Tuscan Garden, err Grill's new menu

[Kevnzworld]

I just exited the Reflection transatlantic a week ago. I visited Tuscan Grill and noticed that they have changed their menu and my favorite dish, the grilled tuna with olive tapenade is gone. They now have a choice of proteins with a choice of sauce, ala Olive Gardens pick your pasta and sauce menu.

There isn't a chicken option, only steak and fish. I ordered the Barimundi, with the only sauce available for fish. The fish was thin and soggy, and the sauce tasted like it was from jar.

My partner ordered a ribeye steak. It had no flavor and was about a 1/2 inch thick. When the host asked us about our meal, she mentioned the poor quality of the cut of meat. The reply was that Celebrity had a new meat vendor...would she like two steaks on top of each other to make it thicker? She was joking of course, but it wasn't funny.

Keep in mind that we sail on Celebrity a lot, we are both Elite plus and we are very familiar with the evolution of the food on Celebrity.

It feels like the menu is now dumbed down like the Lawn Grill, so that even the most inexperienced of cooks can prepare the items.

This is unacceptable for a restaurant that charges $40 pp and for a cruise line that promotes it's cuisine....

[curtdesilets]

if you are Elite-PLUS , you probably remember when Celebrity was the "food king" of cruising. I remember the Mercury in the early 2000's winning not only best dining award for it's size, but for all ships...beating out Seaborn, Crystal, Regent... everybody!!

 

Too bad those days are long gone.

Edited May 18, 2014 by curtdesilets
addes the PLUS

[curtdesilets]

Note, this was only 8 years ago. These are not my pictures, but it gives you a sense of just how good the dining was on Mercury. I love the picture of the children eating (and apparently enjoying) their ESCARGOT:

 

http://***************/gallery/celebrity-mercury-mexican-riviera-2006/dining-on-the-ship/

[ghstudio]

I just exited the Reflection transatlantic a week ago. I visited Tuscan Grill and noticed that they have changed their menu and my favorite dish, the grilled tuna with olive tapenade is gone. They now have a choice of proteins with a choice of sauce, ala Olive Gardens pick your pasta and sauce menu.

There isn't a chicken option, only steak and fish. I ordered the Barimundi, with the only sauce available for fish. The fish was thin and soggy, and the sauce tasted like it was from jar.

My partner ordered a ribeye steak. It had no flavor and was about a 1/2 inch thick. When the host asked us about our meal, she mentioned the poor quality of the cut of meat. The reply was that Celebrity had a new meat vendor...would she like two steaks on top of each other to make it thicker? She was joking of course, but it wasn't funny.

Keep in mind that we sail on Celebrity a lot, we are both Elite plus and we are very familiar with the evolution of the food on Celebrity.

It feels like the menu is now dumbed down like the Lawn Grill, so that even the most inexperienced of cooks can prepare the items.

This is unacceptable for a restaurant that charges $40 pp and for a cruise line that promotes it's cuisine....

 

Hi Kevin...

 

You'll be happy to know that Celebrity just raised the price to $45....

 

I know you're not one to complain so I give your report a great deal of credence. It sounds dreadful......

[curtdesilets]

Guess it was a competing advertising website.

 

here is a pic of the now extinct "Grand Brunch":

 

http://www.the-chesapeake.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/Mercury-brunch-in-Manhattan-Dining-Room.jpg

Edited May 18, 2014 by curtdesilets
clarification

[PatC]

Also Elite plus and remember the wonderful meals on Celebrity.

 

We also dined in Tuscan on Constellation when they first put that restaurant on board and it was to die for!

 

Now, on Equinox this past April, hate to say it but it sucked! Every single side dish came out cold. The menu has decreased with each visit to Tuscan and the price goes up. The female maître d' came over and asked all 6 of us our opinions, and boy did we tell her. She took 20% off every bill but that doesn't matter to us. We loved Tuscan, now would NEVER spend another dime there.

 

We loved, loved, loved, Silk Harvest and are now being told it's off Equinox???? They should remove Tuscan and put Silk Harvest on every ship.

 

Celebrity wake up. You have lost many of us and our next cruise with you will most likely be our last if this keeps up.

 

Now we realize that each ship might be different but from ship-to-ship it seems the problem is spreading so, this is, again, MY OPINION and the opinion of all my friends so, take it for what it is worth.

 

PatC

[curtdesilets]

Also Elite plus and remember the wonderful meals on Celebrity.

 

We also dined in Tuscan on Constellation when they first put that restaurant on board and it was to die for!

 

Now, on Equinox this past April, hate to say it but it sucked! Every single side dish came out cold. The menu has decreased with each visit to Tuscan and the price goes up. The female maître d' came over and asked all 6 of us our opinions, and boy did we tell her. She took 20% off every bill but that doesn't matter to us. We loved Tuscan, now would NEVER spend another dime there.

 

We loved, loved, loved, Silk Harvest and are now being told it's off Equinox???? They should remove Tuscan and put Silk Harvest on every ship.

 

Celebrity wake up. You have lost many of us and our next cruise with you will most likely be our last if this keeps up.

 

Now we realize that each ship might be different but from ship-to-ship it seems the problem is spreading so, this is, again, MY OPINION and the opinion of all my friends so, take it for what it is worth.

 

PatC

 

We are close to Elite Plus, and I agree, Celebrity is starting to wane badly. The FOOD was spectacular just a few years ago. What happened?

[dkjretired]

Note, this was only 8 years ago. These are not my pictures, but it gives you a sense of just how good the dining was on Mercury. I love the picture of the children eating (and apparently enjoying) their ESCARGOT:

 

http://***************/gallery/celebrity-mercury-mexican-riviera-2006/dining-on-the-ship/

 

I go back to early 90s when the food and service in the MDR were better then the specialties now. Don't get me wrong I enjoy the MDR but specialties are overpriced now.

[Cruising89143]

I noticed on my March Reflection cruise that the menu had changed the number of items reduced. I also ordered the rib eye. Lesson learned. Do NOT ever order it again. It was very thin and tasteless. I will stick with the filet.

Edited May 18, 2014 by cruisingator2

[cruisead]

Tuscan has certainly gone downhill, and fast. On our cruise previous to our last one, they had a fantastic veal chop with a choice of three sauces. It's no longer available. And as I wrote on another thread, they had an antipasto plate that was given to every table, but now you're just served a couple of things by a strolling waiter. The divided plate containing roasted garlic, sun dried tomatoes and a tapenade is also gone, and the types of bread/sticks has been reduced.

 

COME ON CELEBRITY!!!!!! You hike the bloody price, and you take things away? In our opinion, considering that the whole quality of Tuscan has collapsed, we won't be back.

[Scrappytraveller]

General consensus - avoid the Rib Eye!

On the Solstice in September, my friend Bill told us how bad the Rib Eye was at Tuscan on his last cruise. He said he would be ordering something else. Along came the waiter and wouldn't you know it, he ordered the rib eye. :rolleyes: It was exactly as described above, very thin and overcooked. We teased him about it the rest of the cruise. :D

If I remember correctly, rib eye was on the menu somewhere else later in the cruise, and when he asked about it the waiter said they could not serve it cooked less than Medium. That was enough for Bill to avoid making the same mistake a 3rd time. ;)

Seriously though, I'm sad to read this because Tuscan was the only restaurant I was still willing to pay for on my upcoming Equinox cruise. With the price increase and the decline in quality, I don't think I'll bother unless a deep discount is offered. I'm tired of Murano and don't think Silk Harvest is worth more than a $15 fee.

[maggie.1008]

Just off the Eclipse TA. Ate at all specialty restaurants. Tuscan Grill had same menu as before and I had the Veal chop. The price is starting to be too much.

[LilMsFoodie]

I appreciate the comments here as I was planning to book Tuscan for our first night on board the Solstice. Is it possible this poor food is the chef and Solstice might still be good? Just dreaming I guess. We have AQ1 so we will do that I guess.

 

Olive Garden is a pox on italian food. Just grotesque portions for the overweight judging by those lined up in front in my town. AYCE overcooked pasta..yuck. I was looking to a great veal chop and maybe a brunello to go with. Think I'll go scour the ship reports for specifics on Solstice.

[gblotter]

We are foodies, but the recent price increases have made us skeptical about whether we will try the specialty restaurants on our upcoming cruise.

 

These worrisome reports about Tuscan Grill have settled the question. We won't reward higher prices and worse food by giving them our money.

 

We will take our chances in the MDR. But if the food quality resembles a Golden Corral buffet, we will be done with cruising Celebrity. Bad food at high prices is a deal-breaker for us.

 

Are you listening Celebrity? Your cost-cutting is driving away business.

[Cruising89143]

I appreciate the comments here as I was planning to book Tuscan for our first night on board the Solstice. Is it possible this poor food is the chef and Solstice might still be good? Just dreaming I guess. We have AQ1 so we will do that I guess.

 

Olive Garden is a pox on italian food. Just grotesque portions for the overweight judging by those lined up in front in my town. AYCE overcooked pasta..yuck. I was looking to a great veal chop and maybe a brunello to go with. Think I'll go scour the ship reports for specifics on Solstice.

 

We dined three times at Tuscan on my last cruise. The first night-ribeye = bad. The other visits -filet = very good.

[Cruising89143]

We are foodies, but the recent price increases have made us skeptical about whether we will try the specialty restaurants on our upcoming cruise.

 

These worrisome reports about Tuscan Grill have settled the question. We won't reward higher prices and worse food by giving them our money.

 

We will take our chances in the MDR. But if the food quality resembles a Golden Corral buffet, we will be done with cruising Celebrity. Bad food at high prices is a deal-breaker for us.

 

Are you listening Celebrity? Your cost-cutting is driving away business.

 

The food is not equal to that of Golden Corral but if you're expecting gourmet quality food in the MDR of any mass market line you will be disappointed.

[Cruise Raider]

We purchased the 3 dinner package on an upcoming Solstice cruise -- our travelling mates have also done the same thing -- so four maybe five couples in all. They somehow look to us for travel advice and told them they do not have to feel obligated but this is what we are doing and they are free to join us.

We booked this package quite some time ago at the same time as we booked the one on the Century, which only has the one specialty restaurant, Muranos. While we really enjoyed the lobster Murano as well as the lobster bisque, I think the other items on the menu were just ok if not awful. My DH tried the lamb one night instead of the lobster -- said it was the worst piece of meat he has ever had. I urged him to say something but he just wasn't that hungry or interested in complaining about it. They have to know these things, though. I am getting a bit worried about talking our travelling buddies into booking the specialty restaurants, now. The Tuscan Grill will be our first one and loved, loved, loved it last time out on the Solstice....although we had a special John Howie prepared meal in there at the time. We were really looking forward to trying 3 different restaurants on this cruise, but if what everyone is saying is true, did we make a mistake by booking the dining package?

Is there anything there that is recommended. Lucky for me, I don't eat red meat -- but I was under the impression that the Tuscan Grill was a steakhouse and now am hearing the steak is awful. I guess there is still time for us all to cancel but really don't want to do that.

I also arranged this cruise for the entire group so they are counting on me to know my stuff. Sometimes I regret that if the product isn't all I have made it out to be. I also hear that the classic beverage package choices are cut down -- hugely according to some. I just don't want to hear "what did you get us into"? It is not an inexpensive cruise and don't want to regret talking others into the extras.

One thing I can say, I don't think they can do anything to ruin that most amazing coffee at Al Bacio. Yum Yum!! Hope they don't change to the coffee syrup like Princess has on their ships....that is just disgusting!!

:confused:

[4cats4me]

Guess it was a competing advertising website.

 

here is a pic of the now extinct "Grand Brunch":

 

http://www.the-chesapeake.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/Mercury-brunch-in-Manhattan-Dining-Room.jpg[/

 

 

I notice the lady in the picture has her finger in her mouth as if she's tasting something. This picture just drives home the point of why many don't like or refuse to eat at buffets. :eek:

[Gracie115]

TOO bad....Tuscan was our favorite Spec Rest and the only one we felt worth the money, but if the menu has changed and quality is reduced we won't be spending any dollars in the Spec. Rest. at all..... Oh well......either X will step up and fix it or not...but am not spending $90 for mediocre and only have one good option (filet) on the menu......

[BEAV]

We were on Crown Princess recently and enjoyed two nights dining in their Crown Grill. For a $25 cover charge we enjoyed some really nice steaks and filets.

 

As to Tuscan Grill, I could justify off the recent price hike from $35 to $45 if the quality of beef was maintained at an acceptable level given the high cost of beef these days. But to raise the cover charge while simultaneously downgrading the quality and vendor, I don't think so.....

[ghstudio]

I don't think the quality of their rib eye steak has gone down....It was awful a year ago and apparently it's still awful. Tuscan Grill is a steakhouse by advertising only.....the view is nice, but we've never really had a good meal there. Murano is reliable, qsine is reliable, silk harvest is reliable, well reliably bad IMHO, but reliable. Tuscan seems to vary with the steaks being the one thing not to order. Maybe it's just our experience....

[Gracie115]

I don't think the quality of their rib eye steak has gone down....It was awful a year ago and apparently it's still awful. Tuscan Grill is a steakhouse by advertising only.....the view is nice, but we've never really had a good meal there. Murano is reliable, qsine is reliable, silk harvest is reliable, well reliably bad IMHO, but reliable. Tuscan seems to vary with the steaks being the one thing not to order. Maybe it's just our experience....

 

I agree with you on a lot of things but not this one. We've eaten at Tuscan on 5 different ships and always enjoyed it. Murano was a disappointment on 2 ships and okay on a 3rd...we no longer go there.... But Tuscan always put out a good to great meal and good service and on the "S" class the best view ever..... but we won't pay $45 if the menu has been changed for the worse....too bad....Blu just looks better and better these days....

[ghstudio]

I agree with you on a lot of things but not this one. We've eaten at Tuscan on 5 different ships and always enjoyed it. Murano was a disappointment on 2 ships and okay on a 3rd...we no longer go there.... But Tuscan always put out a good to great meal and good service and on the "S" class the best view ever..... but we won't pay $45 if the menu has been changed for the worse.[/color]...too bad....Blu just looks better and better these days....

 

:) Experiences are always different, but we certainly agree on the part in red.....

[curtdesilets]

We were on Crown Princess recently and enjoyed two nights dining in their Crown Grill. For a $25 cover charge we enjoyed some really nice steaks and filets.

 

As to Tuscan Grill, I could justify off the recent price hike from $35 to $45 if the quality of beef was maintained at an acceptable level given the high cost of beef these days. But to raise the cover charge while simultaneously downgrading the quality and vendor, I don't think so.....

 

$25 is a reasonable price for an "upcharged" meal.

 

Similarly, The Pinnacle on HAL is only $29, and you can get great steaks there.

 

Celebrity on the other hand is nearly double for the same thing, or as it sounds with TUSCAN, an inferior thing.

 

Also, bear in mind that this is an "upgrade". By dining in a specialty restaurant, you are actually forgoing a MDR meal that you would have eaten.

 

I think $50 per head, plus tips which I know are included but you always want to give more plus drinks as they usually have there own wine list...seems VERY VERY EXPENSIVE!!!

[NLH Arizona]

The great thing about specialty restaurants is that we are not forced to go. If we think it is too expensive or the food isn't great, we don't have to eat there....it is all about choices!! And what is very expensive to one person, isn't expensive at all to another.

Edited May 18, 2014 by NLH Arizona