polo grill

[marky63]

I have read a lot about the different restaurants but little about the polo grill. I love ribeye, prime rib etc and am curious what others think.

[bobndee]

I'll probably get blasted for this by other CC members, but I found Polo Grill to be my least favorite of all of the specialty restaurants. This is based on all of one cruise on Oceania and one meal at Polo.

 

My biggest issue is serving size. Most of the cuts served are waaaaaay to big for my appetite (particularly after eating well and too much for a week on board), 12 oz. to well over one pound. I chose a small ribeye, if I remember correctly. My steak was tough and full of gristle, that I do remember clearly.

 

When I'm eating out I like to do something that I don't ordinarily get. In general, I can get a good steak almost anywhere.

[hypercafe]

It's a steakhouse on par with Smith and Wollensky's, the Old Home Stead or Peter Lugers. On the Riviera I felt it lost its edge a little as there was a great grill to order steak grill in the buffet every day. That said we ate there once and it was good.

[brian_uk]

We too found that the Polo was not as good as we remembered it. The Steaks were cooked very rare rather than medium as ordered, and yes they could have been sent back, but we preferred to just get on with it.

We only visited it once but went to Toscana many times more.

We went to Jacques once and it was nice but never tried Red Ginger as we could not find anything we really liked.....it all seemed so complicated.

Overall we loved the food on Marina with our favourite locations being Toscana and The Terrace (so good after a day in the Baltic Cities).

 

Brian

[Fam_Cruise]

I'll probably get blasted for this by other CC members, but I found Polo Grill to be my least favorite of all of the specialty restaurants...

 

When I'm eating out I like to do something that I don't ordinarily get. In general, I can get a good steak almost anywhere.

Polo Grill is not my least favorite. Red Ginger is my favorite. In the case of the other three restaurants, I have been to better of each cuisine elsewhere. Don't get me wrong they are all fine. Yes, I have been to various steak houses, and Polo Grill is similar; but the steaks I cook at home are the best IMO.

 

BTW, the steaks at Polo Grill are supposed to be prime beef, so if you end up with a steak that has gristle I would send it back and ask for another steak. How does a rib eye steak end up with gristle, a NY Strip commonly does, but I have never seen a rib eye with gristle. Well marbled with fat yes, which makes them oh so tasty.

[cruisingxpert]

Like Bobndee said, I've only eaten once at Polo and been on only one Oceania cruise so far - have another booked for December.

Polo was also my least favourite - my friends "prime rib" has gristle in it and she likes fat.

 

I found all the specialty restaurants beautiful to look at but the food in all were a bit of a disappointment after the amazing reviews. The highlight for me was the LaReserve dinner ( an extra cost) but absolutely wonderful. Will definitely do it again.

 

The biggest surprise though, was the Terrace. Who in their right mind would have dinner in a buffet when there are so many lovely full service restaurants? We tried it once and ended up going there for the last 4 nights of the cruise. I loved the choices and that you could see beforehand what you would get. There was one night where they had "72 hour braised shortrib" It was on the MDR menu as well. We would never have ordered it if we had been in the MDR and saw it on the menu. My friend, especially, looked at the name and said "Ugh! Stew". I think it was the best and most memorable food I ate on the whole cruise. It is nothing like what you might imagine from the description. It was medium rare and melted in your mouth - I just wish I had taken a picture. I will if I see it on our December cruise.

 

CJ

[Mura]

I wasn't going to weigh in here but I must as a Polo fan.

 

I always order the prime rib there because I love it so much, and I get the King's cut which is a mere 32 oz. because I prefer it on the bone. Yes, I'll agree that the cuts are very large. But that doesn't mean you have to "eat the whole thing".

 

Since I prefer my meat rare, I won't ever complain that it was "too" rare!

 

Lots of people prefer Toscana but we have always preferred Polo.

 

Yes, it's true that on the "O" ships the Terrace is fabulous with tons of choices. That isn't the case on the "R" ships although that is due to change soon.

 

Mura

[pacheco18]

Depends on the cruise.

 

I have had meals in Polo ranging from fabulous to barely passable.

 

If you are on Marina or Riviera, you can get your dose of red meat at the grill.

[doubledobles]

We love Polo with its giant shrimp coctails, juicy steaks, chops or lobster and we don't like Toscana, where we find the food just so so.

[ronrick1943]

I like it! Depends on how much you like Prime Rib and Rib eye and all the other meats you enjoy. But you know sometimes we just share one meal. Just because it's (food) included does mean you have to eat everything yourself. Sometimes we want it all and other times just a little.

 

Rick

[Hawaiidan]

We love Polo with its giant shrimp coctails, juicy steaks, chops or lobster and we don't like Toscana, where we find the food just so so.

 

For the life of me I do not see the attraction with Italian... However, some rave. Then some rave about Red Ginger and don't like Polo.

 

and the list goes on... every one of us is different and so will be all our opinions.

Bottom line for me is I have never had a bad meal anywhere aboard.:D

[TKS]

I've found Polo to be my favorite on some cruises and my least favorite on others. O says the meat is "prime - aged," which is the best available.

 

I suspect the uneven nature of the experience has to do with the executive chef and the availability of the top quality meats through various embarkation ports. On the Regatta cruise of the Panama Canal we sailed two years ago Polo was wonderful. We ate there several nights and the executive chef made the rounds of each table, every time we were there, making sure everything was up to his standards. One night he mentioned a special dish in the GDR, and when I said it sounded wonderful, he brought a serving to our table to taste and enjoy (it was wonderful!). That's good service!

[babysteps]

One cruise on O so far, one meal in Polo. Liked it very much - now you know my bias :D

 

If you like steak houses (not everyone does), you will probably like Polo too. If steakhouses aren't your thing, Polo may not be, either.

 

That said, one major difference not yet mentioned is that Polo is the only place onboard that serves prime, dry-aged beef (an advantage to my taste, but ymmv). From most comments I've seen on CC, the majority of diners don't notice much of a difference (not a criticism of any diners or posters - just an observation that prime/dry-aged might not matter to most folks).

 

Prime means more marbled (fattier* - views on this will vary by personal preference; I am pro-fat). Dry-aged gives the flavor of the meat more depth, which I enjoy but some find too "gamey" and others don't notice enough of a difference to pay the premium at the butcher.

 

*If you are at Polo and want steak but prefer leaner meat, consider ordering filet mignon since there is very little difference in the marbling of prime filet vs. choice filet - this is because filet is a cut where most of the fat is on the outside of the muscle (very little marbling), so not much fat makes it to your plate.

 

As to done-ness, the scale seems to be calibrated a bit differently in different regions - one area's rare is another's medium-rare, etc. At a restaurant, to be clear I sometimes describe how done I'd like my meat (depending on your taste, 'cold center' or 'pink and warm' or 'cooked through', etc.) instead of using a done-ness term that might mean something different to the kitchen than it means to me. All that said, the Polo menu spells out exactly what their standard is for each done-ness level; the only issue may be prime rib, which is "Served Medium Rare" (if you want it more done, you could ask them to grill your cut; if you want it rare you may be out of luck - not a complaint on my part, that is the tradition for prime rib).

[TERRIER1]

 

If you like steak houses (not everyone does), you will probably like Polo too. If steakhouses aren't your thing, Polo may not be, either.

 

That said, one major difference not yet mentioned is that Polo is the only place onboard that serves prime, dry-aged beef (an advantage to my taste, but ymmv). From most comments I've seen on CC, the majority of diners don't notice much of a difference (not a criticism of any diners or posters - just an observation that prime/dry-aged might not matter to most folks).

 

Prime means more marbled (fattier* - views on this will vary by personal preference; I am pro-fat). Dry-aged gives the flavor of the meat more depth, which I enjoy but some find too "gamey" and others don't notice enough of a difference to pay the premium at the butcher.

 

*If you are at Polo and want steak but prefer leaner meat, consider ordering filet mignon since there is very little difference in the marbling of prime filet vs. choice filet - this is because filet is a cut where most of the fat is on the outside of the muscle (very little marbling), so not much fat makes it to your plate.

 

 

Fat yes (yummy) - gristle no. We have eaten many times in Polo on both the O and R ships and it is hit or miss. I find the steaks rather chewy. I worked in NYC and often went to the steak houses and in my opinion they do not compare to Polo. However, the pork chop is great. I have had better lamb chops at breakfast in the MDR than in Polo for dinner. Polo is my least favorite restaurant simply becuase it is so hit and miss. I will have to try the Terrace Cafe for steaks.

[wripro]

The wonderful thing about the Marina and Riviera is that there are so many options since obviously we all have our favorites and least favorites. If we all loved the same restaurant none of us would ever be able to get a reservation.

[TKS]

The wonderful thing about the Marina and Riviera is that there are so many options since obviously we all have our favorites and least favorites. If we all loved the same restaurant none of us would ever be able to get a reservation.

 

Amen.

[hypercafe]

One of the great things about cruise ships that has gone almost unnoticed is if do not like your food when it comes you can just order something different!

[babysteps]

Fat yes (yummy) - gristle no.

 

I hear you - gristle isn't in fashion nowadays. Might be worth a question at the next steakhouse (or butcher visit), which cuts have the least gristle? Could always ask that your meat be trimmed aggressively... I did a web search and found at least one site that claimed fattier sirloin tends to have more gristle than leaner sirloin - who knew? Didn't find anything too comprehensive though.

 

Believe it or not, in Roman times gristle was sought after. Epictetus counseled that it was poor manners to exult to loudly when you got the gristly, fatty piece - apparently others might be jealous and it would be impolite to rub it in (!) Maybe they thought the connective tissue could keep their knees young :p

[canuck.qc]

As long as it it cooked and served by someone other than me..it's all great!!:D

[dlouise]

After eating at Polo four times on the Riviera, two cruises, it is our least favorite restaurant.

 

Hypercafe, I do not think there is anything similar to Peter Lugers at Polo. The steak is just not close to the steaks at Luger or Wolfgangs for that matter, sorry.

 

We really enjoy Toscana, Red Ginger and the grill.

[hypercafe]

One steak does not make a steak house. When it comes to grilled meat if you do not like it get another. My wife is a butcher for 35 years, each cow is different!

[DrHemlock]

We loved our many shrimp cocktails, steaks and crabs consumed in Polo Grill aboard Nautica and Regatta. We also loved Toscana on both ships, starting with that astonishing olive oil cart.

 

Want to know a secret? We liked Polo Grill significantly better than Regent's Prime 7 steakhouse. More comfortable and club-like ambience, more gracious service, bigger and more tender steaks perfectly cooked. Too big, the steaks? Not for this guy! Bring it on.

[A Knitter]

How did ALL of US enjoy cruises before the Internet and Cruise Critic? I'll bet just fine. Like others. I am happy to wake up each morning and plan another cruise.

[CintiPam]

It's a steakhouse on par with ... Peter Lugers.

 

Well, at least your post provided me with a good chuckle.:) I very much like Polo, but I never would go that far!

 

And from a New Yorker, no less!:D

[GoingPlacesSoon]

Our last experience on Pollo was one of the best. The steaks were so tender, could cut with a fork. Comparable to top of the line here. I'll return and if not satisified, I'll ask for something else. This is one specialty restaurant I am looking forward to returning.