Epic Photo Review – Specialty Dining - Menus - Freestyle Dailies - Deck Tours

[megacruiser]

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I started with the Pho which was a pale imitation of the customisable version served upstairs. Then came the Fish and Chips... Before even tasting it I could tell it was substandard. The batter simply wasn’t crisp, but worse was to come... As I cut through it, I was faced with a fawn-coloured substance that did not resemble fish, and was certainly not Atlantic Cod; and for a moment I wondered if it was the wrong dish, perhaps some sort of turkey burger. I sent it back without tasting it and afterwards I wished that I had taken a photo of it; but my reaction was so pressing that I didn’t...

 

The replacement was the Salmon Burger. This was rather good, with a high salmon content. Very tasty and I would have it again. The Key-Lime Parfait dessert was pleasant enough; could have benefited from a more intense Key-Lime flavour, but nevertheless a good ending to the meal.

 

 

 

Vietnamese Chicken Pho...

 

 

 

 

Fish and Chips; soggy batter and it was not cod...

 

 

 

 

Salmon Burger – very tasty...

 

 

 

 

Key-Lime Parfait with Ginger Crisp - a nice ending...

[megacruiser]

MegaCruiser

 

Thanks so much for your wonderful review. Hope you get the T-shirt as the Cruise Critic Review of the week, month,....

 

I will be on the Epic on the trans-Atlantic in October.

 

Did you ever dine alone in the Specialty Restaurants? On one cruise I dined alone in the main dining room twice. I did not enjoy the experience as I was not prepared and did not bring a book.

Since travelling alone, and due to taking many photos of food for these reviews, I have always dined alone, as I would consider it rude to spend so much time taking photos whilst in company. You get used to it but I do have fond memories of tables for eight with new-found friends that can transform not only the dining experience but the whole cruise...

 

Regards

megacruiser

[megacruiser]

I'm another regular reader of this wonderful review, and I appreciate all the effort you have gone through. I enjoy the pictures immensely, but it's your commentary that makes it such a great review. Nancy

 

It is genuinely greatly appreciated to hear that you have enjoyed my review.

 

Many thanks and kind regards,

megacruiser

[megacruiser]

I'm an avid reader probably three books a week. Of course I'm retired. My preference is mystery thrillers. I came up on your post, and was intrigued. Of course I will be Following! I can hardly wait to see what happens next.

 

Thanks for the feedback. Getting near to the end now. Spent the entire day sorting through all the MDR menus that I hoped to post tonight, but there has been a hitch, so it will be tomorrow...

 

Kind regards

megacruiser

[megacruiser]

I may have missed this, but what kind of camera do you have? Love your pictures & great review! :)

 

Thanks for your feedback. It's a Fuji X100, but be aware that it is not a point and shoot camera, and it took me months to get to grips with it.

 

Regards

megacruiser

[megacruiser]

Following! Looking forward to reading more of your review and seeing these great pictures!

 

Many thanks.

megacruiser

[megacruiser]

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I intended to visit La Cucina as part of the UDP, but opted out because of generally poor reviews. Here is the menu in any case...

 

 

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[megacruiser]

 

One of the Head waiters kindly supplied me with what was supposed to be the entire week’s dinner menus. I took them up onto the open deck to be photographed before returning them. On reviewing them back, the Day 4 and Day 6 menus were missing and instead of the one Starter Menu, which is what I thought I had been given, there were three. I believe these three Starter Menus may be alternated but, on each, the Classic Dishes listed below remains the same, and hence are the ”always available” options.

 

I have tried to find the missing menus from searching the forums and I will post the Day 6 menu that KeithJenner posted already (thanks to him; I am confident he won’t mind). I note, from the other menus that he posted from his May cruise, that the odd item had been changed on my June 8th sailing.

 

As for the missing Day 4 Mains Menu, I will post a best guess composite based on the Getaway menu, and others, as there is a strong correlation between the Getaway menus and those served on Epic, but with the odd substitution. If anyone has a Day 4 Mains Menu or remembers what was on it, please do chime in...

 

 

 

Starters 1...

 

 

 

Starters 2...

 

 

 

Starters 3...

 

 

 

 

Day 1 Mains...

 

 

 

Day 1 Desserts...

[megacruiser]

Day 2 Mains...

 

 

 

Day 2 Desserts...

 

 

 

 

Day 3 Mains...

 

 

 

Day 3 Desserts...

 

 

 

 

Day 4 Mains (possible)...

 

 

 

Day 4 Desserts...

[megacruiser]

Day 5 Mains...

 

 

 

Day 5 Desserts...

 

 

 

 

Day 6 Mains (thanks to KeithJenner)...

 

 

 

Day 6 Desserts...

 

 

 

 

Day 7 Mains...

]

 

 

 

Day 7 Desserts...

[robandlil]

Truly enjoying your style.

Does your day 1 menu start in Barcelona or Rome?

[megacruiser]

Truly enjoying your style.

Does your day 1 menu start in Barcelona or Rome?

 

 

Barcelona:).

 

Regards

megacruiser

[Zhane's mum]

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I started with the Pho which was a pale imitation of the customisable version served upstairs. Then came the Fish and Chips... Before even tasting it I could tell it was substandard. The batter simply wasn’t crisp, but worse was to come... As I cut through it, I was faced with a fawn-coloured substance that did not resemble fish, and was certainly not Atlantic Cod; and for a moment I wondered if it was the wrong dish, perhaps some sort of turkey burger. I sent it back without tasting it and afterwards I wished that I had taken a photo of it; but my reaction was so pressing that I didn’t...

 

The replacement was the Salmon Burger. This was rather good, with a high salmon content. Very tasty and I would have it again. The Key-Lime Parfait dessert was pleasant enough; could have benefited from a more intense Key-Lime flavour, but nevertheless a good ending to the meal.

 

 

 

Vietnamese Chicken Pho...

 

 

 

 

Fish and Chips; soggy batter and it was not cod...

 

 

 

 

Salmon Burger – very tasty...

 

 

 

 

Key-Lime Parfait with Ginger Crisp - a nice ending...

 

Sorry, I must have missed it, what restaurant was this?

[megacruiser]

Sorry' date=' I must have missed it, what restaurant was this?[/quote']

 

Taste... It's in the heading of Post 326... :) The Manhattan Room did not open for lunch.

 

Regards

megacruiser

[disneykins]

We're on the TA so I'm sure we'll get similar menus and probably have some of them repeated. Does the Garden Café have the crepes in the evening? Used to go up there every night on last cruise and get a dessert crepe, freshly made.

 

I noticed they had soufflés on the dessert menu some nights. I've always loved their soufflés but they don't seem to do them as much as they used to. Did you try them?

 

Thanks for the great review.

 

Tony and Debbie.

[glittergal1]

I have loved your review thank you for taking the time to put it all together . I have booked a Studio cabin for May 2015 I have booked solo But hope that I can find some travelling companions before then but If I dont you have given me the confidence to say "Hey I will have a great time no matter what" I am sooooooo excited .

I am travelling on a tight budget so do you know if any of the bars had "happy hour " and buy 1 get 1 free deals ?

[diraebrad]

Thanks so much for your review! I'm on my first NCL cruise in December, but on the Breakaway rather than the Epic. Still...I'm sure the experience will be very similar. I'm always interested to read the experiences of other solo travelers. I was booked into a solo cabin on the Breakaway, but in the recent Dash sale, an interior was less expensive, so I switched. I'm sure I'll be trying out one of the solo cabins in the future, however. And you've absolutely sold me on the UDP.

[cateringkalimas]

Can't put the book down megacruiser! You tell an exciting story, great details, great 2nd review of Cagneys. Appreciate the pictures of tendering in Cannes...this will be interesting indeed. WOW, am I getting on the ship, its enormous to say the least.

 

Thank you for your reviews!

[megacruiser]

As I was sorting through more photos, I found this one which shows the actual menu displayed outside Taste on Day 3. As this is a different menu to the three others I already posted, I guess there are seven different starter menus and it’s only the Classic Dishes and certain of the starter items that get repeated.

 

 

 

[megacruiser]

My final dinner was to be in Le Bistro for a second visit. I planned from the outset to dine there twice, as my past experience has been that the food there is consistently the best; and this cruise was no exception. The $20 charge is a bargain compared to similar-quality specialty restaurants on other cruise lines. As I did with Cagney’s, I’ll compare what I ate on each occasion and then give my preference.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Appetisers

 

First - The Scallops were excellent; the dish was well-conceived and executed...

 

 

 

 

Second - The little Cornets were much tastier than expected; glad I had them...

 

 

 

 

Soups

 

First - The Mushroom Soup remains a Le Bistro triumph...

 

 

 

 

Second - French Onion Soup was well below expectations...

Edited July 22, 2014 by megacruiser

[megacruiser]

Mains

 

First - Fruits de Mer – good idea but sauce lacking; stringy lobster - maybe a bad night...

 

 

 

 

Second - Rack of Lamb... not keen on presentation or sauce on top but still very good...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Desserts

 

First - Tarte Tatin - a French classic and truly manifique...

 

 

 

 

Second - Chocolate Napoleon – nicely done and would be a winner for chocolate lovers...

 

 

 

 

The winners were as follows: Firstly the Coquille St Jacques; but for non-seafood eaters, the Cornets would be a very good second-best. The Mushroom Soup is in a league of its own. Sadly, the French Onion Soup was not good enough for a French restaurant - lacked depth of flavour and the cheese topping just wasn’t right. The Fruits De Mer may have been a bad example on the day, so I wouldn’t rule it out in the future; but on this cruise the Lamb was the winner, although not the way I normally like Rack of lamb to be served. For Dessert, the Tarte Tatin excelled but the Chocolate Napoleon was a good example of its type, and a good alternative.

[megacruiser]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[megacruiser]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[megacruiser]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[BugsyCruiser]

Really appreciate your review. I am considering a Med cruise aboard Epic in the future and doing a live review so this definitely gives me some insight on what Epic will be like

 

Thanks again :)