Riviera Specialty Restaurants

This is our first Oceania cruise doing the Riviera 3/28/2018. I have looked at the specialty restaurants, but not made any reservations yet. How do they compare to the Main Dining Room? Thanks, Phil

This is our first Oceania cruise doing the Riviera 3/28/2018. I have looked at the specialty restaurants, but not made any reservations yet. How do they compare to the Main Dining Room? Thanks, Phil

They don't take reservations in the Grand Dining Room, but they do in the Specialties, so they tend to cater to special occasions and such.

Also, the menus in the Dining Room change nightly where the choices in the Specialties remain constant.

The Specialties are also far more intimate than the Dining Room.

This is our first Oceania cruise doing the Riviera 3/28/2018. I have looked at the specialty restaurants, but not made any reservations yet. How do they compare to the Main Dining Room? Thanks, Phil

This should be fun! We got off from a 10 day trip on Riviera on Jan. 22(so still fresh)The dining room, called simply the Grand dining room(or G/D for short) is quite elegant. It's pretty much "anytime" dining. You'll get seated quickly if you get there before 6:45. Afterwards the wait starts. If you prefer table for 2 (like us) you'll get seated before 7PM quickly. Otherwise you'll wait if after 7PM. Sharing a table will get you seated quicker no matter what the time. The G/D is nice with the "cream" colored décor. There are nice chandeliers scattered around, with a large central Swarovski crystal light display. It's too big to call it a chandelier. The staff is very attentive & professional. They are really concerned you're having a good time. Food is slanted more towards classic French, with a decent Canyon Ranch selection. Portions are "right" sized. You can request extra or as we would say a "dish to be shared by the table"(and you wonder how we put on 10+ pounds!)Food quality is very good. More akin to say..Celebrity about 5 years ago before the cutbacks. If you're not overly venturesome the G/D might be right for you.

As to us, we're foodies & in the food industry. I'll list the "specialty" rest. All are complimentary, exception La Reserve, which has wine paired with the food.

1) Toscana: This is Italian, but really great gourmet Italian. Outside of La Reserve, hands down our favorite & I'm not a big Italian food fan. A lot more white wine & cream sauces are evident & food is rich with flavor. I had their version of Dover Sole, which was excellent.

2) Red Ginger: Very good Asian food. My partner is Chinese, so some of the food I'll eat, many Americans wouldn't touch with a 10 ft. pole. Red Ginger is more gourmet Chinese/Asian that most Americans would be fine with.

3) Polo Grill: Obviously the steak house. You'll find "Prime" grade beef here. There is great seafood as well. I had the Maine Lobster A' gratin . You'd think being from New England we'd skip ship board lobster, but I wanted to try it. Good, but again from N/E, we've had far better.

4) Jacques: Surprisingly(or not) I again had the Dover Sole, which was done the traditional style, with Caper brown butter. I loved it. Some members at our table had it as well. One thought it was a tad salty. My partner Richard had the Pork chop. He though it was a bit dry. So for him Jacques was not his favorite.

5) La Reserve: Ok, here was the best meal of all. We did the "La Bourgeoisie" menu. This was just rolled out. It wasn't online when I made reservations. At about $90/pp.it was not cheap, but was fantastic. We also had booked the Connoisseurs tasting. This one was $195pp.(a 12 course tasting menu paired with wine. It got cancelled as most others were satisfied with the La Bourgeoisie. I do want to advise you to book as soon as possible. The specialty rest. book really quick & you may not find the dining time or table size if you wait. Best of luck & have a great time!

We haven't been on Riviera yet (that will be taken care of in May) but we've been on all the other ships. Jacques remains our favorite specialty restaurant. While the ships are different, and personnel change regularly, we haven't found that much difference between one particular restaurant on one ship as compared to the others. Of course, sometimes bad things happen to good people.

I'm surprised that Richard found his pork chop too dry because when we were on Marina this past November I thought my pork chop was one of the best I've ever had on any of the ships ...

We all have different taste buds and desires, of course, and just because it was delightful for me doesn't mean it was for Richard! Better luck next time ...

This is our first Oceania cruise doing the Riviera 3/28/2018. I have looked at the specialty restaurants, but not made any reservations yet. How do they compare to the Main Dining Room? Thanks, Phil

Have you looked at the Oceania Riviera information on line? Here is the "Cuisine" information- look at the menus for each restaurant. You should make your specialty restaurant reservations on line now- the longer you wait, the fewer open times will be available.

https://www.oceaniacruises.com/ships/riviera/cuisine/

This is our first Oceania cruise doing the Riviera 3/28/2018. I have looked at the specialty restaurants, but not made any reservations yet. How do they compare to the Main Dining Room? Thanks, Phil

We found on our recent Marina trip,a lot of oil is used in Jacques.Something we don’t use at home..The steamed asparagus,for example,came in oil.When we questioned this they said it is steamed but finished on a griddle with olive oil.We then just asked for no oil on steamed vegetables throughout the restaurants and this was not a problem.

Although Jacques was our least favourite,I have to agree that the pork chop was one of the best cuts of meat in 18 days...

Funny how before we left I had read that the turkey in Terrace was so good.I was bemused at how turkey could be anything but good.Well.it was amazing.Full of flavour,moist and no fat....double helpings there.

Toscana was surprisingly our favourite too.The homemade pasta was so light, making every dish easy to eat..Every evening they would have a special dish,either as a starter or main.The staff in there were very relaxed,happy and funny.Personal Italian recipes from crews mothers,are also included in the menu.Nice touch.

You make your restaurant reservations according to your cabin category and should make them as soon after your category can as possible for the best times and tables (for 2 or share?). How you feel about each of the 4 specialties depends on your personal tastes. I had a really terrible version of that pork chop in Jacques the first time I went there (DH had horrible duck on that cruise). I had better food the next time (fresh fish) but it remains my least favorite of the restaurants. OTOH Toscana is my favorite despite having a fatty veal chop there once. Many of us love Red Ginger but there are many who do not or find it too spicy. Get your 4 reservations and decide for yourselves!

After boarding you may schedule more reservations than your allotted amount. We were able to schedule 6 extra reservations on our recent 37 night Miami to Tahiti itinerary.

After boarding you may schedule more reservations than your allotted amount. We were able to schedule 6 extra reservations on our recent 37 night Miami to Tahiti itinerary.

Probably true, but that is largely a function of the Specialty Restaurant Menus being static. On longer voyages passengers, particularly repeat passengers, seem to enjoy the variety of the Terrace and the Grand Dining Room after a dinner or two where they revisit old favorites in the Specialties. (Does anyone remember the chocolate lasagna craze? :hearteyes: )

On voyages of two weeks or less, by the time that everyone gets those first few "innings", the Cruise is already coming to an end, so the Specialties are more popular and "extra" reservations are that much harder to come by.

Probably true, but that is largely a function of the Specialty Restaurant Menus being static. On longer voyages passengers, particularly repeat passengers, seem to enjoy the variety of the Terrace and the Grand Dining Room after a dinner or two where they revisit old favorites in the Specialties. (Does anyone remember the chocolate lasagna craze? :hearteyes: )

 

On voyages of two weeks or less, by the time that everyone gets those first few "innings", the Cruise is already coming to an end, so the Specialties are more popular and "extra" reservations are that much harder to come by.

Not probably true. True. I have no reason make things up.

Not probably true. True. I have no reason make things up.

A million apologies. I was never intending to question you, but rather to point out that your experience with Specialty Reservations was colored by the length of the cruise, and would most likely be different from others.

Probably true, but that is largely a function of the Specialty Restaurant Menus being static. On longer voyages passengers, particularly repeat passengers, seem to enjoy the variety of the Terrace and the Grand Dining Room after a dinner or two where they revisit old favorites in the Specialties. (Does anyone remember the chocolate lasagna craze? :hearteyes: )

 

On voyages of two weeks or less, by the time that everyone gets those first few "innings", the Cruise is already coming to an end, so the Specialties are more popular and "extra" reservations are that much harder to come by.

I agree the Terrace is a premium buffet that allows you to mix and match a variety of cuisine. Too, they will have several of the dishes being served in the main dinning room AND several of the specialties, Jaques, Red Ginger for example. and Toscana. ( My least favorite too much starch pasta and tomato and garlic cheese.).

I favor french and french fusion, and can not see for the life of me why people like Italian food, its so mono dimensional with each dish tasting very much like the other ..

Maybe it's because in some regions of the country dont have Italian and its all new???? It is my least favorite.cuisine. land or sea

Book what cuisine you favor and base it on what you get, not on how they fixed it , or something like it, back at your home town favorite..

As an example, I read a harsh criticism of the French Laundry in Napa, because they did not fix their food like they did back at their local restaurant and charged too much too!!!

I agree the Terrace is a premium buffet that allows you to mix and match a variety of cuisine. Too, they will have several of the dishes being served in the main dinning room AND several of the specialties, Jaques, Red Ginger for example. and Toscana. ( My least favorite too much starch pasta and tomato and garlic cheese.).

I favor french and french fusion, and can not see for the life of me why people like Italian food, its so mono dimensional with each dish tasting very much like the other ..

 

Maybe it's because in some regions of the country don't have Italian and its all new???? It is my least favorite.cuisine. land or sea

We know you do not like Italian but the cuisine is a little broader than Chef Boyardee Beefaroni starchy past with tomato. (mind you Chef Boiardi apparently had a net worth of $60mm so clearly met a need).

Octopus Carpaccio with Champagne Vinaigrette or Artichoke and Parmesan Cheese Timbale with Black Truffle Sauce (oops, cheese) followed by Osso Buco alla Milanese or their Veal in lemon sauce - not a tomato to be seen.

My real point though is that everyone has their preferences and tastes. An earlier poster reported some have a dislike for Red Ginger as too spicy yet often as posted here is the dislike because it is too bland. How fortunate we are to have so many wonderful choices.

I agree, on longer cruises you do get tried of the Specialty restaurants---in fact you get tried of eating out and want to stay in your suite and eat. Rick

I agree, on longer cruises you do get tried of the Specialty restaurants---in fact you get tried of eating out and want to stay in your suite and eat. Rick

Depends on how many things on the menu you like.

In Jacques I like almost everything on the menu and thus if I go several times, I can get a different meal (appetizer & entree) each time. Likewise in Polo & RG. OTOH, in Toscana, my likes are more limited and I don’t need more than one additional reservation.

Depends on how many things on the menu you like.

In Jacques I like almost everything on the menu and thus if I go several times, I can get a different meal (appetizer & entree) each time. Likewise in Polo & RG. OTOH, in Toscana, my likes are more limited and I don’t need more than one additional reservation.

True Paul, but to my way of thinking, an adventurous, fair minded restaurant patron such as yourself, could easily be just as attracted to the ever evolving menus in the Grand Dining Room or the Terrace.

Trying new dishes with absolutely no consequence, has always been one of the sheer delights of Cruising. :hearteyes:

Trying new dishes with absolutely no consequence, has always been one of the sheer delights of Cruising. :hearteyes:

Well said and a great reminder.

True Paul, but to my way of thinking, an adventurous, fair minded restaurant patron such as yourself, could easily be just as attracted to the ever evolving menus in the Grand Dining Room or the Terrace.

Trying new dishes with absolutely no consequence, has always been one of the sheer delights of Cruising. :hearteyes:

That is true for the great majority of people but sadly not for me :(

Unfortunately for me, the number of food items I do not like far outnumber the ones I do like. I am adventurous in many other ways but food is not one of those :)

Most “normal” people can look at an average menu of 25 dishes and say - “I can eat 22 or 23 of these”; I would usually look at the same menu and say “I like 3 or at most 4 of these”. That is my misfortune.

During my fairly long life I have learned what I like and what I don’t - can’t teach this old dog no new tricks.

That aside, if I cruise on Marina/Riviera once a year or even once very other year then repeating those dishes I like in Jacques/RG is not that repetitious when eaten once a year or once every other year (not to mention that I wouldn’t even try to make them myself at home) :D

True Paul, but to my way of thinking, an adventurous, fair minded restaurant patron such as yourself, could easily be just as attracted to the ever evolving menus in the Grand Dining Room or the Terrace.

Trying new dishes with absolutely no consequence, has always been one of the sheer delights of Cruising. :hearteyes:

+1. Food and service was superb on our recent Riviera cruise in all the venues.

We just returned from Riviera. Loved most of the food. At the risk of being yelled at, my advise is 1. Take a small salt shaker as the ones they have dispense virtually none; and 2) take something like Starbucks VIA instant if you want a flavorable coffee.

And the veal chop at Jacques was incredibly dry, though ordered “pink.”

OTOH the prime rib in Polo is amazing. Ditto the rack of lamb and sea bass in Red Ginger.

We just returned from Riviera. Loved most of the food. At the risk of being yelled at, my advise is 1. Take a small salt shaker as the ones they have dispense virtually none; and 2) take something like Starbucks VIA instant if you want a flavorable coffee.

And the veal chop at Jacques was incredibly dry, though ordered “pink.”

OTOH the prime rib in Polo is amazing. Ditto the rack of lamb and sea bass in Red Ginger.

I won't yell! I've never felt the need to take my own salt shaker along, but then I just about never salt my food at the table. I pretty much always find it is fine as it is. (Then again, I do lo-salt cooking at home as well.)

Jacques is our favorite restaurant on Marina/Riviera but even so we've had mistakes as well -- in ALL restaurants. They just don't happen very often. Or perhaps I should say these have been very rare occurrences in OUR experience.

I agree about Polo's prime rib. I always order it the first time we are dining there.

I can pass on Red Ginger ...

We all have different taste buds.

Mura

We just returned from Riviera.....the prime rib in Polo is amazing. Ditto the rack of lamb ... in Red Ginger.

+1. My prime rib in Polo and rack of lamb in Red Ginger earlier this month were two of my favorite meals onboard. When it comes to an overall dining experience, IMO Red Ginger is superb: maitre ‘D, decor, service from two working together seamlessly, gorgeous china, chopsticks, tea and large variety of menu. Although I assert that the entrees have been “Americanized” in the last couple of years, it remains my top dining choice.

Great thread everyone... thank you for your opinions. I've read most threads on Oceania forum in the past year or so since booking my first sailing on Oceania, and really appreciate the great info I've learned and used.

May I ask those of you with experience on this thread, would you book more Specialty venues when you get on board (even if shared tables) or are you satisfied with the Main Dining Room?

I'm on the 12 day March 7th sailing and have booked my allotted 4 specialties plus the La Reserve on one day (Odyssey Menu).

And I'm pretty sure I wish to try The Terrace on a couple of nights sitting outside while we're sailing through the islands.

I, speaking for myself, would book an extra reservation (or two) at Jacques.

We seldom dine in the MDR -either the specialties or the Terrace 90% of the time.

We have been on 2 Oceania cruises, both on Marina (sister ship to Riviera). On our 1st trip in 2015 we found the MDR to be very good and the specialities to be exceptional (my favorite was Jacques & Polo was my hubbys favorite). On our September 2017 cruise we found the quality & service in the MDR had declined. In addition to the 4 guaranteed reservations for the specialities we were able to snag 2 extras in addition to doing 1 night at La Reserve. Now it could be we just hit the MDR on a bad night that trip but rather than go back, we opted for the Terrace on the nights we did not have a specialty reservation. However you will find there are many fans of the MDR who do not prefer the specialities. So your best bet is to try the MDR on one of the first few nights and you will know whether you want to go back. [emoji3]

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