Easter Brunch -- Pinnacle Grill?

[cruisemom42]

On my Westerdam voyage, I notice they are offering a special Easter Brunch in the Pinnacle Grill. I can reserve it online for $29.50, but there is no description or menu available.

 

Has anyone been to one of these special brunches before?  Worth it?  (It is on a sea day...)

 

 

[bennybear]

Yes we did have it in Japan pre Covid and were disappointed.  Nothing too memorable and no dessert at all!  Hoping that’s changed,  you could get mimosas.  

[cruisemom42]

Thanks for the response!  I'm on the fence. Sounded like something special to do on Easter but we'll see...

 

[BobbiSox]

I don't even go to Pinnacle for my complimentary dinners. The food isn't worth the wait. The service is terrible, and the wait staff is way too heavily perfumed. Of course, I am remembering the glory days, when dinner there was an a memorable occasion. Now it's just another venue that takes way too long to have an unremarkable meal. 

[cruisemom42]

I've never been a huge fan of the Pinnacle Grill either, even from years ago. However, as a counterpoint, I'm going to be on Westerdam for 28 days, and there are not really a lot of good alternatives for dining venues -- no Tamarind, no Dutch cafe, etc.  Just looking for something that will give me a little variety.

 

I actually don't mind a long-ish dining experience (I prefer to say leisurely!). After all, I'm on a HAL ship on a sea day, what am I going to be rushing off to do?  Sitting on my posterior somewhere else, reading a book or watching a movie in my room? 🤣 🤣

 

Now if the food's not great, that's a different thing...

 

Also -- as a side note, is it really a problem that the wait staff wear too much perfume?  That seems kind of disturbing, and counter to most restaurants that ask wait staff NOT to wear perfume, not only due to sensitivities that customers might have, but also in good restaurants it is a cardinal sin to interfere with the smell and taste of the food.   

 

Have other people encountered this issue?  Has the maitre d' been advised?

 

[wdw1972]

1 minute ago, cruisemom42 said:

Also -- as a side note, is it really a problem that the wait staff wear too much perfume?  That seems kind of disturbing, and counter to most restaurants that ask wait staff NOT to wear perfume, not only due to sensitivities that customers might have, but also in good restaurants it is a cardinal sin to interfere with the smell and taste of the food.   

 

Have other people encountered this issue?  Has the maitre d' been advised?

 

I generally eat at Pinnacle once or twice each cruise, various ships, and have never noticed perfume or cologne on any of the wait staff or anyone else working there.  It wouldn't be expected, so I'm assuming I would have noticed it if they were "scented" 😉

 

Sue/WDW1972

[bennybear]

13 hours ago, cruisemom42 said:

Thanks for the response!  I'm on the fence. Sounded like something special to do on Easter but we'll see...

 

We thought the same, and it was our anniversary to boot.  But we were underwhelmed,  who’s ever had an Easter brunch without dessert?  Maybe things have changed ?  

[robotpony]

4 hours ago, BobbiSox said:

I don't even go to Pinnacle for my complimentary dinners. The food isn't worth the wait. The service is terrible, and the wait staff is way too heavily perfumed. Of course, I am remembering the glory days, when dinner there was an a memorable occasion. Now it's just another venue that takes way too long to have an unremarkable meal. 

 

We have had a very different experience; fantastic service great-to-excellent food, and a menu that feels different than other venues on the ship. We had 5 dinners at the Pinnacle in 2022 on 3 different ships, all were fantastic.

 

In our experience, the Pinnacle rates somewhere between a chain steakhouse (like The Keg) and a boutique bistro (like Notch8 or The Botanist), which is to say it fares well against higher end hotel restaurants like those found in the Fairmonts in our region.  

[Florida_gal_50]

Just now, bennybear said:

We thought the same, and it was our anniversary to boot.  But we were underwhelmed,  who’s ever had an Easter brunch without dessert?  Maybe things have changed ?  

No kidding.  That's really odd. Especially since you'd think it was something special.

[Florida_gal_50]

1 minute ago, robotpony said:

 

We have had a very different experience; fantastic service great-to-excellent food, and a menu that feels different than other venues on the ship. We had 5 dinners at the Pinnacle in 2022 on 3 different ships, all were fantastic.

 

In our experience, the Pinnacle rates somewhere between a chain steakhouse (like The Keg) and a boutique bistro (like Notch8 or The Botanist), which is to say it fares well against higher end hotel restaurants like those found in the Fairmonts in our region.  

I quite like the  keg.  I think a few years ago it was better than the keg.  I'm not interested in going at night even with my freebies.  I did go there for lunch a couple times in November I thought the cod sandwich was quite good.  The salmon had a weird color to it and the steak tasted almost mushy.

[ChinaShrek]

6 hours ago, BobbiSox said:

I don't even go to Pinnacle for my complimentary dinners. The food isn't worth the wait. The service is terrible, and the wait staff is way too heavily perfumed. Of course, I am remembering the glory days, when dinner there was an a memorable occasion. Now it's just another venue that takes way too long to have an unremarkable meal. 

On the Koningsdam, we were in and out in of the Pinnacle Grill in one hour. Food was great. The MDR averaged two hours each night.