Restaurant menu updates

[NanJ0508]

We sailed on the Mariner this year and will sail on her again in 2023. We wonder how often the menu changes in Compass Rose and the specialty restaurants? I assume customer favorites remain on the menu but how often is the menu refreshed? One of the pleasures of cruising is trying new foods so I hope there are new selections for us. Does Regent include meals that relate to the cruise ports?

[Zqueeze1]

NANJ:  if you remember from your last cruise, Compass Rose has a menu on the left that is offered daily and does not change. On the right side, the selections change daily.  In turn, one can make countless combinations.  Although I’ve never seen a cruise port centric menu, you can order just about anything you want for dinner by ordering it 24 hours prior.  We’ve done this for a Filipino dinner as well as ordering a paella.  
Hope this info helps.  
 

Z and TB

 

PS. I went to college in Charleston.  Where are you from in SC?

Edited December 16, 2022 by Zqueeze1

[RetiredandTravel]

17 hours ago, NanJ0508 said:

We sailed on the Mariner this year and will sail on her again in 2023. We wonder how often the menu changes in Compass Rose and the specialty restaurants? I assume customer favorites remain on the menu but how often is the menu refreshed? One of the pleasures of cruising is trying new foods so I hope there are new selections for us. Does Regent include meals that relate to the cruise ports?

 

There are really no themed local meals other than as mentioned special requests.  There is a very large selection of different types of food on the ship.  Attached includes many example menus for various restaurants.  Silversea Cruises recently introduced their SALT concept which serves the food and drink of the region you are visiting.  IMO this compensates for a shortcoming of cruising which is not experiencing enough local cuisine.  Sometimes this is also an advantage.  Some excursions do include meals at local restaurants.

 

https://www.rssc.com/experience/cuisine

 

Edited December 16, 2022 by RetiredandTravel

[Wendy The Wanderer]

The chef may offer locally sourced fish once on a while.

[NanJ0508]

19 hours ago, Zqueeze1 said:

NANJ:  if you remember from your last cruise, Compass Rose has a menu on the left that is offered daily and does not change. On the right side, the selections change daily.  In turn, one can make countless combinations.  Although I’ve never seen a cruise port centric menu, you can order just about anything you want for dinner by ordering it 24 hours prior.  We’ve done this for a Filipino dinner as well as ordering a paella.  
Hope this info helps.  
 

Z and TB

 

PS. I went to college in Charleston.  Where are you from in SC?

We are in the upstate, near Spartanburg. Our family vacationed at Folly Beach outside Charleston for most of my life - wonderful place!

 

I did notice the changes daily on the right side of the menu but didn't know about special orders. Good to know - thanks!

[papaflamingo]

On 12/15/2022 at 5:43 PM, NanJ0508 said:

We sailed on the Mariner this year and will sail on her again in 2023. We wonder how often the menu changes in Compass Rose and the specialty restaurants? I assume customer favorites remain on the menu but how often is the menu refreshed? One of the pleasures of cruising is trying new foods so I hope there are new selections for us. Does Regent include meals that relate to the cruise ports?

We did 44 nights on Mariner in 2018 and 40 nights on Navigator this past summer.  As mentioned the "left side" of the menu has a significant selection of items.  You can mix and match as you please and create your own meal.  On the "right side" of the menu is the chef's daily selections.  There is some repeat, but not much.  This last cruise I found a bit more repeat but I think that had a lot to do with supply chain issues.  But honestly in 44 and 40 nights I never felt bored with the menu and only repeated dishes I particularly enjoyed.  The variety is excellent.  You won't be disappointed. 

The specialty restaurant menus do not change.  But pretty good variety there too. 

[NCCruzQueen]

On the topic of themed dinners, if a ship overnights in a port and long excursions return to the ship late, many times, La Veranda is open and local dishes are featured.  Evening attire is sometimes suspended to daywear so passengers can go eat directly from the buses.  Sette Mari is not opened that night.

[1982CruzStart]

If you want to try a few different dishes but not able(or desire) to eat a full entree with other courses you can get any entree in appetizer size.  Often I have ordered mutiple courses all appy size in order to not over eat but to enjoy a variety of dishes.  Sometimes the decisions are just too hard to make and this way i get to try all of what i want.  Often appy size doesn't come with veggies and i love my veggies so i ask to add some of whatever they are serving that night to the appy.  

Alternatively if none of the entrees tickle your fancy but you like an appy and want that for your main course you can always ask for the appy to be made entree size. 

Love Regent's flexibility. 

[rkaratsu]

1 hour ago, 1982CruzStart said:

 Alternatively if none of the entrees tickle your fancy but you like an appy and want that for your main course you can always ask for the appy to be made entree size... 

I like the way you think! 😀 (I will definitely try this on our upcoming cruise!)

 

And for those of you who have requested something "off the menu", what would you recommend?  I have requested a couple of different Indian meals (both outstanding) and a Filipino one (good) but anything else I should consider?...  TIA!

[wristband]

Ask for Indian dishes!  Particularly southern Indian or Keralan dishes.  That is where many of the ship chefs come from (bar staff hail from Goa which is another story).  The chefs have consistently and happily provided tasty and interesting Indian entrees - not tandoori oven items, of course - upon request.  Basmati rice is always available along with curries, such as fish or veg curry, for staff.

 

I like very spicy food so I request a side of sambal.  Rice and sambal are available in large quantity for staff meals so its no issue when passengers ask.  I find food onboard is mildly or under spiced for understandable reasons - fine by me - but I prefer to add much more spice to Indian curries.

[Gilly]

4 minutes ago, wristband said:

Ask for Indian dishes

Asking for Indonesian dishes is also a great move, particularly since those are less familiar to many of us and it's a great opportunity to try a different cuisine with expert guidance.  The restaurant staff are always pleased to share their own favourites and offer guidance - an evening in CR with a special menu for a group of friends is always a real treat.

[SWFLAOK]

6 hours ago, wristband said:

Ask for Indian dishes!  Particularly southern Indian or Keralan dishes.  That is where many of the ship chefs come from (bar staff hail from Goa which is another story).  The chefs have consistently and happily provided tasty and interesting Indian entrees - not tandoori oven items, of course - upon request.  Basmati rice is always available along with curries, such as fish or veg curry, for staff.

 

I like very spicy food so I request a side of sambal.  Rice and sambal are available in large quantity for staff meals so its no issue when passengers ask.  I find food onboard is mildly or under spiced for understandable reasons - fine by me - but I prefer to add much more spice to Indian curries.

If I want to miss all activities onboard the next day, ordering very spicy food would be the way to do it. Some of us can only eat mildly spicy food, and a few not spicy at all, and don't want to take a chance on missing a day while onboard.

[wristband]

So don't.  That is why I said - talking about me here - I understand the food onboard is "mildly or under spiced."  I prefer otherwise.  So I am happy to adjust without imposing my preference on others.

[Jimmcdaniel]

On 12/19/2022 at 10:07 AM, Gilly said:

Asking for Indonesian dishes is also a great move, particularly since those are less familiar to many of us and it's a great opportunity to try a different cuisine with expert guidance.  The restaurant staff are always pleased to share their own favourites and offer guidance - an evening in CR with a special menu for a group of friends is always a real treat.

Indonesian was the choice we made on a past cruise. The problem came when they asked me which Indonesian dishes we would like for our special dinner. Having no clue about Indonesian cuisine, but receiving a spark of inspiration, I asked that the chefs make the favorite dishes their mothers or grandmothers had made for them as children.------ We had one of the most spectacular meals on all of our hundreds of nights on Regent. It started with the soup and the head chef came out and watched us expectantly to see if we liked it. Of course it was superb.

 

And BTW, you can dial up or down the spice as you wish. They are very cool with that.

[Stickman1990]

On 12/20/2022 at 4:00 AM, wristband said:

Ask for Indian dishes! 

Todays a poolside Indian lunch on Explorer as we cruise across the Arafura sea out of Darwin en route to Cairns - I’m looking forward to that!

[Gilly]

8 hours ago, Jimmcdaniel said:

I asked that the chefs make the favorite dishes their mothers or grandmothers had made for them as children.------ We had one of the most spectacular meals on all of our hundreds of nights on Regent.

Jim, that's exactly why we love to arrange a special menu as well!  It's not only wonderful to try new dishes like this, it's a real privilege to learn about these family traditions too.  The pride with which such dishes are served says it all.