(Mostly Food) Review of Breakaway, April 10-17, 2016…

[rkaratsu]

There have been so many interesting, thorough overall reviews of late (I’m looking at you DougOut, Yorkvillain, ncklhaus, Squish, etc.) so I am going to focus on the food from our recent Breakaway cruise. As a bit of background, my wife and I have been on 20+ previous cruises, ranging from a QE2 TA crossing to 10 various Princess cruises to Celebrity’s first “Top Chef”-themed cruise to river cruises on the Nile, Amazon and to the Napa Valley. Our last three cruises have been on Silversea but we wanted to try the Breakaway because we wanted to experience a mega ship where the ship is indeed the destination. And when cruising, to us food is the thing!

 

I will date myself but I have always associated being on a cruise with fine dining. Dressing up for dinner. And the first time I ate things like Beef Wellington, escargots, foie gras, and yes, Baked Alaska, were on a cruise ship. The Breakaway seemed to offer a great selection of venues so this is why we chose it. (The other ship we considered was the Anthem of the Sea but in the end, staying in the Haven seemed like a good idea in case the sheer size of the ship became too much. Plus, from what we could tell, the restaurant in the Haven was supposedly another good dining option!)

 

Anyway, here goes the review. I will break it down into smaller chunks (rather than put 10+ reviews in one post.) Going into this cruise, I knew that eating at *every* single venue was probably not possible (but was going to try anyway!) In the end, we never did go to La Cucina (previous reports weren’t all that great), any of the MDRs or Moderno (since we have done the churrascaria on land and aren’t huge fans of the whole “meat on parade” thing.) And I will also say upfront that I am not a big dessert eater so the samplings here (and reviews) are minimal.

 

Here is what I will cover:

 

- Le Bistro, Teppanyaki, Cagney’s and Ocean Blue (the specialty restaurants we tried)

- Hot dog vs. hot dog (Nathan’s Famous from O’Sheehans vs. Sabretts from the cart)

- O’Sheehans and the Uptown Grille (including a burger vs. burger face off)

- The Garden Café Buffet

- The Wine, beer and liquor offerings and thoughts about the UBP

- Shanghai Noodle and Wasabi (the sushi bar)

- The Haven Restaurant

- The Top five *best* (and not-best) things eaten on this cruise

 

Plus a lot of personal opinions on service, “What *I* would do if I were the Food and Beverage Manager of NCL for a day” and draw comparisons (where apropos) to the land-based equivalent of the Breakaway dining venues. I understand that food is *totally* subjective so I apologize in advance if I may not like your favorite restaurant on the Breakaway and in no way am I trying to convert your taste buds to my way of thinking. I guess if anything, I hope that by reading this, you might be a little more curious to try some places (or some foods) that you may not have previous considered!

 

Next: Specialty restaurants…

[LrgPizza]

I'm really looking forward to this. Thanks!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

[rkaratsu]

With the dining package, we tried Le Bistro, Teppanyaki, Ocean Blue and Cagneys. In order of how we liked them, here goes:

 

Ocean Blue – This was our favorite specialty restaurant. I think of the various restaurants on the Breakaway, Ocean Blue was one of two that would be successful as an on-shore restaurant. (The other one I will talk about later…) We found the service and ambiance of Ocean Blue to be the best of the specialty places, and the menu was interesting. For the appetizer, we tried the mussels and the crab legs. Both were very good. (For me, a true test of good mussels is wanting to drink the broth that the mussels were cooked in. Definitely passed this test!) For the entrée, we had the Dover Sole and the Delmonico steak. The sole was good but the Delmonico steak was *the* best piece of meat I had for the entire cruise. *Really* good, as good a steak as I can remember (and I have had my share of steak in my lifetime.) And we ordered a bunch of sides (no limit here) and one really stood out: The charred broccoli with red chili. (You will probably either love this is or loathe it and we loved it.) Finally, the apple strudel was the best dessert I had all week.

 

(At a different time we tried the lobster roll and calamari from Ocean Blue on the Waterfront. Very good bar food, the calamari was nicely fried and the lobster roll had nice chunks of lobster. What I didn’t particularly care for were the potato chips that came with the lobster roll; although they were made from scratch, most of them were soggy to the point of being inedible.)

 

Cagneys – I’m sure everyone has been to a cajillion steak houses on land but as these things go, I thought Cagneys was good. The ambiance was nice, definitely felt like a steak house (whatever that means…) Hot bread and garlic butter came out quickly. The appetizers (a *very* good, no filler crab cake and a wedge salad) were fine. We had a terrific server. And the meat we ordered (an *outstanding* veal chop, definitely recommended particularly if veal isn’t something you might not normally order and a well-cooked (perfect medium rare) petite filet) were steak house quality. (I am thinking chain quality along the lines of a Flemings or Ruth Chris.) But where Cagneys slightly fell down IMO was with the side dishes (which to me is important since man does not subsist entirely on meat...) We were encouraged to order whatever sides we wanted (so we did!) First of all, the sides were only for one person (as opposed to the sides at Ocean Blue which were big enough to share.) And sorry but we found them a bit boring. The roasted Brussel sprouts were just that, roasted Brussel sprouts (but with no bacon, garlic, balsamic vinegar or whatever else you might usually expect with roasted brussels…) Similarly, the steamed broccoli and cauliflower tasted like something one would get in a hospital. Just bland.) Actually, the cream corn was good; from what I could tell, real (rather than frozen) corn on the cob was used. But I digress, if you want well-cooked meat, Cagneys works. (Oh yes, one other thing: Apparently the parmesan truffle fries are a signature side at Cagneys. You will get them with your entrée even if you don’t ask for them. When you walk into the restaurant, you will see these fries (in their holder) sitting under a heat lamp at the pass. I think how long they sit there will determine how much you like them…)

 

Teppanyaki – If you have never been to a teppanyaki restaurant (where a chef cooks your meal in real time right before your very eyes), this can be a fun experience. To be honest, if someone asked me to recommend just *one* specialty restaurant on the Breakaway, I might recommend Teppanyaki. It is fun. It is social. And it is entertaining. BUT the food is a bit one-note. (*Everything* cooked on the grill is flavored with garlic butter and soy sauce; whether it is the fried rice, lobster, chicken, filet, etc, this is what your food is going to taste like.) Having said this, the filet and lobster we ordered were cooked nicely. And the seaweed salad was great. (Between the miso soup, edamame, salad (maybe the best thing during the meal; you can get also get it at Wasabi) and fried rice, you will probably be pretty full before your main course ever arrives. And keep in mind that if you order the filet, the people who order chicken (requires a longer cooking time) will be feed (and probably finished) before you get your steak.

 

Le Bistro – OK, maybe they were having a bad service but I wasn’t impressed with Le Bistro. First of all, I didn’t find the menu to be very interesting. (To me, if you have a French-inspired “bistro”, the menu should have steak frites, duck l’orange, monkfish, etc. And on the wine list, no Bordeaux or Beaujolais.)

 

Took forever for a server to come to our table and what we eventually ordered was odd. The mussels were OK but the broth wasn’t worth drinking (see: Ocean Blue…) The bouillabaisse was like Campbell’s tomato soup with a few chunks of fish and scallops put it. And the lamb loin with pea puree and fava beans was a head scratcher; the lamb loin itself were three small silver dollar-sized medallions of nicely cooked lamb. Accompanying this were (literally) five fava beans. And there was a smear of pea puree on the plate (that was *caked* on to the plate. Couldn’t really eat it.) This dish was an appetizer portion. Le Bistro is the one specialty restaurant I couldn’t recommend. If I had to do it over again, I would have tried Moderno.

 

Next: Hot dogs, hamburgers and pizza…

[rkaratsu]

I love hot dogs. They are definitely my fast food of choice. But I also like an occasional hamburger and pizza so I thought I would try as many of these as I could on the Breakaway for comparison purposes. This is what I found out: By far, my taste buds decreed the best hot dog on the ship to be the Coney Island chili dog (it is a Nathan’s Famous) in O’Sheehan’s. It might have just been one of those moments when you eat something that you happen to be craving but it was perfection in a bun! By comparison, the Sabretts hot dog was pretty blah. The actual dog was OK (although for extra flavor, I wonder why you wouldn’t boil the dogs in beef bouillon rather than just water) but the bun was really limp and the choice of condiments (two kinds of mustard and ketchup) didn’t help. Actually, the hot dog I tried in the Garden Café was better than the Sabretts. This dog was grilled which gave it a little more texture plus with the salad bar nearby, you could get a little more creative with the accoutrements.

 

With the hamburgers, again I thought what was served in O’Sheehan’s was quite good. The actual burger was juicy and in proportion to the bun (and the fries (albeit frozen) that came it were nice and crispy.) On the other hand, the hamburger served at the Burger Bar in the Uptown Grille was really hard to eat. The meat (8 oz.) was way too big for the bun and the actual bun just turned to mush after awhile from the juice of the burger. One nice thing about this burger was that you could basically build your own by adding certain things (i.e. grilled onions, bacon, etc.) and there was also the salad bar for more toppings. But another reason why I wasn’t crazy about the hamburger at the Uptown Grille was that I didn’t care for the waffle fries. They just seemed heavy (and not particularly crispy. They obviously sat for a long time.)

 

Finally, I wasn’t crazy about the pizza. I really don’t eat a lot of pizza and when I do, I like things like pineapple and spinach on it, but I just thought the crust on the pizza in the Garden Café was too thin, and the tomato sauce on it didn’t have much flavor. (The room service pizza was just a bigger version of what was served in the Garden Café. But if you liked what was in the Garden Café, you would also like the room service delivery. Where is a wood-fired pizza oven when you need one?... :] )

 

And one final word about O’Sheehan’s: This is the other restaurant on the Breakaway that if there was a version of it on land, I would go to. I mean it is just another sports bar but I liked the ambiance and the menu. (Besides hamburgers and hot dogs, we also tried the Thai chili wings (good, not great (the wings are frozen) but the sauce was killer) and my wife loved the shepherd’s pie.) One thing I would say however is that the times we went to O’Sheehan’s were when the ship was in port so the place was pretty empty. Late in the evening, O’Sheehan’s seemed like a zoo so I’m not sure what the service would be like at that time.

 

Next: The Garden Café Buffet…

[rkaratsu]

At the start of the cruise, I was pretty determined *not* to eat in the buffet. Whether in a place like Las Vegas or on previous cruises, eating in a buffet has never really appealed to me mainly because of the crowds (and some questionable behavior/manners of those in the buffet.)

 

Having said this, the very first meal I had on this cruise was in the buffet and I would say that after this, I was drawn back to it on more than one occasion! The reason we ate in the buffet on embarkation was because we planned to have lunch in the Haven Restaurant but so did everyone else who was staying in the Haven so rather than wait, we wandered over to the buffet (which at this point was still empty since the regular boarding was just getting started.) One thing I have figured out is that some of the most reliable food in a buffet will generally be things that are braised or cooked in a sauce. (Sitting in a steam tray doesn’t really affect the taste or texture.) I had a braised short rib dish that really was one of the best things I ate all week. Another time I had was a lamb and barley stew and my wife thoroughly enjoyed the Indian food pretty much every day for lunch. (Again, I think the longer things like curry and dal sit in its own sauce, up to a point the flavor intensifies.)

 

Bottom line that I found I could eat quite well (and healthy) in the Garden Café by looking for some kind of braised or stewed meat (just be sure when you go the buffet to walk around the entire place because there will be one or two things that are only offered in one place), some fresh vegetables, a starch and a salad. (And avoiding the peak dining times helps. We went when the ship was in port or at off times (lunch around 1:30pm) and the buffet was always pretty empty.)

 

Next: Shanghai Noodle and Wasabi (the sushi bar)

[Sand and Seas]

Love this.....a food review! And we all know that food is a very important part of a cruise:cool: Can't wait to read more!

[rkaratsu]

Where we live in Southern California we have access to probably some of the best Asian (particularly Chinese) restaurants you will find just about anywhere. But we love Asian food so I definitely wanted to try Shanghai Noodle and Wasabi. Maybe because it is a free restaurant (and it is small), Shanghai Noodle *always* looked full. At opening time, there was always a line of people waiting. To be honest, I’m not sure why because although the food was OK, I thought it was along the lines of something like Panda Express (or whatever the chain Chinese fast food place is in your city.) And yes, being right next to the casino, you will notice the smoke.

 

Also, I can’t say that I was overly impressed with Wasabi. The rolls were pretty standard, not much of a step up from what I can get at my local supermarket. And the quality of the actual sushi (nigiri) and sashimi weren’t super, nor was the sushi rice. (I eat a lot of rice so this is something I would tend to be more critical of.) And right now, Wasabi only serves three different types of nigiri/sashimi: salmon (which is the one raw fish I am a bit hesitant to eat), tuna and yellowtail so there really isn’t much variety. But if you have a craving for sushi, it isn’t that expensive and it is the only restaurant that I came across that served Sapporo beer! (Also, the tasty seaweed salad is the same (I believe) as what is served in Teppanyaki.)

 

Next: UBP rant…

[rkaratsu]

There have been numerous threads about the UBP but I am going to weigh in with my opinion. First of all, as someone who enjoys his alcohol, I think the UBP is a good value (particular when it was included in the fare.) Although the Breakaway doesn’t have the Epic’s brew pub with the great selection of craft beers, I thought the beers available by the bottle were fine. (I have always liked Peroni, Sam Adams, Stella and Dos Equis, all available, and I also tried some other things for the first time (Bass Pale Ale and Pilsner Urquell ) that were quite nice.) And talking to people at the Haven Bar, they seemed fine with things Glenfiddich, Patron Silver, Kahlua, and Belvedere. (I didn’t notice a lot of mixed drinks happening here. I guess one cannot complain about watered down drinks if one drinks things straight up…)

 

BUT the wine by the glass was pretty bad. When the supposed “best” red wine is something I can get at my supermarket for $10 a bottle, the bar is set pretty low. To make matters worse, whatever NCL is using to recap bottles that are opened isn’t working very well because much of the wine by the glass just tasted overly aerated (I think that is the word. Basically just old and slightly oxidized.) By the third day we just purchased wine by the bottle (and with the 20% discount on bottles using the UBP, the markups in some cases were only about 2xs which to me isn’t bad for some wines that weren’t available by the glass.)

 

Next: The Haven Restaurant…

[Rosetraveler]

Norwegian breakaway is the best cruise to be, it got everything but while on port don' t stay in it, explore. Also avoid to shop at the dock since it is a rip off.

[ready2cruzagain]

OP...thanks for the review. I LOVE hot dogs and can't wait to try the ones in O'Sheehans.

[ilsh75]

We also were disappointed with lebistro, this was our 5th cruise an we did lebistro every time and loved it but the new menu is just boring. The lamb and duck in the Haven was better .

[Cruise-mom]

Great read, thanks.

[mollybloomers]

This is wonderful! I'm in food journalism and am going know my first NCL this November, so I've definitely been looking for this kind of review.

[Clarea]

Enjoying this!:D

[LrgPizza]

I notice you pointed out the wings were frozen as if that's bad. Personally, by halfway through a week-long cruise, I wouldn't touch the chicken if I didn't think it'd been frozen, but that's just me. I'm relieved that they freeze it, or it would be dangerous to eat.

 

I have to agree with your assessment of the broth with the mussels at Le Bistro. In previous visits, this was THE BEST thing I'd ever eaten at any restaurant on any ship. That broth was divine. Then on our cruise 6 months ago, it had completely changed where it was just a flavorless juice - as if the mussels were merely served in their own juices with maybe a few herbs added. It was completely different and it ruined the dish. I was so disappointed, and I'd never order it again.

 

Thanks again for the food review! I've never been a fan of Nathan's hotdog chain, but maybe the ones on the ship will be good. I'll think about giving them a shot.

[Keith1010]

Enjoying your review.

 

keith

[TheDougOut]

Now I'm craving a hot dog.

 

THIS is how I want to see food reviewed. I'm tired of seeing blanket statements about how something is "great", "terrible", or my favorite: "inedible". Those statements provide such little useful information without the "why".

 

Great read - thanks for sharing!

[mking8288]

Thank you, very informative & interesting, food reviews are highly subjective & they are opinions - what's excellent to one might just be average to another & quite possibly sub par.

 

We've done the BA twice and noticed some of the subtle changes mentioned about the portion size, especially the shrinken sides. We usually eat there once or twice, part of our platinum perk, and I typically ordered bouillabaisse. It just came out sad look, with a few pieces of small/medium shrimp - along with mussels that seemed mal-nourished, skinny looking. From another review I read, it seemed like they've cut back & no longer cook it with mussels & baby scallops ... the chunks of fish were flavorless to me.

 

Had the lamb on a 2nd. night last year in LeBistro & I was not impressed, it was very good for us in 2014 - had it again, on the MDR menu & ordered it in Manhattan ... looked practically the same & had less fatty tissues attached - actually nicer than specialty, still leave me puzzled. It's the provisions coming out of the central gallery, just a matter of seasoning, preparation & serving it - how could they possibly ruined it.

 

Oh well, with the "new" LB menu, we will set our expectations even lower & take advantage of our complimentary meal & treat another couple sailing with us - will likely eat there once.

 

Shanghai was always empty when it was a paid venue - and typically, it didn't cost us anything since our OBC were used to offset it - service was fine, kind of fast food style & always came out hot - sounded like Asian food court quality at a land-based casino or shopping mall ... Oh, well, it's free & if the line is short enough & we are in a mood for a bite in between, we will give it a try when we sail the BA again next month, just to see for ourselves.

 

As for a premium hotdog experience while cruising - nope, not interested at all ... unless they are completely out of chicken wings & nuggets. Our grand niece & grand nephew won't even touch them.

 

Look forward to reading about your thoughts on services & the five *best*

[rkaratsu]

We also were disappointed with lebistro, this was our 5th cruise an we did lebistro every time and loved it but the new menu is just boring. The lamb and duck in the Haven was better .

 

I love duck and pretty much any time I see it on a menu, I will go for it. However, duck parmentier didn't appeal to me. (I had no idea what it was so I Googled it and it sounds like a cross between a cassoulet and a shepherds pie.) And the lamb dish was also odd. (I have a photo of it somewhere; if I can find it I will upload.)

[rkaratsu]

This is wonderful! I'm in food journalism and am going know my first NCL this November, so I've definitely been looking for this kind of review.

 

Food journalism? How cool is that! Actually in my other life I recently had the pleasure of interviewing Jonathan Gold, the food critic for the LA Times. I guess I am trying to channel him with these reviews...

[rkaratsu]

Now I'm craving a hot dog.

 

THIS is how I want to see food reviewed. I'm tired of seeing blanket statements about how something is "great", "terrible", or my favorite: "inedible". Those statements provide such little useful information without the "why".

 

Great read - thanks for sharing!

 

Thanks Doug. One day we need to meet up on the same ship. You review the beers and I'll do the food! (And my admiration for your live review of the Epic has only increased exponentially after dealing with the wifi on the Breakaway!)

[rkaratsu]

I really liked the Haven Restaurant. On some other Haven threads, the question arises about is it better to actually stay *in* the Haven or in an aft penthouse (with a huge balcony. The downside being that it is indeed a trek to the Haven on a ship like the Breakaway.) Well it would now be my opinion that being in the Haven would be preferable because of the proximity to the restaurant (if this is indeed important to you.) Nothing like being able to roll out of bed and 10 steps later have access to a really nice continental breakfast buffet or some French press coffee. (Actually, I don’t drink coffee but people who did really seemed to like it!)

 

I’ll start by saying that we usually had breakfast in the Haven. Like I said, the breakfast buffet was great. What was there was pretty much the same as in the Garden Café buffet except I am pretty sure there were more fresh berries and if you like more exotic types of fruit (i.e. rambutan, dragon fruit, papaya) I don’t think you will find these in the Garden Café. OK, the menu doesn’t change. But this is a pet peeve of mine when reading about the restaurants on the Breakaway (or any cruise ship for that matter.) I mean, come on, at least at my house, my choices for breakfast are either cold cereal or if I am feeling industrious, hot cereal. No one is cooking my omelette, bacon, sausage, French toast, etc. Maybe if you are on an around-the-world cruise the food might get repetitive, but on a seven day cruise? Please. If nothing else, try something different for a change, you might actually like it!

 

As far as some of the foods l like, the challah French toast (I thought challah was to be eaten on the Sabbath (?) Not complaining though, it makes great French toast!) was almost addictive. For dinner, I loved the rack of lamb and my wife was very happy with the lobster and the duck breast. And a couple of the appetizers were what I would consider “above cruise ship” quality: the pork belly with glazed carrots and the beet and arugula salad with a goat cheese tart. (I saw pork belly on the Cagneys menu as well but didn’t see the beet salad outside of the Haven.)

 

But really, what I think makes the Haven Restaurant good is the service. I think having the same maître ‘d and hostess and servers makes a *big* difference. They get to know your preferences. And who doesn’t like to be addressed by their first name by the second day you go in there? And unless you are a hard core food taster, I honestly believe that good service can make mediocre food taste better. (I don’t think the opposite is true.) And for those who don’t stay in the Haven, I would encourage you (particularly if you are not doing the specialty restaurants) to pick one dining room, eat dinner at the same time, and try to get seated in the same section with the same server (assuming you liked them the first time!) Service can’t help but go up. You will be more comfortable asking for things that might not be on the menu. You will be more comfortable joking with your server (i.e. order a Big Mac one night or if you know about the food of the country of origin of your server, order something like lumpia or chicken adobo.) Somehow I think the food will start to taste better.

 

Oops, got off track there! In short, if you have the opportunity to stay in the Haven, I don’t think you will be disappointed with the restaurant.

[Gershep]

Loving your review. Thanks!!

[darrengs]

I really liked the Haven Restaurant. On some other Haven threads, the question arises about is it better to actually stay *in* the Haven or in an aft penthouse (with a huge balcony. The downside being that it is indeed a trek to the Haven on a ship like the Breakaway.) Well it would now be my opinion that being in the Haven would be preferable because of the proximity to the restaurant (if this is indeed important to you.) Nothing like being able to roll out of bed and 10 steps later have access to a really nice continental breakfast buffet or some French press coffee. (Actually, I don’t drink coffee but people who did really seemed to like it!)

 

I’ll start by saying that we usually had breakfast in the Haven. Like I said, the breakfast buffet was great. What was there was pretty much the same as in the Garden Café buffet except I am pretty sure there were more fresh berries and if you like more exotic types of fruit (i.e. rambutan, dragon fruit, papaya) I don’t think you will find these in the Garden Café. OK, the menu doesn’t change. But this is a pet peeve of mine when reading about the restaurants on the Breakaway (or any cruise ship for that matter.) I mean, come on, at least at my house, my choices for breakfast are either cold cereal or if I am feeling industrious, hot cereal. No one is cooking my omelette, bacon, sausage, French toast, etc. Maybe if you are on an around-the-world cruise the food might get repetitive, but on a seven day cruise? Please. If nothing else, try something different for a change, you might actually like it!

 

As far as some of the foods l like, the challah French toast (I thought challah was to be eaten on the Sabbath (?) Not complaining though, it makes great French toast!) was almost addictive. For dinner, I loved the rack of lamb and my wife was very happy with the lobster and the duck breast. And a couple of the appetizers were what I would consider “above cruise ship” quality: the pork belly with glazed carrots and the beet and arugula salad with a goat cheese tart. (I saw pork belly on the Cagneys menu as well but didn’t see the beet salad outside of the Haven.)

 

But really, what I think makes the Haven Restaurant good is the service. I think having the same maître ‘d and hostess and servers makes a *big* difference. They get to know your preferences. And who doesn’t like to be addressed by their first name by the second day you go in there? And unless you are a hard core food taster, I honestly believe that good service can make mediocre food taste better. (I don’t think the opposite is true.) And for those who don’t stay in the Haven, I would encourage you (particularly if you are not doing the specialty restaurants) to pick one dining room, eat dinner at the same time, and try to get seated in the same section with the same server (assuming you liked them the first time!) Service can’t help but go up. You will be more comfortable asking for things that might not be on the menu. You will be more comfortable joking with your server (i.e. order a Big Mac one night or if you know about the food of the country of origin of your server, order something like lumpia or chicken adobo.) Somehow I think the food will start to taste better.

 

Oops, got off track there! In short, if you have the opportunity to stay in the Haven, I don’t think you will be disappointed with the restaurant.

 

Welcome home it was a pleasure meeting you and your wife last week, and again thank you for adding your room to the cabin crawl.

 

I love this review and agree whole heartily.

 

We enjoyed breakfast in the Haven restaurant every day except one, when we had it in our room, the french press coffee was definitely a highlight except once when we had coffee after dinner, it was not that good.

 

Another plus in my mind for having your haven room in the Haven is in regards to the UBP and the Haven bar. What service, and to be able to walk out of my room and order drinks to bring back in no time at all was a great benefit for us.

Edited April 20, 2016 by darrengs

[rkaratsu]

Ditto Darren. And thanks for arranging the M&G!

 

Actually one other thing about the Haven Restaurant (that makes it different than the MDR and definitely improves quality): All of the food is fired ala minute (made to order.) I got an impromptu tour of the Haven galley by the executive chef (I just asked) and caught the end of a lunch service. The steaks and fish were seared on the grill and finished in the oven. (Chef said volume prevents this from happening in the MDRs although they do this in the specialty restaurants.) And things were also fried to order in the Haven as well.