Queens Grill - Queen Victoria - Have there been cutbacks

[hampshirelad]

Thinking of treating ourselves to Queens Grill just before this Christmas. Its a few years since we last did it and given the outlay we do not want to end up being disappointed. I would welcome any comments from those of you who have cruised recently in the QG if you have found cutbacks in the Restaurant and service. The brochure description seems little changed but that can be deceptive. I have fond memories of " Rack of Lamb" and "Beef Wellington" being carved at the table. Had a great time on a table of 8 having pre-dinner group parties in our rooms before dinner - with everything provided by the butler.. Cannot remember if there is an unwritten expectation that you all dine at the same time on a group table.

 

I await your thoughts with fingers crossed - Many thanks

[Sue-B]

I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.  We were QG in April aboard QV and the service and food in the restaurant was as good as ever.  Some of the ‘Covid’ changes, like limited amenities in the suite bathrooms are still there, so you have to ask for the cotton buds, nail file etc rather than them already being there when you board.  The hot canapé selection is still (in my opinion) a hit and miss affair in the Grills Lounge, and some nights it never appeared at all - but not exactly a hardship!  Back to the restaurant selection, I didn’t notice anything missing from the a la carte, and they are still changing the menu over each week.  We ordered ‘off piste’ a number of times - no issues at all, and everything was delicious.  Lots of table side options like the rack of lamb, dover sole etc as well as crepes suzette, flambé cherries etc.  The caviar was better than when we were aboard in 2021 and 2022.  The one thing I think is definitely not as good is the cheese trolley - very limited selection (compared to say 5 years ago).  The petit fours are now served by the head waiter from a plate (or they were when we were aboard) and so presumably less wastage than they used to have.  Overall we had no complaints at all, service was fantastic as always, food equally good. We can’t wait to go again 😀

 

 

[exlondoner]

I haven’t noticed any changes in the restaurants, although the dinner menu has slightly changed. The weekly alc now only has three items, but the order at lunch time has seven. The daily menu has five, usually two eat, one fish, two veggie. Are there really that many vegetarians aboard? The duck, beef welly and lamb are still there. I don’t think you will be disappointed. Food quality is very good. As Sue-B says, you have to ask for lots of things in the cabin. I still haven’t found the pillow menu. Not a problem for me, as I knew what I wanted, but not so good if I were a new passenger. The Concierge is brilliant.

[lindylooellalouise]

Hi we were in QG  on QV in May and had the most fantastic experience in our opinion everything was as good as pre covid  some trivial items missing from our suite but just ask and you will get,  we were absolutely not disappointed with anything, in fact booked two more QG cruises whilst on board can’t wait to go again. All the staff in the QG were amazing and went out of their way to ensure everything was perfect for us 👍 

[exlondoner]

1 hour ago, exlondoner said:

I haven’t noticed any changes in the restaurants, although the dinner menu has slightly changed. The weekly alc now only has three items, but the order at lunch time has seven. The daily menu has five, usually two eat, one fish, two veggie. Are there really that many vegetarians aboard? The duck, beef welly and lamb are still there. I don’t think you will be disappointed. Food quality is very good. As Sue-B says, you have to ask for lots of things in the cabin. I still haven’t found the pillow menu. Not a problem for me, as I knew what I wanted, but not so good if I were a new passenger. The Concierge is brilliant.

But, whereas you used to get four of every type of towel and every type of glass, you now only get two. Shocking.

[Victoria2]

I’m onboard at the moment. I think I can safely say I’m known on this board as boring for Britain on how wonderful a product, Cunard  and more specifically, QG, is.

 

It would be wrong of me to say everything is the same as Pre Covid because it’s not. There are definite little cut backs here and there but I would caveat that by adding you’d only notice them if you had travelled QG a lot before hand.

I would say the main menu doesn’t appeal as much but we used to eat off piste on a regular basis before so that’s not a problem.  Portions aren’t as large [ no need to have a fillet mignon butterflied as it’s reduced in  size etc] but that’s also OK as you’ll never be hungry on Cunard.

 

Cabin accoutrements have to be asked for whereas P c [pre covid] they were available in the bathroom. No problem as there’s a card saying ask for anything not supplied.

 

Dining, you can have your rack of lamb table side finished and if it’s not on the menu, special request it and you’ll get it. Nothing appeals? Have a special order.

As to large table dining, it’s interesting so see most tables as far as I can see without being dreadfully nosey, seem to be two tops. There is one eight top just behind the entrance but there might be another further down the restaurant. No set time to dine but when we dined in an eight or six, we used to turn up with in about fifteen mins of each other most of the time. Seemed to work for us.

 

Staff are, without exception, marvellous so nothing changed there.

 

I realise cabin by cabin, some things might not be the same and we don’t travel on short trips so can’t comment on the service etc there but let’s put it this way, we have quite a few bookings in the pipeline [Q1 and 2] and will not be cancelling because of slight changes 

 

 

 

 

 

[Victoria2]

7 hours ago, Sue-B said:

I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.  We were QG in April aboard QV and the service and food in the restaurant was as good as ever.  Some of the ‘Covid’ changes, like limited amenities in the suite bathrooms are still there, so you have to ask for the cotton buds, nail file etc rather than them already being there when you board.  The hot canapé selection is still (in my opinion) a hit and miss affair in the Grills Lounge, and some nights it never appeared at all - but not exactly a hardship!  Back to the restaurant selection, I didn’t notice anything missing from the a la carte, and they are still changing the menu over each week.  We ordered ‘off piste’ a number of times - no issues at all, and everything was delicious.  Lots of table side options like the rack of lamb, dover sole etc as well as crepes suzette, flambé cherries etc.  The caviar was better than when we were aboard in 2021 and 2022.  The one thing I think is definitely not as good is the cheese trolley - very limited selection (compared to say 5 years ago).  The petit fours are now served by the head waiter from a plate (or they were when we were aboard) and so presumably less wastage than they used to have.  Overall we had no complaints at all, service was fantastic as always, food equally good. We can’t wait to go again 😀

 

 

Petit fours served as usual on the little tiered stand.

Cheese trolley has yet to really excite and after my 'moan' re Brie which needed to be carved [ should not have been even considered worthy of the trolley at that stage] soft cheeses seem to be soft again.

 

[hampshirelad]

Thankyou everyone for your very helpful comments. Glad to know that all is well with QG

[Windsurfboy]

2 hours ago, Victoria2 said:

Petit fours served as usual on the little tiered stand.

Cheese trolley has yet to really excite and after my 'moan' re Brie which needed to be carved [ should not have been even considered worthy of the trolley at that stage] soft cheeses seem to be soft again.

 

 

Glad to hear cheese has  improved  on our April  cruise it was abysmal,  I  put that down to last leg of world cruise. They said supplies had beèn flown into Capetown, but I  doubt it.  But no soft cheese except brie , which was too young or most likely kept to cold over long cruise to let it mature. Hopefully sailing out of Southampton should be back to normal standard.

[Victoria2]

17 minutes ago, Windsurfboy said:

 

Glad to hear cheese has  improved  on our April  cruise it was abysmal,  I  put that down to last leg of world cruise. They said supplies had beèn flown into Capetown, but I  doubt it.  But no soft cheese except brie , which was too young or most likely kept to cold over long cruise to let it mature. Hopefully sailing out of Southampton should be back to normal standard.

I wouldn’t exactly call the choice superb but it’s acceptable and cheese maturity might vary so don’t necessarily hold the present situation, to be yours.

[D&N]

As often it's down to personal taste. My wife hates ripening Brie. She would only eat a firm Brie that's not intended to soften.

 

Has anyone ever come across Comté on cheese trolley's in any class on Cunard? I would generally go for a sweet desert rather than a cheese board, but might be tempted by some Comté, particularly if it was fairly mature.

It's not an essential as we have it all the time here in a range of vintages from about 9 month through to 36 month and in various flavours, but mainly lactique or fruitée.

Our GP probably thinks a couple of weeks without it might be viewed as a good opportunity to detox.

 

[Wonky]

The only thing I found poor was the distance (or lack of it) between some of the tables for two. This was on QE, don’t know if QM2 is different. We did a back to back moving from PG to QG and couldn’t believe we were packed in so tightly in QG compared to PG. Found even more space in Britannia Club! Apart from that (and the wifi!) everything was amazing.

[Windsurfboy]

10 hours ago, Victoria2 said:

I wouldn’t exactly call the choice superb but it’s acceptable and cheese maturity might vary so don’t necessarily hold the present situation, to be yours.

 

Fingers crossed. They should I hope have one cheese I like , the isle of Wight blue. It's on room service menu.  Asked about it in April but got no real response, never appeared. As QG was full when we booked and were in PG , didn't know if the if it's on the ship they will get if for you rule applied. However as back to QG this time will be insistent. 

Edited May 30, 2023 by Windsurfboy

[techteach]

@D&N If we were asked, “What is the one cheese always in your refrigerator?” Our reply would have to be Comte. I can’t imagine making an omelet without it.