Favorite restaurant on Allure

[MelGurl]

What is your favorite restaurant on Allure??

Me, never been on it but I am excited to try Samba Grill.

 

Also where is/was your favorite place to hang out in the evening?

Me, will probably be the casino. :rolleyes:

[Priusprof]

What is your favorite restaurant on Allure??

Me, never been on it but I am excited to try Samba Grill.

 

Also where is/was your favorite place to hang out in the evening?

Me, will probably be the casino. :rolleyes:

 

Favorite restaurant is Chops. If you have been to a Brazilian barbecue in Richmond the Samba is just a condensed version. One waiter will bring the different cuts of meat instead of the roving gauchos. The buffet bar is good but not as extensive a selection. We enjoy that style so it was a nice alternative. If you have not been to this style restaurant try a local version before the cruise.

Our night time favorite is the Schooner bar.

[MelGurl]

Favorite restaurant is Chops. If you have been to a Brazilian barbecue in Richmond the Samba is just a condensed version. One waiter will bring the different cuts of meat instead of the roving gauchos. The buffet bar is good but not as extensive a selection. We enjoy that style so it was a nice alternative. If you have not been to this style restaurant try a local version before the cruise.

 

Our night time favorite is the Schooner bar.

 

I haven't tried it but my fiance has and he loves the whole bringing the meat to you haha.

Thanks for the response!

[Tapi]

We tried most restaurants (except 150 Central Park). The best: Giovanni's Table. The worst: Samba Grill

[MelGurl]

We tried most restaurants (except 150 Central Park). The best: Giovanni's Table. The worst: Samba Grill

 

 

Oh NO :eek: Thanks for the response!

[ryano]

Oh NO :eek: Thanks for the response!

 

Just remember, food is VERY subjective. I know its said many many times here but nothing could be more true.

 

The OP didnt like Samba Grill but you may find it amazing.

 

Im a red meat eater so Id probably like it a lot. I say give it a try and form your own opinion :)

[Priusprof]

I haven't tried it but my fiance has and he loves the whole bringing the meat to you haha.

Thanks for the response!

As you can see from Tapi's response not everyone cares for this style dining. You need to have a big appetite and be a meat lover to really enjoy this style. THe only place we ate that I was disappointed in was Rita's Cantina. Try the Boardwalk hot dog place and get the veal sausage in the special pastry shell. I gave my wife a bite and had to wrestle it out of her hands and then go back and get her one.;)

[70SS350]

Def try Samba Grill. And if you do, wear loose fitting pants. Chops is also an excellent choice too. Enjoy your cruise!

[nimbex1970]

We loved giovani's and didn't care for the food at rita's at all. We returned it..it was fish taco's or something similar. Looked at the replacement of it and decided to head out. Not worth the $$... I think it was only 5 or 6$. Yuck. but again subjective.

 

sat outside giovanis, great atmosphere, great food and the service was superb.

[mpoole3]

I could not decide where to eat on my upcoming Oasis cruise, so I thought :confused: Why settle? I BOOKED THEM ALL! :D

[TonyFred]

Put me down as another Samba Grill lover. I liked the casual atmosphere but beware...you can be miserable afterwards! No room for even a beer!

[OGCFreddie]

I have to go with Chops. It's been with RCI probably the longest of all of them and there is definately a reason why!

[adelrey]

Giovanni's and Chops are excellent.

 

We went to Rita's even though we heard bad things about it so we weren't expecting much....but wow, it was worse than I expected!

[CruisingCaraCat]

DOGHOUSE!!!! - of course it is a stretch to call it a restaurant so my favorite sit down place is 150. I will say that 150 is not for everybody - you don't really choose much of your meal you are just served what is being served that evening. Overall for me it has been the best meal at sea.

 

I also like Ritas, Chops and Vintages and Izumi is not bad for sushi.

 

Contrary to most my least favorite was Giovannis - nice service, etc. but the pasts was not cooked very well.

 

as said above food is definitely a personal preference.

[debshomespun]

Another Samba Grill here too! I don't eat all the sides, just the meats. Then, I save a little bit of room for their delicious desserts!

 

We visit the casino each night. We don't do many of the shows, as we have seem most all of them. Our next trip on the Allure in April will be our 2nd cruise on her!

[Tapi]

Oh NO :eek: Thanks for the response!

 

To expand on my previous answer about Samba Grill, we do love Brazilian Churrascarias and have enjoyed everything from the chain restaurants, to family-owned churrascarias in the US, to the REAL thing on a trip to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

 

The problem that we had with Samba was a combination of bad service with poor meat quality. We waited and waited for our waiter until the restaurant manager walked by and noticed that we hadn't been served yet. Immediately, he summoned our waiter. We think that the manager may have screamed at our waiter before he sent him over because he was in a somber mood, with his eyes glued to the floor. It made us feel sorry for the guy. But it did set the tone for the rest of the night. We didn't see the waiter again until he brought our slip at the end.

 

The parade of meats started, and unfortunately, most of what we were being served were poor cuts of meat. We know from past experience that many churrascarias will serve you the cheaper stuff first (like chicken, sausages and lower quality meats) and save the premium cuts of meat for last. We never got to the premium cuts of meat. One gaucho literally served me a chunk of fat.

 

We signed our slip and left. I'm the kind of person that will always reply "fine" when asked "How's everything" at restaurants (which drives my wife nuts sometimes), but in retrospect, this is one time when I should've said something. We were still a bit hungry when we left Samba (we barely ate) so we ended up at the Windjammer for a bit more to eat before calling it a night.

 

To give credit where credit is due, the restaurant does have great ambiance, and they do try to give it an authentic feel (with a samba dancer going from table to table, and gauchos dressed in traditional attire, although it's a bit amusing that the samba dancer and gauchos seemed to hail from every country except Brazil. But we know that we were on a cuise ship so they have to do the best they can with the resources and personnel available). :o

[MelGurl]

As you can see from Tapi's response not everyone cares for this style dining. You need to have a big appetite and be a meat lover to really enjoy this style. THe only place we ate that I was disappointed in was Rita's Cantina. Try the Boardwalk hot dog place and get the veal sausage in the special pastry shell. I gave my wife a bite and had to wrestle it out of her hands and then go back and get her one.;)

We will definitely give the hot dogs a try. We are also doing Giovanni's on embarkment day for lunch I hear it's $15 and its a great way to stay the vacation!

[MelGurl]

I could not decide where to eat on my upcoming Oasis cruise, so I thought :confused: Why settle? I BOOKED THEM ALL! :D

 

No way! :eek: that is awesome! I will probably be booking a good handful but not all

[MelGurl]

To expand on my previous answer about Samba Grill, we do love Brazilian Churrascarias and have enjoyed everything from the chain restaurants, to family-owned churrascarias in the US, to the REAL thing on a trip to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

 

The problem that we had with Samba was a combination of bad service with poor meat quality. We waited and waited for our waiter until the restaurant manager walked by and noticed that we hadn't been served yet. Immediately, he summoned our waiter. We think that the manager may have screamed at our waiter before he sent him over because he was in a somber mood, with his eyes glued to the floor. It made us feel sorry for the guy. But it did set the tone for the rest of the night. We didn't see the waiter again until he brought our slip at the end.

 

The parade of meats started, and unfortunately, most of what we were being served were poor cuts of meat. We know from past experience that many churrascarias will serve you the cheaper stuff first (like chicken, sausages and lower quality meats) and save the premium cuts of meat for last. We never got to the premium cuts of meat. One gaucho literally served me a chunk of fat.

 

We signed our slip and left. I'm the kind of person that will always reply "fine" when asked "How's everything" at restaurants (which drives my wife nuts sometimes), but in retrospect, this is one time when I should've said something. We were still a bit hungry when we left Samba (we barely ate) so we ended up at the Windjammer for a bit more to eat before calling it a night.

 

To give credit where credit is due, the restaurant does have great ambiance, and they do try to give it an authentic feel (with a samba dancer going from table to table, and gauchos dressed in traditional attire, although it's a bit amusing that the samba dancer and gauchos seemed to hail from every country except Brazil. But we know that we were on a cuise ship so they have to do the best they can with the resources and personnel available). :o

 

Thanks for this! I did ask what your (everyone's) favorite place was, I am looking for personal experiences and I understand everyone is different.

[MelGurl]

Giovanni's and Chops are excellent.

 

We went to Rita's even though we heard bad things about it so we weren't expecting much....but wow, it was worse than I expected!

 

Note to self stay away from Rita's. So sad because I love Mexican, but not terrible mexican

[springfire]

I am ready to try them all!!!

[rednancy1]

Chops and Giovanni's Table are winners in my book. :)

[Bellalago Breeze]

We have tried them all - twice now! Our favorites are 150 Central Park, Vintages, Izumi & Samba Grille. Meals at all were excellent both times, so I guess it's a matter of taste and the luck of the draw once in a while.

Our least favorite is Giovanni's Table. The dinner menu didn't even have a pasta dish! We much preferred Portofino for an Italian restaurant.

We felt that Chops was not as good as it used to be both food and service wise. We knew the food at Rita's Cantina left much to be desired, but doing the fiesta and getting 3 margaritas more than made up for it.

During the day the Hotdog House and Park Cafe can't be beat.

 

Our favorite place to go to in the evening is definitely the Schooner Bar, especially if they have an entertaining fun type piano player and not one who plays elevator music. Otherwise, the Pub gets our business.

[Upandadam]

I think 150 Central Park is considered the most upscale restaurant. We sure loved it.

[molly361]

Boardwalk Dog House- that will be our first stop along with the Boardwalk bar on Sunday.

 

Have yet to try Rita's but that is on the list as well.:D