Portofino & Chops

[court1683]

My fiance and I will be setting sail on our honeymoon aboard the Liberty of the Seas on 10/10/10. This is our first time cruising so we are newbies when it comes to all of this. We were wondering if it worth it to pay the additional $$$ to eat at either Portofino's or Chops Grille. Is one better than the other? Also, will we be able to have a romantic dinner just the 2 of us, or will we have to share the table? We looke forward to your response.

-The Future Mr. & Mrs.

[phoenix1181]

They're worth every penny! You don't share a table & the service is amazing. As far as one being better than the other goes, that's all about personal preference............. I rather go to Chops but DH loves Portofino so we always do both!

[cb at sea]

In the specialty restaurant, your party is at their own table...no table sharing.

[silentbob007]

You definitely get your own table at the specialty restaurant. Personally, I prefer Portofino ... I prefer the food and it is the cheaper option. Besides which, if you really want a steak, the filet from Portofino is amazing.

[jmraggs]

We like both and the menu is totally different, I would suggest reserving both and seeing which one, if any, you prefer the most. Well worth the cover charge IMO and it's a lot more intimate than the MDR.

[Sugar*Magnolia]

Make reservations for both. I prefer Portofino. Romantic table for two....

[cindy58]

Yes, I think it's worth it. I just returned from the 9/5/10 sailing of LOS. After many cruises, it was my first time with a specialty restaurant. We first chose Portofino, then booked Chops along with a couple of our MDR tablemates. We all enjoyed it very much.

[pattpga]

When on the LoS we tried both , the opinions were split, everyone loved Portofinos while some really did not like CHOPS near as much. I liked the service in Portofino's better.

[yogimax]

Get the filet mignon at Portofino's and you get the best of both worlds.

 

As far as whether it's worth it... I would do it once a cruise at most. My thought is that I am already paying for a good dinner in the MDR, so why spend more?

[Sequim88]

We did both and then decided to do Portofino again on our 12 night repo. Chops was great but on second Portofino visit I did the steak and it was every bit as good as Chops. The main tie breaker though was the Seafood Tower at Portofino. If you like seafood (lobster, scallops, shrimp, salmon) it is amazing and like nothing else we've ever had.

 

Both are an intimate and mostly quiet atmosphere that is quite different from he MDR. Both times at Portofino we had window seats and could watch the ocean glide by as the sun set - very romantic (disclaimer - location on non-Radiance class ship and other routes might not make that situation possible).

[KYGal112]

Was just on Freedom and tried Chops on Friday Evening. Reservation 8:00

Very disappointed and truly not worth the $$$$.

Food Cold

Baked Potato extremely old,cold, brown inside

Over 3 hours, waited 47 minutes for dessert alone

Filet was good but very luckwarm, not cooked upon order for sure.

No special service at all. Main Dining Room service was much better!!

I gues we just got a really horrible night.

[jmraggs]

Was just on Freedom and tried Chops on Friday Evening. Reservation 8:00

Very disappointed and truly not worth the $$$$.

Food Cold

Baked Potato extremely old,cold, brown inside

Over 3 hours, waited 47 minutes for dessert alone

Filet was good but very luckwarm, not cooked upon order for sure.

No special service at all. Main Dining Room service was much better!!

I gues we just got a really horrible night.

 

Wow, that's not typical at all. We have been going for years on different ships including Freedom and we have always had very good service and great meals, actually in less than 2 hours from start to finish and that's with us taking our time. If this was your first time, I would at least give it another try.

[sandbox]

Been to both but Portifino's wins hands down:)

[Tony1865]

We had Chops on FOS last week, and for us, it was worth the extra expense. It made for a nice "date night." DW, who has to have her steaks medium well, had her filet butterflied and thought it was wonderful, and not many steakhouses please her.

 

But I will agree with a PP. I didn't think the service was any better than in the MDR. It wasn't that the Chops service was any worse ... it was just that the MDR service was that good.

 

Next time, we'll try Portofino's. Some of our tablemates went into holy raptures over it.

[BluEyed445]

We absolutely love portofino. Cant wait to eat there again on our October/November cruise!! :D IMO, very much worth the money, especially for a special night.

[Alaska07]

I will be sailing on Jewel soon, and others in our group want to dine at Chops. As I don't eat beef, is it worth the extra? I have seen a sample menu that lists they serve 'Alaskan Halibut', does anyone know how this is cooked and what sauces are available? Thanks

[wethetraveler]

I have been to CHOPS several times and I really think that it is worth the cover charge. I will say that the food and service in chops is what I experienced each night on my Celebrity Cruise in there main dinning room. I have always had excellent service and the food is hot and the portions are good.

 

As stated earlier, you do not have to share a table with anyone and there are usually 3 waiters assigned to your table. I normally have every appetizer on the menu but you can only have one main course. At the end, I always have cheesecake and two scoops of vanilla ice cream. Believe me, I am stuffed when I leave chops. I always make my reservation once I am one the ship. There is a fee charged to your seapass card if you miss your reservation time. When you enter the Windjammer, CHOPS is located on your right and Portifino is located on the left. After reading some of these comments, I will try both in December while sailing on the Navigator.

[bmccarthy]

We went to Chops and did the Murder Mystery Dinner in Portofino on our first cruise. I enjoyed both and am glad that we did the Murder Mystery Dinner as I know the food and show as well. Kevin isn't a huge fan of garlic and when we found out that the steak was marinated in garlic, they chef had a fresh steak sent up and cooked it special for him. I had shrimp which was delicious. Those were the only two options on the menu. We have never been there on a regular night so I can't attest to the other items on the menu or the service.

 

We really enjoyed the whole menu and atmosphere at Chops, because we enjoy going to steakhouses at home. We always get shrimp cocktail, steak, baked potato, and the mississippi mud pie for dessert. On our Mariner cruise, we even got an extra dessert to take back to our room.

 

Some people recommend that if you have good steakhouses at home, you should try Portofino or if you have good Italian restaurants, you should try Chops. I would recommend that you try one or both for the experience as they are well worth the extra charge.

 

Enjoy your honeymoon cruise!

Beth :)

[CruisesOnMyMind]

I have been waiting over a year to get back to Portifino's. Before that I swore Chops was the way to go. Though both extremely good, the meal I had in Portifino's was the best I have ever had! And yes I do get out once in awhile!

[bobert]

I have done both on several of Royal's ships and I would say that both are generally excellent. While I generally like Portofino's a little better, there was at least one cruise that I remember thinking that Chops was better. So I would say there is some amount of variation within the same restaurant and even on the same ship over a period of time. As wonderful as the MDR is in general if you budget allows it and you really like food I would suggest trying at least one. When you think that it cost about as much as a picture or a couple of drinks and you think which is a better addition to your vacation you just have to deciede what suits you best. There is no wrong answer and if you get unlucky and happen to go on an off evening, so what no worries you didn't spend that much and I'll bet you still had a good time.

[Tranquil Waters]

Another vote for YES! Do it. And another vote for Portofino. DH and I enjoy both but if we are only doing one specialty venue night on a particular cruise - we will both always choose Portofino....... :)