Crown Grill disappointing ?

[hammo]

Having just read a terrible review of Crown Grill from someone  currently onboard " steaks were rubbish " - Im a tad concerned about our 3 reservations now .Perhaps my expectations are set too high , but I really am hoping for excellent steak which is why we were going 3 times instead of the MDR . Perhaps if the first night is "rubbish" then is cancelling the following 2 allowed ? Maybe Ill stick with the ocean offerings - havent heard anything terrible about those yet .😅

[jwattle]

Mayhaps you should try it first and give it a shake before letting a stranger's online "rubbish" trash your expectations.😃

[Incognito1]

We ate there twice on our last cruise.  First night, I'd give it 10/10.  The sea bass was amazing, and the New York steak was perfectly cooked.  A few nights later, still good, but closer to 8/10. Rib Eye was not as good as the NY.

 

Steaks were larger than expected, and it was a relaxed, quiet atmosphere.  We had an excellent, attentive waiter - same one both times (we asked for him).  Can't say the same about many of the MDR waiters.  Since they get paid the exact same for busting their hump as for giving mediocre service, I can understand their POV.

 

Give it a try and then cancel if it's not up to expectations.

Edited January 9, 2023 by Incognito1

[jeromep]

I’ve never had a bad meal in the Crown Grill.  Meat does very in quality, and sometimes very unexpectedly.  Here is a little story.  A coworker is a skilled user of pellet smokers/grills.  He smoked two prime ribs over the Christmas holiday.  The prime rib he did for himself he purchased form Costco, it was a USDA Prime piece of meat, the best grade that the USDA offers.  Lots of marbling.  His dad purchased a prime rib from a local butcher that has a good reputation.  That prime rib was supposedly only USDA Choice, kind of your regular grade of beef, and didn’t have all that much marbling.  The butcher left the fat flap, about 4 lbs that had to be trimmed, before seasoning, but anyway.  So, he did his normal prep on the Costco beef and smoked accordingly.  He did the same with his dad’s roast and smoked similarly.  The Prime beef from Costco he regarded as tender and good, but a bit chewy.  The Choice beef from the local butcher ended up being super tender, melt in your mouth and with a lot more flavor.

 

The moral of the story is that beef, even when graded appropriately, may not live up to its grading.  Since there is so much variability with beef, I can see how somebody might not be pleased with the cut they ordered, but at the same time, is that really the fault of the chef, the meat cutter, the beef packing house?  I don’t know, but I’d rather experience a speciality restaurant on my own, and make my own decisions rather than let other’s comments scare me away.

 

I’ve never had a bad meal in any Princess speciality restaurant.  Someday, maybe, but I’ll stay positive.  One bad meal doesn’t ruin a cruise.

[cr8tiv1]

I have never had a bad meal at the Crown Grill. If a selection is not up to par, speak to the the Assistant Manager while still in the restaurant and he will correct the issue.  Service is excellent.  
 

My recommendations would be the lamb chops and sea bass.  The filet is extremely tender.  The rib steak is not consistently good, but it was recommended that I have it cooked to a medium rare.  
 

If the first night is not acceptable, you may cancel your other two evenings.  Is there a reason why you are avoiding the MDR?  

[hammo]

Fair point Jwattle .

Thanks Incognito1, looking forward to the relaxed personal nature of Princess specialty dining. Also still  pleasantly surprised by the reasonable price on Princess . Just off Quantum of the Seas and Cagneys there is twice the price . Our favourite Specialty dining is at Murano on Celebrity but that is now becoming out of reach for us Aussies with our dollar . We had to book first night for our April cruise and for that as a "special " - still $69 . Its over $100 each for us now so even the new pricing on Princess seems like a bargain. 

[hammo]

Thanks cr8tiv1, 

No reason really , we have historically booked any time dining so never really got the benefit of a server  relationship with set time service  and as this is just a short 5 night cruise we didnt want to queue around 7:30 again I suppose . Just 3 nights Crown and 2 nights Sabatinis and MDR lunch or a pizza / buffet . Tables for 2 are also usually crammed in the MDR and service slow so not this trip . My dad was a butcher , so I grew up thinking amazing steak was the norm . Been an up and down journey since those days .

                                                                                                           

 

 

 

 

[nini]

We enjoyed the Crown Grill a few times. We really liked the quality of the food. I had the lobster tail one night and then a filet. Both were very good. I had not enjoyed a filet in many years, so this was a real treat.We

Our first server was on the "cool" side, but the next one was very personable.

[justafem]

I've never had a 'bad' specialty on princess.  Yeah, there are sometimes where the steak isn't nearly as good as it was 3 days before, but, to me, that's the meat (different cows will have different flavor, farm kid here), not the restaurant. 

 

Then again, every time I specialty on carnival, it's disappointing.  

[leck57]

We always go to the Crown Grill at least once per cruise. In the last 6 months we have been on the Emerald and Majestic. On the Emerald 6 months ago the meal was 10/10 however on the Majestic in November it was far below the usual standard and not cooked as ordered. I always have the rib eye. I think  it comes down to the chef and where they get their meat. Aussie steak is top class but what I had on the more recent Aussie cruise was not that great.

Edited January 9, 2023 by leck57

[Coral]

I actually think the quality of the beef is not that great. I have never ever seen it referred to as "choice" so I wonder if it is "select" grade. Just my thought.

 

I go every cruise and I enjoy the side dishes.

[hunt182644]

Excellent steak or tough steak, after 45 years in the meat business I always had first choice of my steaks. Some times a piece of meat will appear to be a cut that will melt in your mouth, even I was fooled several times. Be it prime or choice, steaks  are just like people not all the same. We have eaten at Crown Grill numerous times only had one time that steak was not quite up to par.

[riffatsea]

Dh thinks the filet is the best he's ever eaten!

I love the lamb

We look forward to eating in the Crown Grill on e v ery cruise!

[azbirdmom]

We've visited Crown Grill on four different Princess ships this year and weren't disappointed.  I always get the filet and have enjoyed it.  Wish they would change up the sides a bit - and especially wish they would bring back the au gratin potatoes - but it's still an enjoyable experience.

[SumoCitrus]

8 hours ago, Incognito1 said:

We ate there twice on our last cruise.  First night, I'd give it 10/10.  The sea bass was amazing, and the New York steak was perfectly cooked.  A few nights later, still good, but closer to 8/10. Rib Eye was not as good as the NY.

 

Steaks were larger than expected, and it was a relaxed, quiet atmosphere.  We had an excellent, attentive waiter - same one both times (we asked for him).  Can't say the same about many of the MDR waiters.  Since they get paid the exact same for busting their hump as for giving mediocre service, I can understand their POV.

 

Give it a try and then cancel if it's not up to expectations.

 

This was exactly our experience. I'll add that the lamb chops were good. I'll also add that our MDR servers were excellent.

 

That said, Crown Grill did not exceed my expectations.

[Sea Hag]

I get the lamb chops when we go. They're always excellent. And the salted caramel creme brulee cheesecake is worth the trip all by itself.

[mom says]

We ate at the CG twice on our November  Crown cruise. The first night was definitely a 10/10. Timely service and perfectly prepared food. The lamb was superb. But our next night was a disappointment.  The black and blue onion soup was flavorless- tasted like the awful sludge from the MDR. And while DHs filet was served med rare as ordered, mine verged on well done and was tough. But service was so slow I didn't have time to send it back. 

 

FWIW, we weren't thrilled with the quality of the food in Sabatinis either. For us it was at best a 6/10.

[mtnesterz]

5 hours ago, Coral said:

I actually think the quality of the beef is not that great. I have never ever seen it referred to as "choice" so I wonder if it is "select" grade. Just my thought.

You bring up a good point. The OP is from Australia. They grade their beef differently than the US grades of Choice and Select. As I recall they use number of stars when grading. 

Also, they use different cattle feeds than the US beef, which is high in corn. From experience, this change the taste of the beef.  Aussie sourced beef tastes different than we were accustomed.

FWIW, our steaks in the Crown Grill were the best steak we've ever eaten. We left from a US port, so most likely US beef. Someone accustomed to Aussie beef might find it tastes unusual.

Edited January 9, 2023 by mtnesterz

[Coral]

51 minutes ago, mtnesterz said:

You bring up a good point. The OP is from Australia. They grade their beef differently than the US grades of Choice and Select. As I recall they use number of stars when grading. 

Also, they use different cattle feeds than the US beef, which is high in corn. From experience, this change the taste of the beef.  Aussie sourced beef tastes different than we were accustomed.

FWIW, our steaks in the Crown Grill were the best steak we've ever eaten. We left from a US port, so most likely US beef. Someone accustomed to Aussie beef might find it tastes unusual.

I have tried to ask several times if the beef is Select or Choice and I have never gotten an answer. They try to skirt around it. I probably am spoiled, I come from a beef state (mostly corn fed or combination of corn/grass). Though I have bought steaks from Costco, Sam's and a top grocery store. I have also bought direct from the farmer before and usually in that case, I buy Piedmontese which is an Italian breed of cattle which has fewer calories than salmon. Generally, if I get Choice, I am content. I don't think I have had Choice on Princess for a long time.

 

Your are accurate though - different breeds have different flavors and what they are feed also affects what the meat tastes like. I have no clue what Australian beef is like. I hope one day I am in Australia and can try it. The cows I recently saw in France look entirely different than the cows I see where I live 🙂 

[trvlwrld]

Crown Grill on Royal Hawaii cruise last week was very disappointing…thin, tasteless ribeye and NY strip…service was great!

[Auntiejo]

Just off the Discovery and ate twice at each of the 3 specialty restaurants and thoroughly enjoyed them all! I, too, was concerned about the quality since I've seen so many reviews saying the specialty restaurants have gone downhill. That wasn't the case for us whatsoever. 2 of us ordered completely different things each time we went back to each restaurant and were very happy with everything.

 

We agreed that the filet was slightly better at Bistro Sur La Mer than at Crown Grill but by no means did we think the CG filet was poor quality. Side note - the seabass I had at both CG and BSLM were among some of the best I've ever had. Sabatini was outstanding - every course both nights was fantastic! 

 

Keep your CG reservations and enjoy!

[Koliver63]

I wonder…if you aren’t pleased with your steak…could you just tell your server and maybe receive a different cut? Do they let you do that if you are underwhelmed by your meal or it is overcoooked? I know you can change your mind in the MDR…not sure how it works at the speciality dining venues? 

[Koliver63]

Just now, Koliver63 said:

I wonder…if you aren’t pleased with your steak…could you just tell your server and maybe receive a different cut? Do they let you do that if you are underwhelmed by your meal or it is overcoooked? I know you can change your mind in the MDR…not sure how it works at the speciality dining venues? 

Also…we have eaten at CG a few times on Crown Princess in 2018 and 2019. Really enjoyed our meals there! The food was great and the service/pace were lovely. We enjoy high end restaurants with generous portions at home and it was awesome to get to experience that while watching the sun set over the ocean as you cruise by the coast of Italy 🇮🇹 ❤️

[FritzG]

Complaining afterwards is not the answer.  If you're unhappy with your meal for any reason let your server know about it.  They ask how your meal is several times, and you should be honest about it.  We've got over 35 cruises with Princess, and we go to the Crown Grill at least once every cruise.  We've only had 2 or 3 bad meals, and the server gladly took care of it each time.  

[Dreamer333]

15 hours ago, jwattle said:

Mayhaps you should try it first and give it a shake before letting a stranger's online "rubbish" trash your expectations.😃

 

Isn't this the purpose of reading reviews and ask for recommendations?? Odd response.

 

With that being said, to the OP, we eat at the Crown Grill every cruise we go on and it has NEVER disappointed. I already have reservations on my cruise next month! Enjoy!