Booking TK restaurant in booking in advance for your sailing?

[MrsDus]

Mrs Dus - many thanks for your report. I get the impression that perhaps the menu is the same each evening, with two choices for each course? As I can't eat crab - like quite a few people - that would reduce the starter choice, but lobster thermidor is lovely if the lobster is good, as I imagine it was. Maybe when everyone is more used to it there will be possibilities of dining more than once on a cruise.

 

Glad to hear it seems to be pretty successful.

 

 

It is the same menu every night. Unfortunately, I didn't get a picture of the menu but there are definitely more than 2 choices in each category. I believe there were approximately 5 options for starters/mains/desserts. I don't recall the other starter options but I know in addition to the mains we selected, they also offered sole meuniere, a Ribeye and I think another fish option and something like rack of lamb? Don't recall exactly but I certainly felt like there was plenty of selection. In fact, I had a hard time deciding which was why we were a bit disappointed to only go once!

[lincslady]

Thanks, MrsDus; just what I wanted to know - and others too I expect.

[claranda]

Thanks, MrsDus; just what I wanted to know - and others too I expect.

 

Echoing those thanks, MrsDus; we now look forward to our Grill experience...

[MrsDus]

Happy to help - enjoy your experience!

[sfvoyage]

Here are the TK Grill's menu pages for their main dishes and dessert, courtesy of a friend who's currently on the Quest.

[Winner]

Here are the TK Grill's menu pages for their main dishes and dessert, courtesy of a friend who's currently on the Quest.

 

Thank you for posting but only the dessert menu is legible.

[SKP946]

Thank you for posting but only the dessert menu is legible.

 

Winner

 

I managed to decipher all but the top line:-

 

2nd line is "Dover Sole Meunière

3rd is "Lobster Thermidore"

4th "Roasted Free Range Chicken with Thyme Jus" (serves two)

5th "Broiled Naturally-Fed Veal T-Bone"

6th "Roasted Rack of Elysian Fields Farm Lamb" (serves two)

7th "True Rib-Eye of Snake River Farms Beef"

8th "Thick Cut Prime New York Strip Steak"

9th "Steaks served with a choice of Bordialese, Perigourdline,Paloise Gastrique, Bernaise or Steak Sauce"

 

My iPad is trying to tell me that the spelling of the first four sauces is wrong !😜

 

I will have to wait until August to do a taste test.

Cheers,

SKP

[Sunviking]

I think the first line is Eggplant Parmesan, but I may be wrong.

[sfvoyage]

I think the first line is Eggplant Parmesan, but I may be wrong.

 

You are correct.

[Silver Sweethearts]

"Steaks served with a choice of Bordialese, Perigourdline,Paloise Gastrique, Bernaise or Steak Sauce"

 

We would like to think that, given TK's reputation, the steaks are of a quality and type of preparation that should not require a sauce.

Edited June 5, 2016 by Silver Sweethearts

[lincslady]

Thanks to those who have provided and interpreted these dishes.

 

I wonder if these are the sort of dishes served up in TK's land based restaurants, and if so which? Although many are probably excellent, they do not sound like the sort of dishes which would gain Michelin stars.

 

Regarding spelling - we always knew the lobster dish as thermidor, bearnaise is the correct spelling, and perigourdine . I think the bordeaux one is bordelaise -not sure. I think paloise is correct. Please feel free to contradict!

[stamfordian]

We would like to think that, given TK's reputation, the steaks are of a quality and type of preparation that should not require a sauce.

 

Whilst clearly everybody's food tastes are different, not sure I agree wholly with you Sweethearts. There are times when a really good steak, fresh and juicy off the grill, needs little to accompany it although, personally, I would almost always elect for some Dijon mustard on the side.

 

But - as I understand - Keller was trained in the French style, and is choosing to offer four of the classic sauces from French cuisine to accompany beef.

 

The spellings are almost correct as Lincs Lady points out - Bordelaise is the venerable red wine butter and shallot sauce emanating from the Bordeaux area; Périgourdine is, I believe, an Americanised name for what I think of as a sauce Périgueux from the Dordogne area, a very rich sauce incorporating white wine and truffles; Paloise Gastrique and Béarnaise both originate from the area of Béarn in the Pyrénées-Atlantique in south-west France where they breed Aquitaine cattle - some of the finest beef anywhere.

 

Both sauces have a similar base involving egg, butter, shallots and vinegar, Paloise then has mint added whereas Béarnaise has tarragon to add piquancy.

 

I choose not to comment on "Steak Sauce".

[whystayhome]

I got a solicitation online to book TK dining on our cruise this summer. With great effort, overcoming the clunkiness of the website trying to find the booking area , I finally booked it. Then I had to call HQ service to change it, due to a conflict with another SB booking the site did not catch, as once you book it you cannot change or cancel online. I had to recite the booking number using NATO alphabet several times to communicate the key info to get it cancelled, as the person nad trouble understandjngm then had to go back and rebook.

 

Considering SB is based in a high - tech city, Seattle, I am mystified why SB cannot have a better website. Holland America has a better website. But yes, you can book online.

 

I finally called Seabourn and had the agent walk me through the on-line booking. Once she helped me, it was not difficult, but I never could have figured it out on my own. It is showing up in my daily activities, so I suppose we are all set. I do hope the new restaurant has better food than the TK offerings available in the dining room on our recent Sojourn cruise. Those were nothing to write home about for the most part.

Edited June 5, 2016 by whystayhome
Left out word

[jenidallas]

I wonder if these are the sort of dishes served up in TK's land based restaurants, and if so which? Although many are probably excellent, they do not sound like the sort of dishes which would gain Michelin stars.

 

The dishes that have earned Keller Michelin stars at The French Laundry and Per Se are closest to the ones on the every-other-day insert in The Restaurant.

 

On land, Keller has no restaurant like TK Grille although that was his original plan for the Ad Hoc (replicated in the Colonnade) space in Napa before that temporary concept was made permanent.

 

I still believe that Bouchon offered the greatest opportunities for replication at sea... outstanding bakery items aside, I'd love to be able to get classic French bistro fare.

[wripro]

Keller has created a new restaurant for Seabourn. No one should expect The French Laundry or Per Se. That would be impossible at sea.

 

This is an alternate restaurant on a cruise ship and will probably be far superior to most other alternate restaurants on ships. But that's all it is so let's enjoy it for what it is instead of embarking with high expectations of dining at the French Laundry.

[markham]

I will try this question again.

 

Does anyone know when the Odyssey and Sojourn will undergo a drydock refit that will include the elimination of R2, a new TK Grill and its kitchen in its place? If so, please let us know.

 

Happy and healthy sailing!

[frantic36]

I'd love to be able to get classic French bistro fare.

 

I must admit when the discussion about how to rework R2 started my husband and I were really hoping for a French Bistro style. When I read about Bouchon I thought we might be in luck. I am still hoping it might evolve in that direction.

 

However the menu posted is still interesting. Classic food which if it is done well is still wonderful.

 

I loved the degustation style menu at R2 but I met many passengers who wanted plainer food......so this might be the result of comments to management. I know two other luxury lines that cater for this request for simpler food. Crystal has Prego (Classic Italian) and Siiversea has Hot Rocks (BBQ).

 

Just my opinion and thoughts.

 

Julie

[rols]

I will try this question again.

 

Does anyone know when the Odyssey and Sojourn will undergo a drydock refit that will include the elimination of R2, a new TK Grill and its kitchen in its place? If so, please let us know.

 

Happy and healthy sailing!

 

No. Nobody knows. I asked this a while ago and even went through the cruise calendar to work out when the other two ships might next be in dry dock .. it was here

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2320490

 

As was pointed out the nearest 'gap' was the Monaco F1, now we're into the summer season and the next times I saw for dry dock for at least one of those two and possibly both was next year.

 

There were no replies from anyone 'in the know'

[sfvoyage]

Does anyone know when the Odyssey and Sojourn will undergo a drydock refit that will include the elimination of R2, a new TK Grill and its kitchen in its place? If so, please let us know.

 

I asked an officer while on board the Odyssey a couple of months ago and was told both ships are not scheduled for dry dock until late 2017/2018. So the next ship to feature TK Grill will be Encore.

[lincslady]

Keller has created a new restaurant for Seabourn. No one should expect The French Laundry or Per Se. That would be impossible at sea.

 

This is an alternate restaurant on a cruise ship and will probably be far superior to most other alternate restaurants on ships. But that's all it is so let's enjoy it for what it is instead of embarking with high expectations of dining at the French Laundry.

 

I had no particular expectations, but had never been to any TK landbased restaurants, so was interested to hear if this menu was like any of them.

 

I was, I admit, surprised to see that they are mainly 'classic' dishes, but this could be due to someone else's suggestion that many SB cruisers have fairly simple tastes, and let it be known, and that it would be pretty difficult to replicate all the ingredients for very 'fancy' dishes on board.

 

I rather hope that in the dining room the menu will revert more to what it used to be like, with more choices, including some decent salads, and perhaps the odd TK dish on it labelled as such? Some of these dishes have been lovely, one or two pretty dire. As most passengers agreed on which was which I suspect some will have been taken off by now.

 

We will all have to cruise Quest or Encore for a while, if we want to try the new Grill, it seems.

[claranda]

I, too, am disappointed at the plainness of the TK grill menu and the preponderance of lumps of meat. But then yesterday at a Michelin star restaurant nearby I ate:

 

'Loose Birds of Harome' Chicken Liver 'Petit Truffe' with Kings Ginger Wine Jelly. Garden Herb Toast and

 

Five Spice-rubbed North Sea Monkfish with 2013 Lemon Preserve, Cracked Salted Almonds, Roasted Baby Parsnip and Shetland Mussel 'Mouclade'.

 

Not to everyone's taste (and the preponderance of capital letters perhaps a step too far), but the food was exciting, every element adding something to the whole taste experience and giving a sense of occasion. This kind of combination of flavours is surely what we expect from a Michelin kitchen. Oh, I accept that many ingredients are hard to source at sea - after all, my dessert was 'A Celebration of Tomlinson Yorkshire Rhubarb' - and very nice, too!

[stamfordian]

But then yesterday at a Michelin star restaurant nearby

 

Methinks the wonderful Star Inn...?

[claranda]

Methinks the wonderful Star Inn...?

 

Indeed - first time, but not the last...

[wripro]

Nobody ever promised that the TK Grill was going to be a Michelin starred restaurant. On;t that Thomas Keller is a six Michelin starred chef.

[Mr Luxury]

Well said Henry,I cannot believe how posters jump to conclusions.

As you say we are going to get a new restaurant concept at sea from

Thomas Keller and not a land based restaurant like Per Se or the French Laundry.

I don't think that most posters have ever eaten at his restaurants anyway.

I for one am looking forward to a new style of restaurant on a Seabourn ship