Britannia - The Glass House

[ScotchBoy]

We frequently dine in the Glass House, and have found that this has been somewhat challenging on our last 3 cruises on Azura. The problems ranged from not being able to 'book' a table, to waiting up to 90 minutes for our meal (although that included an hour before we could even order a meal). On our last cruise, we opted for Epicurean a couple of times, but we were underwhelmed, and some diners were remonstrating with the M'd. We also tried the MDR on one occasion, but the food was inedible (I'm not exaggerating - my tuna was pale brown, and tasted like cardboard (texture and flavour!)

 

We're considering a Britannia cruise, and would be interested to know other people's thoughts in respect of their various dining experiences on Britannia. 

[Thedonkeycentrehalf]

We went into the glass house on Britannia In February and really enjoyed the food.  The retro desserts were very good.
 

The only issue we had was that they seem to hold back reservations even though there were loads of empty tables.  Not sure if this was due to staff shortages or just trying to manage the flow of orders into the kitchen.

[zap99]

3 hours ago, Thedonkeycentrehalf said:

We went into the glass house on Britannia In February and really enjoyed the food.  The retro desserts were very good.
 

The only issue we had was that they seem to hold back reservations even though there were loads of empty tables.  Not sure if this was due to staff shortages or just trying to manage the flow of orders into the kitchen.

On Azura we went to see the man at the Glass House as we couldn't book. He said come at 6.00, we will take your order at about 6.30 and your food will be served at 7.00. That was perfect as we knew what to expect.

Edited June 3 by zap99

[Clodia]

Just been on 2 back to back cruises on Britannia and dined in the Glass House once a week. Once I turned up and asked at about 6.30 as the app was showing queue full even though there were loads of tables; I was seated straight away and order taken in 5 minutes. The other 2 times I used the virtual queue and was called within about 15 minutes. Both before 7 o clock so don't know what it was like later, though I did chat to a couple who came in near the end of my meal and they had been called quickly, The food was delicious on all 3 occasions. Once I had the surf and turf steak; no room for a pudding. The other 2 times I had the 3 tapas followed by pudding; the retro and the berry ones. Both lovely.

Edited June 4 by Clodia

[Ranchi]

On 6/3/2024 at 7:03 PM, ScotchBoy said:

We frequently dine in the Glass House, and have found that this has been somewhat challenging on our last 3 cruises on Azura. The problems ranged from not being able to 'book' a table, to waiting up to 90 minutes for our meal (although that included an hour before we could even order a meal). On our last cruise, we opted for Epicurean a couple of times, but we were underwhelmed, and some diners were remonstrating with the M'd. We also tried the MDR on one occasion, but the food was inedible (I'm not exaggerating - my tuna was pale brown, and tasted like cardboard (texture and flavour!)

 

We're considering a Britannia cruise, and would be interested to know other people's thoughts in respect of their various dining experiences on Britannia. 

That’s interesting. Last year we dined in Epicurean on Britannia and also were disappointed. My steak was entirely gristle with hardly any meat on it. It must have been obvious before cooking and it should have been discarded. The steak was replaced without question but also without any apology. I had to wait while my wife ate her meal and then when my steak arrived she had finished and she had to wait while I ate my meal. 
We certainly wouldn’t rush back. 

Edited June 4 by Ranchi

[P&O SUE]

I’ve heard the Glasshouse wasn’t open for food on the last cruise, is this still the case does anyone know?

[Denarius]

14 hours ago, P&O SUE said:

I’ve heard the Glasshouse wasn’t open for food on the last cruise, is this still the case does anyone know?

If it was it would be a definite improvement. The Glass House was originally a stylish wine bar, a more up market alternative to Brodies. It offered wines chosen by Ollie Smith which were not available elsewhere on the ship, all available by the glass as well as the bottle - hence Glass House. Whilst snacks were available eating was not its prime activity. I find it sad that it has now become just another restaurant.

[Zoordfc]

14 hours ago, P&O SUE said:

I’ve heard the Glasshouse wasn’t open for food on the last cruise, is this still the case does anyone know?

It was serving food every day on our cruise last week

[Thedonkeycentrehalf]

3 hours ago, Denarius said:

If it was it would be a definite improvement. The Glass House was originally a stylish wine bar, a more up market alternative to Brodies. It offered wines chosen by Ollie Smith which were not available elsewhere on the ship, all available by the glass as well as the bottle - hence Glass House. Whilst snacks were available eating was not its prime activity. I find it sad that it has now become just another restaurant.

Plenty of non-dining tables available in the Glass House when we have been on Azura, Britannia and Ventura.  My biggest concern about this is that I mentioned to Mrs DCH about the Jam Shed red that @Selbourne kept referencing which meant we visited the Glass House just for drinks more often than I would have otherwise expected🍷

[P&O SUE]

7 hours ago, Zoordfc said:

It was serving food every day on our cruise last week

Thank you, good to know. I saw “elsewhere” they weren’t!

[P&O SUE]

4 hours ago, Thedonkeycentrehalf said:

Plenty of non-dining tables available in the Glass House when we have been on Azura, Britannia and Ventura.  My biggest concern about this is that I mentioned to Mrs DCH about the Jam Shed red that @Selbourne kept referencing which meant we visited the Glass House just for drinks more often than I would have otherwise expected🍷

I agree we’ve stopped for a glass of wine several times on Azura and Ventura, the best Glasshouse’s in the fleet.

[ScotchBoy]

Thank you everyone; quite a mixed bag of experiences. The key seems to be get to the Glass House in the very early evening if you want to eat within 30 -40 minutes of arrival. 

[HalifaxYorksCruiser]

We normally eat at least once a week at the Glass House but didn’t bother on our last cruise at the end of May as we had a very good table and great service in MDR. We did sit down and have the occasional drink at the Glass House though. It was interesting that the menu prices on the MyHoliday App didn’t match up with the paper menus- clearly some prices had increased but not updated on the App.

 

[9265359]

On 6/3/2024 at 7:03 PM, ScotchBoy said:

We're considering a Britannia cruise, and would be interested to know other people's thoughts in respect of their various dining experiences on Britannia. 

 

When I was on Britannia last summer the food in the Glass House was very good.

 

And then last winter on Azura the food in the Glass House was very bad, despite being (theoretically) the same menu. Because of shortages of some things they had taken to changing what was being served from the menu description without actually bothering to tell the customers.

 

And the service in the Glass House was poor, with the staff not knowing (or caring) when the two menus swapped, constantly having to ask for cutlery, and management not having the sense to tell a waiter that bathing in aftershave/perfume might be rather off-putting to those dining.

 

As for the other restaurants, Epicurean used to be very good about eight or nine years ago, but the last time couple of times I tried it in 2021 and 2022 it wasn't, with service being unbearably slow (and on speaking to them it was intended to be so) and the food being 'so so'.

 

Similarly Sinhu used to be very good when Atul Kochhar still had something to do with it. Then over the last few years it has been heading downhill and when I tried it last winter on Azura it had reached very very poor, with the dishes either being tasteless or the chef being heavy handed with the chilli, and the dishes certainly didn't have the balanced flavours of the past. And the service was nothing to write home about.

 

As for the MDR, the menus are pretty uninspiring (and the celebration night menus are nothing to celebrate these days) and the food brought out can be rather hit and miss.

[F-s Islander]

We love the Glass House on Britannia. The food has always been good and we have eaten there several times on each cruise. We loved the selection this year, especially the Sicilian fish stew and there are lots of wines that you don't find elsewhere on the ship, particularly the Bacchus from our local New Hall vineyard - (flying the flag for Essex!)

The Glass House on Britannia is a real "glass house" with glass panelling which is quite elegant and in the past we've enjoyed a drink outside cruising through the fjords. The Glass House on Arvia is just a section of that deck and you don't know where it starts and finishes, to become the Keel & Cow. The food wasn't the same either

[terrierjohn]

1 hour ago, F-s Islander said:

We love the Glass House on Britannia. The food has always been good and we have eaten there several times on each cruise. We loved the selection this year, especially the Sicilian fish stew and there are lots of wines that you don't find elsewhere on the ship, particularly the Bacchus from our local New Hall vineyard - (flying the flag for Essex!)

The Glass House on Britannia is a real "glass house" with glass panelling which is quite elegant and in the past we've enjoyed a drink outside cruising through the fjords. The Glass House on Arvia is just a section of that deck and you don't know where it starts and finishes, to become the Keel & Cow. The food wasn't the same either

The glass house on Arvia is on deck 7, whilst the Keel and Cow is on deck 8. 

But if you want a proper Glass House then you need to be on Ventura, or Azura at a pinch.

[F-s Islander]

You're right, not the Keel & Cow, but these restaurants in the Atrium don't have a clearly defined area, all a bit haphazard and sprawling. The Britannia is much nicer and the food was better too.

[david63]

14 hours ago, terrierjohn said:

But if you want a proper Glass House then you need to be on Ventura

But the Glass House on Ventura is not an "original" Glass House but a renamed Ramblas tapas bar.

 

Personally I prefer the Glass House on Azura despite it being a thoroughfare.

Edited June 21 by david63

[terrierjohn]

2 hours ago, david63 said:

But the Glass House on Ventura is not an "original" Glass House but a renamed Ramblas tapas bar.

Indeed it is and IMO by far the best venue for a tapas/cafe type wine bar on any P&O ship.

[P&O SUE]

I’ve just come off Britannia and really enjoyed the food and service in the Glasshouse. The wines are quite pricey but the whole experience was great both times we went. I’m also a fan of the Ventura one.

[Astrajet]

42 minutes ago, P&O SUE said:

I’ve just come off Britannia and really enjoyed the food and service in the Glasshouse. The wines are quite pricey but the whole experience was great both times we went. I’m also a fan of the Ventura one.

Good to hear!  We are on both of those ships this year and are big fans of the Glasshouse.

 

[Ilovemygarden]

Agree -I have been numerous times on Azura and think it is the best restaurant on the ship.  Also went last year a few times on Britannia and it was excellent too.   Unfortunately not so much to my taste on Arvia a couple of months ago as there’s a different menu on the new ships but the Conrey and Barrow white Burgundy- exquisitely good but expensive!  I’m hoping it’s on Azura when I’m on there again in September.  

[JeanieC,Aston]

Hi

I dined in The Glasshouse on Britannia last month,,disappointed as I have always enjoyed the venue,,,I had the Sicilian Stew and it was certainly no stew,,,,x3 small pieces of fish and a prawn on a plate with a bit of juice,expected a stew in a deep dish with assortment of sea food (that was the description).

Asked for a glass of Gavi de Gavi,,,sorry sir it’s not on the Classic,,,really I have had it in the MDR for 5 nights,,,,asked for a beer instead,,,magically after I asked the question of the MD it was admitted Gavi de Gavi was on the Classic.

 

Noticeably lots of food being left…maybe it’s just Britannia because on Azura an Ventura it’s always been a go to eatery,even last year on Britannia it was good.

[F-s Islander]

We didn't like menu in the Glass House on the Arvia. We only ate there once. That was last year.

On Britannia this year it was just as we remembered it from previous cruises

[F-s Islander]

And the Sicilian fish stew was my favourite, I had it twice. Admittedly it was more along the lines of a Bouillabaise with whole fish, rather than lots of bits of fish.

Having said that we were not impressed at all by the Epicurean, too slow and decorous, and nothing special