Viking bread - my kingdom for a baguette!

[Steerpike58]

I'm incredibly impressed by the food on Viking cruises. My attitude to buffets has been changed forever, and we ended up eating at World Cafe for 10 out of 14 nights recently, with just two (very enjoyable) dinners at 'The Restaurant', and two somewhat disappointing dinners at Manfredi's and Chef's Table. 

 

My one complaint is the bread!  Doesn't matter where you eat, it's always the same. I absolutely love French baguettes, and also Italian Ciabatta's and similar. All the bread on Viking seems to be some mushy off-white product with a soft crust.  I would give an arm and a leg for a crunchy firm crust with a fluffy white interior, but alas, this seems to be impossible. I asked for a baguette one evening, and after a LONG delay, was brought some soft-shelled, insipid off-white product. Is there any way to find decent white fluffy bread with a crunchy exterior? 

[Famsw]

We've had sourdough on Viking Saturn that was decent but I agree on the sameness of the bread-except of course at Manfredis. The gorgonzola bread is delicious 😋.

[CDNPolar]

Not our experience at all.  We have had great variety of breads especially in the Chef's Table and Manfredi's.  Not sure what the World Cafe offers in bread for lunch and dinner because if it is not served to my table, I don't go looking for it.

 

Our experience was crusty outside and soft/chewy inside.  

 

Sorry to hear this....

 

There are other comments here and there about the quality of Viking food declining, perhaps this is also an area of concern?

[WanderingBrit]

I don't have any photos to refer to, but I thought that by the pizza station there were a variety of breads available in the World Cafe, no?

[OneSixtyToOne]

You need to take a cruise on an expedition ship. Their bakery is part of the World Cafe and it offers a daily variety of bread. The fresh pretzels 🥨 are delicious.

Edited April 11 by OneSixtyToOne

[Sunflower & The Scientist]

Octantis has an amazing selection of wonderful breads fresh out of the oven, at their little bakery section. I am sure you could find what you'd like there, and if you didn't I would guess the baker would make sure you got a crusty crust on your bread. 

[Sunflower & The Scientist]

2 minutes ago, OneSixtyToOne said:

You need to take a cruise on an expedition ship. Their bakery is part of the World Cafe and it offers a daily variety of bread. The fresh pretzels 🥨 are delicious.

We were responding at the same time with the same thought....expedition ships have done an exceptional job with food in the WC. 

[OneSixtyToOne]

4 minutes ago, Sunflower & The Scientist said:

We were responding at the same time with the same thought....expedition ships have done an exceptional job with food in the WC. 

Best food of the Viking fleet.

[Jim Avery]

Have to agree with the OP based on recent experience on Neptune.  Very much lesser quality bread than on previous V cruises.

[CCWineLover]

8 hours ago, Steerpike58 said:

I'm incredibly impressed by the food on Viking cruises. My attitude to buffets has been changed forever, and we ended up eating at World Cafe for 10 out of 14 nights recently, with just two (very enjoyable) dinners at 'The Restaurant', and two somewhat disappointing dinners at Manfredi's and Chef's Table. 

 

My one complaint is the bread!  Doesn't matter where you eat, it's always the same. I absolutely love French baguettes, and also Italian Ciabatta's and similar. All the bread on Viking seems to be some mushy off-white product with a soft crust.  I would give an arm and a leg for a crunchy firm crust with a fluffy white interior, but alas, this seems to be impossible. I asked for a baguette one evening, and after a LONG delay, was brought some soft-shelled, insipid off-white product. Is there any way to find decent white fluffy bread with a crunchy exterior? 

I do agree with your first point - we most often eat at World Cafe as we are usually disappointed with the Manfredi's and The Restaurant.  At least at WC, if something isn't that great you can try multiple things without waiting to reorder from the Restaurants.

 

However, I do totally disagree with your 2nd point.  Perhaps you've been unlucky.  We also like French baguettes and crunchy firm crusts and fluffy white interiors.  However, unlike you, every cruise except one we've encountered just that at the World Cafe.  Absolutely love their baguettes.  Sometimes they are the long 18 inch kind and sometimes the 6 inch short ones.  But they are ALWAYS that nice crunchy firm crust and fluffy interior!  They are to die for!  Not as good as Paris, but still great!!   Next time I'll have to take pictures and a video of the crunching and pulling apart of the fresh fluffy interior!!  🙂

 

[Squawkman]

1 minute ago, CCWineLover said:

I do agree with your first point - we most often eat at World Cafe as we are usually disappointed with the Manfredi's and The Restaurant.  At least at WC, if something isn't that great you can try multiple things without waiting to reorder from the Restaurants.

 

However, I do totally disagree with your 2nd point.  Perhaps you've been unlucky.  We also like French baguettes and crunchy firm crusts and fluffy white interiors.  However, unlike you, every cruise except one we've encountered just that at the World Cafe.  Absolutely love their baguettes.  Sometimes they are the long 18 inch kind and sometimes the 6 inch short ones.  But they are ALWAYS that nice crunchy firm crust and fluffy interior!  They are to die for!  Not as good as Paris, but still great!!   Next time I'll have to take pictures and a video of the crunching and pulling apart of the fresh fluffy interior!!  🙂

 

Agree - and I will add that we love the bread basket served at Manfredi’s.

[CCWineLover]

15 minutes ago, Squawkman said:

Agree - and I will add that we love the bread basket served at Manfredi’s.

You're absolutely right!  How could I forget about that Manfredi's bread basket.  It is so good, with so many different items, that I have to keep my hands away from it at times, so that I have enough room for dinner 🙂

 

[Steerpike58]

6 hours ago, CDNPolar said:

Not our experience at all.  We have had great variety of breads especially in the Chef's Table and Manfredi's.  Not sure what the World Cafe offers in bread for lunch and dinner because if it is not served to my table, I don't go looking for it.

 

I've always viewed buffets as places for the overweight to stock up on junk food, but World Cafe changed that. You can order Mahi Mahi, a steak, or a Tuna steak cooked to order at any time, plus their hot selections are generally very recently prepared - the turnover means everything is 'fresh' (as it were).  

 

On the last cruise, they were serving 'prime rib' at the carving station in World Cafe, and my piece was perhaps the best prime rib I've ever had - ever!  A couple of nights later, at 'The Restaurant', I ordered prime rib, and it was decidedly less enjoyable. It was ever-so-slightly over-cooked, but not enough to warrant sending back; the serving at the WC was simply perfect (and I could see that as soon as it was carved / served). 

 

I also discovered the 'noodle bar' at WC this trip. Every night, a selection of different noodle dishes (dan dan noodles, ramen, etc). This became a staple for me (especially as this was a South-East Asian cruise!).  On our last visit to The Restaurant, it took a long time for the desert to arrive, and when it did arrive, it wasn't that great. At WC, you can simply walk up and pick your dessert, and they are so small (perfectly sized) you can try a few without feeling guilty. I'm not a 'speed eater', but I do get frustrated sometimes by slow service. Being able to get up and choose your own dishes is sometimes a blessing. 

 

There's a great selection of bread in WC; it just all happens to be very similar to my taste - it's all slightly 'off white', suggesting a whole-wheat component perhaps. I'm all for healthy, whole-wheat breads in general but I just happen to adore the crunchy / fluffy texture of a typical French baguette with my dinner and that was simply not on offer anywhere - including Manfredi's. 

 

6 hours ago, CDNPolar said:

 

There are other comments here and there about the quality of Viking food declining, perhaps this is also an area of concern?

I've only been on 3 Viking cruises (2 Ocean, 1 River) and so far, I can't say I've noticed a decline.  I'm of the opinion that the food is one of the highlights of Viking cruises (excursions being the lowlight!). 

3 hours ago, WanderingBrit said:

I don't have any photos to refer to, but I thought that by the pizza station there were a variety of breads available in the World Cafe, no?

Oh, there's definitely variety of breads available - they just don't have the one thing I'm hoping for!  They even have a few items on display that say 'for display only' that look like they may hit the spot. 

1 hour ago, OneSixtyToOne said:

You need to take a cruise on an expedition ship. Their bakery is part of the World Cafe and it offers a daily variety of bread. The fresh pretzels 🥨 are delicious.

 

That DOES look good!  The item in the lower right corner looks exactly like what I'm hoping for! 

 

30 minutes ago, CCWineLover said:

I do agree with your first point - we most often eat at World Cafe as we are usually disappointed with the Manfredi's and The Restaurant.  At least at WC, if something isn't that great you can try multiple things without waiting to reorder from the Restaurants.

 

However, I do totally disagree with your 2nd point.  Perhaps you've been unlucky.  We also like French baguettes and crunchy firm crusts and fluffy white interiors.  However, unlike you, every cruise except one we've encountered just that at the World Cafe.  Absolutely love their baguettes.  Sometimes they are the long 18 inch kind and sometimes the 6 inch short ones.  But they are ALWAYS that nice crunchy firm crust and fluffy interior!  They are to die for!  Not as good as Paris, but still great!!   Next time I'll have to take pictures and a video of the crunching and pulling apart of the fresh fluffy interior!!  🙂

 

Darn, I must be unlucky!   I did ask, at the 'Restaurant', for a baguette, and it took a very long time for them to locate it and it was some sort of off-white product with an insipid crust.  I'll try again ...

[WanderingBrit]

5 minutes ago, Steerpike58 said:

 

I've always viewed buffets as places for the overweight to stock up on junk food, but World Cafe changed that. You can order Mahi Mahi, a steak, or a Tuna steak cooked to order at any time, plus their hot selections are generally very recently prepared - the turnover means everything is 'fresh' (as it were).  

 

We took all our meals at World Cafe except for one Manfredi's and one Chef's Table on our last cruise. We found the environment to be quieter than The Restaurant, and enjoyed the opportunity to "name our own adventure" by selecting only the items and quantities that we wanted. Comparing to the menu for The Restaurant it looked as if both were serving largely the same dishes each day.

[CCWineLover]

1 minute ago, WanderingBrit said:

We took all our meals at World Cafe except for one Manfredi's and one Chef's Table on our last cruise. We found the environment to be quieter than The Restaurant, and enjoyed the opportunity to "name our own adventure" by selecting only the items and quantities that we wanted. Comparing to the menu for The Restaurant it looked as if both were serving largely the same dishes each day.

Exactly!  Trying lots of different things became our nightly adventure!

And especially for my wife, it was SO much quieter in the World Cafe compared to the din in the restaurants, particularly if you go to the World Cafe at 7:30 or later, after the 6:00 PM "feeding frenzy"  🙂

 

[Cienfuegos]

My wife still talks about the wonderful brown bread at the breakfast bar in the Explorer's lounge. Warm, fragrant, thin crust.

 

Have not seen it elsewhere on the ship.

[carolinetodd]

We also found the bread disappointing.  In all our land-based travels in Europe, and especially in the south, whatever else we were served, we knew we could count on excellent bread.  The bread baskets in the Restaurant and Manfredi's were full of weird, soft things, and in the World Café, the best option seemed to be little whole-wheat mini-bâtards - nice enough bread, but not the baguettes of your dreams.  There were lovely spreads of meze while we were in Turkey and Greece, but the only pita offered were little soft, doughy rounds like the ones you'd see in a lowest-common-denominator supermarket.

[natshala]

We’re just off Mars and found the breads  delicious. Yes, there were crusty baguettes. I wish I could have resisted them.

[OKCowboy]

Cornbread in the Main Dining Room and pecan roll in the WC are great!

[LindaS272]

2 hours ago, Cienfuegos said:

the breakfast bar in the Explorer's lounge.

That would be Mamsen’s….😎

[DrKoob]

2 hours ago, WanderingBrit said:

We took all our meals at World Cafe except for one Manfredi's and one Chef's Table on our last cruise. We found the environment to be quieter than The Restaurant, and enjoyed the opportunity to "name our own adventure" by selecting only the items and quantities that we wanted. Comparing to the menu for The Restaurant it looked as if both were serving largely the same dishes each day.

This was absolutely true for us as well. The Restaurant is just too darned loud. I think it's the low ceilings but we had dinner there three nights out of 21 and couldn't hear the other people at our table for four. Love the World Cafe! Besides, if the weather is good, you can eat outside. Always a plus.