Edge: Which of the pay restaurants are worth it?

[fstuff1]

i love the 4 MDRs.

all my cruises are comped via casino so no perks.

 

im thinking of paying out of my pocket for Petite, just for watching my food being prepared on a projection right in front of my table.

 

Which of the pay restaurants are worth it?

 

[jelayne]

I wouldn’t pay for Le Petit Chef.  We had a comped dinner there.  Food was good, not great.  The video is cute but all in all it is probably less than 10 minutes.  Most seating was at tables of 6-10 and all must move to the next ourselves at the same time, so you are eating on a schedule.

 

our favorite was Fine Cut Steak House..

[miched]

We had 1/2 off offered because of being B2B.   We used it for the Eden.  It was nice but nothing special.   We wouldn’t do it again.  At 1/2  off  we felt it wasn’t worth the $65 for both of us.  

 

I guess there is supposed to be entertainment during dining.   We were greeted by a performer when entering giving us a glass of some kind of juice.

 

We were seated and told that we could watch the cooks prepare our dinner.   OK it is like looking at people working in the Kitchen.  

 

We were also told when you see a Edenist to raise the candle and they will come over to you.   We did it twice as we only seem to Edenists.   The first was a female that told us about her being.   The second was a male that made a hand jester to explain his name.  Asked us our name and what hand jester would describe our name.  We then had to make up something.  That was it for the entertainment.

 

The silverware in in a drawer.  I am not too sure about how sanitary it is.  No one showed us or told us that it was there.   I knew from earlier in the day that the silverware was in drawers as I seen the drawers open when walking past.  

 

It is very informal, casual dining.   The drink menu is the same as the one at the Eden bar along with a wine list with wines y the bottle or some covered by the glass with a drink pack. 

 

The deserts were were good and had plenty of chocolate.  

 

That is our experience and opinion.   Others will have their own.

 

 

 

Happy cruising 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌅

 

 

[cricketgirl]

Food is so subjective; what one person loves another may hate.  You will find many reviews that are polar opposite for the same restaurant.  I suggest you look at all of the menus and decide if there's anything that SOUNDS worth it to you.  Also it may depend on how much a foodie you are and how picky you may be (unfortunately I am very picky).  We have reserved Fine Cut Steakhouse and Le Petite Chef.  LPC sounds different and worth it for the experience, but most likely a one-time thing for me.  Rooftop Garden sounds great, but IMHO the cost is too high for casual BBQ.  Eden is much too heavy on seafood for me and I'm not too excited about the Eden performers.  Hope you enjoy whatever you choose!

Edited April 24, 2019 by cricketgirl

[Denny01]

Not only is food opinions subjective, so is ‘venue’. We did Eden Restaurant and Fine Cut.

 

Enjoyed the varied and numerous small portions in Eden and the atmosphere and characters. Won’t get that anywhere else. Won’t do 2nd time because it’s mainly a unique experience focused on the atmosphere and unique servings. You do have choices if not big on seafood but the seafood is major - fun part. I recommend it if you like different dining than just a restaurant.

 

Fine Cut was nice meats but personally I didn’t see the cuts as being a big step up from main dining with the additional cost. Venue was ok but w band playing in Martini Bar below it was not conducive to conversations. Not recommended because if I’m paying extra on a ship I expect something beyond a just a bit better cut of meat. 

 

Den

[Gonzo70]

We did Fine Cut & Eden. While Fine Cut is expensive (and at least on our sailing it was very busy - we were told 85% of the capacity was prebooked online, so reservations were tough to score), if you order one of the premium steaks it is well worth the cover charge. At least on our sailing last week there was no upcharge for either the Tomahawk or the Prime Dry Aged NY Strip. Both of these were quality steaks that would cost an awful lot at a land based restaurant. The sides, appetizers and desserts were decent, but the steaks were the star. If you are not planning to order one of the premium steaks, then it would not be a good value. The dining room itself is beautiful and comfortable, but there can be loud noise from the Grand Plaza below depending on what musician is performing; as such I recommend requesting seating as far from the railing overlooking the Grand Plaza as possible.

 

Eden I would recommend taking a pass at; Celebrity at this venue is attempting to do gourmet, fine dining but using very cheap ingredients; there were execution issues as well. Also a nice dining room and it was fun watching and interacting with the Edenists, but the menu needs a MAJOR overhaul.

 

Don't miss breakfast and lunch at the Spa Cafe and at the Eden Cafe; both are free venues, but were quite good and have a nice selection of food for a change-of-pace from the buffet.

[crusingnut]

I traveled with a group of 14. We went to the Eden & Le Petit Chef dinners. All of us loved Le Petit Chef. We were seated at tables of  2 & 4's. We all thought the food was very good and enjoyed it the most. We felt the Eden performance at the end was a bit long, otherwise enjoyed it. Yes, these specialty restaurants are not typical of the traditional ones, but we enjoyed experiencing something different. If your main concern is the menu then you should definitely check it out beforehand. 

[doug52]

We just returned from btb cruises on the Edge, first week in Aqua, second week in a Sky Suite.  In general, we felt the food was a  big step up from our last cruise on the Reflection.

 

We did have a 3 night specialty dining package that we used for Fine Cut, Eden, and Petit Chef.  We also had 3 lunches at Raw on 5.

 

Overall, the dinners at Luminae were some of the best we have had on any cruise ship.  Blu was not far behind.

 

Of the specialties,  our favorite experience was the bone in filet mignon at Fine Cut with the blue cheese crust. Excellent steak with some great sides including the stuffed tater tots, the mac and cheese and the sauteed mushrooms. A great addition to this meal was the fact that with our premium beverage package we were able to get a glass of Caymus for an additional $10 per glass.

 

The other specialties were one and done from our standpoint.  While the food was good(but not any better than Blu or Luminae), you are paying for the ambiance and entertainment in Eden and Petit Chef.

 

We also really enjoyed Raw on 5 for a light lunch and very good sushi. They had  a menu with some cooked selections like the crab cake and an excellent cooked beef dish stuffed with veggies (forget what it was called, started  an N....).  Crab cake was much better than the one we had in Blu, more crab and better flavor.

 

As others point out, food is very subjective, but the four of us traveling together felt the Edge did a great job with the meals we experienced.

 

Doug

 

 

 

[angelhelly]

Grand Bistro for lunch... It was amazing! We went there once, and we loved it so much we went there again, skipping Luminae lunch that day.  The Burger, mussels and everything we had was amazing.

 

 

[miched]

11 hours ago, crusingnut said:

I traveled with a group of 14. We went to the Eden & Le Petit Chef dinners. All of us loved Le Petit Chef. We were seated at tables of  2 & 4's. We all thought the food was very good and enjoyed it the most. We felt the Eden performance at the end was a bit long, otherwise enjoyed it. Yes, these specialty restaurants are not typical of the traditional ones, but we enjoyed experiencing something different. If your main concern is the menu then you should definitely check it out beforehand. 

 

We didn't see any type of a show in the restaurant while dining.   There were a few Edenists that would interact with us if we held up the candle.   We did but of the tables around us did. We dined and when done with our desert left.  

 

If you are referring to the performance  that they put on in the Eden Bar it is open to anyone.   It starts at 10 and last until 11:20.   You do not have to dine in Eden to attend it.  

 

From what I have read it  use to be 3 hours long and they shortened It to 1 hour and 20 minutes.  

 

It is like any lounge act where you can come and go as you want.   There is no reason to stay for the whole performance if you don’t want to.   It is in a bar where passenger come and go getting drinks.   We seen many doing that or just leaving  to do something else.  

 

Happy cruising 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌅

 

[crusingnut]

11 hours ago, miched said:

 

We didn't see any type of a show in the restaurant while dining.   There were a few Edenists that would interact with us if we held up the candle.   We did but of the tables around us did. We dined and when done with our desert left.  

 

If you are referring to the performance  that they put on in the Eden Bar it is open to anyone.   It starts at 10 and last until 11:20.   You do not have to dine in Eden to attend it.  

 

From what I have read it  use to be 3 hours long and they shortened It to 1 hour and 20 minutes.  

 

It is like any lounge act where you can come and go as you want.   There is no reason to stay for the whole performance if you don’t want to.   It is in a bar where passenger come and go getting drinks.   We seen many doing that or just leaving  to do something else.  

 

Happy cruising 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌅

 

We had several short performances throughout dinner which included a contortionist, an instrumental, a lyric dancer and at the end a long lyric dancer. We did talk to one of the Edenist. 

[ALWAYS CRUZIN]

Personally. None of them. Price is way to high.

[DebInAntigua]

I wonder if the pattern is that early diners don't get much interaction, and later diners get more Edenist attention.

 

Or perhaps it's the other way around, since Eden is probably more busy with other guests for the Edenists to focus on after 8 pm?

[dezzy]

We are currently on Edge and last night had the best meal ever at the roof top grill. Yes it was windy and we needed our coats but we had private dining as the only guests there. Three chefs and the maitre de made a special meal for us picking things from different meal options and I had the most amazing ribs I have ever tasted. We watched the sun setting and felt like royalty- a very special night worth every penny.

[Cruise a holic]

We really enjoyed Le Petite Chef- Didn't like Eden at all- food poor and characters silly.  The steak house was also good.  We couldn't dine at the Roof top grill, it was very hot and windy- We really like the lawn club grill of the Reflection and Solstice, but the Roof top grill didn't have protection from the elements- We didn't dine at the magic carpet as it also isn't protected and hot, windy and small.

 

Even though we were in a suite, we tried the regular restaurants, which were better then lumanie on the edge.

Edited May 11, 2019 by Cruise a holic

[Presto2]

We have booked the FCS for our 25th anniversary meal. Just wondering if anyone has had a meal there and had a table outside. Is it well protected or likely to be windy etc. We will be sailing from Sicily that evening high season in August. Thanks for any help.