Specialty restaurants

[macruisefan]

Also, the views from the Specialty Restaurants are usually amazing, and worth some of the charge.

 

Unfortunately, this is one of the drawbacks of the Oasis class ships. Chops, Giovanni's, 150.... Really not much in the way of views as they open onto Central Park with no water views...

[nb125]

You got the exchange backward. That's about 20 GBP.

 

I said for two so I still make aroud £40 to £45 depending on the exchange rate at the time. I am not saying it is a lot for a nice meal just that I would not call it a small surcharge or supplement or whichever way they put it.

[scbntraveler]

A few questions for those who have dined in these restaurants:

Is there a cover charge?

Are the meals a la carte? Or one price regardless of the menu item picked?

Has anyone had a large party dine in a specialty restaurant? If so, what was the experience like for you?

[big al]

I thought of asking this as a poll, but wasn't sure how to do it. :confused:

 

So the question is :

Do you dine in the specialty restaurants? Frequently, occasionally or never? And why/ why not? Service, food, atmosphere, special occasion, or other reason?

 

Thanks for your input!

 

 

This is a difficult topic...frequently debated on ALL boards...we always dine 1-2 nights in a specialty venue for the following reasons:

 

1) Atmosphere..we like the quiet, romantic ambiance over the LOUD, crowded, bright, and busy MDR...

2) View...a table for 2 by the window is tough to beat..on Oasis class, the dining venues do not have an ocean view, but on all others, Chops & Portifinos have fantastic views...

3) Food & menu..food is subjective, but IMO food here is alot better than MDR...crab cakes in Chops ALONE are worth the $30 PP tag..you will NEVER get crab cakes in the MDR...also, steaks much better, and side dishes are outstanding ( like the Lyonnaise potatoes, onion rings, veggies I find are 10 times better than MDR..)..I have NEVER left the dining room ( except on Disney) and thought the meal was outstanding..never..it's always "OK", or "not bad"..conversely, we have eaten 18 times in Chops, 6 times in Portifinos, and all were 10 times better than the MDR...150 Central Park on Oasis we thought was really exceptional...

4) Music ...no waiters singing, no dancing...quiet music where you don't have to shout over others..Sinatra, Ronstadt, Streisand, Rod Stewart...pretty good to me...

5) Special occasion place...if you are celebrating a special occasion, this is the perfect place...dining with 1500-2000 other people is not my idea of a special dining experience..as another poster said- "pork, chicken, pasta is not my idea of dining"..agreed 100%..

6) Service...we have mostly had good service in the MDR, but service in the specialty venues has always been slightly more attentive, mostly because they don't have so many other tables to wait on...

7) I have a saying - "if you want to eat, go to the buffet..if you want to eat better, go to the MDR..if you want to dine & enjoy your food, go to a specialty venue". Go have the crab cakes, salad, lyonnaise potatoes, NY Strip, dessert, and see if you can get that at Ruth Chris or Capital Grille for $30 PP WITH a view of the sea...more like $ 85 PP with no view...

 

Big Al

[big al]

A few questions for those who have dined in these restaurants:

Is there a cover charge?

Are the meals a la carte? Or one price regardless of the menu item picked?

Has anyone had a large party dine in a specialty restaurant? If so, what was the experience like for you?

 

Sure there is a cover charge..that's why it's called "Specialty Dining"..all the food is included for one price..$30 pp in Chops, $20 PP in Portifinos..AND you can order as much as you want & share....I have dined with 6 people total and as usual, service was terrific....read my post a few posts back and I give 7 reasons why we like the fee paid venues...

 

Big Al