The Almost Complete Food Lovers Guide to the Oasis of the Seas

[BrianAlt]

Wow Brian. Now I want to do Chef's Table AND Vintages! Question, if it's not too personal - I know gratuities are included with the price at Chef's Table, but did you tip extra?

 

I love your sense of humor (ex: "it was paella")

 

I did tip extra. I believe I left an extra $20 for the two of us. They were worth it.

 

Glad you're enjoying. :)

[BrianAlt]

Post #68....OOOOOOOOooooooooo..your wife looks like she got a bit crispy in the sun!!!:eek:

 

but she doesn't look like she is in any pain...:)

 

Yeah, I yell at her, but she won't listen. Oh well. At least she has fun doing it.

 

By the way, she's lurking here. Once I started she yelled at me to keep going and finish it! She wants to read it too. Ha!

[Bakincakes]

Yeah, I yell at her, but she won't listen. Oh well. At least she has fun doing it.

 

By the way, she's lurking here. Once I started she yelled at me to keep going and finish it! She wants to read it too. Ha!

 

 

What every good woman needs is a cattle prod to keep their man moving.:p

[linedancer]

Did you have to make reservations for Vintages? Sounds like a great place to eat.

 

Loving your review and I am taking notes along the way. We will be on the Oasis the end of Oct.

 

Thanks again for all the great info

Irene

[dbk64]

Thanks for your great review. We sail in 52 days and can't wait!!!!

 

Do you know if they have the 16oz aluminum Bud and Bud Light bottles?

 

Donna

[Gigi Fan]

Brian, I've really been enjoying your day-by-day food review of Oasis. My daughter and I sail Aug. 7 (SOON!) and we're really looking forward to trying many of the new dining venues. What fun to have so many options!

 

I'm reminded of something a friend likes to say, "So much food, so little time...."

 

Looking forward to reading the next installment. Thanks for taking the time to post your impressions.

[Miss Dot]

Thank you for taking the time to write this....looking forward to our Oct. I also have a question, almost all I have read seem to rave about the roast beef sandwiches.....however, the pics I have seen it looks like it is on an onion bun!:(

Can you please tell me what type of bun it is and if you have a choice of different types of buns?

Thanks

[cotomom]

Is Johnny Rocket's an extra charge for BREAKFAST? thankss!

[BrianAlt]

Did you have to make reservations for Vintages?

 

No reservations required. Just walk in and sit down.

 

Do you know if they have the 16oz aluminum Bud and Bud Light bottles?

 

I believe they only have the 12 oz. variety.

[Sugar*Magnolia]

Excellent review!!! Oops guide. :D Really, really enjoyed just reading through the entire thread!! when you mentioned the "Roman Jewish style" restaurant in the city, did you mean Sammy's Romanian?? Good times, good times! I havent been there in like 5 yrs. You cant eat that way more than every 5 yrs!!

 

Vintages and the Chefs table sound great! Being admitted sushi snobs I doubt we would like Izumi.

 

Thanks for taking the time!!

[BrianAlt]

I also have a question, almost all I have read seem to rave about the roast beef sandwiches.....however, the pics I have seen it looks like it is on an onion bun!:(

Can you please tell me what type of bun it is and if you have a choice of different types of buns?

Thanks

 

It is a salt and poppy seed bun and it is fashioned after the Beef on Weck that you find in the Buffalo, NY area. No choices that I saw, sorry.

 

Is Johnny Rocket's an extra charge for BREAKFAST? thankss!

 

No extra charge for breakfast. You have to go there at least once for breakfast, right? They do charge extra for lunch and dinner.

[BrianAlt]

Excellent review!!! Oops guide. :D Really, really enjoyed just reading through the entire thread!! when you mentioned the "Roman Jewish style" restaurant in the city, did you mean Sammy's Romanian?? Good times, good times! I havent been there in like 5 yrs. You cant eat that way more than every 5 yrs!!

 

No, the Roman Jewish restaurant is an Italian restaurant. It's called Lattanzi and it's on Restaurant Row.

 

Vintages and the Chefs table sound great! Being admitted sushi snobs I doubt we would like Izumi.

 

Probably true. I've had better sushi many times. But I still enjoyed our dinner there.

[oliviaonthe beach]

Any chance at the very end of this guide you will offer us your rankings of the restaurants on board? In other words, if I had to pick 3 alternate dinner venues on Oasis besides the MDR, which ones should I choose with quality/price/value in mind? Hope my request makes sense...thanks for spending so much time with this!

[BrianAlt]

Any chance at the very end of this guide you will offer us your rankings of the restaurants on board? In other words, if I had to pick 3 alternate dinner venues on Oasis besides the MDR, which ones should I choose with quality/price/value in mind? Hope my request makes sense...thanks for spending so much time with this!

 

How about this? At the end I'll say if I were going on Oasis or Allure again, what would I do? Would I do the same thing? How would I do it differently?

 

Would that help?

[MAZANDSTEVE]

Vintages sounds like its just my thing. :)

[oceanblue33]

How about this? At the end I'll say if I were going on Oasis or Allure again, what would I do? Would I do the same thing? How would I do it differently? That sounds perfect and Brian this review of all the specialty restaurants is something I was really looking for. I know now which one my wife and I will attend . Looking forward to your opinion on 150 park place. Thanks againn to you and your pretty wife.

[BrianAlt]

Looking forward to your opinion on 150 park place.

Coming up on Day 7! :)

Thanks againn to you and your pretty wife.

 

You just said that cause I told you she was lurking! ;)

[BrianAlt]

Everyone getting tired yet? 3 more days and 3 more specialty restaurants to go!

 

Part 8: Chops!

 

So we started the morning in the Solarium for breakfast. This was the morning I stopped by the Park Café for a banana before heading to the gym. I wish the Vitality Café, which is right outside the spa and gym had fruit set out, but I didn’t see any. They may have had some behind the counter. It was a very slow morning since we didn’t dock at Costa Maya until 11:30 AM. We were heading to Maya Chan that afternoon and we had a delicious lunch there. Their tacos were excellent! Their drinks were excellent! We were there for WAY too short a time. But that’s a review for another time.

 

The lovely Perla bringing us some fruit salad at Maya Chan

 

I was a little concerned that I would overeat at Maya Chan and not be hungry enough for Chops, but I quickly got over that and ignored any fullness I felt. Thankfully I didn’t drink too much. If I had done that I don’t think I would have made it there at all.

 

Chops is lovely and Central Park is such a nice setting for ALL of the restaurants. Makes you feel like you are in a beautiful part of town, especially at night. You stroll through the gardens and everything is lit up. It really is beautiful.

 

We had a very nice table for two in a row of tables for two near the window.

 

Pritesh took this picture of us before our meal at Chops

 

I ordered a bottle of the Duckhorn Merlot. I figured it would go well with our entrees and not overpower the rest of the courses. Our waiter, Pritesh from India, brought the bottle over and prepared for the traditional tasting, but then he swirled the glass for me! And probably did a better job of it than I would. He then poured us each a glass and swirled those also. It’s just one of those touches that make you feel like you’re being pampered and that you are in a fancy restaurant. Well done Pritesh!

 

My wife ordered the Lobster Carpaccio and immediately Pritesh encouraged her to order something else. He said it’s not going to be what she thinks it will be. So she ordered the Dungeness Crab and Shrimp Cake, which is what she should have ordered to begin with. I ordered the Forest Mushroom Soup. I still had the taste of the mushroom soup in my mouth from Chef’s Table, but I was eyeing that soup even before the cruise when I saw it on the menu. I also ordered a Shrimp Cocktail and my wife said she would share that with me. Pritesh also said he would bring a Lobster Carpaccio so we could taste it.

 

Of course Pritesh was right! The lobster was, umm, chopped (?) and then formed into very thin patties (?). It was ODD to say the least. It didn’t even taste like lobster and the consistency was horrible. DO NOT get this dish. My wife’s crab cake was delicious! The rémoulade sauce was so tasty! Nice touch of spice without it being overwhelming and went so well with the cake. The soup was so tasty. Very much like the soup at Chef’s Table. Maybe slightly less rich, but then it was 4-5 times the size. So a little less rich is called for. The Shrimp Cocktail was, well, shrimp cocktail. The shrimps were large, tasty and snapped in your mouth. The cocktail sauce was just what it should be with the right amount of horseradish. I think I dipped some bread in it after the shrimp were gone. I couldn’t resist.

 

For our entrees my wife ordered the Petit Filet Mignon. Pritesh tried to talk her into the full size one, but she said that the petit was plenty. I was torn between the Broiled Veal Chop and the Beef Rib Eye. Jackie had told us how wonderful the Veal Chop was, but the Rib Eye was right up my alley. I asked Pritesh for his thoughts and he said Rib Eye. I said, let’s do it! When our steaks were served Pritesh came over with the sauces. The choices are Classic Béarnaise, Green Peppercorn Sauce, Chimichurri Sauce and Cabernet Reduction. He recommended the Peppercorn or the Cabernet. I said that I can’t choose between three, those two and the Chimichurri, I love them all! So he put all three on my plate, pouring a slightly larger than small amount of sauce at the edge of my steak in three different areas. It was so much fun trying each of the sauces with the steak. I don’t remember liking one over the other, they were all sooo delicious. I finished my 16 oz. steak as easily as my wife finished her 7 oz. We also ordered three sides: Roasted Potatoes with Prosciutto and Parmesan, Sautéed Broccolini and Crimini Mushrooms and Leeks. We didn’t finish any of the three, but all we delicious. I ate some mushrooms with my steak and that was very nice. Also, the wine went very well with the steak and all of the sauces.

 

My wife said that she enjoyed Pritesh so much that she has to make a comment on our way out. After the entrees, the Maitre d’ was wandering through the restaurant asking everyone how their meal was, making sure everyone was happy. My wife stopped him and told him how wonderful Pritesh was. He said that she was just saying that, but she insisted and said that she had planned to tell him what a great waiter he is. The Maitre d’ told us that he is indeed an excellent waiter and they have big plans for him. Good luck, Pritesh!

 

For dessert my wife had the Cheese Cake and I had Apple Pie a la Mode. For me, the pie was a great way to top off this meal. It was lighter than having chocolate cake and the vanilla ice cream was refreshing. It was sweet, which is what I usually look for in a dessert. My wife says the cheese cake was excellent! However, I must say the dessert choices were a little flat. A special place should have special desserts and these were mostly ordinary. We both very much enjoyed what we ordered and that’s what counts. But I did take note that the dessert menu was not very impressive.

 

This was such a wonderful meal. If you absolutely wanted to go to ONLY ONE specialty restaurant, GO HERE! (I’ll tell you why I say that at the end.)

 

Next : Part 9: Solarium Bistro

[silver03]

As a fellow amateur foodie, I appreciate this guide! Food options always take center stage when we plan our vacations, so it sounds like Oasis (or Allure) will be right up our alley. I can't wait to hear more!

 

My husband doesn't drink alcohol at all, and I'm not a big wine drinker. Unfortunately, I think that means that the Chef's Table wouldn't make sense for us. It's a shame because the menu and service sound wonderful. Luckily, it seems that there are plenty of other options for us.

[BrianAlt]

My husband doesn't drink alcohol at all, and I'm not a big wine drinker. Unfortunately, I think that means that the Chef's Table wouldn't make sense for us. It's a shame because the menu and service sound wonderful. Luckily, it seems that there are plenty of other options for us.

 

Stay tuned, 150 Central Park is coming up soon. That may be just what you're looking for.

[Babyberger]

Oh I cant wait to get on Oasis and start enjoying these wonderful meals! We too have a fabulous waiter at Chops when we are on Freedom and he had said he was moving to Oasis, I wonder if he made it over there.

 

I have to say I am dissapointed I wont get to try all of the wonderful places to eat as we do want to have some meals in the MDR with the kids, although my older son will be joining us for Chops and Giovanni's Table.

 

Brian, once again, thank you for taking the time to post all of this. Your commentaries are wonderful!

[gsb]

Very nice guide--appreciated.:)

[mcfaddensfarm]

<snip>

This was such a wonderful meal. If you absolutely wanted to go to ONLY ONE specialty restaurant, GO HERE! (I’ll tell you why I say that at the end.)

 

Brian, I'm so glad you said this. We are on a fairly limited budget on this cruise and I was trying to decide exactly this! If we could only go to one specialty (i.e. extra charge) restaurant, what would it be? And now you've given us an answer! :D Thanks for all of the great detailed food info.

[hazeleyes35]

Loving the reviews. Will be on the ship in the fall :D

[jjtt]

Once again thank you for making my mouth water as we are getting closer and closer to our sail date!!! 22 more days until we board with good friends for a cruise that has taken two years in the making!!!!! :D :D Jean