1st Timer - HAL Speciality Dining, Do's/Don'ts

Hello All,

I've been reading thru the various posts for HAL newbies (some outdated) and more recent posts regarding the specialty restaurants onboard the Eurodam (Pinnacle, Tamarind, and Canaletto). Reading descriptions on the HAL website there are guidelines regarding the number of selections ordered. I am curious how strict service staff adhere's to this? For instance in Canaletto, can you order an additional pasta dish or additional small plates? Likewise with Tamarind, can you order multiple appetizers or forgo the sushi/sashimi for 2 entrees? Is it possible to have multiple Firsts in the Pinnacle?

Thank you in advance!

Tamarind and Pinnacle -- you can order as many appetizers, soups, salads, side dishes and desserts as you like.

But only 1 entrée. Extra entrees you will be charged.

We don't care for the Canaletto, so I can't help you there.

Good question Cruisegoer! We haven't been to the Canaletto in a few years and they have a brand new menu. I noticed the recommendation about 2 small plates, 1 pasta, and one large plate as well.

There's no way DH & I will want the same entree or pasta, so my intention is to each get our own. Does anyone know if we'll have a problem doing that?

Good question Cruisegoer! We haven't been to the Canaletto in a few years and they have a brand new menu. I noticed the recommendation about 2 small plates, 1 pasta, and one large plate as well.

 

There's no way DH & I will want the same entree or pasta, so my intention is to each get our own. Does anyone know if we'll have a problem doing that?

On our last cruise earlier this year, n problem each getting our own entree and pasta.

The Cannelletto portions are so large (at least the last time I was there, 2015) that if I'd been in a shoreside restaurant I would have had 3 take containers - appy, soup, entree --- always left just enough room for a taste of the dessert.

The other two, I've found that the portions are enough to leave you pleasantly sated, but not stuffed.

YMMV

Elaine

On our last cruise they were very flexible in the speciality restaurant venues.

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We love the food in the Canaleto but detest the ambiance. On the Eurodam which we have sailed twice, the dish room for the entire Lido is nearly feet away and the door never closes. I don't want to hear dishes for my entire meal.

We love the food in the Canaleto but detest the ambiance. On the Eurodam which we have sailed twice, the dish room for the entire Lido is nearly feet away and the door never closes. I don't want to hear dishes for my entire meal.

I tend to agree with you. In my opinion, both the service as well as the menu and food preparation have improved on my two most recent experiences there. But, the ambiance is lacking. Each of the last two times I have been a guest at the Restaurant, there were more staff members dining there than us guests. (Maybe, it was just the time I was there, however.)

No problem ordering "half" portions of large plate (entree) in Canaletto's. DH and I always do this. We enjoy Canaleto's more than Pinnacle actually. And last visit an Italian family sat next to us and we heard many comments from them about how it was "real" Italian and they really liked the food. Do want to try Pinnacle again so may do lunch there next cruise coming up less than a month now.

Jane

No problem ordering "half" portions of large plate (entree) in Canaletto's. DH and I always do this. We enjoy Canaleto's more than Pinnacle actually. And last visit an Italian family sat next to us and we heard many comments from them about how it was "real" Italian and they really liked the food. Do want to try Pinnacle again so may do lunch there next cruise coming up less than a month now.

Jane

We like it more than the pinnacle as well. The short rib gnocchi is fantastic. We have never been bothered by noice and have sat in numerous locations. We typically share, but have ordered separately as well. Dessert is separate. Funny as we typically share desserts in land based restaurants.

No problem ordering "half" portions of large plate (entree) in Canaletto's. DH and I always do this.

Jane

The short rib gnocchi is fantastic. We have never been bothered by noice and have sat in numerous locations. We typically share, but have ordered separately as well. Dessert is separate. Funny as we typically share desserts in land based restaurants.

Great idea to order half portions! Any other recommendations besides the gnocchi as to what's especially good? :)

Great idea to order half portions! Any other recommendations besides the gnocchi as to what's especially good? :)

The Lemoncello Creme dessert is a favorite of mine. The Minestrone was also very good during my visit in August on the Rotterdam.

The Lemoncello Creme dessert is a favorite of mine. The Minestrone was also very good during my visit in August on the Rotterdam.

Any lemon dessert sounds divine to me. :D I don't see minestrone on the menu now, hopefully that is still an option too.

Great idea to order half portions! Any other recommendations besides the gnocchi as to what's especially good? :)

Half orders are very smart.

The have a really good lasagna which is not on the menue

Love, love the clams in broth - great for dipping bread.

There are wines on the wine list that you cannot get elsewhere on the ship.

We usually go to Cannaletto's on the last night and wish we could take doggy bags home.

By the way - don't miss bergers & fries at the dive in (not extra money) - really great.

Enjoy wherever you eat,

Susan:)

Half orders are very smart.

The have a really good lasagna which is not on the menue

Love, love the clams in broth - great for dipping bread.

There are wines on the wine list that you cannot get elsewhere on the ship.

We usually go to Cannaletto's on the last night and wish we could take doggy bags home.

By the way - don't miss bergers & fries at the dive in (not extra money) - really great.

Enjoy wherever you eat,

Susan:)

I had the lasagna last cruise as my entree and it was very good!

Thanks. It sounds like the online menu isn't necessarily what we'll get once we eat there. Or at least not all we'll be able to get. :)

Bump

Second, going to Pinnacle for lunch is the best deal of all. Sea days and not always on all ships but watch out for it. And don't plan on a big dinner that night. Just a very lovely break in the day when it is open for lunch.

Second, going to Pinnacle for lunch is the best deal of all. Sea days and not always on all ships but watch out for it. And don't plan on a big dinner that night. Just a very lovely break in the day when it is open for lunch.

Lunch at the Pinnacle is a great treat at $10.

You do NOT have to have sushi in the Tamarind. You can have soup and an appetizer or two appetizers.

If you like crab legs, there is no longer a surcharge in the Pinnacle Grill but they do give you too many. That is, by the time you finish half of them, the other half is stone cold. Our friend ordered them the first time we went in on our recent cruise and didn't finish them. He wished they had a Surf and Turf option with them so, on our second visit the next week, I ordered the Porterhouse, which is a pretty generous serving, and we split the steak and the Crab Legs!

The desserts leave a lot to be desired, in our opinion. The Raspberry Cheesecake is more like a gelatin concoction than a cheesecake -- at all! The souffle is a sad little dry dish served with NO sauce. We've never encountered a souffle that doesn't have a sauce -- the result is a dry, cake-like substance that almost seems gritty. There are other desserts but nothing that tickled our fancy. I prefer the desserts in the MDR to those in the PG.

As another poster said, do not miss the burgers and/or hot dogs in the Dive In! And the fries! They are great!!!

Agreed with many posters that Canaletto is a very tasty alternative, at least once during the cruise.

Also, the lunch at PG is great, whereas the PG dinner is no longer that attractive with lesser quality, and bloated surcharge.

Each is own, but lunch at PG and dinner at Canaletto are priced OK, especially with the mariner discount :)

Agreed with many posters that Canaletto is a very tasty alternative, at least once during the cruise.

Also, the lunch at PG is great, whereas the PG dinner is no longer that attractive with lesser quality, and bloated surcharge.

 

Each is own, but lunch at PG and dinner at Canaletto are priced OK, especially with the mariner discount :)

Oh yes. The $35 surcharge for the Pinnacle Grill is definitely too high now. Just our opinion, but we probably are done with this option. The lunch is still very nice and $10 is reasonable. The $25 surcharge for the Tamarind isn't bad because the food is much different than the MDR menu. The service used to be amazing but we found it to be a bit lacking on our last visit, surprisingly.

I haven't been to the Canelletto since the new menu was introduced, so I can't comment. I loved the previous menu, but could not find anything on the new menu that even sounds like something I'd give up dinner in the Main Dining Room for. I can say the chairs are incredibly comfortable! If possible, we prefer to sit in the Canaletto section during breakfast and lunch in the Lido because the chairs are so comfortable.

I have been to the Pinnacle Grill and do not find it worth it. This last visit was really disappointing. The serving sizes were huge I could not finish any course. Quite frankly, the food was not as good as the food in the Main Dining Room. I make a better Pumpkin Risotto in my own kitchen, with far more pumpkin.

I was not impressed with the Tamarind the one time I went.

The Dive In hot dogs are very good, and the crispy fried onion strings are one of my favorite things on the ship.

Basically I'm not the target market for the specialty dining venues. But that's okay, because it means I'm not preventing anyone else from getting reservations.

The fresh berries with zabaglione sauce at the Pinnacle is fairly good for dessert and the more refreshing option at the end of what is typically a lot of food at that restaurant..

We usually eat in a specialty restaurant on a ship at least once during a cruise.

We've had the following experiences:

1. A lady sat at a table next to us, promptly opened a book and began to read. Half way through dinner, her husband showed up once he had finished his dinner in the MDR. Apparently she didn't come on a cruise ship to eat dinner with a bunch of commoners. I guess when you order a wife from Russia they don't come with good manners.

2. We sat next to a very large party that included children. The adults at one table, the children next to us.

3. We couldn't get the waiter to fill our water glass so my daughter went to our room and came back with a bottle of water for the table.

Elegant dining couldn't be better. Life at sea means that you roll with the punches.

Wehave done the Pinnacle, Tamirand and Canaletto on our cruises.

Canaletto- I agree with the big servings. We have a group of 6-8 so this is a good option. The veal polpotino (not sure if it's spelt right) is excellent as an appetizer. We often end up ording extras of this after the initial order with no issues. The big servings work or the family as we have enough mouths to feed.

Pinnacle - I agree it's expensive it if you compare it to a high quality steak house on land, it's a pretty good deal. The steak is top quality. You are restricted to one main but with everything else, you don't need more.

Tamirand - we've only been on one cruise with the Tamirand (next one in a couple weeks), but we enjoyed it very much. It was substantially different than what we have had on the rest of the ship being PanAsian. You don't need to have sushi. We did find they did limit the number of things ordered but there was more than enough food. The best deal on board used to be they offered a free lunch in the Tamirand but they have discipontinued this.

I knowonour upcoming cruise we will do each of these once.

One this helps.