Riviera Live! March 8 from a food lover and O newbie

[jonthomas]

Thank you for all this.

 

Cant wait to see what you are having for lunch.

[Jancruz]

While you are doing your comparing..you are supposed to be comparing to Regent not a French Restaurant, remember this is a cruise ship..dont expect your perfection..

The amuse-bouche emerged as an identifiable course during the nouvelle cuisine movement, which emphasized smaller, more intensely flavoured courses.^[8] It differs from other hors d'œuvres in that it is small, usually just one or two bites, and preselected by the chef and offered free of charge to all present at the table.

 

Jancruz1

Edited March 9, 2022 by Jancruz

[kjbacon]

The art tour is no more. They tell me that there is a book in the boutique so we may check that out.

 

Our lunch in the main dining room was terrific! Jack had a chicken and duck liver patty on fresh greens and I had the Mexican ceviche. The knife work on the ceviche was perfect.

 

 

Main courses were a chicken fricasee and a plant based Cancun power bowl with perfectly cooked quinoa. The dressing was made from cashews and it was delicious. 

 

 

Easily, one of the best lunches we have ever had on a ship.

[cruisingxpert]

5 minutes ago, Jancruz said:

While you are doing your comparing..you are supposed to be comparing to Regent not a French Restaurant, remember this is a cruise ship..dont expect your perfection..

The amuse-bouche emerged as an identifiable course during the nouvelle cuisine movement, which emphasized smaller, more intensely flavoured courses.^[8] It differs from other hors d'œuvres in that it is small, usually just one or two bites, and preselected by the chef and offered free of charge to all present at the table.

 

Jancruz1

In fairness to the poster, I think he/she knows the difference between hor d'oevres and amuse bouche.  Oceania calls those bites an amuse bouche but it is more like  hor d'oevres  and not an amuse bouche.  She/He also compared the tarte tatin to the one in the French restaurant on Regent and not to a French Restaurant on land.

[kjbacon]

10 minutes ago, Jancruz said:

While you are doing your comparing..you are supposed to be comparing to Regent not a French Restaurant, remember this is a cruise ship..dont expect your perfection..

The amuse-bouche emerged as an identifiable course during the nouvelle cuisine movement, which emphasized smaller, more intensely flavoured courses.^[8] It differs from other hors d'œuvres in that it is small, usually just one or two bites, and preselected by the chef and offered free of charge to all present at the table.

 

Jancruz1

I’m sorry that you were put off by my critique of Jacques. No offense was intended.

[cruisingxpert]

3 minutes ago, kjbacon said:

Easily, one of the best lunches we have ever had on a ship.

I am loving your food reviews along with pictures.  I almost never go to the Main dining room for any meal but you have me rethinking my decisions.

 

By the way, I am dreading your review on Polo, my least favorite specialty restaurant.

 

I hope you do try Privee one night and do one of their degustation menus.

[kjbacon]

2 minutes ago, cruisingxpert said:

In fairness to the poster, I think he/she knows the difference between hor d'oevres and amuse bouche.  Oceania calls those bites an amuse bouche but it is more like  hor d'oevres  and not an amuse bouche.  She/He also compared the tarte tatin to the one in the French restaurant on Regent and not to a French Restaurant on land.

Thank you. And I am a she 😊 My posts are not intended to upset anyone. My overall review was very good but the start and the finish were a miss for me. I almost held back but then I thought, why bother to review anything then?

[cruisingxpert]

1 minute ago, kjbacon said:

Thank you. And I am a she 😊 My posts are not intended to upset anyone. My overall review was very good but the start and the finish were a miss for me. I almost held back but then I thought, why bother to review anything then?

Please tell us everything you feel about the meals.  I have never been on Regent and I would love to hear what you feel are the differences.

 

Short story about how I started sailing Oceania almost 10 years ago.  I read a review from a poster "Reposado"  who reviewed all the food he had on Riviera and even gave each dish a score.  I was drooling and booked my first O cruise.  After the cruise ended, I felt that I had hyped myself up too much and was a bit disappointed in the food.  However, within 3 months, I was craving some of the dishes I had had and that was the beginning of my continuing love affair with O.

[Aloha 1]

21 minutes ago, kjbacon said:

Thank you. And I am a she 😊 My posts are not intended to upset anyone. My overall review was very good but the start and the finish were a miss for me. I almost held back but then I thought, why bother to review anything then?

Keep it up. Many of us appreciate your reviews. My own opinion of the tarte tatin on Regent was an A+ for presentation but only a B- for taste. The pastry was extremely dry and hard. By contrast I have rated the Jacques version a B on presentation and an A on taste.

We usually make Jacques our embarkation day dinner as we like the ambience. I look at it more as an upscale bistro rather than a 4 star Michelin restaurant. 

[CruiseLibra]

Please continue with your studied reviews. We are HUGE O fans, but are booked on Regent in 2023 for a Japan cruise. Since food is very important to us I find your pictures and feedback very valuable. 

 

[Jancruz]

I did not mean to be rude, I just need to feel you are comparing apples to apples..I am not a Gourmet and certainly my palate and knowledge of food does not compare to yours ..I am enjoying your comparison it was just the Jacques that I questioned..

Please keep the reviews coming..

Jancruz1

[KellyCz]

3 hours ago, kjbacon said:

I almost held back but then I thought, why bother to review anything then?

Exactly! Please continue with your thorough and honest reviews.

[babysteps]

21 hours ago, CintiPam said:

In the olden days (pre-April 2020), you could take a DIY audio art tour using a numbered map you could obtain from Reception on Deck 5 and your smartphone. Riviera in particular has a lot of art by Cuban artists, including Wilfredo Lam in the Grand Bar as well as some Picasso and Miro in and around the adjacent Casino Bar on Deck 6. I assume the entire tour, including map, now is available to download onto your smartphone.

November 2021 on Marina the art tour was available from reception - laminated list and those museum tour thingies that play a given recording when you type in a give number (thoroughly sanitized between uses).

[quick kick]

3 hours ago, KellyCz said:

Exactly! Please continue with your thorough and honest reviews.

It is so great of you to give us great insight of your cruise and vacation.  Thanks for taking time out for us. Keep it up and have a lobster 

[samiam0403]

8 hours ago, kjbacon said:

The art tour is no more. They tell me that there is a book in the boutique so we may check that out.

 

 

That's so strange! We were just on Riviera a week and a half ago, and saw quite a few people with the museum tour equipment checking out the indicated artwork. We meant to do it, but somehow never found time amidst all of our relaxing. 

 

And thank you for posting! I'm loving following along and reminiscing. 

[cruisead]

There’s absolutely nothing wrong with reviews, but one must temper one’s comments with respect to comparing things like how apples are arranged or the crispness of a Parmesan decoration.  We’ve been on Regent Explorer and LOVED it, especially the fantastic Master Suite, which we liked a bit more than the Owners Suite on Oceania, but one thing we learned is that food is so personal and subjective, and even one night from another, the quality of food varies.  We found that one one night, the food in Jacques was fantastic, but a few nights later, it wasn’t all that.  It was the same for Polo.  
 

Keep posting your great photos and your comments. Everyone will live vicariously.  

[dj_crusin]

Keep posting those amazing food photos.

Dan and Judy

[kjbacon]

It is easy to understand why this ship has such a loyal following. We are told that the ship is full but we have not felt crowded once. The ship is beautiful and the staff is second to none. 
 

We had another wonderful evening. We enjoyed cocktail hour with new friends and had dinner at Polo Grill. The restaurant is gorgeous in the classic steak house style. Service was excellent.

 

I’ve mentioned the bread a couple times but I have to say again that this bread is absolutely perfect and they are going to have to roll me off this ship after another week.

 

We split Oysters Rockefeller and the Maryland Crab Cake for our appetizers. Both were delicious and for the other nit pickers out there, the crab cake was traditional but the oysters weren’t. Still, you could call those oysters anything and they would still be delicious. I would have liked to see a classic steakhouse salad of crisp iceberg with blue cheese dressing on the menu.

 

 

We both had the Clam Chowder for our soup course. For those of you that prefer I don’t find fault with the food, please jump ahead to the main courses 🤣 I have to say that it was the worst clam chowder I ever had. Even with all the fresh pepper added, it was still as tasteless as it was thin.

 

Our main course was mixed. The queens cut Prime Rib was superb and the grilled Ribeye steak was good. Bernaise sauce and fresh horseradish were just ok. We split a side of Potatoes au Gratin and let’s just say that spud was the same recipe as the clam chowder!

 

We had another glass of wine for dessert and called it a night. It was a great day!

 

Today is another sea day and La Reserve for dinner.

Edited March 10, 2022 by kjbacon

[kjbacon]

We just had our first experience in the O buffet and before tasting a bite, an easy best buffet goes to O. The stations are well laid out and presentation is spectacular. Cmon, will you just look at this smoked salmon display!

On top of that, they serve you!! I’m certified in food safety and know more about buffets than I wish I did so I was thrilled to learn that. The breakfast specials today were my favorite, eggs shakshuka and Jack’s favorite, eggs Benedict. Both dishes were very well done.

 

 

It is safe to say that I’m going to be the size of a house before this is over.

 

It is still very windy and I’m beginning to question whether we will be able to tender in St Barts tomorrow. 

[quick kick]

Great post. Thanks!

[kjbacon]

14 hours ago, Jancruz said:

I did not mean to be rude, I just need to feel you are comparing apples to apples..I am not a Gourmet and certainly my palate and knowledge of food does not compare to yours ..I am enjoying your comparison it was just the Jacques that I questioned..

Please keep the reviews coming..

Jancruz1

Thank you, no harm done! 

[kjbacon]

17 hours ago, Aloha 1 said:

Keep it up. Many of us appreciate your reviews. My own opinion of the tarte tatin on Regent was an A+ for presentation but only a B- for taste. The pastry was extremely dry and hard. By contrast I have rated the Jacques version a B on presentation and an A on taste.

We usually make Jacques our embarkation day dinner as we like the ambience. I look at it more as an upscale bistro rather than a 4 star Michelin restaurant. 

I agree with you about the tarte tatin on Regent, presentation better than taste and the taste of Jacques’ was a little better than Chartreuse’s (Regent’s French restaurant). Neither one nailed the dish. I’m holding out which French restaurant I prefer till our second night at Jacques. So far, it’s pretty darn close 😊

[kjbacon]

8 hours ago, cruisead said:

There’s absolutely nothing wrong with reviews, but one must temper one’s comments with respect to comparing things like how apples are arranged or the crispness of a Parmesan decoration.  We’ve been on Regent Explorer and LOVED it, especially the fantastic Master Suite, which we liked a bit more than the Owners Suite on Oceania, but one thing we learned is that food is so personal and subjective, and even one night from another, the quality of food varies.  We found that one one night, the food in Jacques was fantastic, but a few nights later, it wasn’t all that.  It was the same for Polo.  
 

Keep posting your great photos and your comments. Everyone will live vicariously.  

Thank you for your helpful feedback. I can imagine that I might sound like a b*tch (and my husband might be right there with you 🤣) but those two criticisms really are relevant for those dishes. An example might be that if you ordered a piece of layer cake and there was a single layer of unfrosted cake, it would not be the right dish. And the parm crisp would be comparable to the potato chips served with your sandwich.

[cswhistler]

Next time in Polo try the lobster bisque it is fabulous and if you wish they add a few drops of cognac.

Another favourite is the veal topped with lobster, smaller portion which suits me. 

[jonthomas]

oh thank  you so much for your effort with this...

 

we eat more simply....just give me bread, meat and potatoes...lol...

 

but I have said many times now, that we have given up all other cruise lines, for the food on O.