Chef's Table without the alcohol

[bertrande]

I didn't realise that the Chef's Table was a menu with special wine pairing and was very much looking forward to booking it. When booking became available on the Cruise Planner, I finally read the description without rose tinted glasses. Is it at all worth it for a teetotaller? Am I better off skipping it in favour of another restaurant?

[AZAficionado]

Having done Chef's Table on several ships, I can say that it is very overpriced if you don't drink the wines. The food is good, but not worth the cost without the wines. I don't think you can get a reduced price for just the food, but I could be wrong.

[CapeCodCruiser]

From what I have seen about Royals Chefs Table it is pretty pedestrian. We love doing Chef's Tables but will be skipping Royals. If you want one that is worth it with or without the booze - yes I am going to use the C word - try Carnival's! The food is creative, upscale and delicious. I didn't include the amuse bouche nor the bread - click the link for the food descriptions. Sorry but Royals looks like slop on the plate

 

See the difference Carnivals posts 94 - 123:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2171931&page=5

 

 

https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8644/16629345715_b46a547d2e_c.jpg

https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8668/16007178814_c0bc4ddaaf_c.jpg

 

 

Royals

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2318002

 

[CapeCodCruiser]

Here are the rest

 

[CapeCodCruiser]

Ok - so here is even the pretty bread!

 

 

 

I was very disappointed in seeing the product RC puts out for "Chef's Table" - I could do better than that

[Brigbound]

Yes. Bacon hanging off a shepherd's hook is what it's all about.

[jahannah]

Having never eaten at Carnival's Chef's Table, I cannot compare the two, a cue that some others should take.

 

Given that, we love the RCI Chef's Table, although we would probably not book it if we were teetotalers. With the wine, it is a good value. Without the wine, it probably would not be.

 

The food is equivalent to an upscale tasting menu and they take great care to pair the wines.

[spookwife]

the entire point of the experience is to pair the wine with the food. if you are not going to drink the wine, it would be a waste to participate.

[papaflamingo]

You don't say what ship you are on. If you are doing Oasis class, you can do 150 Park Central. It's a similar experience but you can do it without the wine pairing.

As for Chef's Table, I agree with spookwife that a big part is how the wines compliment the food. But I love the overall experience. It isn't just about drinking and eating, but is an intimate dinner that runs 2-3 hours. The conversation has always been great and you meet others and really get time to get to know them. It's just a fun experience. Would I do it if I didn't drink? Not sure. But if my spouse drank and I didn't, then I would. If I just didn't like to drink, I would likely sip each wine to get the flavor. Only you can decide if it's worth it, but in the grand scheme of things, it's a reasonable cost compared to Chef's Table at a restaurant, and might just be worth trying. If you don't like it then you'll know better.

One other comment. Often if you book on board they'll discount the price to get people to go. You might just wait and see if they'll give you a deal.

[bertrande]

Thanks all. Looks like no point going. We will be on the Harmony and have already bought the three dinner package so yes, hoping to get to 150 Central Park and Wonderland. :)

[travelingla]

150 CP is to me like a 'mini Chef's Table' .... great experience!

 

 

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[critterchick]

I've done the Chef's Tables on both Carnival and RCI and they were comparable. But our CT on Carnival didn't have the food posted, which looks fabulous.

 

I found the CT food on Serenade to be brilliant, but the wines at the first one we did were horrible - $8 in the supermarket and not worth of the food. I hear that they've upgraded the wines, so we may give it another try in August. I found the CT on Oasis to be overcrowded (we had 19 at the table and didn't have enough of the good chairs to go around), but the food was good. They went cheap on some of the wines, too, which was a real disappointment because others had reported excellent wines. So we won't be doing that one again.

 

But back to the original question.:p I have found every CT on every ship (we've gone on Princess, too, and it was the worst of the lot) to be a lot of fun, but I'd never want to be a non-drinker at that table. I've been the only sober person in the room, and it really isn't any fun. I'd recommend 150 CP as well.