitchen staff, some goes to other courses, some goes to the china, some goes to the cruise line as profit etc. etc. While it is true not everybody dines at Tuscan and not everybody at Tuscan opts for the dry aged prime steak, Celebrity is just not going to provide it for a loss to anyone. Same thing with Murano and the caviar service; has been in upcharge item there as long as I've been cruising. Just because not everybody dines at Murano and not everybody who dines there orders caviar, no way would they provide caviar for no additional cost. Celebrity is in the business of making money.

 

 

On a side note, glad you agree it is Tuesday. :D

I think that staff, china, gratuities can't be factored in twice. If there were no Tuscan, the same number of passengers would still be on board dining and would still require staff and China. I also would have to disagree with your $3 dinner figure. Although quantity buying allows for cheaper prices I think a dinner of shrimp coctail, escargot, soup, salad, lamb, vegetables, dessert, coffee with cream and sweetener dishes, staff and help and gratuities would have to cost more. Again it's still Tuesday....but if we continue the discussion maybe not[emoji12]

 

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[awhcruiser]

Or need something to do?

>Just curious why someone would want to dig up a 5 year old thread!

 

Some people have a strong sense of history?

 

Ira