Queens Grill Food

Just got back from a trip on the QE, staying in a Queens Grill Suite. I was very impressed that on arrival we had a bottle of Vueve Clicquot champagne on ice on arrival! Great start! The room was fantastic, the Butler and Assistant Butler were the best. But..... I was very disappointed with the QG menu. It had been reduced to the bone. The Al La Carte had only 6 items for immediate availability, with a further 5 dishes you could have if you ordered beforehand. Not once were we, or any of our table companions, encouraged to order off menu, (which is a frequent statement made on these boards) and when my hb did ask for caviar our waiter looked at him wide eyed! He was told he would have to check first with the Maitre'D, after being alerted to my hb's request the Maitre'D came over just to check he had made the request! A similar thing happened when he asked for crepes and also on his request for scallops! (Obviously not all at the same time but on different occasions). Interestingly once my hb did ask for scallops starting from the next day they appeared on the All a Carte menu for the rest of the trip. I remember not that long ago this menu was far more extensive. Unfortunately I failed to take a picture of the A La Carte menu on our trip, but when I googled this I found an example menu of the kind I was used to (no date unfortunately), which you can find here: http://www.cunard.com/Documents/Menus/Queen%20Elizabeth/Queen_Elizabeth_Queens_Grill_A_La_Carte.pdf

The second thing I was surprised at was that on the final formal evening (where they usually push the boat out) as was usual the Britannia menu included Lobster Tail, Beef Wellington, Fois gras, escargos and other scrummy looking items. I was happy as I know the daily menus are similar, and was looking forward to dinner. However on checking our menu I could not believe that only one of these items, Beef Wellington, was included on the QG menu and the rest of the available items were nothing special. Not only that, Lobster Tail, Fois Gras or Escargos were never once on the QG menu, (although Lobster Thermador was available if you ordered in advance). When we arrived for dinner to the QG, my hb had a word with the Maitre'D about the menu disparity, and even he said he was very surprised indeed when he saw our menu. My hb requested Lobster Tail from the Britannia Menu, which he had and it was lovely.

All in all we had a really great time on the holiday but these niggles regarding the food really tarnished what should have been a truly great experience.

I mentioned the change of menu in a post, summer '16.

I agree, it's not for the better but as you can order practically anything you want as long as the ingredients are on-board, the change doesn't matter for us.

I read on these boards how folk have problems ''ordering off menu'' and I can't understand it. We travel QG on Victoria and Elizabeth a few times a year and so can compare the experiences. I think the staff on Victoria are more in tune with the idea of this than Elizabeth but I have never had a problem on either

.

I ask our Head Waiter and occasionally if the request is unusual, he in turn asks the Maitre d', and it is ordered. I don't even have to do this with some requests, caviar being one of them. I ask our waiter, when ordering dinner, if I can have some and it's always OK.

Scallops I order at lunch time for that evening's dinner and crepes we often order the same evening. Just occasionally the H.W. will say ''tomorrow evening'' if there's been a run on crepes as we are usually one of the later diners.

Osman was our Elizabeth Maitre d' this summer and he was his usual graceful, efficient self. Nothing was too much trouble and our favourite M d', Sandro was our wonderful Maitre d' on Victoria. He has taken over Andrew Nelder's mantle as far as I'm concerned.

On our last cruise, every night, without fail, Sandro would come and ask us if we had any requests for the next night. Once we requested crepes and were asked if we would mind waiting until next night, but usually Eduardo would come and ask us if we wanted them.

Hello Salad Muncher

I am very sorry for your bad experience. I have just come back from QV and was also traveling QG. My impression was that the menu and the quality of the food was even better than a year ago.

We had caviar, escargots, foie gras, etc regularly on the menu and it was always extremly delicious. In 16 nights I have only 3 times ordered a starter from the a la card menu and otherwise I was always more than happy with the main menu. My waiter Willy knew me after a few days better then I know myself and always proposed dishes to me. Not once was I dissappointed by his proposals. The Maitre d' encouraged me several times to order off menu and told me they could cook for me whatever I wanted.

It probably depends on the ship, but on QV there is for sure nothing to complain about.

Regards

We have recently returned from QE on 6/11/17 and it was our first experience of being in a Queens Grill suite and we were very impressed with the suite, butler/assistant butler and the food served in QG for all our meals. Do not know where you have got your link from but it is different than the current one shown in sample menus on Cunard website. We were served lobster tail twice on the normal menu and lobster thermidor was available on the a la carte and thought the food throughout the cruise was outstanding. The senior maitre'd did come to our table in the first few days of the cruise asking if everything was fine and he did say if we had any special requests just ask which we never found the need to do.

I am really surprised that nobody else has had similar problems. We were three couples sitting alongside each other but on tables for two (never met before). Both of the other couples were complaining about the noticable changes in the restaurant, and how things had become less available than previously, and how small the Al a carte choices had become. Maybe this is because we are comparing apples with pears, i.e. we are thinking back on how things were only 5 years ago and how over the last few years it appears Cunard's belt has got tighter and pennies are more closely watched.

Just out of interest, earlier this year we travelled on Crystal for the first time and were absolutely delighted with the ship, and everything they offered was perfect, yet we heard others who were regular travellers complaining on how standards have dropped! I asked them in what way and they responded similarly to my complaint, that the choices on the menu have dropped and that caviar was not served daily as it was previously!

However I stand by my earlier post and interestingly I did write a post on the problems I had when I requested Caviar on the QV last (2016) Summer, and again at that time nobody else on the boards agreed!

The menu link I posted I found on google and it does represent the menus I remember well, it is because of the difference between this menu and the current on that I wrote this thread! I wanted to demonstrate the 'before and after'...

We were very pleased with the QG food on our recent Canary Islands cruise and never had cause to go "off menu". Partly, of course because we wouldn't really want either lobster or caviar!! After six years working in Moscow, back when beluga was available from Yeliseev on Tverskaya for reasonable prices and the caviar man called regularly at the office with a canister to fill our glass jars, I suppose it doesn't seem so special. And I could always take it or leave it. (This boy has no taste or refinement?). And prices in "The West" have always seems faintly ridiculous. Although they were also pretty silly in the Moscow restaurant where the sturgeon swam under the restaurant, which had a glass floor!

If I had a comment on QG food, it is that the dishes available for special order on the a la carte seemed a little "dated". Somehow, Beef Wellington, Duck a l'Orange and Lobster Thermidor all seem a bit 1970s. But well worth ordering nonetheless.

I wonder if the problem is that some Cunard travellers hark back to olden days, when prices were likely higher in real terms. I have heard comments that some regular Queens Grill passengers on QM2 were less than delighted when the Queens Grill Lounge was opened to both Queens and Princess Grill travellers. It seems to me that Cunard have in a way "homogenised" the two grills into a single "suite class" with the major distinction now being the amount of "real estate" in the cabins. This would be in line with other cruise line offerings. For example, Celebrity have developed their own "Suite Class", with a variety of cabin spaces but a single restaurant. Interestingly, Celebrity tried to differentiate their suite passengers by limiting access to the "concierge lounge" (aka Michael's) and found that they couldn't make that stick. Although there are still one or two perks for the higher grades: but that is a bit like the "free" in-cabin bar for Queens Grill.

The current prices for Cunard Grills cabins seem to step up through Q6 to Q1, following on naturally from Princess Grill prices. I can quite see how someone who has sprung for the (for me eye-watering) prices for Q1 might feel a bit aggrieved at the way in which the distinction between Princess and Queens Grills seems to be reducing. But it, in the end, comes down to cruise line survival. Cunard competes to fill its ships or it goes out of business as a brand. Management must be alarmed at the age demographic of its passengers: at least going by our last trip. I think that Cunard is finding its way to an acceptable compromise, which may allow it to recruit successor passengers with a balance between price and service. At least I hope so. Equally, I am sure that some customers are going to be upset. I can understand this but, unfortunately, nothing in this world stays the same for long these days!!

IMHO, the main reasons for traveling in Queens Grill class is to have the luxury of the large suite, all that room and all those features. Food choices and quality are only slightly better than PG or Britannia. That's just my HO.

I have to say, hand on heart, that the meals we had in QG on QV in August/September this year, were the best we have had on any of our 41 cruises, nearly 20 of which have been in QG on Cunard.

IMHO, the main reasons for traveling in Queens Grill class is to have the luxury of the large suite, all that room and all those features. Food choices and quality are only slightly better than PG or Britannia. That's just my HO.

Again its all opinion but having done Britannia restaurant on QV and recently QG on QE it is my opinion that the food we got last week on QE far superior and not just "slightly better".

Just got back from a trip on the QE, staying in a Queens Grill Suite. I was very impressed that on arrival we had a bottle of Vueve Clicquot champagne on ice on arrival! Great start! The room was fantastic, the Butler and Assistant Butler were the best. But..... I was very disappointed with the QG menu. It had been reduced to the bone. The Al La Carte had only 6 items for immediate availability, with a further 5 dishes you could have if you ordered beforehand. Not once were we, or any of our table companions, encouraged to order off menu, (which is a frequent statement made on these boards) and when my hb did ask for caviar our waiter looked at him wide eyed! He was told he would have to check first with the Maitre'D, after being alerted to my hb's request the Maitre'D came over just to check he had made the request! A similar thing happened when he asked for crepes and also on his request for scallops! (Obviously not all at the same time but on different occasions). Interestingly once my hb did ask for scallops starting from the next day they appeared on the All a Carte menu for the rest of the trip. I remember not that long ago this menu was far more extensive. Unfortunately I failed to take a picture of the A La Carte menu on our trip, but when I googled this I found an example menu of the kind I was used to (no date unfortunately), which you can find here: http://www.cunard.com/Documents/Menus/Queen%20Elizabeth/Queen_Elizabeth_Queens_Grill_A_La_Carte.pdf

 

The second thing I was surprised at was that on the final formal evening (where they usually push the boat out) as was usual the Britannia menu included Lobster Tail, Beef Wellington, Fois gras, escargos and other scrummy looking items. I was happy as I know the daily menus are similar, and was looking forward to dinner. However on checking our menu I could not believe that only one of these items, Beef Wellington, was included on the QG menu and the rest of the available items were nothing special. Not only that, Lobster Tail, Fois Gras or Escargos were never once on the QG menu, (although Lobster Thermador was available if you ordered in advance). When we arrived for dinner to the QG, my hb had a word with the Maitre'D about the menu disparity, and even he said he was very surprised indeed when he saw our menu. My hb requested Lobster Tail from the Britannia Menu, which he had and it was lovely.

 

All in all we had a really great time on the holiday but these niggles regarding the food really tarnished what should have been a truly great experience.

The menu on the link is probably about 10 years old. As for us, we never had a problem going off menu. We just always gave a day even two for hard to get items. Caviar/Foie Gras/Sweet breads etc. should always be easy to prepare. I had them do a bake stuffed Maine(or Canadian ) Lobster. It was excellent. We told them a week in advance. They'd check daily & no, I wasn't changing my mind. It came on the last formal night & was excellent.

The menu on the link is probably about 10 years old.

The metadata is dated 2010. I downloaded it earlier this year, around about the time I downloaded the newer shorter a la carte example menu, so Cunard only have themselves to blame if people turn up with certain expectations. I'm taking both with me on my first Cunard cruise next month as a reminder of the sort of thing the galley is capable of on request: the takeaway message is "if you don't ask, you won't get".

The metadata is dated 2010. I downloaded it earlier this year, around about the time I downloaded the newer shorter a la carte example menu, so Cunard only have themselves to blame if people turn up with certain expectations. I'm taking both with me on my first Cunard cruise next month as a reminder of the sort of thing the galley is capable of on request: the takeaway message is "if you don't ask, you won't get".

Yes, I thought that the menu link I gave was an old one, but it is one I remember from my first QG trip in 2012. I did say in my op that I wasn't sure of the date but it was the only one I found on google. I wish I had took a pic of the one we were presented with last week, but hey ho, I forgot! What surprises me most is people are still reporting on here they can order what they like when I personally have experienced two instances where I asked my waiter if I could have caviar for my 'starters' and was immediately referred to the Maitre'D who then came and asked me if I really did want it! OK, after that I was given what I asked for, BUT due to the reaction I initially received I felt as if I had requested someones 'Head on a Plate'. Maybe I am not bolshie enough to tough out these type of situations and should have been more assertive, but what I do know is even though others on here are stating they had the reverse of my experiences, it doesn't make the treatment we received any less important and as this is a board to report the good and the bad I am, on this occasion, reporting a negative. It won't stop me travelling with Cunard again though because as I stated in my original post the rest of the trip was marvellous. On another point, and one which might have been the reason for my negative experience, the waiter we had was so awful at interacting with his 'guests', he always had an angry face, never made pleasant small talk, never asked if we had enjoyed our meal etc. etc. Twice the couple on the table next to us were criticised by him for coming into the restaurant during the final 15 mins (ie they came into dinner at 8.50pm). They were furious and wanted to complain about his attitude to the Maitre'D, but didn't only because they knew it could cost him his job.

Perhaps I should expand on our experiences of going “off menu”, I am a vegetarian so the requests I made were hardly challenging for the galley, apart from them having to be imaginative with vegetables and pulses, which they were. My husband almost always ordered off the a la Carte menu the day before; caviare doesn’t interest him.

However, it doesn’t alter the fact that Sandro and Eduardo asked us every single day if there was anything special we wanted, and apart from the one evening we mentioned crepes and were asked could we have them the following day, anything else was “no problem”.

I am sorry your experience wasn’t as obliging.

As in all QG suites the menus are delivered to your suite the night before for your perusal and the butler just left the days before on the table so we just collected them and bought them home as a momento as we are unlikely to ever cruise again in QG. If you have had the experience of a poor waiter that can make a lot of difference to your cruise whatever restaurant you were in and we were fortunate enough to have no problems with our waiter/assistant waiter. Food is a very subjective thing and what one person likes others dont and menus change if certain items are not regularly ordered. Would never consider eating l'escargot, caviar or sweetbreads and would not eat foie de gras for ethical reasons so these would not be missed by myself but might by others.

As in all QG suites the menus are delivered to your suite the night before for your perusal and the butler just left the days before on the table so we just collected them and bought them home as a momento as we are unlikely to ever cruise again in QG. If you have had the experience of a poor waiter that can make a lot of difference to your cruise whatever restaurant you were in and we were fortunate enough to have no problems with our waiter/assistant waiter. Food is a very subjective thing and what one person likes others dont and menus change if certain items are not regularly ordered. Would never consider eating l'escargot, caviar or sweetbreads and would not eat foie de gras for ethical reasons so these would not be missed by myself but might by others.

We're both in the food industry. My partner is also Chinese/Japanese, so trust me I eat some very unusual foods. We do love the "taboo" foods you mention. If you don't, that's your choice, not ours. I actually like Durian. Try that one & report back to me! If you can eat it, you're a rare few!

Yes, I thought that the menu link I gave was an old one, but it is one I remember from my first QG trip in 2012. I did say in my op that I wasn't sure of the date but it was the only one I found on google. I wish I had took a pic of the one we were presented with last week, but hey ho, I forgot! What surprises me most is people are still reporting on here they can order what they like when I personally have experienced two instances where I asked my waiter if I could have caviar for my 'starters' and was immediately referred to the Maitre'D who then came and asked me if I really did want it! OK, after that I was given what I asked for, BUT due to the reaction I initially received I felt as if I had requested someones 'Head on a Plate'. Maybe I am not bolshie enough to tough out these type of situations and should have been more assertive, but what I do know is even though others on here are stating they had the reverse of my experiences, it doesn't make the treatment we received any less important and as this is a board to report the good and the bad I am, on this occasion, reporting a negative. It won't stop me travelling with Cunard again though because as I stated in my original post the rest of the trip was marvellous. On another point, and one which might have been the reason for my negative experience, the waiter we had was so awful at interacting with his 'guests', he always had an angry face, never made pleasant small talk, never asked if we had enjoyed our meal etc. etc. Twice the couple on the table next to us were criticised by him for coming into the restaurant during the final 15 mins (ie they came into dinner at 8.50pm). They were furious and wanted to complain about his attitude to the Maitre'D, but didn't only because they knew it could cost him his job.

Considering the "fee" when cruising in Queens Grill, I would address the problematic waiter with the Maître D. It certainly may be handled properly/politely. The Maître D would discuss it with the waiter & it should be solved. We had a couple next to us in the QG once. They were as snotty as could be. One would think when on a wonderful trip, you'd be polite & enjoy your trip. I guess some don't. Their loss.

Some interesting comments and various name droppings which have amused me.

Having experienced most of the 'named' Maîtres d' I can't help thinking that none of them really compared with the Grand Master of them all, the now retired, Beniameno.

Frankly though, Ive always found the most important staff member in the Grills will be the Sommelier allocated to my table....

:evilsmile::evilsmile:

Considering the "fee" when cruising in Queens Grill, I would address the problematic waiter with the Maître D. It certainly may be handled properly/politely. The Maître D would discuss it with the waiter & it should be solved. We had a couple next to us in the QG once. They were as snotty as could be. One would think when on a wonderful trip, you'd be polite & enjoy your trip. I guess some don't. Their loss.

I've always subscribed to the theory that there is a link where one will always get more from your waiter according to how you treat them.

Some interesting comments and various name droppings which have amused me.

 

Having experienced most of the 'named' Maîtres d' I can't help thinking that none of them really compared with the Grand Master of them all, the now retired, Beniameno.

 

Frankly though, Ive always found the most important staff member in the Grills will be the Sommelier allocated to my table....

 

 

 

:evilsmile::evilsmile:

The Sommelier takes no notice of me since I don’t drink - at least not with a meal, and very little at any other time.

Ours was polite and came to the table every lunch and dinner asking if we wanted to order from the wine list or the bar. We never did but he still came and was very pleasant.

I am really surprised that nobody else has had similar problems. We were three couples sitting alongside each other but on tables for two (never met before). Both of the other couples were complaining about the noticable changes in the restaurant, and how things had become less available than previously, and how small the Al a carte choices had become. Maybe this is because we are comparing apples with pears, i.e. we are thinking back on how things were only 5 years ago and how over the last few years it appears Cunard's belt has got tighter and pennies are more closely watched.

Hello Salad Muncher. Just to let you know I had an experience with the Maitre d' (one of those mentioned on this thread) that left me literally in tears. My son spoke to him the next day and he a) denied he'd said what he'd said and b) said he'd look into the other part of my complaint and report back.

We didn't hear from him again and c) whereas previously on each night he'd come over to the table to ask how everything was, for the rest of the Voyage he did not approach us at all. I found this to be the most outrageous transgression of duty.

Interestingly, we were also on a very inconvenient table for two, one of a row of three similar tables.

I hate complaining publicly about my beloved Cunard but I didn't want you to feel you were so out of kilter with the rest of the forum; I know what that's like.

Regards.

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I've always subscribed to the theory that there is a link where one will always get more from your waiter according to how you treat them.

Being in the hospitality field, I know you hit that one out of the park.

Wherever I go on holiday whether it be a cruise or others and anywhere in life I always treat people with respect that they deserve.

Being in the hospitality field, I know you hit that one out of the park.

We too were in Hospitality industry and understand exactly the 'attitude' scenario.