Thomas Keller menus

During the Odyssey Holiday 2015 cruise, Keller menus were served on alternate evenings in the MDR and The Colonnade.

In the MDR, 3 courses were offered. Diners have the opportunity to try the whole menu, or they can take just one or two courses from it and the others from the regular menu.

A couple of menus :

Menu 1

Moulard Duck Foie Gras "Trifle" - Gros Michel banana, Celery Branch, Balck Walnut Dacquoise and Banyuls Vinegar "Gastrique"

Herb-Roasted Saddle of Elysian Fileds Farm Lamb - Confit Biyaldi, Tarbais Bean Purée and Roasted Garlic Jus

OR

Caramelized Fennel Bulb - Corona Beans, Aged Asiago "Cromesquis", and Sweet Pepper Sofrito

Ginger and Yoghurt Semifreddo - Whipped Green Tea and Persian Lime Meringue

Menu 2

Pacific Yellowtail Crudo - Globe Artichokes, Hass Avocado, Preserved Meyer Lemon and Country Bread Croutons

Snake River Farms Pork Tenderloin - Applewood Smoked Bacon, Raclette Cheese Croquette, Young Leeks, Spiced French Prunes and Grain Mustard Sauce

OR

Buckwheat Dumplings - Citrus Roasted Golden Beets, Napa Cabbage and Barrel Aged Tamari Glazed Shiitake Mushrooms with Yuzu Gastrique

Frangipane Tarte - Poached Plums and Raspberry Jam.

This second menu was a winner for me, although the dessert was quite heavy and the portion size of it could have been smaller.

The quality of the ingredients was similar to the food we've experienced in the past on SB on the regular dinner menus. So it was considerably better than what was being served in general on this cruise, but not that much better than what we expect from SB food. Presentation was as step up, as one would expect.

In The Colonnade, dining was by reservation only.

It's based on TK's "Ad Hoc" restaurant. It's a set menu of four courses.

The dining is "family style" which was a new concept to me. The food isn't individually plated, it's brought to the table on a large platter or serving dish, and diners serve themselves.

On our cruise the usual included wines were served, however I've read elsewhere on CC that sometimes there are different wines available for the TK menu. The wine is served in stemless wine tumblers. We use similar at home for red wine if we're having an informal supper, however the ones on the ship weren't very good quality. The ship's regular wine glasses are better quality and I prefer them for white wine in particular.

Menu 1

Waldorf Salad - crisp chicories, Fuji apples, celery branch, white wine poached currants, candied walnuts, Roquefort bleu dressing

Grilled "RR" Ranch in Ribeye - blistered green asparagus, whipped red bliss potatoes, Santa Maria remoulade, A4 sauce

Humboldt Fog - Marshall's Farm honey, grilled country bread (this was a delicious goat's cheese)

Chocolate Silk Pie - whipped Chantilly

Menu 2

Gem Lettuce Salad - slow baked beets, radish, fried capers, chopped egg, green goddess dressing

Hickory Smoked BBQ Ribs - braised greens, baked beans, corn pone, whipped honey butter

Jasper Hill Farm Cabot Clothbound Cheddar - Maldon flat bread, Blue Apron Ale mustard

Potted Cheesecake - poached blueberries and vanilla Chantilly.

The plan is for the O class ships to have Restaurant 2 changed to this Keller Ad Hoc theme, I believe it will happen as each ship goes into its next dry dock. This means that The Colonnade will revert to as it was prior to Keller.

How many times a week would you expect The Colonnade to be taken over by the Keller menu?

oh, just re read what you wrote. "Alternate evenings"?? Please don't tell me that we can only choose the casual Colonnade dining, every second night??

oh, just re read what you wrote. "Alternate evenings"?? Please don't tell me that we can only choose the casual Colonnade dining, every second night??

That was how it worked on our cruise, with the exception of Formal nights when the Colonnade theme was 'Elegant', and the menu we're familiar with. I'm not sure but I imagine it will stay the same until they get R2 refurbed.

oh dear, not liking the sound of that at all. Too much meat for me in the Ad Hoc menus, so not at all suitable, so looks like lots of "in suite" Room Service for us for 3 months!!

The menus are ok for me, but I prefer to choose where I want to dine whilst I'm dressing for dinner.

I found it very restrictive to have my options reduced. I really did miss Colonnade as an option, especially as the menu in the Patio Grill has been seriously reduced and anyway it was a bit too hot and humid for us Northern European types to eat outdoors!

Incidentally, we found out at the end of the cruise that there was usually availability in the Colonnade on TK nights so it would have been possible to get a table last minute.

Was R2 still operating during the TK trials on Odyssey? If so, was it the same tasting menus as before?

Our cruise will be very long, and a lot of it very hot, so after returning to the ship at the end of the day, we like to have the option of whether we will dress for dinner or just go casual! Seems we wont have that option very often as the Colonnade has to be pre booked every second night! We also don't wish to be told "that is the menu, like it or lump it"......I NEED choice.....

I have never ordered course by course Room Service before, as I always thought it was too much work for the crew....BUT....sorry crew, if Seabourn is limiting my choices so much, it might have to be course by course every second night! I'm afraid I wont feel at all guilty about doing that now.

We also don't like eating outdoors if the weather is too humid, even though we are used to it....so the Patio Grill will work sometimes for us, but not often enough.....again the food is too limited there.

Was R2 still operating during the TK trials on Odyssey? If so, was it the same tasting menus as before?

Yes, R2 opening hours and menus were like before. The menus have changed a little since our last cruise which was in September 2015, but not very much.

Sounds like this line is all over the map with dining options. Not for us....will sick with Crystal.

Sounds like this line is all over the map with dining options. Not for us....will sick with Crystal.

Nigella - many thanks for the menus.

If, as you believe, the Ad Hoc menu will be in restaurant 2, maybe each night or every other, on reservation, then the Colonnade can revert to being no reservations, and its former menus. This would be a good move.

Could still mean that there is less choice in the MDR in the 'normal' menu, and if you want to eat the TK menu you might perhaps need to dine early, if this strange idea of only 60 portions each evening is adhered to.

Nigella - many thanks for the menus.

 

If, as you believe, the Ad Hoc menu will be in restaurant 2, maybe each night or every other, on reservation, then the Colonnade can revert to being no reservations, and its former menus. This would be a good move.

 

Could still mean that there is less choice in the MDR in the 'normal' menu, and if you want to eat the TK menu you might perhaps need to dine early, if this strange idea of only 60 portions each evening is adhered to.

Good morning lincslady.

The information about Ad Hoc being in refurbished R2 was told to us by two different crew members who said it would be every night. Yes, this does mean the Colonnade will revert to how it was and I think that will be a positive thing. In the meantime I don't know when it's being rolled out to the Colonnade on Sojourn and Quest, so the information I've given applies only to Odyssey at this point. Perhaps we have Sojourn and Quest current guests reading who can let us know the situation there.

For the MDR, I don't know about 60 portions as we weren't told that, but certainly if it's true it will be necessary to dine earlier.

For the normal menu, I can't see SB increasing the number of choices back to previous levels. I'll be asking them for clarification about that point when I write to them about the issues we had on Odyssey and will report back.

We're trying Crystal this summer. Hope we won't be sick. Sorry, couldn't resist. :):)

:eek: not sick but stick. Oh the IPAD butler did not pick up on that.