New Beefbar Dining Venue

[Keith1010]

We just received the e-mail about the new Beefbar Dining Venue with a link to the website for menus.

 

https://crystalcruises.com/beefbar?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_content=cta&utm_campaign=Beefbar_18Jun24_SMUS&utm_individual=4710023769419c

 

Keith

[Texas Tillie]

I believe Beefbar is the name of a European chain that Crystal is partnering with on this venture. Believe the name vs the actual menu is going to cause much confusion. There is beef on the menu but also vegetarian/vegan items and everything in between. On the Facebook page someone has already asked about the new "steak house" on Crystal. Hope not many are too disappointed when they discover the new concept. Personally, I'm looking forward to it although I would have been just as happy for it to remain Tastes.

 

Patty

[Txcotn]

Looks like very heavy food, doesn't not appeal at all, and reservations required. Are they really taking away Tastes for lunch and my favorite Chinois Chicken salad? I hate buffet, so on port days, few choices for lunch other than the Trident Grill. Why are they always replacing Tastes that everybody loves?

[BWIVince]

12 minutes ago, Texas Tillie said:

I believe Beefbar is the name of a European chain that Crystal is partnering with on this venture. Believe the name vs the actual menu is going to cause much confusion. There is beef on the menu but also vegetarian/vegan items and everything in between. On the Facebook page someone has already asked about the new "steak house" on Crystal. Hope not many are too disappointed when they discover the new concept. Personally, I'm looking forward to it although I would have been just as happy for it to remain Tastes.

 

Patty

 

I agree that a lot of Crystal's existing customers won't be familiar with the brand, but 4 beef small plates (half the street food menu) plus 4 different steaks and an additional beef feature is still a _LOT_ of beef.  I'm more worried about people complaining that there is too much focus on beef (despite the name), but that may just be PTSD because I listen to clients complain all day and have learned to expect the worst.  lol

 

I love the menu though -- looking forward to trying it someday.  There are many things I'd happily order.

 

Vince

[BWIVince]

20 minutes ago, Txcotn said:

Looks like very heavy food, doesn't not appeal at all, and reservations required. Are they really taking away Tastes for lunch and my favorite Chinois Chicken salad? I hate buffet, so on port days, few choices for lunch other than the Trident Grill. Why are they always replacing Tastes that everybody loves?

 

Ok, I'll go on the record and say it...  🙂  Not everyone loves Tastes.  I definitely don't love it.  The dinner menu is completely dull, and the lunch menu is completely inappropriate as the sole remaining quasi-sit down daily lunch venue.   (Chicken quesadillas and spaghetti with meat sauce?  Is there an elementary school lunch lady to dish it up too?)

 

That said, the Chinois Chicken Salad has been around for decades (since the Wolfgang Puck days), so I don't see it going anywhere anytime soon.  If I read this correctly, this only addresses the dinner service, so unless there is more to the announcement than what's on the web page (which there might be), I think lunch may be more like (or exactly like) what we have now than dinner...  Which itself is pretty status quo.  Just my read on it though.

 

[Edited to add, the above comments are in the spirit of 'different strokes for different folks'.  I'm not attacking people that like spaghetti and quesadillas.]

 

Vince

Edited June 18 by BWIVince

[Cruise Critic Chris]

Hi all! Cruise Critic went to Beefbar New York with Crystal to try some menu items. Here's the write-up: https://www.cruisecritic.com/news/crystal-cruises-news

[Roland4]

19 minutes ago, Txcotn said:

Looks like very heavy food, doesn't not appeal at all, and reservations required. Are they really taking away Tastes for lunch and my favorite Chinois Chicken salad? I hate buffet, so on port days, few choices for lunch other than the Trident Grill. Why are they always replacing Tastes that everybody loves?

Technically reservations for dinner were always required, but walk-ups were always welcome. When we were on Symphony in April, one of the Tastes Maitre D's told us the Tastes lunch options would be available. We shall see how that turns out..

[BEAV]

1 hour ago, Texas Tillie said:

I believe Beefbar is the name of a European chain that Crystal is partnering with on this venture. Believe the name vs the actual menu is going to cause much confusion. There is beef on the menu but also vegetarian/vegan items and everything in between. On the Facebook page someone has already asked about the new "steak house" on Crystal. Hope not many are too disappointed when they discover the new concept. Personally, I'm looking forward to it although I would have been just as happy for it to remain Tastes.

 

Patty

Your comments about perception remind me of Churrascaria. Many were turned off at the thought of way too much meat. But as time went on, a good number of people grew to like/enjoy the other offerings. It was always somewhat controversial, and I suspect Beef Bar will be too. 
 

The Beef Bar menu looks appealing to me. Not for the typical “steak house” cuts of beef, but more the street food items. Ceviche, salmon and prawn salad to name a few! 

[travelberlin]

1 hour ago, BWIVince said:

 

Ok, I'll go on the record and say it...  🙂  Not everyone loves Tastes.  I definitely don't love it.  The dinner menu is completely dull, and the lunch menu is completely inappropriate as the sole remaining quasi-sit down daily lunch venue.   (Chicken quesadillas and spaghetti with meat sauce?  Is there an elementary school lunch lady to dish it up too?)

 

That said, the Chinois Chicken Salad has been around for decades (since the Wolfgang Puck days), so I don't see it going anywhere anytime soon.  If I read this correctly, this only addresses the dinner service, so unless there is more to the announcement than what's on the web page (which there might be), I think lunch may be more like (or exactly like) what we have now than dinner...  Which itself is pretty status quo.  Just my read on it though.

 

[Edited to add, the above comments are in the spirit of 'different strokes for different folks'.  I'm not attacking people that like spaghetti and quesadillas.]

 

Vince

Thank you, thank you and thank you Vince. I agree with your post.

Ivi

[travelberlin]

1 hour ago, Cruise Critic Chris said:

Hi all! Cruise Critic went to Beefbar New York with Crystal to try some menu items. Here's the write-up: https://www.cruisecritic.com/news/crystal-cruises-news

When is the Beef Bar starting to operate on the ships? 
 

Ivi

[Cruise Critic Chris]

4 minutes ago, travelberlin said:

When is the Beef Bar starting to operate on the ships? 
 

Ivi

That's a good question. They didn't have the answer for me, just "later this year." Once we know, I'll update. I've also asked them what items from Taste will remain on the menu. 

[Keith1010]

We do not know the firm date for when it goes live.

 

As to the menu.  

 

All I can say is try it and in the end decide whether or not it is for you.  

 

And this is coming from someone who has very little beef and french fries.

 

I've looked at the menus and found several items I would try.

 

Full disclosure.  We go to Tastes once per voyage. When we do I would have a little beef.

 

I can adjust well.

 

We sailed a few years ago with a couple we have known for year. About two days before we were going to go to Umi Uma they were nervous saying they didn't want sashimi and they didn't want the fish.

 

I said no problems but take a close look at the menu and I think you can find enough items to enjoy. They decided to go and enjoyed very much enjoyed the experience.

 

I believe the menu and from what I've read about Beefbar is an upgrade over Tases. But we won't know for sure until we try it.

 

Keith

[FlyerTalker]

Thank you Vince.  IMO, Tastes is/was the most overrated thing on a Crystal ship.

 

Doesn't Royal Caribbean have Johnny Rockets onboard?

 

 

[May B]

10 hours ago, FlyerTalker said:

Thank you Vince.  IMO, Tastes is/was the most overrated thing on a Crystal ship.

 

Doesn't Royal Caribbean have Johnny Rockets onboard?

 

 

Huh? Tastes and Johnny Rockets don’t match at all, imho. Neither do the Trident Grill and Johnny Rockets.

 

Although I have not ever eaten at Johnny Rockets on Royal, only at a local mall.

[loriva]

On 6/18/2024 at 1:57 PM, Cruise Critic Chris said:

That's a good question. They didn't have the answer for me, just "later this year." Once we know, I'll update. I've also asked them what items from Taste will remain on the menu. 

 

This part of your review caught my eye:  "Considering that Crystal’s ships just underwent major refurbishments before relaunching in 2023, it’s unlikely that the Tastes space will change significantly, we were told. The line is working with Beefbar’s architecture team so that some elements of the restaurants will come onboard."  It confirmed my suspicion that there will be some period of time where there will be no Tastes and no Beefbar.  And, likely, just our luck it will be during our first sailing on Crystal ocean in early October!  (Although the website did allow us to make reservations for Tastes during our sailing.)

[daleandrews]

I have had the same thought (worry!).  We are on for 23 days, Quebec City on the 26th of October through Barbados on the 18th of November.  Hoping there will not be construction of the new restaurant and/or the casino during that time period!

[BWIVince]

2 hours ago, loriva said:

 

This part of your review caught my eye:  "Considering that Crystal’s ships just underwent major refurbishments before relaunching in 2023, it’s unlikely that the Tastes space will change significantly, we were told. The line is working with Beefbar’s architecture team so that some elements of the restaurants will come onboard."  It confirmed my suspicion that there will be some period of time where there will be no Tastes and no Beefbar.  And, likely, just our luck it will be during our first sailing on Crystal ocean in early October!  (Although the website did allow us to make reservations for Tastes during our sailing.)

 

I wouldn't worry too much about that (but that's easy for me to say as I've recently expressed my feelings about Tastes 😄 ).  The space on both ships was originally designed to be concept-agnostic, so this type of transition has been baked into the design.  It's entirely possible that there would less than 24 or 48 hours worth of work, if that.  We'll know more as more details become available, but this sounds like a really light lift.

 

Another thing to keep in mind, most of Crystal's alternative dining venues have been completely constructed/reconstructed from the steel at some point in their career, in 11 days or less.  That should give some context around how quickly they can make most minor modifications, if it's that fast to build them in the first place. 

 

Vince

[WNcruiser]

I am currently on Serenity. They are expecting Beefbar to be open sometime around August or September. They do not have a definite date as of yet. If I find out anything more I will update. 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited June 20 by WNcruiser

[WNcruiser]

I have spoken to several officers and head waiters about when Beefbar will open on board and the conclusion is sometime before the end of the year. No one seems to have an exact date or even month. 
 

The good news is I am going to post the menu.
 

[calliopecruiser]

A very average menu, in my opinion......That doesn't mean the food won't be good - or great - but there's nothing particular about it that tells me I want to put it on my "must do" list.

I thought Churrascaria was the best place to eat on the ship, other than UmiUma, and I was sad to see it go.  I agree that Tastes was overrated, but I happily joined friends there when they wanted to eat there and enjoyed my meal. 

Different strokes.....

[Roel94]

I see two dinner items bit to much food for lunch.

[Roel94]

Also do not eat red meat of any kind 

[calliopecruiser]

2 hours ago, Roel94 said:

Also do not eat red meat of any kind

It's a small menu, but half of it is not red meat.

[steamboats]

There´s been a media event in NYC... more here.

 

steamboats

[BWIVince]

9 hours ago, Roel94 said:

I see two dinner items bit to much food for lunch.

That’s probably why it’s a dinner menu.  😊 

 

Vince