Reviews of Share and Salty Dog with Pictures

[Host CJSKIDS]

So, only two possible choices for each course? Is that right?

 

Sent from my SM-P580 using Forums mobile app

 

You get to pick two "main courses" and then desserts at The Salty Dog. The menu can be found here.

 

https://www.princess.com/ships-and-experience/food-and-dining/specialty-restaurants/the-salty-dog-gastropub/salty-dog-menu.pdf

Edited January 9, 2018 by Host CJSKIDS

[helenb]

So, only two possible choices for each course? Is that right?

 

At Salty Dog you can select 2 of the plates offered. There are 9 selections from which to choose those 2. You also get to choose 1 of 4 desserts.

 

For Share, you get 1 choice from each course. Course 1 (starter) has 2 options. Course 2 (salad) has 4 options. Course 3 (pasta) has 2 options. Course 4 (sea) has 4 options, one of which is not seafood. Course 5 (land) has 4 options. Course 6 (dessert) has 4 options.

 

There is at least 1 vegetarian option in each course.

Edited January 9, 2018 by helenb

[jennybenny]

Our next bookings are on Caribbean Princess, then Emerald Princess. Glad to see that neither Share nor Salty Dog are on either ship.

 

Sorry to break it to you, but SHARE and Salty Dog are on the Emerald.

[jennybenny]

At Salty Dog you can select 2 of the plates offered. There are 9 selection from which to choose those 2. You also get to choose 1 of 4 desserts.

 

For Share, you get 1 choice from each course. Course 1 (starter) has 2 options. Course 2 (salad) has 4 options. Course 3 (pasta) has 2 options. Course 4 (sea) has 4 options, one of which is not seafood. Course 5 (land) has 4 options. Course 6 (dessert) has 4 options.

 

There is at least 1 vegetarian option in each course.

 

Thanks for sharing your photos and your experience. The photos really do add a lot to any review.

We personally love SHARE and specifically booked the Ruby next because SHARE is on it. Food is subjective, so I understand that it's not for everyone. I agree the price point it a bit high, but I suspect that's because of royalties paid to Curtis Stone. By the way, the vegetarian option at SHARE is delicious, it's a mushroom ragout thing!! My husband and I split it with the steak.

 

I tried Salty Dog in April 2016 when it was 3 items for $19. I was a bit unimpressed as well. At 3 items I think we felt full, but unsatisfied. I got the burger, cauliflower (?) and grilled cheese with tomato soup. The fondue was the best part, followed by the burger, completely unimpressed with our other 4 items (2 of us dining). At the time I remember thinking that this would be better for lunch. I don't want to waste a dinner eating there. I'd rather pay the up charge for Crown Grill or go to the MDR. I heard they piloted it for lunch, but I suspect it was not a hit due to people's love of the free Pub lunch. I'd certainly pay for Salty Dog for lunch, but will not waste a dinner on it.

 

Again, thanks for sharing.

[helenb]

I wanted to try the mushroom ragout dish, but it felt like less 'value' than the duck. But I love mushrooms! Maybe next time... if there is a next time...

[Coral]

Thanks for the review! It is one of the best I have seen of those 2 restaurants.

[dforeigner]

There have been plenty of negative reviews about these two restaurants. We tried them both during our sailing to Alaska this past summer on board the Emerald.

 

We really enjoyed Share. Additionally we ate twice at the Salty Dog. Neither restaurant was a freebie for us as our fare did not include specialty dinning. We also ate at the Crown Grill.

 

Would we eat at those establishments again. In a heart beat.

 

Thank you for the review and sharing your pictures by the way.

[SCHappilyRetired]

Share is my favorite speciality restaurant on Princess. I don't think $39 is outrageous for a 6 course meal. I can't get a 2 course meal for that price in a nice restaurant where I live.

[dforeigner]

Share is my favorite speciality restaurant on Princess. I don't think $39 is outrageous for a 6 course meal. I can't get a 2 course meal for that price in a nice restaurant where I live.

 

Exactly.

[helenb]

Share is my favorite speciality restaurant on Princess. I don't think $39 is outrageous for a 6 course meal. I can't get a 2 course meal for that price in a nice restaurant where I live.

 

I agree that $39 is not outrageous (and is actually quite reasonable) for a 6 course dinner of this quality on land. But at sea, you have to add in the fact that you have already paid for a nice multi-course dinner in the MDR, which you are skipping to eat at Share. That's why it feels so pricey. At least, that's my perspective on it.

[Taer al Saefer]

I agree that $39 is not outrageous (and is actually quite reasonable) for a 6 course dinner of this quality on land. But at sea, you have to add in the fact that you have already paid for a nice multi-course dinner in the MDR, which you are skipping to eat at Share. That's why it feels so pricey. At least, that's my perspective on it.

 

This is how my mom felt. I've been to his restraunt Gwen in LA (omfg yasss) and it was over $100 pp. I obsess before, during, and after the meal and am a huge Top Chef fan so going to eat at a restaurant like that is akin to going to a museum for me, only I can eat the art.

[Clarea]

Thanks for the review and beautiful photos!

[Skai]

 

Before I get into the nitty gritty, our overall experience at Share was good. The food was (mostly) excellent and we really enjoyed it.

 

 

After reading your review(and the critiques there-in), I find the above statement puzzling.

 

Your grumblings would lead me to believe that the meal was less than excellent. You felt the bread was "off" and needed something more "to be right". You found the "hard and stale" cheese plate to be "disappointing". The beans accompanying your duck leg were "undercooked and hard" and meriting to be described as the "worst part of your meal", that you couldn't even eat them. The artichokes accompanying your tough and chewy "poor quality of meat" steak were uninspiring.

 

So you liked the pasta dishes and found the charcuterie good? Hubby was content with his entrees?

 

To me, your review seems far from glowing. Or am I reading too much into it?

[Steelers36]

Share looks right up my alley, but I couldn't convince my mom to go. She was concerned that it would be $120 + tip for the three of us and either we would leave hungry, or dissatisfied. Looking at the pictures make me wish we had gone!

 

Although you CAN, it is not necessary to add tip at a specialty restaurant. The same wait staff work there as in other dining venues and they all share in the tip pool. Still, I tend to agree that SHARE is not worth $39 when other options are $29. And I am not so sure I like the change from $25 to $29 that happened last year. Once I am on board and have tried it (CG) again - and quality is not reduced - I probably won't begrudge the increase cost.

[Skai]

(Especially for a person willing to pay an extra $10 for a 2nd entree at the 'Crown Grill') My advice on the 'Salty Dog'(when dining for two) is to pay three coverage charges.

 

At $36, it's still less than one coverage charge at 'Share'. The table also receives two orders of fondue/bread sticks and three desserts to share FWIW.

[Lucky TGO]

Thanks for sharing. Great photos.

Tony

[Steelers36]

From what I have read, I wouldn't be interested in ordering 3x Salty Dog meals. Not even sure I would go for one, although I might try the burger once.

[azbirdmom]

Sorry that your steak was tough. The one I had at Share on the Emerald was so tender I didn't need a knife. I'm guessing that quality varies from ship to ship and possibly itinerary to itinerary!

[helenb]

After reading your review(and the critiques there-in), I find the above statement puzzling.

 

Your grumblings would lead me to believe that the meal was less than excellent. You felt the bread was "off" and needed something more "to be right". You found the "hard and stale" cheese plate to be "disappointing". The beans accompanying your duck leg were "undercooked and hard" and meriting to be described as the "worst part of your meal", that you couldn't even eat them. The artichokes accompanying your tough and chewy "poor quality of meat" steak were uninspiring.

 

So you liked the pasta dishes and found the charcuterie good? Hubby was content with his entrees?

 

To me, your review seems far from glowing. Or am I reading too much into it?

 

Yes, there were things that weren't perfect, so I was trying to be honest in my review, rather than saying that everything was great or everything was terrible.

 

Overall, we enjoyed the meal and found it tasty. The bread was good, but it could be improved. The charcuterie, the burrata, the pastas, the seafood dishes and the chocolate dessert were all terrific. The cheese plate was meh. The duck leg was terrific, but the beans on the side were not. The steak was very nicely prepared, but would have been much better with a different cut of meat. The caramel cheesecake needed more caramel. Despite this, the cheesecake was still good, and the steak still tasted good. But yes, the steak was a 6 when it could have been a 9. Overall, these negatives were relatively small in the grand scheme of things and the impression of the restaurant was very good.

[Skai]

From what I have read, I wouldn't be interested in ordering 3x Salty Dog meals. Not even sure I would go for one, although I might try the burger once.

 

Different strokes for diffierent folks.

 

Often the complaint from some is that they've left still feeling unsatiated. There is a simple remedy for this - Essentially paying $1 less for what the original $19 cover included -- w/ extra breadsticks/fondue and an extra dessert to boot. I can recommend the burger as well as the lobster mac - however this time it was shells(not mac) and it was less creamy/cheesy this time around. DW liked the short ribs and mushroom dish. A cold beer to wash it down can also aid in helping feel full.

 

I can grasp how someone might not like the Bourbon Mousse if they don't like the taste of liquor. I would likely skip that desset dish if that were the case, but that's me.

 

Our one time dining @'Share' soon after its initial rollout left us feeling "meh" enough that we won't ever return. Yet that doesn't change the understanding that others might have a more favorable impression of the place.

 

My attitude is "Don't knock it, until you try it".

[Skai]

Yes, there were things that weren't perfect, so I was trying to be honest in my review, rather than saying that everything was great or everything was terrible.

 

Overall, we enjoyed the meal and found it tasty. The bread was good, but it could be improved. The charcuterie, the burrata, the pastas, the seafood dishes and the chocolate dessert were all terrific. The cheese plate was meh. The duck leg was terrific, but the beans on the side were not. The steak was very nicely prepared, but would have been much better with a different cut of meat. The caramel cheesecake needed more caramel. Despite this, the cheesecake was still good, and the steak still tasted good. But yes, the steak was a 6 when it could have been a 9. Overall, these negatives were relatively small in the grand scheme of things and the impression of the restaurant was very good.

 

Understood. We tried 'Share' very soon after its debut and found it to be less than impressive. We did like a couple of the dishes, but some were tepid/luke warm and others were bland. Perhaps still in its infancy, they were still working out some bugs.

 

It looks like they've changed the menu since then.

 

We were excited to try something new, but like you, @$39 a pop, we didn't see the value to quality ratio that we would expect at that price point. We've had as good(and worse) meals dining in the MDR truth be told.

 

At the time of the ('Share')rollout, the "Crown Grill" had recently been raised to $25(no extra charge for additional entrees).

 

For the most part, the CG has been good to me. (At that time)Two meals at the CG for a little more than one at 'Share' was a no contest decision for the former.

 

I surely wouldn't discourage anybody from trying 'Share' based on our solo experience, but I do feel that dining in a specialty restaurant ought to be special. If more than one item is less than great(and not a personal mistake in understanding what I've ordered), then the experience doesn't exemplify special to me.

[RickEk]

Hmmmm... thanks for the review.

 

We enjoyed SHARE immensely on our last cruise on Emerald Princess. I have to say that it was the best specialty restaurant experience we've ever had on Princess. The food and service was terrific. If they had live music, it'd be perfection.

 

I think you ordered the wrong things at the Salty Dog. My recommendations are the crab cakes and the Ernesto burger. Both are excellent. I also had the coffee and doughnuts the last time I was there and they were great. The coffee is actually a espresso mousse.. very good. We're looking forward to going again on Ruby Princess next month.

[trishh]

Thanks for the comments! I am glad that people like the photos. It was difficult finding a place to host the photos (as most sites seemed to be blocked by Cruise Critic) but I wanted to get them up, because to me, the photo tells so much more than the description on the menu.

 

I am happy to answer any questions about our experience.

Thank you for your comments and for the pictures. I enjoyed Share when I sailed a couple of years ago, even though plenty of people were giving it really bad reviews at the time. I've only had the Salty Dog once and I was sure it was at lunch, so it was more than enough food.

Trish

[Keith1010]

May I ask what type of camera you used to take those beautiful photos?

 

Keith

[aquilegia]

I loved your review, helenb. Thanks very much. One thing I hope you won't mind me explaining. Sunchokes are not 'artichokes from Jerusalem'. They are what we in the UK call Jerusalem artichokes but they have nothing to do with the city. The word Jerusalem in this case is a corruption of the word 'girasoles' which is French for sunflowers. The plants are members of the sunflower family (hence sunchokes).