Mozart's Michelin Star Event

I wanted to report on our experience in some detail. We had reservations at 6:30 pm at Winekitchen in Budapest (reservations were made ahead of our sailing through the onshore butler).

The letter we received the night before said to meet at 6:15 and included copy of the set menu (see pic below). There were approximately 30 people with reservations to the three different restaurants and they split us up by venue and sent us off on separate tour buses.

The Mozart docks within walking distance of the downtown area in Pest so the ride to the restaurant was just a few minutes long. After dinner we were taken on a night lights ride around Buda and Pest before taking us back to the Mozart.

The pictures speak for themselves and we enjoyed each and every course very much. My personal favourites were the carrot soup and the Mangalica (hairy Hungarian hog touted as the best pork meat there is). The wines were all Hungarian and excellent.

We were there for at least three hours. It was a very successful event but as we were seated around a long table for about twelve conversation was limited to our nearest neighbours.

Claudia. Thanks for the info and photos of the Winekitchen dining experience. As someine who is quite picky about what they eat - mainly due to dietary requirements or eating healthy reasons, I was concerned it may involve a set menu. However, if the menu remains the same through September, I'm good with most of those offerings - the only iffy one for me would be dessert but that may not be a bad thing!!! :):):

Anne...

......- mainly due to dietary requirements or eating healthy reasons, I was concerned it may involve a set menu. .....

Anne...

Good point. Indeed, with twelve guests at a table, it becomes very hard to cater to one who has food allergies ( that has been exceptionally well looked after on S & S )

Claudia,

When were you given the information on which restaurants you could choose from and allowed to make your selection? We just booked a November Christmas Market cruise and I was expecting.this information might be listed with our shore excursions, but it is not. I'm still hoping they will add some hikes and bike rides to our excursion choices as well, as the selection is not exciting at the moment, so maybe the dining choices are also to come.

Thanks!

Susan

The information is one the Crystal website for your cruise but it takes about five or so clicks to get to it

http://www.crystalcruises.com/files/download/2016_Michelin_Star_Restaurant_Dates_Time_FINAL.pdf

This is the pdf of the restaurants on offer and which cruises they are available for. Not all restaurants are available for every cruise.

You have to send an email to MozartButlerService@crystalcruises.com to request the reservation.

I took claudiaYVR advice and gave them my first preference, second preference and third preference. The reply I got was that my first preference restaurant was no longer available but I got my second preference restaurant. This was for the Christmas/New Year cruise. It saves an email ping pong if you only gave them the name of just one restaurant.

The details are not under shore excursion.

You need to look for "2016 MICHELIN-STAR CULINARY EXPERIENCE", which is far right after shore "SHORE EXCURSIONS" and

"ALL INCLUSIVE"

http://www.crystalcruises.co.uk/voyage/details/danube's-capitals-wachau-valley-cruise-6m14R#optional

Then click on "Learn More"

http://stage.crystalcruises.co.uk/crystal-mozart-2016-michelin-starred-culinary-experiences

Then click on "2016 MICHELIN-STAR EXPERIENCE SCHEDULE"

claudiaYVR got a response within 24 hour. Took a week for me to get my response. However, that was the week when they were rebooking passengers from the cancelled river cruises in France. Not sure if that was the reason why.

How is that restaurant pictured above considered a Michelin Star restaurant? It looks like your average tourist bus type place - people jammed at a table, no table cloth, bottles of water stacked behind them. While I am sure that the food looked "fanciful" I am having a real hard time believing that it could be better than what they serve on the ship.

Am I missing something? Maybe the bus tour of Europe that I took when I was 20 years old only stopped at Michelin Star restaurants - I didn't know I was living so well - lol

How is that restaurant pictured above considered a Michelin Star restaurant? It looks like your average tourist bus type place - people jammed at a table, no table cloth, bottles of water stacked behind them. While I am sure that the food looked "fanciful" I am having a real hard time believing that it could be better than what they serve on the ship.

 

Am I missing something? Maybe the bus tour of Europe that I took when I was 20 years old only stopped at Michelin Star restaurants - I didn't know I was living so well - lol

FWIW, Michelin stars are awarded for the food not the restaurant decor, table settings, etc. etc. Many restaurants no longer use table cloths - including the main dining room on the Crystal Mozart. I will be on the Mozart from Friday and my friends and I have also selected this restaurant for our Michelin Star dining experience. We chose it for the menu and the Bistro style ambiance...

This is a quote from Michelin Stars defined:

Michelin Stars Defined

Michelin awards 0 to 3 stars on the basis of the anonymous reviews. The reviewers concentrate on the quality, mastery of technique, personality and consistency of the food, in making the reviews. They do not look at interior decor, table setting, or service quality in awarding stars, though the guide shows forks and spoons which describes how fancy or casual a restaurant may be. (If you're interested in looking at a reviewing company that looks at ambience and decor, try the Forbes reviews which looks at over 800 criteria, such as whether the restaurant offers solid or hollow ice cubes, freshly squeezed or canned orange juice, and valet parking or self-parking.)

Michelin, on the other hand, focuses entirely on the food. The reviewers award the stars as follows:

One star: A good place to stop on your journey, indicating a very good restaurant in its category, offering cuisine prepared to a consistently high standard.

Two stars: A restaurant worth a detour, indicating excellent cuisine and skillfully and carefully crafted dishes of outstanding quality

Three stars: A restaurant worth a special journey, indicating exceptional cuisine where diners eat extremely well, often superbly. Distinctive dishes are precisely executed, using superlative ingredients.

Anne...

All of Crystal's restaurant only have one Michelin star. To my mind this is great but might be lacking front of house.

There is a three Michelin star restaurant in Vienna. That does not feature on Crystal's list. We will be going there on our own.

http://www.cnbc.com/2016/07/22/michelin-stars-awarded-to-two-singapore-hawker-stalls.html

Forgot to add. Singapore now has a couple of one Michelin Star Hawker stalls; street food in a food court where you have to queue, pay and collect your food then go find a table to consume said meal.

Thanks for the help JohnKen3. You mentioned a 3 star in Vienna. What is it? We've only found a few two stars, including number 9 on the 50 best restaurants in the world, but no 3s. Food is a huge part of our travels, so I'm busy making our own reservations right now for our upcoming trip.

Thanks again for the help!

We are talking the same restaurant. Isn't it three star?

https://www.steirereck.at/en/restaurant/

I believe it is 2 star. There are two other 2 stars as well in Vienna. It's inclusion on "the list" is what peaked our interest, though we've found the list to be off at times. But since we'll be in Vienna anyway, why not, right?

Thanks again for the help!

Try the schnitzel at Prater Amusement Park.

It is to die from.

How is that restaurant pictured above considered a Michelin Star restaurant? It looks like your average tourist bus type place - people jammed at a table, no table cloth, bottles of water stacked behind them. While I am sure that the food looked "fanciful" I am having a real hard time believing that it could be better than what they serve on the ship.

 

Am I missing something? Maybe the bus tour of Europe that I took when I was 20 years old only stopped at Michelin Star restaurants - I didn't know I was living so well - lol

I agree with you completely. I guess I'm really behind the times, as I would expect table cloths or at least a place mat. The chipped pitcher was pretty bad. Maybe I'm expecting too much, but I'd be pretty disappointed in that venue, no matter how good the food is.

First, why was this moved off the crystal blog page?

Second, the chipped pitcher is a great observation, I didn't see that.

Last, I had dinner last night in a real Michelin star restaurant here in New York and I would have walked out if it looked like that dump ( maybe the difference is that this one had 3 stars - lol ).

I guess my point here is that the people that work for many cruise lines don't really know much about what they profess to be experts about - and people on vacation blindly follow along - I find it amusing.

This thread about Crystal river cruising was moved from the Crystal [ocean] forum to the River Cruising forum. My understanding is that all threads about Crystal river cruising will be moved here -- just as all Viking River threads are here even though there is a separate forum for Viking Ocean cruise threads.