Marina Specialty Restaurants

[Mura]

One of your favorites ... I shall say no more.  Back to the topic!

[bitob]

Unfortunately, the specialties on Oceania have never been known for their consistency.  On some cruises Polo has been great.  On others, the chef cannot manage to cook a steak properly.  Toscana has been superb on some cruises and more like Olive Garden on others.  I would choose based on the cuisine I prefer and keep my fingers crossed.  The chefs change from cruise to cruise so there is some luck involved.

Edited July 6, 2019 by bitob

[clo]

4 minutes ago, bitob said:

Unfortunately, the specialties on Oceania have never been known for their consistency.  On some cruises Polo has been great.  On others, the chef cannot manage to cook a steak properly.  Toscana has been superb on some cruises and more like Olive Garden on others.  I would choose based on the cuisine I prefer and keep my fingers crossed.  The chefs change from cruise to cruise so there is some luck involved.

Thanks so much for this.  I'm a decent amateur cook.  Maybe I could help 'em out a bit?!?!?  🙂

[Mura]

I've seen comments like this before but we haven't experienced these problems.  Maybe we were just lucky ... or on different cruises from those had problems!

 

Or maybe we cannot tell good food from bad ... I'm not saying everything on board has been perfect every time.  We've just never had to send back a dish ... or even think about doing so.

 

Mura

[clo]

27 minutes ago, Mura said:

I'm not saying everything on board has been perfect every time.

We had lunch the other day at a favorite place.  The food was fine/good enough but not great.  But we still enjoyed it.  

[CintiPam]

We also have not experienced inconsistency problems with the food in the specialties but generally our issue rather is with the service.  Since we began sailing only on the two larger ships Riviera and Marina in 2011, the year Marina debuted, we have found the food in the specialties astonishingly good.  

 

In May, I tried a new entree on the menu in Red Ginger and found it too bland to my taste.  I easily switched it out immediately for the lobster pad thai.   

 

Service and atmosphere are major parts of the specialty restaurant dining experience for me.

Edited July 6, 2019 by CintiPam

[clo]

22 minutes ago, CintiPam said:

We also have not experienced inconsistency problems with the food in the specialties but generally our issue rather is with the service.  Since we began sailing only on the two larger ships Riviera and Marina in 2011, the year Marina debuted, we have found the food in the specialties astonishingly good.  

 

In May, I tried a new entree on the menu in Red Ginger and found it too bland to my taste.  I easily switched it out immediately for the lobster pad thai.   

 

Service and atmosphere are major parts of the specialty restaurant dining experience for me.

Glad to read this.  I've looked at the RG menu and it doesn't particularly appeal.  We've lived on the Left Coast for some decades and have had access to really, really good Asian food so will like pass on that.

[1985rz1]

Nor have we experienced any inconsistency issues in the specialty restaurants.

 

[ORV]

10 hours ago, clo said:

Glad to read this.  I've looked at the RG menu and it doesn't particularly appeal.  We've lived on the Left Coast for some decades and have had access to really, really good Asian food so will like pass on that.

You could be making a mistake prejudging like that. RG is one of the most popular restaurants on Marina & Riviera. 

[Mura]

No denying that RG is extremely popular, but it isn't popular with everyone.  If we were into Asian fusian style cooking we'd probably love it, but we prefer Szechuan.  Sometimes we'll go to RG once on a cruise, but no more than that.  We rank it 4th on the specialty restaurant list.  Which I'm sure makes those who rank it first very happy because they can snag "our" reservation!

 

Mura

 

 

[LHT28]

RG  is hit or miss with us

tried it 3 times  1st in 2011  it was good

2 & 3rd   they tried to kill us  so no more RG for us

that is good for those wanting more res  they can have ours

 

we like Toscana & Polo  but  the menus  are stale & needs some updating

same old same old for several years now

 

YMMV

 

 

[clo]

18 minutes ago, Mura said:

If we were into Asian fusian style cooking we'd probably love it, but we prefer Szechuan. 

Same with us.  I just looked at their menu again and there's not a single dish that sings to me.  I want to hit the others and Jacques maybe twice and get all hot apps.

[pingpong1]

1 hour ago, LHT28 said:

we like Toscana & Polo  but  the menus  are stale & needs some updating

same old same old for several years now

 

YMMV

 

 

I guess there's only so much you can do with spaghetti & meatballs (or veal Marsala, or saltimbocca, etc.) .  Italian is Italian.  And a "steak is a steak".  What kinds of "updating" do you think they could do, while still keeping it Italian and American Steakhouse, respectively?  Just curious.

[clo]

25 minutes ago, pingpong1 said:

spaghetti & meatballs (or veal Marsala, or saltimbocca, etc.)

All things that I neither cook nor have in a restaurant.  Here's their online menu:

https://www.oceaniacruises.com/Documents/Menus/81604521647/Toscana-Dinner-Menu.pdf

 

And as someone suggested, I'll ask which are their house made pastas.  I make my own on occasion and there's simply no comparison.

 

And steaks are just a small portion of their menu:

https://www.oceaniacruises.com/Documents/Menus/1709/Polo-Grill-Dinner-Menu-RClass.pdf

 

I'll take the seared foie gras and escargot please 🙂  And IF we get a steak it will be cooked to their description of rare:

"RARE Nicely seared on the outside. Red, cool on the inside."

And if it doesn't come like that I'll send it back 🙂

[pingpong1]

15 minutes ago, clo said:

All things that I neither cook nor have in a restaurant.  Here's their online menu:

https://www.oceaniacruises.com/Documents/Menus/81604521647/Toscana-Dinner-Menu.pdf

 

And as someone suggested, I'll ask which are their house made pastas.  I make my own on occasion and there's simply no comparison.

 

And steaks are just a small portion of their menu:

https://www.oceaniacruises.com/Documents/Menus/1709/Polo-Grill-Dinner-Menu-RClass.pdf

 

I'll take the seared foie gras and escargot please 🙂  And IF we get a steak it will be cooked to their description of rare:

"RARE Nicely seared on the outside. Red, cool on the inside."

And if it doesn't come like that I'll send it back 🙂

Clo - Perhaps for you, the "best restaurant" might well be you own dining room!  😉

[clo]

Just now, pingpong1 said:

Clo - Perhaps for you, the "best restaurant" might well be you own dining room!  😉

LOL.  I assume that was humor.  To tell the truth we rarely have steak in a restaurant as we can cook a better (or as good at a fraction of the cost) one at home.  And, yes, I cook foie and escargot at home also.  Cooking is my fave thing to do and had A LOT to do with our decision to go with Oceania.

[LHT28]

58 minutes ago, pingpong1 said:

I guess there's only so much you can do with spaghetti & meatballs (or veal Marsala, or saltimbocca, etc.) .  Italian is Italian.  And a "steak is a steak".  What kinds of "updating" do you think they could do, while still keeping it Italian and American Steakhouse, respectively?  Just curious.

yes you are right 

not much you can do with pasta ..

[pingpong1]

1 minute ago, clo said:

LOL.  I assume that was humor.  To tell the truth we rarely have steak in a restaurant as we can cook a better (or as good at a fraction of the cost) one at home.  And, yes, I cook foie and escargot at home also.  Cooking is my fave thing to do and had A LOT to do with our decision to go with Oceania.

Yes, it was humor (hence, the smiling emoticon).  Our (my) best meals are at home, as well, thanks to the "cooking prowess" of my DW.  And also, far cheaper than eating out. But among many other reasons, going on an "upscale cruise" gives her a much anticipated and welcomed break from those efforts.  I'm hoping that Oceania lives up to it's slogan of "finest cuisine at sea".  We'll see.  Regards.

[Mura]

Clo, in fairness to Red Ginger they WILL spice it up on request.  Obviously, not all of the menu items will benefit from that.  But you shouldn't assume that everything will be bland.

 

Mura

[pinotlover]

Clo;

 

Many of the items were toned down a couple of years ago. Very few items are now even slightly spicy.

 

Our most favorite local Italian restaurant rotates and changes its menu seasonally based upon the every changing availability of fresh ingredients. There is a lot of flavor and menu variety that is possible when offering variety and fresh produce is a priority. Having the exact same menu for years means such variety is not a priority.

 

The Polo Grill is my least favorite of the Specialties. I can fix steak at home as good or better than they serve. I have never found their steaks to be exceptional. The prime rib there is typically excellent. However, we get three reservations there on our next cruise and I won’t eat prime rib that often. We may or may not use all our PG reservations The lobster is too often over cooked. Sometimes I just do 3-4 apps there and that’s dinner. 

[Paulchili]

11 minutes ago, pinotlover said:

Our most favorite local Italian restaurant rotates and changes its menu seasonally based upon the every changing availability of fresh ingredients. There is a lot of flavor and menu variety that is possible when offering variety and fresh produce is a priority. Having the exact same menu for years means such variety is not a priority.

There is a HUGE difference between land based restaurants and cruise ship restaurants.

Your local restaurant can go to the market every day, get fresh ingredients and adjust their menu accordingly - not the case for Toscana for obvious reasons.

Local fish (even lobster in New England) is occasionally available in Terrace or MDR (or even in Toscana AFAIK) when it can be obtained from local market/sources. However, that cannot be done on a daily basis or even frequently - it all depends on where the ship is and what is available and safe to serve.

Edited July 6, 2019 by Paulchili

[pinotlover]

Paul;

 

I am neither denying nor ignoring the differences. I’m just stating that a lot of flavor profiles are possible with spaghetti and other Italian dishes with seasoning and ingredient alterations. There is no reason to have the exact same spaghetti recipe for years. They could have four totally different spaghetti recipes and rotate them quarterly. Just as current practices, they can logistically plan for those menu changes and have all the needed ingredients delivered.

[LHT28]

they do have  a "pasta of the day"   maybe it is based on local ingredients  😉

 

[Paulchili]

55 minutes ago, LHT28 said:

they do have  a "pasta of the day"   maybe it is based on local ingredients  😉

 

Exactly. Also, that way they do not have to print 4 different menus with quarterly rotating pastas just announce it as a pasta of the day.

Edited July 6, 2019 by Paulchili

[clo]

3 hours ago, pingpong1 said:

Yes, it was humor (hence, the smiling emoticon).  Our (my) best meals are at home, as well, thanks to the "cooking prowess" of my DW.  And also, far cheaper than eating out. But among many other reasons, going on an "upscale cruise" gives her a much anticipated and welcomed break from those efforts.  I'm hoping that Oceania lives up to it's slogan of "finest cuisine at sea".  We'll see.  Regards.

The ports were what first drew our attention and the restaurants seal the deal.