Anyone tried the new P&O menus?

[louhun88]

We're going on Ventura in a couple of months and were wondering whether anyone had tried the new menus that don't feature the always available options?

 

If so do you have any copies of these?

 

Thanks

 

Louise x

[Pasty]

Yes we tried them! Only used the MDR for two nights as the choice was abismal. There were only 3 starters & the mains were poor, chewy meat & cold. I can't eat onions or cheese one evening only had 2 very tiny lamb cutlets on my plate as the potatoes were cooked with onions & the veg was cauliflower cheese. I asked if there were other veg & eventually some rock hard carrrots arrived (after I'd eaten the lamb!) We decided to eat in the Beachouse which was very nice, hot food, American diner style. No doubt P&O fans will disagree with me but, having had a lovely choice on the menu with Princess we were very disappointed. :(

[jocap]

I haven't copies, but I wrote down what I had on 2 formal nights in Cinnamon:

Asparagus and duck egg

Wild mushroom soup

Lobster

Pear torte and vanilla pod icecream

and

Egg and shrimp mayo

Irish mussel soup

Gressingham duck

Cheesecake.

There was also cheese, and salad.

The food was good, and beautifully served.

Normally we would go to a speciality restaurant, or the themed evening in the buffet.

We found the food good in all venues.

Jo.

[Bispham Boo]

My parents were on Oriana last month & enjoyed the food, though maybe not quite as much as previously. My dad is a fussy eater but managed to find something in the MDR each night which he was happy with. We go on our first P&O next month & I'm disappointed they've got rid of the savoury!

[blitznbobs]

We 've had these meals and with one notable exception always managed to find something yummy in the mdr. I must recommend curry night in the buffet tho. It's the one meal I really look forward to thru'out the whole cruise. Yum yum yum!

[bogofman]

Yes we tried them! Only used the MDR for two nights as the choice was abismal. There were only 3 starters & the mains were poor, chewy meat & cold. I can't eat onions or cheese one evening only had 2 very tiny lamb cutlets on my plate as the potatoes were cooked with onions & the veg was cauliflower cheese. I asked if there were other veg & eventually some rock hard carrrots arrived (after I'd eaten the lamb!) We decided to eat in the Beachouse which was very nice, hot food, American diner style. No doubt P&O fans will disagree with me but, having had a lovely choice on the menu with Princess we were very disappointed. :(

 

 

I think the MDR choice was very limited on our recent Ventura cruise , and some of the starters were quite bizare.

 

I agree we had a much better meal in the Beach House and the waiters were much more friendly.

 

The MDR felt more like being on a conveyor belt (freedom dining) and they wanted us out of our seats as quick as possible.

 

we noticed our main course was already waiting at the waiters station whilst we were still eating our starters, no wonder they were luke warm.

[cruiseluvva]

Neither of us is blown away by meals in the MDR and if the choice is now more limited, we will probably dine there even less than we do already.

[tom_uk]

We generally enjoyed our meals in the MDR on Ventura in May/June (Club dining, second sitting). I've got the menus but I haven't scanned them yet. I'll try to do some and post them on my blog.

[jeanlyon]

Here you go - three sample menus that are the same on all ships. They look very good to me?

 

https://ask.pocruises.com/help/PO/life-on-board/example_menu

[louhun88]

Here you go - three sample menus that are the same on all ships. They look very good to me?

 

https://ask.pocruises.com/help/PO/life-on-board/example_menu

 

I saw the menus on P&O's website, they seem good but i want to know whether those are actually being served or whether the menus are different :confused:

[gabriella3645]

I saw the menus on P&O's website, they seem good but i want to know whether those are actually being served or whether the menus are different :confused:

We have just returned from a 7 day cruise to the Norwegian Fjords and can tell you that 2 of the 3 menus on the website were served and they were delicious.

[jeanlyon]

Great news!

[RunicTalisman]

We returned yesterday from the Ventura West Med cruise. Except for three nights when we eat in either The White Room (twice) or East, we eat in the Cinnamon Restuarant (freedom dining). I can assure you there is always plenty of choices to pick from and all the food we had was fantastic. You would have to be very picky to complain. The buffet or Beech House are also OK but I didn't think of the same quality. We had no problems with feeling rushed. My only gripe would be that as we wanted to eat as a couple and not share a table there was sometimes a wait for a table. Usually this was around 10 to 20 mins. And the tables are rather crammed together. My only other issue is not with the restaurant but with the diners. If you want a single table rather than a shared table. Why then do you strike up conversations with the people on the tables next to you. Go to a shared table talk as much as you like and leave the single tables to us boring people who just want a quiet dinner with ourselves. If I wanted to talk to strangers I would have asked to be seated on a table with others and not had to wait for 20 mins.

Have a great cruise and dont worry about the food. It's brilliant, worry more about your waistline.

[jeanlyon]

Methinks some folk need to branch out and stop eating "English" all the time. I have never had a problem with the food on P&O. It's always been good.

[cruiseluvva]

Methinks some folk need to branch out and stop eating "English" all the time. I have never had a problem with the food on P&O. It's always been good.

 

It's that very English-ness we dislike - but for mass catering it's ok I guess.

[davecttr]

Those menus look OK to me. Plenty of choice and I am looking forward to the Tapas in Ramblas :D

 

i suppose everyone realises that the main dining rooms HAVE to have the capacity to feed everyone without all theis speciality con!

[jeanlyon]

I suppose I meant "steak or chicken" - sounds like what I used to offer on the aircraft. "chicken or steak".

[berlingo]

The "typical" lunch and dinner menus on the P&O website seem to have been removed. I wonder whether this is due to them being changed quite substantially?

 

Comparing the menus in March of this year to the ones my parents bought back with them on Saturday there were lots of changes. The number of choices for each course was as before but the sweets, savories, anytime options, specialty breads, wine and liquors specials were all missing. The special after dinner drink my father was offered one night was a very nice glass of port but at £4.90 surely not a "special" price?

 

They still had a lovely time and really enjoyed the food. On one evening when nothing appealed and a steak was requested the waiter was extremely apologetic explaining that steak was no longer available and offered a chicken breast instead.

 

Shame it has had to change though.:(

[kevinyork]

My only other issue is not with the restaurant but with the diners. If you want a single table rather than a shared table. Why then do you strike up conversations with the people on the tables next to you. Go to a shared table talk as much as you like and leave the single tables to us boring people who just want a quiet dinner with ourselves. If I wanted to talk to strangers I would have asked to be seated on a table with others and not had to wait for 20 mins.

 

We thought the same but then we started to really enjoy the chats with our neighbours and met some lovely, and very interesting, people that way. Its pretty hard not to talk to the neighbouring tables given their proximity although I agree if you really wanted not to have to chat to your neighbours then it must be quite annoying.

[davecttr]

The "typical" lunch and dinner menus on the P&O website seem to have been removed. I wonder whether this is due to them being changed quite substantially?

 

Comparing the menus in March of this year to the ones my parents bought back with them on Saturday there were lots of changes. The number of choices for each course was as before but the sweets, savories, anytime options, specialty breads, wine and liquors specials were all missing. The special after dinner drink my father was offered one night was a very nice glass of port but at £4.90 surely not a "special" price?

 

They still had a lovely time and really enjoyed the food. On one evening when nothing appealed and a steak was requested the waiter was extremely apologetic explaining that steak was no longer available and offered a chicken breast instead.

 

Shame it has had to change though.:(

they were still there 5 minutes ago!

under the 'how can we help/life on board' section

[louhun88]

The "typical" lunch and dinner menus on the P&O website seem to have been removed. I wonder whether this is due to them being changed quite substantially?

 

Comparing the menus in March of this year to the ones my parents bought back with them on Saturday there were lots of changes. The number of choices for each course was as before but the sweets, savories, anytime options, specialty breads, wine and liquors specials were all missing. The special after dinner drink my father was offered one night was a very nice glass of port but at £4.90 surely not a "special" price?

 

They still had a lovely time and really enjoyed the food. On one evening when nothing appealed and a steak was requested the waiter was extremely apologetic explaining that steak was no longer available and offered a chicken breast instead.

 

Shame it has had to change though.:(

 

I was really looking forward to the speciality breads :( I don't think i'll be trying the after dinner drink at those prices!!!!!

 

On a slightly different topic does anyone know if the MDR is open for lunch everyday or only when the ship is at sea??

[leedslad]

We were on in June and I found the MDR food to be at best moderate and certainly not anything like fine dining

Small portions and poor quality meat and chicken and never better than luke warm

 

My better half is veggie and she really hated it so did the buffet quite alot which was just about OK

 

Why people insist on getting dressed up like they are going to the Ritz at 6pm whilst its 80 degrees and sunny outside is beyond me. Especially to eat what is average 3 star hotel food at best

[NSWP]

On Arcadia next year I am looking forward to some 'KIPPERS' for Breakfast, will I get some?

 

Also re Dining Room for dinner..had a look at menus on P&O site, the range of dishes does not seem that big, compared to Princess, anybody else found that? At least you call a Main Course 'Main' not entree.'

[davecttr]

The menus on the P&O site are examples, I presume not the only ones on offer!. There are only so many basic ingedients anyway and as they are probably running a fixed menu cycle I would not expect anything other than mass catering, after all you are cooking for thousands.

 

It is interesting that noone has mentioned the dreaded' piping hot' yet. Apparently food should not be piping hot except perhaps roast potatoes and gravy.

 

Ever got irritated why you sometimes have to wait for your meal? The waiter told me. They are responsible for several tables and for fairness they change the order in which the table orders are taken. So one day you might be the first table and the next the sixth!.

 

As long as the rest of the table is good company I will be happy.

[Catherine Janaway]

As we are new to P & O we will have nothing to compare the food to when we cruise in October.

 

We are hoping to book some of the premium dining experiences at least once each, and it seems that there are other options if you leave the dining room early e.g room service.

 

Like everywhere there have been cut backs but I'm not expecting to starve! :D