EPIC Food - Mixed Reviews?

[escentialssoycandles]

This is our first cruise on NCL, we have cruised 6 with RC and love love love the food. I went through as many posts as humanly possible and am seeing really mixed reviews on food for EPIC.

 

Seems like they have made some changes? Anyone been on EPIC recently? What are your thoughts?

 

We are cruising with a group of 15, 10 of which are newbie cruisers and I don't wanna look bad for setting us up on this trip! :eek:

[FLAHAM]

I cruised one the Epic in mid-February and thought most of the food ranged from good to very good. Particularly enjoyed Cagney's, Le Bistro, Teppanyaki and the Epic Club. La Cucina and Shangai decent but not great. Did not enjoy the food at Cirque. Found the MDRs adequate but service inconsistant.

[Cruisin'cockney]

Nothing divides people more than the quality of food on cruiselines. 2 people sitting next to each other eating the same dish at the same time can have 2 completely different opinions.

 

However IMHO if you enjoy RC food you will have no problem with NCL food. Quality is better in the specialist restaurants but the MDR's is perfectly acceptable and often much better than acceptable.

[patseacruiser]

I cruised the Epic in November and RCI as recently as January. Food is such a subjective subject so it's hard to really come up with an answer. For me - personally - I found that RCI had lost some of it's food quality. And while you will have people say their Epic MDR was inconsistent I had the exact opposite. I enjoyed all the food in the MDR and service was fine. I only ate in 1 specialty restaurant and I found it excellent but I would have been fine to just stay in the MDR at Taste or Manhattan Room. O'Sheehans (included) was very good too. You will get so many different answers on this question that your head will spin. I really don't think you made a bad choice with the Epic.

[escentialssoycandles]

DH and I are foodies, but everyone else is not. Being that they are new to cruising I just want to make sure they will enjoy the food at the "Free" areas. Looks like there is alot of variety?

[housepeepers]

DH and I are foodies, but everyone else is not. Being that they are new to cruising I just want to make sure they will enjoy the food at the "Free" areas. Looks like there is alot of variety?

 

 

I am a foodie as well and can be pretty particular about food quality sometimes, but i found the food on the Epic to be good to very good. The variety is incredible; everything from burgers and fries to carved meats to Indian food and salad bars just in the buffets ( which are actually the best buffets I have been to on an NCL ship). My DH is a fussy eater and he always finds plenty to eat and love.

 

Enjoy your cruise....

 

PS. We went on a galley tour with CC Meet and Greet folks and it is amazing. They prepare over 20,000 meals a day! Can you imagine planning for that many meals?

[coffeebean]

I was recently on Epic (for the second time) 2 1/2 weeks ago. I usually stay clear of NCL's main dining rooms and absolutely love their specialty restaurants. DH and I gave Taste main dining room a try and we were both shocked at how delicious the food was. The night we dined there, the menu did not thrill either of us so we chose from the "Always Available" side of the menu. I had the Rosemary Chicken which fell away from the bone and was so juicy and flavorful. The garlic mashed potatoes tasted just like the potatoes served in Cagney's specialty restaurant. To top it off, my husband had the most juicy salmon also packed with flavor. DH said he has never had salmon that delicious in any restaurant. (He loves the salmon I make on the grill). He had the freshest peas and carrots which were prepared to perfection....not too soft but just right. Service was excellent. We requested more peas and carrots and the waiter had them on our table in less than two minutes. I was extremely impressed with NCL's main dining room food and our servers were wonderful.

 

Now, if you want to know about the specialty restaurants, I will be glad to give you my opinion of the food and service provided in these wonderful restaurants.

 

No need to worry as your group will enjoy this cruise.

[Sea Monster 2]

I was on the Epic last week, and I'm a foodie, too. We ate at Cagney's-- our experience was amazing steak, not great sides and service; Moderno, good and fun; O'Sheehan's, just OK; Noodle Bar, very good; Le Bistro, very good; Cirque, fun show, the food is edible but certainly no more than that; and the buffet, which was excellent by buffet/mass-produced food standards-- we really liked it!!! Lots of choice and everything was well-prepared. I think there's got to be something for just about everyone on this ship!!! I'm sure you guys will eat well enough and have a great trip!

[szcakes]

we went 2 weeks ago ..:( it's over

 

we loved all the food, no complaints

[jeannep]

We were on Epic in February. The food was very good. The MDR's both were terrific. Moderno has the best salad bar which I hear you can get as an appitizer at Cagneys.

 

O'Sheehans was fun and good. Garden Cafe was very good with alot of selections.

 

We went to Cirque Dinner & Show. My DH is very alergic to shell fish. When we sat down we told the waiter and he immediately put a white napkin in front of my DH. When the food was served it was obvious that they put thought into it. I was a little worried that they would just take the shell fish off of the regular plate and serve it that way but his salad and maincourse was totaly different than mine. We were impressed.

 

Enjoy!

Jeanne

[Darthdaddy]

I endorse the views above. Food is incredibly subjective. I was blown away by food on Disney, but subsequently disappointed in the "indifferent" food and service aboard Dawn. Pearl was better. Epic is better still.

 

I'm not a fussy eater, which may say as much about me as it does the food. Still, the MDR's on Epic are quite good. The buffet is very, very good---for a buffet. If you hate buffets, you are unlikely to like Epic's.

 

Regarding Cirque, Dreams & Dinner, if you want great food, go somewhere else. If you want a great evening, by all means give Cirque a try. I have posted elsewhere that the constraints of serving a meal DURING a frantic, live stage performance dictate a fixed menu and very tight windows for serving the various courses. Given these parameters, I think they do a great job. Don't get me wrong, I thought the food was pretty good, however, if your main interest is great food, you may be disappointed.

 

Overall, you and your group should be fine ...enjoy your cruise.