Manfredi’s

[LindaS272]

4 hours ago, richardbohn said:

Can room service dinner be ordered from Manfredi’s or The Restaurant’s menus or is it only from the regular room service menu? 

Regular room service menu. Although some who were quarantined last year and the year before were able to order from Manfredi’s & the MDR (maybe even CT?) during their opening hours.

 

Someone will probably chime in and say they’ve been able to order from the other menus sometimes, but I have not tried it.

[Jim Avery]

It seems to depend.  Yes on our World Cruises but that doesn't mean much.  we went on the Caribbean last December and didn't even ask as we stayed busy and full at the regular venues.  On a long cruise we tend to "stay home" about once a week and order in.

[millybess]

I was just looking at the Manfredi's sample menu on MVJ and the rib eye steak is listed on the menu.  Could anyone on a current or recent sailing confirm it's back, or is the sample menu very dated (like the Chef's Table sample menu which has been "coming soon" for the past 3 years - lol)?  

[Hobson1754]

6 minutes ago, millybess said:

I was just looking at the Manfredi's sample menu on MVJ and the rib eye steak is listed on the menu.  Could anyone on a current or recent sailing confirm it's back, or is the sample menu very dated (like the Chef's Table sample menu which has been "coming soon" for the past 3 years - lol)?  

We were on Saturn in September and ate a couple of times in Manfredi’s - my husband had the Bistecca Fiorentina which he said was delicious. I had another steak & think it was Rib Eye which was shocking - it was so full of fat I left most of it. This was our 2nd visit on this cruise, however on our 1st visit I sent the fish back as it was so over cooked. Manfredi’s is not our favourite but maybe we’ve just been unlucky. 

[Kellybc]

There were six of us traveling together on the Viking Sky Empires of the Mediterranean getting off a little over a week ago. Ribeye was on the menu with two preparations. I didn’t have it, but most others did, and the consensus was the steaks were thin and tough. I missed the lamb chops, the osso bucco  and no veal options.  

[duquephart]

Anyone who has ever eaten in a classic Italian restaurant knows that what Viking calls "Bistecca Fiorentina" is a farce.

[OneSixtyToOne]

Currently on the Octantis. For what it’s worth, here is tonight’s “Polar Dinner Menu.”
BTW I canceled our reservation for tonight.

 

[KarNog]

On 7/11/2023 at 1:20 PM, KBs mum said:

The complaint isn't about the colour, its that the cheese was not cheddar as claimed. Wrong colour to be cheddar 

Cheddar with color added is still cheddar.  Most cows are pasture-fed in the summer and given hay in the winter making the cheese appear paler in the warmer months. By adding annatto, cheesemakers keep control of the appearance. Cheesemakers have been doing this for centuries, all over the worl

[CCWineLover]

5 hours ago, Hobson1754 said:

We were on Saturn in September and ate a couple of times in Manfredi’s - my husband had the Bistecca Fiorentina which he said was delicious. I had another steak & think it was Rib Eye which was shocking - it was so full of fat I left most of it. This was our 2nd visit on this cruise, however on our 1st visit I sent the fish back as it was so over cooked. Manfredi’s is not our favourite but maybe we’ve just been unlucky. 

We did not like the rib eye either - very different these days.

I think you were unlucky.  We had (in October) the fish of the day multiple times and it was absolutely cooked perfectly - so moist and tender!  We will order that every time.

If the fish for you was overcooked, I hope you told them immediately and had them do another or ordered something else.  Otherwise you just perpetuate a potential problem.

[Hobson1754]

6 hours ago, CCWineLover said:

We did not like the rib eye either - very different these days.

I think you were unlucky.  We had (in October) the fish of the day multiple times and it was absolutely cooked perfectly - so moist and tender!  We will order that every time.

If the fish for you was overcooked, I hope you told them immediately and had them do another or ordered something else.  Otherwise you just perpetuate a potential problem.

Yes I’d sent it back, the Chef came out with a new one & apologised - said it was unacceptable! I suppose you can’t say fairer than that. We haven’t had great experiences with Manfredi’s on both our cruises, whereas we’ve always had fab meals in Chefs Table. As I said luck of the draw - it hasn’t stopped us however booking another 2 Viking cruises 👍😂

[KBs mum]

16 hours ago, KarNog said:

Cheddar with color added is still cheddar.  Most cows are pasture-fed in the summer and given hay in the winter making the cheese appear paler in the warmer months. By adding annatto, cheesemakers keep control of the appearance. Cheesemakers have been doing this for centuries, all over the worl

Batches of cheese will differ slightly, but adding dye is unnecessary and a sign of poor quality.

Have never seen orange cheddar in the UK, Double Gloucester can be allmost orange, as can Red Leicester sometimes. 

The local cheesemonger sells around 100 types of cheese, from all over Europe including about 10 different cheddars, none are the horrible artificial fluorescent orange of whatever processed direness was labelled cheddar. 

The Brie was also chalk white instead of the pale or mid cream it should be

 

[duquephart]

1 hour ago, KBs mum said:

Batches of cheese will differ slightly, but adding dye is unnecessary and a sign of poor quality.

Have never seen orange cheddar in the UK, Double Gloucester can be allmost orange, as can Red Leicester sometimes. 

The local cheesemonger sells around 100 types of cheese, from all over Europe including about 10 different cheddars, none are the horrible artificial fluorescent orange of whatever processed direness was labelled cheddar. 

The Brie was also chalk white instead of the pale or mid cream it should be

 

 

Dyed cheddar is very common, maybe even the norm, and certainly not necessarily an indication of poor quality. A great many people think cheese should be that color and the manufacturers accommodate that view. The list of excellent Wisconsin cheddars that are colored is quite long.

[longterm]

On 7/10/2023 at 10:52 AM, richardbohn said:

Next year, we will do doing our first ocean cruise on Viking. After seeing the new menu at Manfredi’s we are not thrilled with it. Does The Restaurant offer many tables for 2? I understand reservations are not available. This being said, are tables for 2 hard to get? In addition, can you order room service for dinner from The Restaurant menu?

Reservations in The Restaurant are easy to get; we got them as much as we wanted on our last ocean cruise. We got a table for 2 for all but one dinner, when we made the mistake of having dinner with a rather unpleasant couple.
 

We never ordered dinner in the stateroom, but I would assume that you can get whatever you'd like from the Restaurant's menu.

[KBs mum]

37 minutes ago, duquephart said:

 

Dyed cheddar is very common, maybe even the norm, and certainly not necessarily an indication of poor quality. A great many people think cheese should be that color and the manufacturers accommodate that view. The list of excellent Wisconsin cheddars that are colored is quite long.

Good quality cheese isn't dyed, it doesn't need to be, as with any natural product batches will differ slightly, it's these natural variences during the year that allow dairies to produce the varients of their product, mild, strong etc. The ageing process also adds variation or can be controlled to make batches similar. 

Often a wheel will change colour slightly once opened, or will have a colour gradient from edge to middle.

 

 

[duquephart]

13 minutes ago, KBs mum said:

Good quality cheese isn't dyed, it doesn't need to be, as with any natural product batches will differ slightly, it's these natural variences during the year that allow dairies to produce the varients of their product, mild, strong etc. The ageing process also adds variation or can be controlled to make batches similar. 

Often a wheel will change colour slightly once opened, or will have a colour gradient from edge to middle.

 

 

 

No cheese needs to be dyed. It's an aesthetics and consistency thing. Whether or not it makes any sense a great many people simply think it looks better. Good quality cheese can be dyed and often is. Visit Wisconsin - see for yourself.

[KBs mum]

4 minutes ago, duquephart said:

 

No cheese needs to be dyed. It's an aesthetics and consistency thing. Whether or not it makes any sense a great many people simply think it looks better. Good quality cheese can be dyed and often is. Visit Wisconsin - see for yourself.

I've tried a few US cheeses, I admit it's a small sample, but they resembled mass market factory produced rather than quality.  Perhaps needing it to be dyed is a US thing, there are dyed processed cheese flavour products in the UK, but they are not considered to be cheese (eg the orange square slices put on cheap burgers) 

Cheddar is from Somerset, it is creamy yellow. It's the terroir that gives cheeses their regional distinctiveness, not flavourings or dye.

What you have is dyed cheddar style cheese, which to us tasted more like  Edam.

I looked at the ingredients information on a pack of inexpensive factory made cheddar we use for cooking, two things, cow's milk and vegetarian rennet

 

An equivilent is smoked white fish, eg haddock. A paler colour is an indication of traditional slow chimney smoking, a brighter colour is often an indication of injected artificial flavourings and dye

 

 

 

 

[duquephart]

Cheddar cheeses on display at the Mid Somerset Show. Creamy yellow?

Edited October 23, 2023 by duquephart

[Clay Clayton]

38 minutes ago, KBs mum said:

I've tried a few US cheeses, I admit it's a small sample, but they resembled mass market factory produced rather than quality.  Perhaps needing it to be dyed is a US thing, there are dyed processed cheese flavour products in the UK, but they are not considered to be cheese (eg the orange square slices put on cheap burgers) 

Cheddar is from Somerset, it is creamy yellow. It's the terroir that gives cheeses their regional distinctiveness, not flavourings or dye.

What you have is dyed cheddar style cheese, which to us tasted more like  Edam.

I looked at the ingredients information on a pack of inexpensive factory made cheddar we use for cooking, two things, cow's milk and vegetarian rennet

 

An equivilent is smoked white fish, eg haddock. A paler colour is an indication of traditional slow chimney smoking, a brighter colour is often an indication of injected artificial flavourings and dye

 

 

 

 

 

20 minutes ago, duquephart said:

Cheddar cheeses on display at the Mid Somerset Show. Creamy yellow?

Wow-based on each of your posts, I had wondered if y'all were the same person. Guess not🤔😂

[duquephart]

1 minute ago, Clay Clayton said:

 

Wow-based on each of your posts, I had wondered if y'all were the same person. Guess not🤔😂

 

Now you're going to catch it for writing "y'all."

[KBs mum]

36 minutes ago, duquephart said:

Cheddar cheeses on display at the Mid Somerset Show. Creamy yellow?

That is a best in show class, looking at the prize cards, the orange one could be a flavoured cheddar, or not cheddar. Other cheeses are made in Somerset. Notice the colour of the majority. 

By the way, I lived in Somerset for a couple of years. 

Want to have a debate about Lancashire or Wensleydale next? 

[KBs mum]

25 minutes ago, Clay Clayton said:

 

Wow-based on each of your posts, I had wondered if y'all were the same person. Guess not🤔😂

Aw, Clay, you missed the Great Lager v Beer Barney of 2022?

This cheese irrelevance is nothing! 

[CurlerRob]

2 hours ago, longterm said:

Reservations in The Restaurant are easy to get; we got them as much as we wanted on our last ocean cruise. We got a table for 2 for all but one dinner, when we made the mistake of having dinner with a rather unpleasant couple.
 

We never ordered dinner in the stateroom, but I would assume that you can get whatever you'd like from the Restaurant's menu.

 

Just for clarity to @richardbohn, reservations are not required nor taken for the Restaurant (only for Chef's Table and Manfredi's). Just show up and request your 2-top, there are lots. If there's a wait it will likely be very short. Sorry I can't help on the room service question. 🍺🥌

[LindaS272]

5 hours ago, longterm said:

We never ordered dinner in the stateroom, but I would assume that you can get whatever you'd like from the Restaurant's menu.

There’s a very limited room service menu. I had to use it in 2019 when quarantined for Uncle Ho’s Revenge in SE Asia. Did not have availability to order from the MDR—I don’t know if that’s changed now but I doubt it since there’s a room service menu in your stateroom. For breakfast ordering they have you fill out a long form & hang on your door before 10 or 11 pm with the time you want it delivered.

[longterm]

3 hours ago, CurlerRob said:

 

Just for clarity to @richardbohn, reservations are not required nor taken for the Restaurant (only for Chef's Table and Manfredi's). Just show up and request your 2-top, there are lots. If there's a wait it will likely be very short. Sorry I can't help on the room service question. 🍺🥌

I guess I'm mistaken; I could've sworn we always got reservations for the Restaurant on our last ocean cruise, but that was 15 months ago, so perhaps things have changed.

[iKarenE]

We just got off of the Sky. Both rib eye selections were delicious! Manfredi's was our favorite meal of the whole cruise. I highly recommend it. And the service was phenomenal!! We made reservations once we were on the ship.