How was it?

[travelgip]

Hello:

I will be on Escape end of January, 2023 and wondered if anyone can tell me their experience with LeBistro, Moderno & Teppanyaki?

I have all 3 booked and wondered what you thought of the food/service/ambiance/experience?

Thank you

Edited September 29, 2022 by travelgip
forgot to list ship name

[ColeThornton]

1 minute ago, travelgip said:

Hello:

I will be on this ship end of January, 2023 and wondered if anyone can tell me their experience with LeBistro, Moderno & Teppanyaki?

I have all 3 booked and wondered what you thought of the food/service/ambiance/experience?

Thank you

 

 

Which ship?   🙂

 

Might want to add that to your subject line.

[travelgip]

Just now, ColeThornton said:

 

 

Which ship?   🙂

 

Might want to add that to your subject line.

Yes, sorry.  Escape

[TheycallmeDrew]

I have been to all 3. Le Bistro is my favorite always have loved the food there. Modernist has these delicious rolls made from cheese that are great for my wife since she can’t eat gluten but I find the meat they serve to be a bit dry. The grilled pineapple is very good though. Teppanyaki was ok food wise, nothing special but my experience was ruined by having the “show” ruined by the other side of the table being served first and our chef doing same show right after. Would not rush back. 

[MotownVoice]

26 minutes ago, TheycallmeDrew said:

I have been to all 3. Le Bistro is my favorite always have loved the food there. Modernist has these delicious rolls made from cheese that are great for my wife since she can’t eat gluten but I find the meat they serve to be a bit dry. The grilled pineapple is very good though. Teppanyaki was ok food wise, nothing special but my experience was ruined by having the “show” ruined by the other side of the table being served first and our chef doing same show right after. Would not rush back. 

That would be whacky.  In a usual land based Japanese steak house, the chef cooks for and entertains the entire contiguous table.  What’s the point of having island seating that’s practically “theater in the round” if you’re going to completely ignore half of them for 15 minutes?   

[ChiefMateJRK]

I haven't tried Le Bistro, but we have it booked for an upcoming cruise.  I tried Moderno only once and it was not good.  The pictures show this delicious medium rare meat, but everything we had was well done.  Dry as the Sahara.  Only time I've complained to NCL post-cruise (they gave us a fair amount of OBC for our next cruise - good for them).  Teppanyaki is fun but don't expect Benihana's.  The show isn't as good and the food has nowhere close to the flavor.  Of course, I don't pay what I do at Benihana's so it's all good.  😎

[UKstages]

i've had good and bad experiences at most of these restaurants, depending on the ship. cagney's has been sensational or ordinary. moderno has been phenomenal or rudimentary. le bistro has been uniformly wonderful, however, regardless of the ship... it's usually the best meal of the voyage. 

 

as for the meat temperature at moderno, you can get whatever you want and it's usually perfectly cooked... ask the gaucho (the guy who serves your meat off of large skewers) for what you prefer... if he doesn't have it (and he usually does, off a different part of the skewer), he will send over the guy who does. same thing goes for your preferred meat... if you favor one more than the other and want more, they'll send over a gaucho to give you that particular meat or cut. moderno also has the best salad bar on board and many non-meat eaters will go to moderno just for the salad bar.

[ChiefMateJRK]

7 minutes ago, UKstages said:

as for the meat temperature at moderno, you can get whatever you want and it's usually perfectly cooked... ask the gaucho (the guy who serves your meat off of large skewers) for what you prefer... if he doesn't have it (and he usually does, off a different part of the skewer), he will send over the guy who does. same thing goes for your preferred meat...

On the cruise I was referring to, there wasn't a slab of beef in the place that wasn't charcoaled.  I'm guessing they had the FNG cooking that night.

[UKstages]

36 minutes ago, ChiefMateJRK said:

On the cruise I was referring to, there wasn't a slab of beef in the place that wasn't charcoaled.

 

i'm pretty sure they had uncooked beef.

 

it doesn't take long to go from raw to medium rare. ask them to get you medium rare beef, if that's what you want! if you do, and the gaucho points to something on the skewer that's too well done, say, "no, i want it much redder than that" or "that's cooked too much." they hear this all the time and they are prepared to answer the call... they aim to please.

 

presumably, you were in the restaurant for at least an hour. they easily could have brought you whatever you preferred. it is, after all,  the operating principle behind a churrascaria. i've had really bad experiences at some moderno locations, but it was never because food was unavailable. they were usually lapses in service. there has always been more meat than anyone should be allowed to consume, available in what ever temperature one desired.

 

let them know what you'd like.

 

you are truly the captain of your fate and the master of your soul.

 

also, for the record, they're probably not using charcoal at moderno.

Edited September 29, 2022 by UKstages

[ChiefMateJRK]

16 minutes ago, UKstages said:

 

i'm pretty sure they had uncooked beef.

 

it doesn't take long to go from raw to medium rare. ask them to get you medium rare beef, if that's what you want! if you do, and the gaucho points to something on the skewer that's too well done, say, "no, i want it much redder than that" or "that's cooked too much." they hear this all the time and they are prepared to answer the call... they aim to please.

 

presumably, you were in the restaurant for at least an hour. they easily could have brought you whatever you preferred. it is, after all,  the operating principle behind a churrascaria. i've had really bad experiences at some moderno locations, but it was never because food was unavailable. they were usually lapses in service. there has always been more meat than anyone should be allowed to consume, available in what ever temperature one desired.

 

let them know what you'd like.

 

you are truly the captain of your fate and the master of your soul.

 

also, for the record, they're probably not using charcoal at moderno.

LOL.  Yeah, you're probably right.  Thanks for the coaching.  If/when we try Moderno again I'll be more demanding.  As I said, the pictures looked really, really good. 😎

[JamieLogical]

Le Bistro is AMAZING. The updated menu since the restart is fantastic. Get the french onion soup and the filet. Teppanyaki is a fun experience and also has good food, but it's the kind of thing where if you have done it a couple of times, there's no real value in going back. Moderno is great if you wat a LOT of food.

[TheycallmeFlip]

1 hour ago, MotownVoice said:

That would be whacky.  In a usual land based Japanese steak house, the chef cooks for and entertains the entire contiguous table.  What’s the point of having island seating that’s practically “theater in the round” if you’re going to completely ignore half of them for 15 minutes?   

On the Pearl, I want to say that there were 4 stations that were 2 sets of 2 cooking areas.  So, the chefs would have their backs to each other and depending where you were seated, you could see the show at the other tables.  They do stagger when the stations cook so that everyone isn't being seated or leaving at the same time.

I don't think that the chefs on the ships have as much leeway as far as the show that they can put on as compared to an on-land restaurant due to the fact that they have to take into account potential rocking of the ship.

One person in our group had never been to this type of restaurant before and was blown away.

 

Flip

 

 

[Karaboudjan]

We ate at Le Bistro and Moderno on Escape earlier this year and enjoyed both, and I generally agree with what has been said already.  One additional bonus for Moderno is that you can eat outside on the Waterfront.  I will also add that the 'salad bar' is really more of an appetizer bar; it includes salad fixings but much more.

[Lightnin42]

Just dined at Le Bistro and Teppenaki on breakaway in early September. The filet at Le Bistro is amazing! At teppenaki they cook the food at the table. Everything they bring out has to be perfect in my opinion, since you get to see it raw. Always a fun experience at teppenaki.

[chefchick]

5 hours ago, travelgip said:

Hello:

I will be on Escape end of January, 2023 and wondered if anyone can tell me their experience with LeBistro, Moderno & Teppanyaki?

I have all 3 booked and wondered what you thought of the food/service/ambiance/experience?

Thank you

I have been to all three and have good and not so good experiences at all (depending not only on the ship but depending on the chef/servers on any given sailing). My favorite is Le Bistro but I prefer French cuisine and the overall more formal ambiance.  I think food is WAY too subjective to get a real sense of what YOU might like by polling random strangers on this forum.  My hope is that you will enjoy all three.

[BirdTravels]

12 hours ago, travelgip said:

I will be on Escape end of January, 2023 and wondered if anyone can tell me their experience with LeBistro, Moderno & Teppanyaki? I have all 3 booked and wondered what you thought of the food/service/ambiance/experience? Thank you

Those would be our top 3 picks on the Escape.

 

Le Bistro always as the top service (fewer guests per waiter). Elegant ambiance. Always excellent.

 

Moderno is just a fun restaurant with a excellent salad bar. We always get meats cooked medium rare to medium. Never overcooked. The cavers come to your table until you put out the "stop" sign. 

 

Teppanyaki is always a fun show. We always book a dinner there on every ship. While they can't do the open flame onion volcanos like on land, the chefs work very hard to entertain the most uncooperative guests.  

[PATRLR]

17 hours ago, ChiefMateJRK said:

LOL.  Yeah, you're probably right.  Thanks for the coaching.  If/when we try Moderno again I'll be more demanding.  As I said, the pictures looked really, really good. 😎

FWIW, my wife and I both like rare to medium rare beef and we had no problem getting that from the gauchos by asking.    That being said, we're not fans of Moderno, the land based chains (e.g. Fogo de Chão and Texas de Brazil) are much better.  We won't be back, but it wasn't because the meat was over cooked, it just wasn't good quality.

[PatandStu]

Our experience at Moderno was only fair. All our sides were delivered 10 minutes before any meat arrived. We like our meat medium and each carver said “that’s coming next”-it never did. We loved the salad bar but it won’t be our first choice for dining. Teppanaki was a good show, but the food was average. Our first choices are Cagney’s & Bistro followed by Cucina.  We are eager to try Ocean Blue on our February Breakaway sailing. 

[ChiefMateJRK]

11 hours ago, PATRLR said:

FWIW, my wife and I both like rare to medium rare beef and we had no problem getting that from the gauchos by asking.    That being said, we're not fans of Moderno, the land based chains (e.g. Fogo de Chão and Texas de Brazil) are much better.  We won't be back, but it wasn't because the meat was over cooked, it just wasn't good quality.

Thanks.  I think we'll try it again, as we only tried in once.  I also love a nice salad bar, so there's always that.

[ChiefMateJRK]

5 hours ago, PatandStu said:

We like our meat medium and each carver said “that’s coming next”-it never did.

Was it always overcooked like my single experience?

[spanishguy1970]

my favorite is Le Bistro, followed by Moderno ( for the salad bar) and it depends on the ship, I am a medium rare guy and sometimes they cook it too well.  . We have never done Teppanyaki mostly because i am allergic to shell fish and i am concerned about that. My least favorite is Cagneys although they have a mean chocolate cake. We used to love the mexican restaurant back in 2009 but that was taken away and i am told only a few ships have a new one called Los Lobos, looking forward to trying that one 🙂

Edited September 30, 2022 by spanishguy1970

[ama123]

My favorite is Moderno. Delicious all the way around from the meats to the amazing salad bar to the pineapple. So good. Le Bistro was just ok for me. I didnt love the ambiance and I guess the food wouldnt be my first choice, although absolutely nothing to complain about. Teppanyaki is fun and food is pretty consistently good, pretty much like most land based hibachi restaurants.

[ziggyuk]

Honestly there is too much food in Moderno, I already decided on my next visit I will pig out on the salad bar, then only eat the signature Picanha steak and pig out again on the pineapple.

[PATRLR]

1 hour ago, ziggyuk said:

Honestly there is too much food in Moderno, I already decided on my next visit I will pig out on the salad bar, then only eat the signature Picanha steak and pig out again on the pineapple.

That's actually a very good approach.  Hmmm... If I ever get more status and start getting the more free meals, that might be a good way to burn one.

[BirdTravels]

1 hour ago, ziggyuk said:

Honestly there is too much food in Moderno, I already decided on my next visit I will pig out on the salad bar, then only eat the signature Picanha steak and pig out again on the pineapple.

Pineapple yum!