Everyone loves the Indian food. Why not have an Indian food speciality restaurant?

[Ryder101]

Not everyone.

[livingonthebeach]

Although it is not my favorite cuisine, the taste of Indian food is actually not all that bad in my book.  However, the only times I've gotten really sick (food poisoning I suppose) was twice in my life and both times were after eating  at an Indian restaurant (different ones, different cities). I got what they call the Delhi belly and boy did I suffer! I don't think I would pay $40-$50 for a repeat toilet hugging experience. Maybe my digestive system just can't handle it.....YMMV

[soremekun]

Cordelia Cruises has a large daily selection of Indian curry dishes.

[SNemeth]

Indian food is very polarizing.  I think you either love it or hate it.  Out of our family group of 6 there are 2 that love Indian, 1 that will eat it but doesn't love it and 3 that will not touch it.  An Indian restaurant would be a pass for us.  

[Sunshine3601]

10 hours ago, Jimbo said:

My Wife likes it but not my cup of tea, best to leave it just like it is as an option in the WJ.

 

Wouldn't be an A+ if I was to review it.

 

Same in our house.   I like a couple Indian dishes, but Eric is not a fan and he has to avoid spicy food.

[TwoMisfits]

The other huge problem with Indian is that if it's authentic, it's terrible for allergies and dairy/nut intolerances (even before you talk some of the spiciness issues and actual spice intolerances, which some folks also can't handle).  Lots of dairy and tree nuts underpin almost all of the famous Indian cuisine dishes.

 

If you remove all the dairy (including the ghee), you are getting less authenticity, which would then make it taste less good for the masses.

 

Edited March 2, 2023 by TwoMisfits

[robmtx]

Hard Pass for our family. Where did you come to the conclusion that "Everyone" loves Indian food?

 

the other problem, and as this thread suggests, is that you may have one spouse who likes it, the other doesn't...creating a decision point that most likely favors skipping the food altogether. 

 

Idea - you should ask this in the "Ask the CEO" thread!

[Longford]

1 minute ago, robmtx said:

the other problem, and as this thread suggests, is that you may have one spouse who likes it, the other doesn't...creating a decision point that most likely favors skipping the food altogether. 

 

That's how I feel about going to a Sushi restaurant.  I don't like sushi and my dislike makes it a difficult dining decision for my companion(s) who, they and I, try to please us all.  But if we can have a sushi restaurant onboard, or an Italian-centric restaurant onboard or a steakhouse onboard (to the chagrin of vegans and vegiterians) ... we could have an Indian-themed restaurant onboard.  If such a restaurant failed to garner support it would be removed.

[Sigyn]

A lot of people love it, including myself and my husband. But I know many people who don't like the flavor of curries and such. I think those that do are simply quite vocal. I, personally, would love a dedicated Indian restaurant. But I'm not sure if the demand is there. You know that Royal Caribbean does a lot of marketing tests on such things. 

[time4u2go]

12 hours ago, Denversail said:

Indian food is constantly given an A+ in reviews.

What do you mean by this?  Indian food from where?

[DrProfessor]

I like the flavor of curries, but since I am deathly allergic to cashews and pistachios, I avoid them because many have cashews as an ingredient.  I like spicy food, but I would be one of those ones who never goes there.

 

I know this is a question about an Indian food restaurant, but there are tons of other types of restaurants that could be just as popular (or not).  When I lived in Fresno, CA, we would sometimes run downtown for lunch to an authentic Mediterranean (Greek?) restaurant.  The food was so good.  It was always 100% packed out.  In fact, they were only open for lunch on business days (M-F from 11am-2pm).

[kernow]

In the UK Indian food is very popular, there are lots of upscale Indian restaurants. P and O ships which have predominantly British passengers have Sindhu Indian speciality restaurants onboard, not your typical 'curry house' much more upscale. I'm sure something like that would be very popular especially with cruisers from outside the US. 

 

I'm not sure if I'm remembering this correctly but I think there was a time a few years ago where one of the speciality restaurants got changed to Indian when the ship was sailing from Southampton, can anyone else remember this?

[Denversail]

8 minutes ago, time4u2go said:

What do you mean by this?  Indian food from where?

They have some Indian selections in the WJ and on the new menu in MDR. I’ve seen it mentioned in a lot of recent reviews and the comments have been positive. 

[John&LaLa]

2 hours ago, livingonthebeach said:

Although it is not my favorite cuisine, the taste of Indian food is actually not all that bad in my book.  However, the only times I've gotten really sick (food poisoning I suppose) was twice in my life and both times were after eating  at an Indian restaurant (different ones, different cities). I got what they call the Delhi belly and boy did I suffer! I don't think I would pay $40-$50 for a repeat toilet hugging experience. Maybe my digestive system just can't handle it.....YMMV

 

Bridesmaids 😉

 

Wish I could post the clip🤣

[smokeybandit]

There's enough demand to put one Indian dish on the menu each night, but definitely not enough demand to dedicate a specialty restaurant to the cuisine.

[HappyTexan44]

I love Indian food, but the Indian dishes on the new menus aren't ones that I'd order.   They are the ones cheapest to make.   Which makes sense because it is crew food.  

A guy at work used to manage an apartment complex.  He said that the smell was harder to remove than cigarette smoke.  

 

[HappyTexan44]

4 minutes ago, smokeybandit said:

There's enough demand to put one Indian dish on the menu each night, but definitely not enough demand to dedicate a specialty restaurant to the cuisine.

 

They always had Indian food, it was for the crew.   They added it to the menu to plump out the offerings.  So, having it on the menu doesn't mean that there is the demand for it.   Maybe it is awesome a ton of people are ordering it.  But, just having it on the menu doesn't mean anything.  

[Jimbo]

11 minutes ago, John&LaLa said:

 

Bridesmaids 😉

 

Wish I could post the clip🤣

Go for it ! Chicken !

[CFLRetired]

Although I eat Indian food about once a year or so I don't think I'd eat it on a cruise ship.

[smokeybandit]

8 minutes ago, HappyTexan44 said:

 

They always had Indian food, it was for the crew.   They added it to the menu to plump out the offerings.  So, having it on the menu doesn't mean that there is the demand for it.   Maybe it is awesome a ton of people are ordering it.  But, just having it on the menu doesn't mean anything.  

Actually the corporate guy in charge of food services said Indian food was the #1 off menu item ordered with the old menus, so there was enough demand to put it one dish on the menu.

[Joseph2017China]

Fried chicken fingers in the USA you eat it with BBQ sauce.  Fried chicken fingers in a Chinese restaurant in the USA is General Tso's chicken with a Chinese spice sauce on it. 

 

What people think of Indian food is not always full Indian food.  Just like General Tso Chicken is not Chinese food, and is not found in China.  

 

If a true specialty restaurant is made for a specific group, it must be done right with the right variety to give the experience.  Plus, anyone that does not like a type of food, most likely did not really eat it correctly, and had one dislike.  

[Greener123]

Would love an Indian specialty, something a bit different from the standard Italian-French-Steakhouse on every other ship. 
 

not sure if they all do but P&O ships have Sindhu as an Indian speciality, not a fan of P&O more generally so not tried it yet. 

[Bead Pirate]

From the OP's mouth to Gods ears... My wife would agree 100% (me not so much 🙂 )

[island lady]

You all do realize there is an Indian dish offered every night in the MDR right?  It varies each night.

 

Plus of course the Vegan offering.   

 

So, at least they are trying to offer choices for various tastes.  

 

I love Chicken Korma night.  🙂 

[Tulsacoker]

12 hours ago, John&LaLa said:

 

Everyone 🤔

 

I don't think so

Maybe they meant Indian Tacos