Tuscan Grill?

I've read about Tuscan Grill. Some love it, but there seems to be more negative than positive.

We leave in a couple weeks and will either try Tuscan Grill (as far as menu items this seems like the thing we're most interested in), Silk Harvest, or opt for a less formal lunch at Sushi on Five. Alternatively, we can just skip the specialty restaurants altogether and stick with Blu.

Any recent Equinox experiences to help us decide?

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We are big fans of Silk Harvest, unique to Equinox....some are not but we never pass it up

We also like the new Tuscan menu which we tried on Infinity..... they were very good with wine . Took advantage of an offer to return for lunch at a huge discount...

Sushi not for us other than what I order at Silk Harvest..dh does not partake.

I have to admit I love Silk Harvest and don't know why X never went forward with it. Actually, we like it more than Qsine. We LOVE sushi on 5 and it's the only place on the ship to get sake (if you like it, like we do). The food is fantastic and the service (we had) was exceptional. There are a lot of amazing dishes at So5 (cooked) that your H will love. The Hot Pot was repeated many times....

We loved our Tuscan Grill experience, but it was with the old menu, so not sure if it's still accurate.

We don't care for Silk Harvest. We were in Blu on the Equinox last month. We found both the food (new menu) to be excellent and the service was stellar. We didn't even consider going to any speciality restaurants on that cruise.

We were on the Infinity in the MDR for a month earlier this year and ate at Tuscan 3 times, once was a group of 14. So there were a variety of items ordered, The ones had the filet thought it was great, fish eaters said their fish was pretty good but the pasta dishes didn't get high marks.

Enjoy Blu and the great staff!

Silk harvest is Americanized Asian food....tasty but not close to authentic. Some like that, others not so much. The last time we ate there the sushi rolls had been made in advance and the nori wrapper which is supposed to be crisp was, instead, soggy. The sushi rice was also unflavored.

Tuscan is a nice meal....if you aren't annoyed by being offered additionally priced items when you've already paid lots of dollars. Of course you don't have to eat those items.

If you get a special deal offer like 30-50% off, try them. Neither is worth the "list " price celebrity asks, imho.

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I have to admit I love Silk Harvest and don't know why X never went forward with it. ..

You are not alone. And, S.H. is a crew favorite. You are very likely to see officers dining there when you do. ;)

Our last cruise we dined in the MDR one time for breakfast, and the rest of our meals were in Luminaire and all of the specialty restaurants. Never had a bad meal in any of them. Of course food is so subjective that it is what you as an individual enjoyed.:):)

Thank you ALL for the feedback! Still thinking about the best way to spend our OBC. Sounds like we have a lot of great choices. [emoji3]

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We love Tuscan Grill on the Equinox, ate there 6 times this past December. Our waiter, Goran, was super, new by the second night how we liked to dine.

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We used to be big fans of Tuscan Grill but we do not care for the new menu. We were disappointed. Then the staff was trying to push the upscale items for an additional fee. We missed the soups, seafood stew and chocolate fondue dessert. Pasta was mediocre.

You will enjoy Blu for quality of food and service.

We were recently on the Equinox in Spain in September and Mardi Gras this past February. Loved the Tuscan Grill, Silk Harvest was so-so, and Murano's was not worth the price. Judging from all the other reviews, it's all about your own taste. I don't think any of us are reliable, Ha, Ha.

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Thank you ALL for the feedback! Still thinking about the best way to spend our OBC. Sounds like we have a lot of great choices. [emoji3]

 

 

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We regularly eat in the Specialities and have cruised Equinox twice. Our favourite aspect of Tuscan Grill is the venue itself with the big wake views. If we can we book Tuscan for just after sail away or if we have a late sail away we will enjoy watching the ship leave port from those wonderful windows...We always enjoy our steaks which we see as decent but not top quality. We tried a few new pasta dishes last cruise and were not impressed, but I think we were comparing them to the mushroom ravioli which had been a favourite.

Silk Harvest we enjoy....as someone else has said, it is Westernised but still enjoyable. We tend to order lots of small plates to share rather than big plates.

You do not mention Murano's....for food quality and service this venue does remain our favourite.

Can't speak to specifically to the Equinox as we have not been on it yet. But have been to the other specialty restaurants on 3 other S class ships. Murano had been our favorite but on our last Silhouette cruise we were in Murano twice and Tuscan four times. Neither are as good as favorite restaurants at home but very good for ships. We only go when discounted as we think $45-$50 regular price limits their value. We thoroughly enjoyed Tuscan on this last cruise, more than previously experienced. Not quite sure, maybe due to staff, ambience, 30-50% off, Blu being overwhelmed. Such attentive service and as mentioned with the big windows watching the wake, more quite atmosphere, good food all added up to a very enjoyable experience.

We loved Silk Harvest as well. We liked Tuscan but thought Silk Harvest was better for the money. As mentioned, watch for deals, they are always trying to sell reservations at the specialty restaurants.

Remember just like every review on here the negative comments tend to be focused upon and cause undue concern. Most people with great experiences do not review or comment. TG is a very good experience overall (of course this is my opinion but you don't know me). You will have to try it and decide. How would you know if you have the same menu tastes, food tastes, service expectations as the negative reviewer?

We regularly eat in the Specialities and have cruised Equinox twice. Our favourite aspect of Tuscan Grill is the venue itself with the big wake views. If we can we book Tuscan for just after sail away or if we have a late sail away we will enjoy watching the ship leave port from those wonderful windows...

 

You do not mention Murano's....for food quality and service this venue does remain our favourite.

It's great to know that Tuscan Grill and has such great views. That might affect our decision. [emoji3]

I didn't mention Muranos because I've heard that the food is very heavy.

Thanks for your advice!

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It's great to know that Tuscan Grill and has such great views. That might affect our decision. [emoji3]

 

I didn't mention Muranos because I've heard that the food is very heavy.

 

Thanks for your advice!

 

 

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If I were to do one specialty restaurant on the equinox, it would be Murano. Check out the menu and see if it appeals to you or not....but it is, in our opinion, the best specialty restaurant on the ship.

I have to admit, my favorite dish is Steak Diane (which isn't on the menu...but if you ask a day in advance, they may agree to make it) and yes, it is heavy due to the sauce which is marvelous. The signature lobster murano is also cooked tableside and is (unfortunately) warm water lobster tails with a wonderful (and yes heavy) creme sauce. I am sure there are other lighter dishes available without the sauces. The atmosphere is quiet and elegant.

I always find it interesting to read opinions and comments about the specialty restaurants -- such a subjective comment.

But regarding Silk Harvest -- I read a post several years ago which compared Silk Harvest to the American chain restaurant P.F.Chang. That poster thought that if you love P.F.Chang you would love Silk Harvest and vice versa. I thought it was a very fair comparison.

We love Tuscan Grill, although we preferred the old menu. Love Silk Harvest as well - haven't sailed Equinox for awhile so am very happy to hear it is still there for our trip this fall!

Agree that paying full price for any of these restaurants is not worth it, and not necessary. You can virtually always negotiate a discount of at least 20%, even if it is not advertised as such, especially if you can be a little flexible on dates and times. We have even found discounts on specialty restaurants up to 50% off, but that is rare and usually found only on longer (14 night) cruises. But 20-30% is common.

Our favorite is Murano for both service and quality of the food. There are lighter dishes available. There are no views but a quiet, elegant atmosphere. I would suggest Tuscan Grill around sunset for the views. The food is ok and nothing to write home about. We would need to score a sizable discount to return.

We were on Equinox in early May and went to Tuscan Grille for dinner one evening. The food was quite good but the service was definitely lacking. Our main dining room wait staff was far superior to the Tuscan Grille staff. I did not think it was worth the extra money, even with a 20% discount.

Just off the Equinox. We ate at the Tuscan Grill one night and although the view is nice we found the food not much different from the quality in the main dining room. Service was good. We ate in Murano twice and loved it. Yes, some dishes are heavy, but the first night my husband had sole and I had sea bass, both light dishes. I would recommend checking out the menu and if you find something that appeals to you in Murano go for it.