Chops and Portofino

[scrapycruiser]

We plan on eatting at both resturants.We'll eat at Portofinos on Caribbean night .Which night should we book the other ? And, can you reserve these prior to the cruise like you can on the DisneyMagic ??

[AntiMatter]

I'm thinking about eating at one of the restaurants but I am hesitant to pay the 20 bucks because I enjoy the food in the dinning room so much.

 

I'm wondering if people think it's worth it and which restaurant they liked best if they tried both.

[Lyncruiser]

You can't book the specialty restaurants in advance. We've done Chops on AOS and NOS. We've done Portofino on VOS and MOS.

 

Best experience, by far, was Portofino on MOS -- food was delicious and service was quite incredible.

 

We were disappointed both times with Chops -- on NOS, Dad's steak was a tough as can be, we had a huge lag between appetizers and main course -- like way over an hour. Also, the onion rings were the same ones you get for free at Johnny Rockets.

 

We won't do Chops again. We would, however, to Portofino again. By the way, specialty dining is $20 per person on MOS and $25 per person on NOS (though, I can't figure out why the difference).

[caviargal]

Portofino's is wonderful and last cruise I dined there three times. Chops has been just ok on the three ships where it was available to me.

[CruisenGoddess]

We just got off MOS and my vote is Portofino's by far. The manager is Simten Baran. She is a wonderful lady and her staff is excellant. She has been with RCI 14 years. We ate there 3 nights - everything above excellant! Chops on our 2nd night, was just ok, wasn't thrilled with their speciality steak and the service was just ok. We were convinced to try them again and when we did, everything was wonderful. That being said out of the 5 dining experiences - hands down Portofino. Every bite of food was ummmm in Portifino, didn't have that experience in Chops except when we had their bread pudding. Very well worth the money. We never ate in the dining room - the menu's didn't look appetizing to us, one night in Johnny Rockets - wow oh wow - very good and one night in Windjammer. Eating in the speciality restaurants was like cruise dinners use to be - well above excellent and no noise. Wouldn't hesitate to do it again.

[sonnykub]

Just off MOS as well, and my travelling companion and I liked Chops better than Portofino's. Admittedly, we're more steak eaters than Italian food, but we also enjoyed our experience more at Chops.

 

Highlights of Chops Menu (for us):

 

Appetizers:

Shrimp Cocktail

Portobello Mushroom Cap

Cheese and Onion Soup

(the caesar salad was nice...not exceptional, but better than dining room!)

 

Main Courses:

Filet

New York Striploin Steak

Salmon

Veal Chop

(while large, the prime rib was...eh...prime rib - not bad, just not exceptional to us)

 

Sides:

Onion Rings (I'm a fan of the ones at Johnny Rockets, what can I say!)

Baked Potato (absolutely HUGE!)

Creamed Spinach

 

Desserts:

Apple "Pie"

Mississippi Mud Pie

Strawberry Cheesecake

Warm Brioche Pudding - hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

 

Low-lights of the menu:

Crab Cake (I guess we're not real big crab cake fans, or it was an off night)

Rice Pilaf (Derek said, "lots of rice, no pilaf!")

Mashed Potatoes (eh...)

 

I enjoyed our service at Chops, primarily because the folks there knew me quite well, and remembered us from an earlier cruise. Our servers were quite approachable, and even knew our beverage choices and quirks (no straws for Derek and extra lemons on the table) by the second night. We ended up dining at Chops 4x during the week.

 

Now, I realize I did not give Portofino's more than one try this past week, and admittedly, their menu seems to be a little eclectic to me. I like eclectic, but, I also thought it was a little too busy for the image it was trying to portray. Nice variety, but just all over the place for my taste. Everything we had on the menu was nice, and desserts were no exception. Service was, hm, average - nothing to write home about. Again, it could have been an off night, and besides, the company made the evening a wonderful experience.

 

I have to say that for my upcoming 12 night cruise, I will probably spend most (if not all) nights at the specialty dining restaurants, since it truly was an eye-opening experience to dine completely outside of the dining room.

 

-Steve

[beachchick]

We've had nothing but good experiences with Chops. Steaks have been tender and cooked to order; sides have been good to excellent (they are served family style, so ask for extras to begin with)--the garlic mashed potatoes are good, but they're like any mashed potatoes anywhere--the mushrooms are outrageous. It must have been an off night for the crab cakes because we have them every time and enjoyed them. The desserts have been the only thing to be hit-or-miss, but by then I'm pretty full anyway. (I should learn to ask for dessert to-go for when I'm in the mood for a sweet 3 hours later.) We've also had excellent service. We like to go on the second formal night (don't care about the whole lobster thing), so it's a little quiet, which is wonderful and makes it more romantic.

 

Have not tried Portofinos.

 

You can reserve once you board by going to the restaurant, calling from your cabin, or booking on the interactive-TV.

 

Have a great time.

 

beachchick