Coastal Kitchen - explain what is so great

[Cruise Gopher]

I am sailing in a JS in February and will have access to Coastal Kitchen for dinner. I often see a lot of people posting how amazing CK food is, however when I look at the menu (below) it just seems so basic and not much to get excited about. Rigatoni? Cauliflower steak? 🥱

 

Does the menu vary at all or is this it?

 

 

 

 

[truffles2]

Yes, the menu varies.   One of the best things to me is that your food is hot when you get it and service is excellent.

[OCSC Mike]

It's a different menu every night. Check the app.

 

In general, it's much better food than the MDR and night one filet is excellent.

 

Not sure why you picked out rigatoni and the vegetarian option from a menu that includes, filet mignon, duck, etc.

 

Also, the service is usually amazing as is the atmosphere.

Edited October 8, 2023 by OCSC Mike

[molly361]

First night filet is great.  I don't recall any other memorable dishes.  Quieter than the MDR

[reallyitsmema]

9 minutes ago, Cruise Gopher said:

I am sailing in a JS in February and will have access to Coastal Kitchen for dinner. I often see a lot of people posting how amazing CK food is, however when I look at the menu (below) it just seems so basic and not much to get excited about. Rigatoni? Cauliflower steak? 🥱

 

Does the menu vary at all or is this it?

 

 

 

 

 

The filet mignon on that menu is very good.  The cauliflower steak is also something my DH gets every time but not as a meal, he gets that instead of the asparagus that comes with the filet.  The bread basket and spreads in CK are delicious.  The atmosphere and service are a lot better than the MDR.  Try it, you might like it.

[Jetdriver787]

The quality, portion size and presentation are so much better. I would say that even ignoring that, is the fact that it feels like a proper restaurant. You won’t be seated cheek to Jowl with your neighbour! 

Edited October 8, 2023 by Jetdriver787

[twangster]

Some days CK food approaches specialty dining and some days CK is not much different compared to the MDR.   However service and ambience far exceeds MDR everyday. 

[Cruise Gopher]

Thanks all! We will try for the first night so we can try the filet mignon. 

[reallyitsmema]

1 minute ago, Cruise Gopher said:

Thanks all! We will try for the first night so we can try the filet mignon. 

 

Make sure you go to CK once you board and try to get a reservation.  The first night is one of the busiest night and is not always available to those in JS.  You will have a lot better chance of getting a reservation if you are sailing a Quantum class ship.

[Cruise Gopher]

Just now, reallyitsmema said:

 

Make sure you go to CK once you board and try to get a reservation.  The first night is one of the busiest night and is not always available to those in JS.  You will have a lot better chance of getting a reservation if you are sailing a Quantum class ship.

Thanks! We are on Odyssey. 

[George C]

I like CK for breakfast and lunch after eating a couple of dinners there we switched to specialty restaurants, now we always buy UDP .

[loman]

We preferred it over the main dining room. Had all of our meals there.

And it was a very handy location just down the hall from our cabin.

As others have mentioned , service was great .

One thing my wife mentioned though , was no table cloth like the main dining room ( Allure )

[jalves]

To me the big difference is that in CK they are cooking for a couple of hundred people.  In the MDR they are cooking for thousands.  You get food that is better prepared in CK.  

[smokeybandit]

I've only had one cruise on a ship with a CK and we weren't impressed. They did a terrible job with food allergies, too. I'm sure that was a one off, but we've never tried to book an Oasis ship since.

[OCSC Mike]

14 minutes ago, smokeybandit said:

I've only had one cruise on a ship with a CK and we weren't impressed. They did a terrible job with food allergies, too. I'm sure that was a one off, but we've never tried to book an Oasis ship since.

 

Food is obviously subjective so even though I liked CK the whopping 2 times I've had access (loved it on Wonder in June) I won't tell you the food part is a one off though I'd think it was.

 

The food allergy part is shocking as I've only had CK access with my young niece onboard who has severe nut/sesame allergies and they could not have taken better care of her. They even made her off-menu dishes to try on Wonder... so it went beyond "we'll cook your hot dog on a clean grill to avoid cross-contamination" (though they did that too of course). The CK manager also found some sort of nut-free individually wrapped cookies and, after she tried one and liked it, came back with about a dozen more for her take with her to have as a snack whenever.

 

They took good care of her on Harmony in 2022 as well but the Wonder CK staff was about the best service I've ever seen in any area of any cruise I've ever taken. Just one of those experiences that will always stand out.

 

EDIT: Forgot my niece was also in CK on Allure last year (I wasn't there) and again had a good experience.

Edited October 8, 2023 by OCSC Mike

[smokeybandit]

Like I said, I'm sure it was a one off, but they forgot to prep what my wife ordered the night before on three nights, and one night even said "sorry, there's nothing we can make gluten free for you tonight" on one night, which of course was BS.

[OCSC Mike]

1 minute ago, smokeybandit said:

Like I said, I'm sure it was a one off, but they forgot to prep what my wife ordered the night before on three nights, and one night even said "sorry, there's nothing we can make gluten free for you tonight" on one night, which of course was BS.

 

That's awful. Sorry you ran into such a subpar staff. I know you don't seem to be too interested in Oasis class, but if you do wind up with CK access again, give it another shot (I'm sure you would).

[RoperDK]

We love CK! We have always had dinner access in a JS. Of course we would prefer to be in a GS or above, but a JS isn't a bad compromise at all if that option isn't available to you.  When you get onboard head directly to the CK/Suite Lounge and work on getting your reservations.  We are flexible about dining times so we haven't had to skip a meal if we wanted reservations there.  The "always available" is still on the menu. A big plus for us.  We love the filet on the first night, but each night has a good choice.  The last night's veal chop is amazing! Service is better and the venue has a cozy feel.  Much better than the MDR.  Enjoy the benefit!  

[bigque]

It has overrated IMO!

 

[ReneeFLL]

It’s not the rat race like the MDR is.

[Aquahound]

I'm a fan of CK. The service and meals remind me of how the mdr used to be.  I don't think it's anything spectacular but I do think it's a lot better than today's mdr.  

[bonsai3s]

Love CK.

IMHO, they assign the best waiters there...we've always had great service.

 

[island lady]

It's the quieter atmosphere we enjoy in CK versus the MDR.   Sometimes it's so loud in the MDR that we can't hear ourselves talking to each other.  

[Billy Baltic]

20 hours ago, reallyitsmema said:

You will have a lot better chance of getting a reservation if you are sailing a Quantum class ship.

Out of curiosity, why is that?

[Ret MP]

5 hours ago, island lady said:

It's the quieter atmosphere we enjoy in CK versus the MDR.   Sometimes it's so loud in the MDR that we can't hear ourselves talking to each other.  

Exactly!

 

For the OP:  If you only LOOK at the menu, you may be underwhelmed.  But, there is a lot more to it than just the paper or digital menu.  ATMOSPHERE is the main reason for us.  Not that we spend every meal there, not even close.  But, we do enjoy it a lot, now.  That wasn't the case many years ago.  It has improved as the years went along.  I like the service, we usually have a team of about 3 or 4 servers hovering around us just waiting to make our experience a fantastic one (Tiping generously may have a lot to do with that).  Is it ALWAYS perfect?  NO!  But, it sure beats the MDR, I'm not a big fan of the MDR, obviously.  

 

As stated in another post(s), food is subjective and I'll add the perception of good or bad service is subjective, too.