Ever had a bad meal in Chops?

We were on Oasis May 28, 2011 and had dinner in Chops. We had the worst steaks I've ever eaten. No flavor and tough. We are not foodies nor picky eaters. Also not one to complain. The next nite we ordered a filet from Chops in the MDR to go with the lobster (which was wonderful) and again it was terrible! I even like outback so I was very disappointed. We are going on Oasis again next spring and would really like to try again. Do you think it was just a bad batch of beef? Everyone raves about it and we loved the atmosphere and are traveling with steak lovers? Has anyone else had this experience? Thanks for any opinions, and I'm not bashing RCI in any way, as they are our favorite cruiseline, just looking for your experiences! Thanks!

We have never had a bad meal at Chops. If you were that unhappy, why didn't you send your steak back?

we have not ordered the Chops Steak from MDR so I can't commnet or share abou that.

I had a steak that was like a piece of shoe leather at Chops on Liberty OTS. My DIL also said her steak wasn't good.

We did enjoy all of the other things so we did not ask for another steak. They were most concerned and credited our card which I certainly did not ask them to do. I was most impressed with the quality of the customer device, just not the steak!

We have found on the Indie that the steaks in Chops are not 'wot they used to be!!'.

We went in a group last year and received the worst and rudest service we have ever experienced - we cruise on the Indie quite often and now only eat in Portofino - and only for the ambiance or just a change.

The manager should have been keelhauled - he refused to come to the table when requested - we were all from the UK on the table, except for one couple from the US. She was the one who demanded to see the Manager etc. and couldn't believe that people from the UK rarely complain.

Never a bad meal in Chops, but some better than others.

Anybody but me miss the rib-eye?

On the Radiance we had the best meat we had ever tried so we repeated on the Liberty and didn't like it. It may depend of the batch of meat or the region the boat travels.

I don't send my food back. If it isn't good I might mention it but not before I'm done and on my way out.

A steak? They know if it's good or not.

Have been very disappointed in the steak at Chopps. Certainly not worth the money!!!!!!

We've tried Chops three times and felt it was just ok. Probably won't go again. I am not a meat expert by any stretch but after living in Texas for 15 years I think I can now tell the difference between prime and choice.

We have been disappointed the last two cruises with Chops,,the Indy and the Freedom...Have decided not to bother anymore..

And the funny part is, the lamb chops they served in the dining room were better than Chops:eek:..

What temp did you ask the steak be cooked??? That plays a big part in taste and texture...

For example, if you are ordering a filet anything more than medium, that is just criminal... And actually, even medium is pushing the envelope...

I don't get people who don't send something back if it's not to their liking... IMO, if you aren't willing to send it back, you aren't in a position to complain later...

What temp did you ask the steak be cooked??? That plays a big part in taste and texture...

 

For example, if you are ordering a filet anything more than medium, that is just criminal... And actually, even medium is pushing the envelope...

 

I don't get people who don't send something back if it's not to their liking... IMO, if you aren't willing to send it back, you aren't in a position to complain later...

I have to agree! Once a steak is overcooked there isn't much that can be done.

In my case, the steak was properly cooked...I just didn't think the quality was great. I wouldn't send it back in that case because there really isn't much that can be done. I ate it and it was fine...just wouldn't go back.

What temp did you ask the steak be cooked??? That plays a big part in taste and texture...

 

For example, if you are ordering a filet anything more than medium, that is just criminal... And actually, even medium is pushing the envelope...

 

I don't get people who don't send something back if it's not to their liking... IMO, if you aren't willing to send it back, you aren't in a position to complain later...

The reason I didn't send my steak back is because I was with a group of 6 people and by the time another steak would have been prepared for me the rest of the people at the table would be finished or close to it.

Anyway I thought it was just me because so many people seem to rave about the steaks in Chops and I am glad to hear I am not the only one who was not happy.

Sadly, yes. On Mariner for Thanksgiving cruise last November (2010). And even though I discussed this with the Food and Beverage Manager, not much could be done. It all depends on the quality of the steaks.

We had previously dined at Portofino on other cruises and were looking forward to Chops (Voyager, when she sailed out of Galveston, only had Portofino). Given our excellent experiences in Portofino, we presumed we would really enjoy the atmosphere, service, and food at Chops. Two out of three were proved correct.

However, my New York Strip was tough and tasteless. I could barely chew it. It was most assuredly not prime, but I'm not certain it was USDA Choice either. The preparation was not particularly flawed (I ordered Medium Rare, I was served Medium Rare): it was the cut itself.

Again, the ambience and the service was superb. The side dishes were excellent. In hindsight, which is always 20-20, I should have requested our waiter to see if I could be served another cut but at the time we dined in Chops, it had been an exhausting day and I was too tired to bother with it. Lick on me for those who certainly would have done otherwise.

Nevertheless, given the higher price for Chops than Portofino and the respective quality of the cuisine (and, yes, I've seen posts that were highly critical of the "revamped" Portofino menu, too), if we choose to dine in a specialty restaurant on our next Mariner cruise, it will be Portofino.

Finally, lesson learned: regardless of how tired one is, always request the waiter to return the cut if it's not up to par. OTOH, I don't disagree with previous posters who've noted that there may not be much the kitchen can do if all of the cuts are equally flawed.

VR,

T Lex

Thanks to all who replied. Glad to know I'm not the only one. We ordered two different cuts of meat, the filet and the porterhouse, both cooked rare to medium rare,so it was not that the steak was cooked to death! Guess we will stick with Giovannis and Izumi. I found the MDR to be excellent so maybe we should just save the money. Yes, they should bring the rib-eye back. It's a steakhouse for gosh sakes!

I had a filet mignon, well done and butterflied as I always eat it (maybe twice a year) and it was tender enough but it had an odd undertone of liver or something equally funky.

The sides were WAY too salty, fresh tomato salad was full of pale, hard ones and overall the experience way not worth paying for.

I had a filet mignon, well done and butterflied as I always eat it (maybe twice a year) and it was tender enough but it had an odd undertone of liver or something equally funky.

 

That liver taste, as it was explained to me by a butcher, is from an old Cow, male or female?, and should have never gotten in to the market place.

Yes, they do get bad runs of meat. I have even shared a half a cow with friends a few times and sometimes it is bad and some times it is good.

Not beef, but, was on a Baltic cruise and every one enjoyed the Lamb dishes, on our next cruise, I like lamb, it was not fit to eat.

I ate in Chops twice on the Liberty and had the steak and crown rack of lamb, and both were very good, along with the sides.

Never had a bad meal at Chops but I was mighty sad they would not let me take my left over Red Velvet cake back to the cabin. :( Why the heck won't they let you take it back and eat it later. We had a fridge in the room.

Anybody know the answer to this?

E-Beth

PS> It is really good Red Velvet Cake so save room for it!

The is the way I break it down with Chops

Radiance of the Seas we went twice awesome experience with service and food.

Navigator of the Seas-Twice both times the steaks were very chewy and service was fair to good.

Oasis-very good service and food.

Have had quite a few wonderful experiences at Chops on different ships, except this past January on the Freedom when we were not only rushed through from beginning to end (yes, we should have said we wanted to slow it down), but they had everybody crammed into the very front of the restaurant while there was only one party of four in the second room the whole time. We won't let this happen again.

Thanks to all who replied. Glad to know I'm not the only one. We ordered two different cuts of meat, the filet and the porterhouse, both cooked rare to medium rare,so it was not that the steak was cooked to death! Guess we will stick with Giovannis and Izumi. I found the MDR to be excellent so maybe we should just save the money. Yes, they should bring the rib-eye back. It's a steakhouse for gosh sakes!

Back in January of 2010 we dinned at Chops on the Freedom and it was horrendous! From the service to the steaks. Too long to get into. But long story short we said let's give Chops another chance while on the Oasis and it was an amazing experience. Delicious! Giovanni's was also great!

Have a great cruise!

It really surprises me to see so many bad accounts here. I've eaten in Chops dozens of times and I have yet to have a bad experience. In fact, it's been so good, it's something I look forward to on crusies.

We have only been to Chops once, on the Serenade, and while it wasn't a bad meal it was underwhelming.

Our aps were fine but the french onion soup wasn't as good as I had in the MDR.

The steaks were very good.

The desserts were spectacular.

But we found the service really lacking, especially since there were very few diners there the night we went. We waited 20 minutes for water, there were very long pauses between courses, and our servers seemed quite indifferent. Such a change from our prompt, friendly, effiicent MDR waiters!

What made it worse was that CC friends of ours came in towards the end of their meal. They are Chops regulars and our servers fawned all over them. It only made us feel more disenchanted with our meal.

We've had 3 cruises since then and haven't really felt the need to try again, though we might on our upcomming 16-night cruise if there is a menu we're not particularly fond of.