Any suggestions on specialty dining

[ICutTheCheese]

On 3/23/2023 at 12:38 PM, Madhatter12 said:

I have a cruise in May on the Encore and I upgraded to 3 special dining for four night cruise. I cannot figure out which ones I want to do, any suggestions would be helpful. this is the first time I’ve ever cruised on NCL and I’m going alone. i’ve cruise seven times on carnival and I usually do all the specialty dinings on the cruise. I am not a big seafood eater.

 

 

Our order of preference

1. Cagneys
2. Moderno
3. Ocean Blue
4. Teppenyaki

-------------------
5. La Cucina *
6. Le Bsitro *

* We do not particularly care for these two.  Limited menu and most items are very bland.
 

[uksimonusa]

Just home from our 1st NCL cruise on Escape, had dinner in Le Bistro and Teppenyaki, both were excellent, a big improvement from our RCL dining experiences

 

[kelib]

On 3/31/2023 at 5:00 PM, RocketMan275 said:

We usually book two nights at Le Bistro.  The lobster thermado is magnificient and so is the Sole.

Best meal of the cruise, good escargot and the dark chocolate desert was to die for.

[kelib]

On 3/31/2023 at 4:43 PM, vswan said:

I'm traveling on Bliss with my 14 yr old grandson and reservations just opened up. When I started listing restaurants we could book he said that Teppanyaki sounded fun, so booked that. I was unsure of the second to book, but when I suggested Q thinking it would be more casual my PCC steered me to Cagney's. Don't think he would really care for the more formal French and Italian. Would I be better with Los Lobos than Cagney's?

Was on the Bliss early February and even though I did not go I know people who did and were very disappointed.

[vswan]

3 minutes ago, kelib said:

Was on the Bliss early February and even though I did not go I know people who did and were very disappointed.

Think for now I'll just leave it and have him look over the restaurant options and see if there is anything he would like and we could change once we board.

[RocketMan275]

25 minutes ago, kelib said:

Best meal of the cruise, good escargot and the dark chocolate desert was to die for.

Try the pear helene.

[CruisingGator96]

We we just on the Encore last week. Ate at speciality restaurants I think 6 of 7 nights. Twice at Onda and Los Lobos and once at Teppanyaki and Le Bistro. My wife is a vegetarian so I haven’t been to Cagney’s in my last 4 NCL cruises but due enjoy that restaurant . My family enjoys Mexican and in the past Los Lobas but I think we’ll skip it next time or just eat their once.  I tend to be critical of the meals at speciality restaurants as I like good food and expect it when I pay extra for it.  Your choices obviously depend on your own personal preferences but my top three choices would be as follows:

 

1) Onda: over the years this has turned out to be a family favorite. I had twice one of the best meals I can remember on NCL.  I ordered the Pappardelle Bolognese which was shockingly good. Wasn’t expecting it to be so good. I also order the steak at Onda which is very good as well.  Wife and daughter always order the spaghetti and love it.  My wife also ordered on separate occasions a cheese pizza which was not that great and I believe a veggie calzone which was good but very large for an app. Daughter only orders one meal as she still cares what she looks like after the cruise.

 

2) Le Bistro: ordered the Sole as my main and it was good. Can’t remember my app or what my wife and daughter ordered.

 

3) Cagney’s or Ocean Blue: didn’t go to either one but enjoy a steak and fish. 
 

Enjoy your cruise. 

[FLcruisergrl]

It depends on the ship and on your tastes. Everyone waves about Le Bistro, but of my 2 attempts, both were major fails. People don’t like La Cucina, but on the Sun, it was our best meal. It also has the best filet! On the Escape, it was just okay. We love Ocean Blue also. Cagney’s is usually solid for us. Moderno is ok. I like Los Lobos,  but my hubby doesn’t. 🤷🏼‍♀️

[9tee2Sea]

I will never choose Cagney's.  The last 3 times, the food was cold ( but the plate was hot).  I can cook much better steaks.  Always love Le Bistro ( the Escargot!!!!).  Moderno is interesting ( the salad bar alone is a meal).  I found La Cucina lacking in flavor.  Teppanakki was too loud for me ( they chefs yelling, utensils banging...just too much).  Once on board, you can go to Restaurant Guest Services and make changes to your dining choices.  Might not have the best times, but you can make changes.  There is usually a light up board near the restaurants that sort of tell you the wait for seating times if you decide to go to a different specialty on the spur of the moment.

[TexasTraveler18]

On 3/24/2023 at 12:21 AM, luckybecky said:

 

We tried Cagney's, Le Bistro, and Ocean Blue on our recent cruise. Like you, I am not a seafood person, but to my surprise I liked Ocean Blue the best. I had an excellent filet mignon. The beet salad was also exceptional. Of these three, I would rate them in this order:

Good: Le Bistro

Better: Cagney's

Best: Ocean Blue

Hi - interesting review...can I ask if Ocean Blue always has a filet mignon?  We have 1 non seafood person and didn't see that on a menu someone else posted.  Thanks,

[luckybecky]

4 hours ago, TexasTraveler18 said:

Hi - interesting review...can I ask if Ocean Blue always has a filet mignon?  We have 1 non seafood person and didn't see that on a menu someone else posted.  Thanks,

 

I've only eaten there on one cruise, last month. But it was my understanding that the menu is the same every night and across the fleet. I don't like seafood and we would not have gone there if there wasn't a steak on the menu. It was excellent.

[ICutTheCheese]

I'll chip in with Le Bistro and La Cucina are at the VERY bottom of the list.  The MDRs are far better than either of theese two and jave a better variety on the menu,  I'd skip them completely.

[Madmariner7]

Based on a few cruises on NCL, we love Cagney’s and Le Bistro. Cucina is forgettable, you’ll get better Italian at a mid-priced sit-down on land. Teppenyaki is OK but when we went, our waiter recycled the jokes that we heard from the next table 15 minutes prior. It’s salty ingredients on a grill and you can get that anywhere, and the show would be fun if not repetitious. Moderno is OK but frankly, Fogo de Chao (on land) is quite a bit better.

 

TL;DR Cagney’s and Le Bistro are must-do, others that we’ve tried not so much.