Specialty restaurants

[dfish]

12 minutes ago, RuthC said:

You're not the only one. I will dine there if I am with friends who want to go, but it's never my first choice of specialty restaurant. Service there has always been lovely, but for some reason I always come out feeling less than satisfied with the meal.

Add me to the group.  I don't dislike it, but I am not as enamored of it as most others.  

[kazu]

Well, what can I say,? I am about to go on the ship with the best PG (so far IME)

 

and if it holds up as I’ve experienced, we’ll happily do 3 and the 2 Sel de Mers.

Last sailing on this ship so we will make the most of it.  

 

I will fully disclose that this PG is far different from some of the other ships I have been on.  Looking forward to it as well as the MDR 😉 

[notladjr]

On 3/24/2019 at 4:55 PM, terrydtx said:

IMHO the Tamarind is the best specialty restaurant of any cruise line and better Asian cuisine than most land restaurants. . Don't waste your money on the Canaletto, it is no better than Olive Garden. 

My wife would disagree with you big time about Canaletto. Olive Garden food tastes no better than a decent Italian frozen tv dinner and my wife had what she considers one of the best meals of her life at Calaletto's on Nieuw Amsterdam last November. Something that was called some kind of spaghetti but was unlike anything she had ever eaten. It involved a sauteed flat mushroom at the bottom, shredded vegatables of some kind on top and an amazing sauce (maybe clear?) My dish there was ok but I am  a Pinnicle Grill steak guy! LOL

Edited March 26, 2019 by notladjr

[notladjr]

On 3/24/2019 at 5:00 PM, HMSDingy said:

Definitely going to book Tamarind.  Although I must admit, the sample menu on the HAL website for the Canaletto looks appetizing. Wife and I are both Italian and we know our cuisine.  If you say it's no better than Olive Garden, then Tamarind it is.  Thanks for the feedback.

My feedback is different than theirs. While I agree about Olive Garden food being substandard (tv dinner quality) Canaletto's on Nieuw Amsterdam in November was unique and very, very good.

[Snowesha]

54 minutes ago, kazu said:

Well, what can I say,? I am about to go on the ship with the best PG (so far IME)

So what ship are you referring to? I had my heart set on Tamarind but my wife is vegetarian and they don't seem to have any appetizers for her to eat besides a salad. It seems like most of the sushi seems like it has meat and fish too. Any advice? I wanted to go there for my birthday dinner. Would PG be a better option for us?

 

[avian777]

48 minutes ago, Snowesha said:

... but my wife is vegetarian and they don't seem to have any appetizers for her to eat besides a salad. It seems like most of the sushi seems like it has meat and fish too. Any advice?

 

 

IIRC the Tamarind California rolls are 100% vegetarian ... you might want to check this out with HAL Ship Services before giving up on your desire to try Tamarind ...

[avian777]

1 hour ago, notladjr said:

... Canaletto's on Nieuw Amsterdam in November was unique and very, very good.

 

👍👍👍  Agree 100%.

[Snowesha]

29 minutes ago, avian777 said:

 

IIRC the Tamarind California rolls are 100% vegetarian ... you might want to check this out with HAL Ship Services before giving up on your desire to try Tamarind ...

The California rolls on the sample menu say they have crab in them. She is Lacto Ovo and doesn't eat fish or crab...

 

[kazu]

7 hours ago, Snowesha said:

So what ship are you referring to?

 

Prinsendam 😉 

7 hours ago, Snowesha said:

 

 

I had my heart set on Tamarind but my wife is vegetarian and they don't seem to have any appetizers for her to eat besides a salad. It seems like most of the sushi seems like it has meat and fish too. Any advice? I wanted to go there for my birthday dinner. Would PG be a better option for us?

 

 

The PG might be worth a look at menu wise to see if their offerings are better for your DW.  To me, it would be, but do take a look first.

[ottahand7]

On 3/25/2019 at 7:10 PM, 57redbird said:

I'm the only dissenter, I think, but neither my hubby or I liked the Tamarind -- there were a few things that were ok but we won't be going back if we're ever on another ship that has it.

 Agreed.   My friend and I dined there early on our Kdam cruise and loved it so much we went back.  Tempura soft shell crab and ginger lobster is what we ordered the time and we re-ordered on our return visit about 7 days later.  The seafood was just plain dreadful.   The soft crab only the legs were edible as the middle was so fishy.  My friend's ginger lobster second time was completely different and inedible.  Go early in the cruise and you probably can get fresher seafood.  Ditto for Rudi's.  Or just stick with the steak...... 

[RocketMan275]

On 3/25/2019 at 4:53 PM, HMSDingy said:

I've booked the Tamarind for the second sea night. My sister has sailed with HAL and she tells me to do a gala night in the MDR because of the special menus.  Is it really owrth it?  I can always go the the Tamarind on another night.

We tried Tamarind on our last cruise and were not impressed.  Would have extreme difficulties getting wife to go back.

We do like Canaletto.  

Do not understand why so many claim the Gala MDR menus are 'special'.  On our last two cruises, we found those 'special' items were also on the buffet.  

I believe someone has already posted a link to Roger Jett's website.  It has all the menus including those for the Lido.  Compare the MDR and the Lido menus for Gala night.

[Perkins52]

On 3/24/2019 at 2:40 PM, HMSDingy said:

Correction, I booked the Pinnacle for the first sea day but I wanted to book Canaletto for the second.  Tamarind is available for the second sea day but we would have preferred Canaletto.  Is the Tamarind that good?

Tamarind is our favorite place.  We always go there and in my opinion it better than PG.

[WA Bubbles]

In response to Snowesha, who's wife is a vegetarian.  The sushi rolls are all made fresh, they can probably take out the seafood and add more vegetable.  When we went, I believe there was a noodle dish that had no meat.  I am sure you can have them make something special for her.  

 

We have gone several times to the Tamarind and each time we have come back stuffed.  They serve more than someone might expect.  I do have to say that I would pass on the lobster ginger dish, it is not one of their best dishes.  Too much ginger sauce and covers the taste of the lobster.  But just about everything else was great, even the desserts.

 

If you enjoy Asian food, you would definitely enjoy this over the Canaletto, I wouldn't even call it authentic Italian food.

[simplyrubies]

6 hours ago, WA Bubbles said:

If you enjoy Asian food, you would definitely enjoy this over the Canaletto, I wouldn't even call it authentic Italian food.

 

How authentic would you say the food at Tamarind is? Being a pan-Asian restaurant,  my hopes are not too high but I have seen that their chefs tend to be from the region. I love eating at my local, authentic Chinese, Vietnamese, Japanese, and other Asian restaurants and I worry that I will be sorely disappointed by Tamarind, especially as I am Chinese myself and grew up surrounded by Asian cuisine. 

[Perkins52]

Best described as an Asian themed restaurant---but we love the place.  I had the wasabi coated steak on our last cruise and have to rate it as one of the best steaks I have ever had.  We are sailing on Eurodamn in October and making a reservation at Tamarind will be one my first things to do when we get on board.