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My Experience with Pop-up Sel de Mer

RandyinDEN

By RandyinDEN,
in Holland America Line

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Divi

Divi

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We enjoyed all of the specialty restaurants on the Koningsdam in November. It’s great to have so many dining choices as well as the beautiful MDR.

We thought the food and service was wonderful everywhere on the ship.

We are looking forward to trying them all again on a transatlantic in October.

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NCFoodFan

NCFoodFan

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Just finished the Panama Canal cruise on the Zuiderdam. I had read the hype and really looked forward to Rudi's SdM. Ambience was nice (though omnipresence of Rudi reliquary was somewhat disconcerting) but food was a definite disappointment. Escargot (in shells) was good but no better than MDR and roasted garlic was mummified. I love a good, fresh salt-baked fish but the branzino was neither - dry, odd taste. We should have known as we kept asking the waiter at the Pinnacle earlier in the week if the fish was truly fresh and got only evasive answers. Desserts: "meh." Pinnacle Grill is a much better value. If I were Rudi, I would not put my name on this dining experience.

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djhsolara

djhsolara

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I’ve posted this in other SdM topics.

 

In our opinion, it is much better on Koningsdam with its dedicated space than the pop-up offered on other ships. It is a cozy, relaxing, wonderful experience on Koningsdam. It’s just a different menu (although good) in the PG on other ships.

 

Also...the entire menu is not offered in the pop-up version, so if there is something that you were looking forward to based on your experience on Koningsdam, you may be disappointed to find it not offered at the pop-up (I know I was).

 

 

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Vict0riann "Live from...." Rare

Vict0riann

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Just off Koningsdam this morning after 21days on board, and we went to Sel de Mer three times. Two nights before we disembarked I asked our waiter about how the "pop-up" dinners would work. He said they would also be a la carte, as on Koningsdam, and that they will be known as Chef Rudi's Sel de Mer, with a few new dishes. Most times, with our 5-star discount, we ended up paying about $35 for the two of us. It was alright, some things were definitely not fresh - one night I ordered the moules/frites, and so many of the mussels were closed that I mentioned to our waiter that they should have been removed. The manager came over and told me they were actually vacuum-packed, and they would bring me more. I guess that is why they were rather grainy and rubbery. I said I didn't want more, but that the closed ones should not have been served. I regretted ordering them.

 

 

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Vict0riann "Live from...." Rare

Vict0riann

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I forgot - we actually ate at Sel de Mer four times. Twice I had the fish of the day. Once I think it actually was fresh. I also had the sole one day, which I couldn't believe was even sole, it was so hard and dry. I think this is going to be one of those places you have to ask about the freshness of the ingredients!

 

 

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RJ2002

RJ2002

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Thanks for all the comments on Sel de Mer. It is offered on our Zuiderdam cruise later this year, and we are going to give it a try.

 

One thing I wanted to clarify... is it a set price like PG, or is it a la carte? When I made our reservation, we were charged $49/pp. I am hoping that we won't have a la carte charges on top of $49!!??! :confused:

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MisterBill99

MisterBill99

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I forgot - we actually ate at Sel de Mer four times. Twice I had the fish of the day. Once I think it actually was fresh. I also had the sole one day, which I couldn't believe was even sole, it was so hard and dry. I think this is going to be one of those places you have to ask about the freshness of the ingredients!

 

 

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Disappointing to hear. I wonder if they'll actually tell you what's fresh, even if you ask?

 

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  • 2 weeks later...
2XTRADIRTIES

2XTRADIRTIES

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Just finished the Panama Canal cruise on the Zuiderdam. I had read the hype and really looked forward to Rudi's SdM. Ambience was nice (though omnipresence of Rudi reliquary was somewhat disconcerting) but food was a definite disappointment. Escargot (in shells) was good but no better than MDR and roasted garlic was mummified. I love a good, fresh salt-baked fish but the branzino was neither - dry, odd taste. We should have known as we kept asking the waiter at the Pinnacle earlier in the week if the fish was truly fresh and got only evasive answers. Desserts: "meh." Pinnacle Grill is a much better value. If I were Rudi, I would not put my name on this dining experience.

 

 

 

It’s interesting how everyones experiences vary. Our party of 4 loved Sel de Mer on the Koningsdam -would have eaten there more often if possible. We were very disappointed with the pinnacle -left a free dinner reservation unused.

 

 

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2XTRADIRTIES

2XTRADIRTIES

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I'm SERIOUSLY thinking of doing the Pop-up Sel de Mer next month on Eurodam. It really sounds pretty good!

 

 

 

Anyone have any experience on Eurodam lately?

 

 

 

Was on the Eurodam in December and enjoyed a fabulous meal in Sel de Mer pop up at the pinnacle. My only disappointment was that it was only offered once!

 

 

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ithaca gal

ithaca gal

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Was on the Eurodam in December and enjoyed a fabulous meal in Sel de Mer pop up at the pinnacle. My only disappointment was that it was only offered once!

 

 

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My sister and I were on the Eurodam in November/December. Since we didn't do any shore excursions, we decided to do the pop up Sel de Mer. We were very disappointed with our dinner. I ordered the lobster and the portion was VERY small. I ordered crepes Suzette and instead of crepes, I received the equivalent of pancakes! I asked the server to tell the chef that these should be much, much thinner to be considered crepes and he said he did but there was no response! As my sister said "They weren't worth the calories", so I left them untouched.

 

The dinner is $49 and I had my Four Star Mariner discount applied. We still felt it was the worst dining experience we had on the cruise. Never again.

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sofietucker

sofietucker

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Loved the Sel de Mer Bistro dinner on the K-dam in Dec! I had the foie gras app (pan seared, not pate) and the cassoulet. A BUNCH of food! Could hardly manage dessert--especially when they also brought a selection of petits fours... But all absolutely delicious. He had the steak tartare and...beef of some sort that he said was great. I debated on the escargots until I saw that they were in the shell. Have fished them out via tongs & 2-tined fork in the past, but decided against risking a Pretty Woman incident--will only work that hard for lobster, lol. So go! The menu varies from time to time and they DO have specials... Sample menus are posted on the HAL site under Dining and the name of the restaurant.

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sofietucker

sofietucker

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Posted (edited)

The one time GRITS is singular for sure: as the acronym for "Girl Raised In The South." Otherwise, it'd be Girl Raised In The... (Yes, "in" and "the" don't usually take caps, lol...but I'm not gonna argue with a Steel Magnolia!)

 

"She is a GRITS; in fact, they are both GRITS. One of them is saying that her grits are cold. Look, a GRITS is over there with a mint julep--the one in the fancy hat. Those GRITS sure know how to have a good time!"

Edited by sofietucker
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tkwbear

tkwbear

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The Dutch Cafe on the Pinnacle class ships is no longer free, it is now A la Carte. Dinner at the Culinary Arts Center has moved from fixed price to A la Carte. It's disappointing to book a cruise and find out they are changing the rules to cost you more.

 

https://www.hollandamerica.com/pageByName/Resp.action?requestPage=Innovations_Dining&showHeader=true&showFooter=true

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MisterBill99

MisterBill99

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The Dutch Cafe on the Pinnacle class ships is no longer free, it is now A la Carte. Dinner at the Culinary Arts Center has moved from fixed price to A la Carte. It's disappointing to book a cruise and find out they are changing the rules to cost you more.

 

https://www.hollandamerica.com/pageByName/Resp.action?requestPage=Innovations_Dining&showHeader=true&showFooter=true

Are you sure about that for Dutch Cafe? They've been showing "a la carte" for a while now, but there are no prices on the menu for the food and I read in other threads that it was free.

 

Culinary Arts Center changed a couple of months ago because they switched food partners and the prices are actually pretty reasonable and portions large, per a post from a couple of days ago.

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