Questions about Canaletto for two people

From the Canaletto on-line sample menu "We suggest ordering two small plates, one pasta and one large plate for every two people at your table."

There are two of us. Can we request less of each item? Or if that's not possible, does that "we suggest" in the real world mean there's a limit on the number of plates?

Looking at the sample menu, there are things I would really enjoy and other things best friend would really enjoy. I'd want one of the pastas and one of the large plates. She'd want a couple of small plates, a different pasta, and a different large plate.

Canaletto looks interesting. The Pinnacle Grill is the only HAL specialty restaurant I've been to before. Really looking forward to this trip. First vacation of any kind in seven years.

2018 - May 8th to 19th - Eurodam (B2B) Pacific Northwest (RT Seattle) & Alaska (RT Seattle)

I've dined there as a solo. Order what you wish. Disregard the suggestion as to how/what to order.

There are no limits as to what you can order. Those are just suggestions to help you.

Don’t miss dining at the Tamarind! The service is amazing and the food is really good!

We followed the 2/1/1 suggestion and it was waaaaay too much food for the two of us ... and we are not small people! I suggest you start by ordering less, and IF you feel it isn't enough you can extend the order.

I've dined there as a solo. Order what you wish. Disregard the suggestion as to how/what to order.

I agree with RKA. My husband and I, last week, started to order based on the menu suggestion and the server told us she would break it down per person. Next week I am booked as a solo and have no doubt they will order appropriately.

The Canaletto Zuppe de Pesci is delicious and fulled with seafood.

I've dined there as a solo. Order what you wish. Disregard the suggestion as to how/what to order.

We have dined in the Canaletto many times with only the two of us and also up to a couple of tables of 8 each with cruise friends .

I always suggest to my friends to share dishes than you can have a little bit of this and a little bit of that .

I agree with Crew News the Zuppa di Pesci is my favrite and it is also something you can share in a small group than you will receive a soup terrine and scoop it out yourself . Yes you can order as much as you would like . Depending on which ship we really enjoy the Canaletto ! :D:D:D

We have only dined at the Canaletto twice and really did not care not for it. Second time service was bad and food was too much and not defrosted and cooked all the way. But not everyone has a bad experience there. When I say there was too much food, we have different tastes and ordered what we each of us wanted and asked for smaller plates -- didn't happen.

The Canaletto Zuppe de Pesci is delicious and fulled with seafood.

Excellent suggestion, CN! (y)(y)(y) We have dined at Canaletto at least a dozen times and have enjoyed the Zuppa di Pesce each time - it seems to vary slightly from ship to ship , but it has always been extraordinary.

There are no limits as to what you can order. Those are just suggestions to help you.

 

Don’t miss dining at the Tamarind! The service is amazing and the food is really good!

Also an excellent suggestion, ig. (y)(y)(y) IMO Tamarind is the very best value of HAL's specialty restaurants. Certainly worth a try, OP, even if you are not a big fan of Asian Fusion.

Once, I ordered the steak at Canaletto. I was surprised, but surely pleased, that it was one of the best steaks I have had on a HAL ship. I don't recall the cut of beef that it was. But, it was tender, had a proper beefy flavor, and cooked to my medium rare request. I'm not sure that a steak is still offered.

We were just on the Maasdam's Incan Empire cruise and noticed that they added a different special entree for each day of week in Canaletto. This was done sometime during the 28 day cruise as we ate in Canaletto on the first night and it was not listed on the menu at that point but was there later in the cruise. Not sure if it was unique to the Maasdam and this cruise in particular but I think it is a good idea.

2 of us recently ate at Canaletto on K'dam, went with the suggestion( not necessary) and barely had room for dessert. It was a good meal all round. Visited Tamarind twice, excellent service, venue, food- steak, lamb and sushi - didn't fancy lobster asian style, especially on first night with 25% discount. Also enjoyed happy hour 1/2 price tapas at ATK- helpings seemed to be regular size! Also ate at the Dutch cafe. Decided to try out variety of places other than MDR and enjoyed all.

We dined there one time on the NA recently and really enjoyed it. We simply ordered what we liked and the portions are large. Be sure to have the lasagna it is excellent! And I don’t think it is on the menu but it is served. Delicious with a mix of 3 different meats (beef, lamb, pork??) and half of the pasta has red sauce and the other half a white sauce. We loved it!

We just ate at the Canaletto 2 weeks ago and had one of the best meals of our 2 week cruise aboard the Maasdam. The server brought us an order of lasagna in addition to our items we had chosen. We had way too much food .

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We ate at Canaletto 3 times in February on the Eurodam. We each had an appetizer, shared the awesome gnocchi and our entree( the veal). Still too much food. I didn’t care at all for the lasagne, way too heavy for me

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We really enjoy the Canaletto. Have found it is a lot of food for just the two of us. We always try to go with friends and then we can order a variety of items to share. Even when it is just the two of us, there was no limit as to how or what we could order. Just save room for dessert!!

Thank you all for your helpful replies! We booked Canaletto twice and Tamarind once and are looking forward to both.

2018 - May 8th to 19th - Eurodam (B2B) Pacific Northwest (RT Seattle) & Alaska (RT Seattle)

When we were on the Eurodam, we loved our Canaletto meal. We had an appetizer, two pastas to share and a fish dish we split. Everything was delicious! The bottle of wine was very reasonable, too.

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Reporting back on my solo experience last week. I requested, and got, small servings for each of my courses. However.... it was the worst experience I have ever had at a specialty restaurant on HAL. I arrived for my 7:30 reservation and, after waiting 5 minutes for the Maitre D', was told there were no tables available. He sat me out in the Lido with a glass of wine to wait. During this time he sat two couples who arrived well after I did. I wish I had cancelled and gone to the Pinnacle. Instead I sat there like a dummy believing they'd make it right. A full 30 minutes after I arrived I was seated. Another 15 minutes later I received another glass of wine. I am 0 for 2 with regard to service at the Canaletto so I will not be back. I hope you have a better experience!

They just started doing daily specials

The Canaletto Zuppe de Pesci is delicious and fulled with seafood.

I second this opinion. It is my favorite item on their menu! I don't care for pasta or dessert so I usually order several appetizers and the fish main dish.

Mis G. That is possitively awful and combined with the terrible Pinnalce Manager I had on Veendam, they ned to reconsider the persons they are hiring for those positions As a solo, few would accept th t treatment. You were efry gracious , IMO. the Maitre d' needs much more training

Mis G. That is possitively awful and combined with the terrible Pinnalce Manager I had on Veendam, they ned to reconsider the persons they are hiring for those positions As a solo, few would accept th t treatment. You were efry gracious , IMO. the Maitre d' needs much more training

I have been thinking about again booking to sail solo and when I read a report lke that treatment of a solo at Canaletto, I certainly have second thoughts. No person with a reservation should ever be treated like that.

Thank you Sail. Seating those two couples before me was very hurtful. I tried to stick around to say so to the Maitre D' but he was nowhere to be found. Just a humiliating experience all in all. :(