Rare Selbourne Posted April 16, 2023 #1 Share Posted April 16, 2023 When we are on Iona in August we intend to use Epicurean at least twice. As it’s a Norwegian cruise, on one night they have a tasting menu created by the chef Kjartan Skjelde. Has anyone tried this and what did you think? It’s a bit confusing as the menu is described as a Vegetarian tasting menu, but it isn’t! Also, there are paired wines listed with each course. Can you buy these as a wine flight to accompany the meal and, if so, can you recall the cost? Menu below (if the link works) https://my.pocruises.com/content/dam/po/my-cruise/dining/venues/menus/Menu_App_Epicurean_Iona taster menu.pdf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happy v Posted April 16, 2023 #2 Share Posted April 16, 2023 Haven't tried the menu as it is only available on Fjords cruises I have seen the chef on TV though so I would definitely like to try it. I was disappointed with Epicurean on Iona recently so this would be first choice for me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Selbourne Posted April 16, 2023 Author #3 Share Posted April 16, 2023 (edited) 41 minutes ago, happy v said: Haven't tried the menu as it is only available on Fjords cruises I have seen the chef on TV though so I would definitely like to try it. I was disappointed with Epicurean on Iona recently so this would be first choice for me I’ve never heard of him! What in particular was disappointing about Epicurean on Iona? Edited April 16, 2023 by Selbourne Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happy v Posted April 16, 2023 #4 Share Posted April 16, 2023 I'm a bit sad and watch cookery programmes. Epicurean was very bland. Presentation excellent but no flavour. That was the first time The second I played safe and had steak. Very nice, but not wow. The dessert was though I think Keel.and Cow is far better for steak. This is just my opinion though and lots of people seem very happy. I did cancel 5 bookings 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daiB Posted April 16, 2023 #5 Share Posted April 16, 2023 15 minutes ago, Selbourne said: I’ve never heard of him! What in particular was disappointing about Epicurean on Iona? Never had this tasting meal on our cruises is it new? We had 2 meals in the Epicurean which were very good the steak was excellent and the crapes Suzette wonderful although not cooked at the table now. I asked if it were possible to have cheese as well and that appeared no problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daiB Posted April 16, 2023 #6 Share Posted April 16, 2023 2 minutes ago, happy v said: I'm a bit sad and watch cookery programmes. Epicurean was very bland. Presentation excellent but no flavour. That was the first time The second I played safe and had steak. Very nice, but not wow. The dessert was though I think Keel.and Cow is far better for steak. This is just my opinion though and lots of people seem very happy. I did cancel 5 bookings There you go mine was 1st class and cooked to perfection. Although I have to admit the K&C steak was special as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Interestedcruisefan Posted April 16, 2023 #7 Share Posted April 16, 2023 We dined twice in Epicurean on Arvia. It was nice food. Great service and the supplement is so cheap it's worth doing imo. But I enjoyed the meal equally well in Limelight Club. They had upped their food in there since we last did limelight on Britannia IMO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Selbourne Posted April 16, 2023 Author #8 Share Posted April 16, 2023 46 minutes ago, daiB said: Never had this tasting meal on our cruises is it new? We had 2 meals in the Epicurean which were very good the steak was excellent and the crapes Suzette wonderful although not cooked at the table now. I asked if it were possible to have cheese as well and that appeared no problem. I believe that it’s just on Fjords cruises, as the chef is Norwegian. Shame they don’t do the Crepes Suzette at the table as that was quite an experience. I shall keep in mind the tip about the cheese 👍 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
terrierjohn Posted April 16, 2023 #9 Share Posted April 16, 2023 1 hour ago, Selbourne said: I’ve never heard of him! What in particular was disappointing about Epicurean on Iona? Rubbery Tiger prawns on our last cruise, I must remember to stick to steak in future if I dine in Epicurean again, the chefs dont seem to be able to ruin that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Camberley Posted April 16, 2023 #10 Share Posted April 16, 2023 (edited) This menu was supposed to be on our cruise last week when we booked ahead, but was sadly not to be the case. But the usual food in Epicurean was terrific: bags of flavour, proper high-end cooking. We ate there several times and no dish was less than excellent. Edited April 16, 2023 by Camberley 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mercury7289 Posted April 16, 2023 #11 Share Posted April 16, 2023 1 hour ago, daiB said: Never had this tasting meal on our cruises is it new? We had 2 meals in the Epicurean which were very good the steak was excellent and the crapes Suzette wonderful although not cooked at the table now. I asked if it were possible to have cheese as well and that appeared no problem. daiB I think Selbournes Suzette would be more palatable😝 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
molecrochip Posted April 16, 2023 #12 Share Posted April 16, 2023 Last time I ate in the Epicurean I was not impressed - food cooking just was not as great as usual. Chicken was dry and Bacon was over cooked so much it wasn’t edible. I believe a new galley team were still getting to grip with the menu. I heard good experiences since. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daiB Posted April 16, 2023 #13 Share Posted April 16, 2023 9 minutes ago, mercury7289 said: daiB I think Selbournes Suzette would be more palatable😝 I was close!!! 🙂 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Selbourne Posted April 16, 2023 Author #14 Share Posted April 16, 2023 11 minutes ago, molecrochip said: Last time I ate in the Epicurean I was not impressed - food cooking just was not as great as usual. Chicken was dry and Bacon was over cooked so much it wasn’t edible. I believe a new galley team were still getting to grip with the menu. I heard good experiences since. Please can you get them to sort it out PDQ! We are now on Britannia in July, as well as Iona in August and Ventura in October. We intend to be using Epicurean regularly on all three ships, given the reports about the MDRs, and Epicurean on Britannia has hitherto been our favourite restaurant at sea. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lisashusband Posted April 17, 2023 #15 Share Posted April 17, 2023 We are currently on Iona and we are booked tomorrow evening for this taster menu. I am certainly not very good at reviews but I will try to remember as much as possible and will report back. Have just docked in Stavanger and can report that it’s a beautiful sunny morning ! 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happy v Posted April 17, 2023 #16 Share Posted April 17, 2023 8 hours ago, Selbourne said: Please can you get them to sort it out PDQ! We are now on Britannia in July, as well as Iona in August and Ventura in October. We intend to be using Epicurean regularly on all three ships, given the reports about the MDRs, and Epicurean on Britannia has hitherto been our favourite restaurant at sea. Epicurean on Britannia was still excellent a few months ago Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Selbourne Posted April 17, 2023 Author #17 Share Posted April 17, 2023 1 hour ago, Lisashusband said: We are currently on Iona and we are booked tomorrow evening for this taster menu. I am certainly not very good at reviews but I will try to remember as much as possible and will report back. Have just docked in Stavanger and can report that it’s a beautiful sunny morning ! Thank you - that would be really appreciated. I’m just keen to understand if it’s worthwhile and how much the accompanying wine flight is (assuming that there is one). Have a great cruise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Selbourne Posted April 17, 2023 Author #18 Share Posted April 17, 2023 21 minutes ago, happy v said: Epicurean on Britannia was still excellent a few months ago That’s great to hear, as Britannia is the first ship we are on and Epicurean on Britannia has always been our favourite P&O restaurant. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lisashusband Posted April 19, 2023 #19 Share Posted April 19, 2023 Ok it’s the morning after the night before.. The food was very good to be honest and well worth the £24 per head cover charge. Definitely qualifies as a taster menu as it jumps from chicken skin to lamb via trout with pickled beetroot somewhere between. The chef himself served some of the courses and spent a lot of time wandering around explaining exactly what it was that you were eating all this was accompanied by the absolutely stunning views of the fjord from Olden to the sea. Unfortunately there wasn’t a wine flight just a recommendation for each course so we just had a Malbec as I thought it would be the best accompaniment for the lamb. Just as a final note there is a pretty good wine flight in the glass house for £10.50 and that will be our drink of choice for this evening. I hope this was of help Selbourne and if there’s anything else I can help you with then please ask. 6 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Interestedcruisefan Posted April 19, 2023 #20 Share Posted April 19, 2023 10 minutes ago, Lisashusband said: Ok it’s the morning after the night before.. The food was very good to be honest and well worth the £24 per head cover charge. Definitely qualifies as a taster menu as it jumps from chicken skin to lamb via trout with pickled beetroot somewhere between. The chef himself served some of the courses and spent a lot of time wandering around explaining exactly what it was that you were eating all this was accompanied by the absolutely stunning views of the fjord from Olden to the sea. Unfortunately there wasn’t a wine flight just a recommendation for each course so we just had a Malbec as I thought it would be the best accompaniment for the lamb. Just as a final note there is a pretty good wine flight in the glass house for £10.50 and that will be our drink of choice for this evening. I hope this was of help Selbourne and if there’s anything else I can help you with then please ask. Excellent. Sounds like a great experience Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mysticalmother Posted April 19, 2023 #21 Share Posted April 19, 2023 On 4/16/2023 at 7:47 PM, Selbourne said: When we are on Iona in August we intend to use Epicurean at least twice. As it’s a Norwegian cruise, on one night they have a tasting menu created by the chef Kjartan Skjelde. Has anyone tried this and what did you think? It’s a bit confusing as the menu is described as a Vegetarian tasting menu, but it isn’t! Also, there are paired wines listed with each course. Can you buy these as a wine flight to accompany the meal and, if so, can you recall the cost? Menu below (if the link works) https://my.pocruises.com/content/dam/po/my-cruise/dining/venues/menus/Menu_App_Epicurean_Iona taster menu.pdf Hi Selborne we had this tasting menu last year on Iona…and, in our opinion was the best meal we had on board! Absolutely loved it. We couldn't pair the suggested wines, as sadly they didn't have 2 of them! And had no Rose at all. Definitely worth booking ( but vegetarian it isnt!😄). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Selbourne Posted April 19, 2023 Author #22 Share Posted April 19, 2023 (edited) 3 hours ago, Lisashusband said: Ok it’s the morning after the night before.. The food was very good to be honest and well worth the £24 per head cover charge. Definitely qualifies as a taster menu as it jumps from chicken skin to lamb via trout with pickled beetroot somewhere between. The chef himself served some of the courses and spent a lot of time wandering around explaining exactly what it was that you were eating all this was accompanied by the absolutely stunning views of the fjord from Olden to the sea. Unfortunately there wasn’t a wine flight just a recommendation for each course so we just had a Malbec as I thought it would be the best accompaniment for the lamb. Just as a final note there is a pretty good wine flight in the glass house for £10.50 and that will be our drink of choice for this evening. I hope this was of help Selbourne and if there’s anything else I can help you with then please ask. That’s great. Thank you. For someone who says that they aren’t good at reviews, that’s a brilliantly written summary. You should do more! I’m pleased to hear that you can see the views going down the fjords, as I have a recollection from our previous Epicurean visits (on Britannia) that there were net curtains over the windows, and we wouldn’t want to miss the views. Thanks again. Edit - Sorry, forgot to ask. Is it at one set time, or can you choose a time? Edited April 19, 2023 by Selbourne 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Selbourne Posted April 19, 2023 Author #23 Share Posted April 19, 2023 1 hour ago, Mysticalmother said: Hi Selborne we had this tasting menu last year on Iona…and, in our opinion was the best meal we had on board! Absolutely loved it. We couldn't pair the suggested wines, as sadly they didn't have 2 of them! And had no Rose at all. Definitely worth booking ( but vegetarian it isnt!😄). Thanks. That’s a thumbs up from two of you, so I think we will give it a go. Shame that they don’t have a wine flight with it, as the lovely thing about being on a cruise is not having to drive afterwards! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lisashusband Posted April 19, 2023 #24 Share Posted April 19, 2023 You can book various times exactly the same as booking the normal Epicurean. The epicurean here on Iona has large uninterrupted view windows running the entire length of the restaurant. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happy v Posted April 19, 2023 #25 Share Posted April 19, 2023 4 hours ago, Lisashusband said: Ok it’s the morning after the night before.. The food was very good to be honest and well worth the £24 per head cover charge. Definitely qualifies as a taster menu as it jumps from chicken skin to lamb via trout with pickled beetroot somewhere between. The chef himself served some of the courses and spent a lot of time wandering around explaining exactly what it was that you were eating all this was accompanied by the absolutely stunning views of the fjord from Olden to the sea. Unfortunately there wasn’t a wine flight just a recommendation for each course so we just had a Malbec as I thought it would be the best accompaniment for the lamb. Just as a final note there is a pretty good wine flight in the glass house for £10.50 and that will be our drink of choice for this evening. I hope this was of help Selbourne and if there’s anything else I can help you with then please ask. Thanks for that I have seen the chef on the TV and I'm sure his restaurant is high in the 'best restaurants ' lists. So it is a bargain However food is all about the taste, and you have confirmed that. I really hope I get to try it one day Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Please sign in to comment
You will be able to leave a comment after signing in
Sign In Now