Let's talk FOOD!

[Scratchrat]

4 minutes ago, KnowTheScore said:

 

 

Super helpful reply, thanks so much!

 

Now just to hope we sail and I can enjoy everything!

[Josy1953]

1 hour ago, KnowTheScore said:

 

 Yes it is all totally do-able and very much used to be the norm many years ago when things were much better.

The standard meal schedule is Starter, Soup, Main Course then Dessert

 

Lots of people skip the soup and order a 2nd starter instead of soup.

 

Every menu has a lot of daily choices plus a separate side menu with "always available dishes".   The daily choices are cycled dishes of pork, lamb, beef, chicken and various types of fish.  They also at times include family favourites and comfort foods like pastas or stews or pies and so on.    The "always available" menu always includes steak, roast chicken and salmon.

 

Dishes come plated up (they used to be silver service in days of old).   The vegetables on them is very sparse and nothing like you might give yourself at home.  You can always ask your waiters to bring additional veg and / or a bowl of chips or potatoes if you want them.

 

If what they bring you isn't to your liking you can tell the waiters and they will take your dish away and offer to bring you an alternative off the menu. 

 

If you have any specific dietary requirements (gluten free, no dairy, vegetarian, vegan etc) then inform the restaurant manager and you will be given separate menus.

 

Bottom line is that you can order whatever food you want from the menu, starters, soups, mains or desserts. 

 

However on a personal basis I am always mindful of my table companions and what they have ordered.  I bear in mind the time they will have to sit waiting if I order additional courses because the waiters bring food in batches (starters, soups etc).

 

Thus is you fancied 2 starters off the menu and also the soup then you would likely be eating the 2nd starter whilst others were having their soup course and then you'd be eating your soup course on your own with everyone else waiting for their main courses.  Nevertheless it's your cruise, you paid the money and so can order and eat whatever you like.  It's simply my personal preference to be mindful of my table companions.

 

 

 

 

 

Yes of course, lots of people do.  I agree it's a great way to try things and as stated above, if what they bring you is immediately not to your liking or palate then the waiter will remove it and bring something else.  Variety is the spice of life.  Try it all imo.

As a fish lover one of the first things I did when cruising was to work through all the different fish.  Monk fish, John Dory, Mullets, Baramundi, Mahi Mahi, Sole, etc etc etc   In fact in the earlier days instead of soup many people used to ask for one of the main fish dishes to be made into a small "fish dish" as a 2nd starter.   i.e.  Starter, fish dish then main course then dessert.

 

Don't forget you have lunches too.  Lots of opportunities to try lots of different dishes.   In fact in some respects the lunch dishes are more interesting as they are usually much more than "meat and 2 veg" dishes that you get in the evenings.  For lunches there are meat platters and salads and curries and pastas and much more.   Enjoy it all and experiment.

 

 

 

Personally, not for me these days.  3yrs ago I would have said yes but not now.  I personally find the service and quality as gone down in my favourite alternative dining areas.   The "fusion" restaurant Sindhu was a firm favourite and was most certainly worth the supplement.  Great tasting food, really different and exceptional service.  At Christmas just gone we found that the food was nowhere near as good as it used to be.  Awfully tiny portions and just not the remarkable flavours as before.

 

The Beach House restaurant I didn't think much of either.  It's basic food using the same ingredients as the MDRs so why pay more?   And who puts a pot of pork scratchings on a menu as a starter ???!!

 

Glass House I find is good.  They used to run food and wine tasting evenings twice a cruise.  Those were very good but always had the same menu so once done not much incentive to return a 2nd time.   The Rib-Eye steaks in Glass house are delicious and the lunches they do are really different and extremely tasty.  The only problem, which I sincerely hope P&O will address, is that they allow general passengers to lounge about in the eating areas, reading books, knitting, playing card games etc which makes a mockery of it being a dining area.   I'm not really willing to pay food supplement costs to eat my food with someone in the neighbouring table sat knitting or playing Gin Rummy.   A restaurant should be a restaurant esp if it is chargeable.

 

In the end you'll just have to try these places and see for yourself and judge if it's worth the extra money.

 

. 

 

Even worse than eating while the tables nearby are occupied by people knitting, reading etc is not being able to get a table to eat because all of the tables are in use by non-diners as happened to us on 3 separate lunchtimes on Aurora.

[No pager thank you]

5 hours ago, Scratchrat said:

Super helpful reply, thanks so much!

 

Now just to hope we sail and I can enjoy everything!

I hope that you get to enjoy your cruise!

 

The Dinner discussions seem to have been outlined earlier on the thread; on most evenings you have great flexibility to have anywhere between a three and five or six course meal, although we usually just have starter, main, dessert and decaffeinated coffee.

 

However, as you asked about food in general, I just wanted to point out that the MDR is also open for lunch (usually around 1.5 hours), which can be a positive change, particularly if you prefer either a light breakfast, it's a sea day, or you have a morning excursion.  

 

Lunch is more relaxed and often less crowded than the buffet area, or the "Grab and Go" or the Burgers / Hot Dog area.

 

You have the choice of an "Express Menu" or a variety of sandwiches, light lunches and hot dishes, all tastes catered for.  Can be very pleasant having lunch served, watching the world go by for an hour with a glass of good wine!  As can be afternoon tea, just in case you miss lunch or get peckish.

 

One of the better parts of a P&O Cruise is that you will never go hungry.  Every comedian makes the crack that you go on as passengers and leave as cargo - there is a ring of truth to that!

[Scratchrat]

2 minutes ago, No pager thank you said:

I hope that you get to enjoy your cruise!

 

The Dinner discussions seem to have been outlined earlier on the thread; on most evenings you have great flexibility to have anywhere between a three and five or six course meal, although we usually just have starter, main, dessert and decaffeinated coffee.

 

However, as you asked about food in general, I just wanted to point out that the MDR is also open for lunch (usually around 1.5 hours), which can be a positive change, particularly if you prefer either a light breakfast, it's a sea day, or you have a morning excursion.  

 

Lunch is more relaxed and often less crowded than the buffet area, or the "Grab and Go" or the Burgers / Hot Dog area.

 

You have the choice of an "Express Menu" or a variety of sandwiches, light lunches and hot dishes, all tastes catered for.  Can be very pleasant having lunch served, watching the world go by for an hour with a glass of good wine!  As can be afternoon tea, just in case you miss lunch or get peckish.

 

One of the better parts of a P&O Cruise is that you will never go hungry.  Every comedian makes the crack that you go on as passengers and leave as cargo - there is a ring of truth to that!

That sounds delightful!

 

Didn't realise they served a lunch too! Assumed we would be buffet bound or to the pizza/burger counters!

[BrianI]

28 minutes ago, Scratchrat said:

That sounds delightful!

 

Didn't realise they served a lunch too! Assumed we would be buffet bound or to the pizza/burger counters!

Not only lunch in the restaurant but also afternoon tea at 4pm.
 

Incidentally, there is always a curry on the lunch menu.

 

Brian

[KnowTheScore]

3 hours ago, Scratchrat said:

That sounds delightful!

 

Didn't realise they served a lunch too! Assumed we would be buffet bound or to the pizza/burger counters!

 

Oh yes

 

Breakfasts, lunches and evening meals in there and as Brian says afternoon tea too.

 

You can of course also go to the "Smash N Grab" buffet if you wish but personally I find the MDR more civilised and hygienic !

[Selbourne]

Food is a highlight of a P&O cruise for us. We find it to be very good and always marvel at how they can serve up thousands and thousands of meals every day that are usually fresh, hot and tasty. We use the main dining rooms more than most as we dislike the buffet for multiple reasons and it is not uncommon for us to have breakfast, lunch and dinner in there. We are on holiday and want waiter service rather than queuing!
 

Breakfast - our only compliant is how early you have to go if you want to eat breakfast in the MDR. Last entry is 9am on a port day and 9.30am on a sea day. We usually find that to be a rush, which is a nuisance as we are on holiday and find that the motion of the sea makes us sleep later than we would at home. The choice at breakfast is fantastic. Almost everything that you could possibly think of and it all comes piping hot. For a first timer, the menu can be confusing, as they list a ‘P&O breakfast’ and ‘English Breakfast’ as if they are the only two hot options. In reality, you just list the individual items that you want to your waiter (e.g. two rashers of bacon, one pork sausage, one fried egg etc). Unfortunately, one option is kippers and if someone on a nearby table has them I find the smell to be overpowering first thing in the morning! Toast is a minor gripe. It’s very thin and usually cold. You can ask for ‘thick toast’ but that is comically thick. The Bircher Muesli is a favourite for us and they even have daily specials, such as kedgeree and eggs benedict. It’s a lovely way to start the day.  
 

Lunch - As we don’t use the buffet and select dining restaurants are rarely open at lunchtimes (Glass House excepted), we often use the MDR. My wife often just has a starter but I can manage three course! In the last two years they have introduced a new style lunch menu which we find to be confusing as it’s not clear what is a starter and what is a main. Some dishes are also ‘sharer’ plates which is irritating if one of you fancies it and the other doesn’t, so we just rebel and order it for one! One highlight of a cruise for us used to be the daily curry at lunchtime as the Indian chefs can knock up some masterpieces. Unfortunately, this has long gone and whilst they do appear now it’s not daily and they aren’t as good. Portion size of curries are also very small. We find lunch to be the weakest meal of the day in the MDR but the waiter service tends to draw us there. The Glass House is a great option for lunch. My wife tends to just have one ‘small plate’, which is a few mouthfuls, but the main meals are nice. My favourite is the monkfish and prawns in curried broth.

 

Dinner - We often hear people looking at the menu outside and complaining that there’s nothing that they fancy. We find this staggering as the choice is always extremely wide. I like the roasts and my wife likes the fish. The menus (and food) are always better on black tie nights, so we always use the MDR then, saving the Select Dining restaurants to break up the ‘non black tie’ nights. Epicurean is our favourite by a mile (where available) and I would agree with the comment that it’s Michelin star quality food and service. Although curry is my favourite food at home, I am not a fan of the food in Sindhu as it’s ‘fusion’ and doesn’t really work for me. We go there as the ambiance and service are excellent and my wife and daughters like the food. The Beach House is a nice change and the steaks served on hot lava stone are fantastic. Starters and deserts are weak in this restaurant, but the mains are good and sizeable, so it’s a nice change from the MDR once or twice during a cruise. 

[Scratchrat]

7 minutes ago, Selbourne said:

Food is a highlight of a P&O cruise for us. We find it to be very good and always marvel at how they can serve up thousands and thousands of meals every day that are usually fresh, hot and tasty. We use the main dining rooms more than most as we dislike the buffet for multiple reasons and it is not uncommon for us to have breakfast, lunch and dinner in there. We are on holiday and want waiter service rather than queuing!
 

Breakfast - our only compliant is how early you have to go if you want to eat breakfast in the MDR. Last entry is 9am on a port day and 9.30am on a sea day. We usually find that to be a rush, which is a nuisance as we are on holiday and find that the motion of the sea makes us sleep later than we would at home. The choice at breakfast is fantastic. Almost everything that you could possibly think of and it all comes piping hot. For a first timer, the menu can be confusing, as they list a ‘P&O breakfast’ and ‘English Breakfast’ as if they are the only two hot options. In reality, you just list the individual items that you want to your waiter (e.g. two rashers of bacon, one pork sausage, one fried egg etc). Unfortunately, one option is kippers and if someone on a nearby table has them I find the smell to be overpowering first thing in the morning! Toast is a minor gripe. It’s very thin and usually cold. You can ask for ‘thick toast’ but that is comically thick. The Bircher Muesli is a favourite for us and they even have daily specials, such as kedgeree and eggs benedict. It’s a lovely way to start the day.  
 

Lunch - As we don’t use the buffet and select dining restaurants are rarely open at lunchtimes (Glass House excepted), we often use the MDR. My wife often just has a starter but I can manage three course! In the last two years they have introduced a new style lunch menu which we find to be confusing as it’s not clear what is a starter and what is a main. Some dishes are also ‘sharer’ plates which is irritating if one of you fancies it and the other doesn’t, so we just rebel and order it for one! One highlight of a cruise for us used to be the daily curry at lunchtime as the Indian chefs can knock up some masterpieces. Unfortunately, this has long gone and whilst they do appear now it’s not daily and they aren’t as good. Portion size of curries are also very small. We find lunch to be the weakest meal of the day in the MDR but the waiter service tends to draw us there. The Glass House is a great option for lunch. My wife tends to just have one ‘small plate’, which is a few mouthfuls, but the main meals are nice. My favourite is the monkfish and prawns in curried broth.

 

Dinner - We often hear people looking at the menu outside and complaining that there’s nothing that they fancy. We find this staggering as the choice is always extremely wide. I like the roasts and my wife likes the fish. The menus (and food) are always better on black tie nights, so we always use the MDR then, saving the Select Dining restaurants to break up the ‘non black tie’ nights. Epicurean is our favourite by a mile (where available) and I would agree with the comment that it’s Michelin star quality food and service. Although curry is my favourite food at home, I am not a fan of the food in Sindhu as it’s ‘fusion’ and doesn’t really work for me. We go there as the ambiance and service are excellent and my wife and daughters like the food. The Beach House is a nice change and the steaks served on hot lava stone are fantastic. Starters and deserts are weak in this restaurant, but the mains are good and sizeable, so it’s a nice change from the MDR once or twice during a cruise. 

 

You're making me hungry!

 

Can't wait to try it all. I definitely like the sound of Sindhu and I'm a big food fan so I'm sure I'll eat everywhere at least once 🙂

[Selbourne]

7 minutes ago, Scratchrat said:

 

You're making me hungry!

 

Can't wait to try it all. I definitely like the sound of Sindhu and I'm a big food fan so I'm sure I'll eat everywhere at least once 🙂

That’s a sensible approach. We always try everywhere at least once as we all have different likes and dislikes. As an example, I know that I am in a very small minority in not liking the food in Sindhu yet many others dismiss the Beach House as being an extension of the buffet, which couldn’t be further from the truth (the seating might be, but the food isn’t). 

[wowzz]

44 minutes ago, Selbourne said:

Breakfast - our only compliant is how early you have to go if you want to eat breakfast in the MDR. Last entry is 9am on a port day and 9.30am on a sea day.

That's our complaint as well. We always say we will have breakfast in the MDR, but have never yet made it!

As an alternative, as long as you are happy with a continental style breakfast, or a panini, the room service breskfast is not bad.

[Son of Anarchy]

Sindhu are usually open for lunch on sea days.  Menus change daily.  They do a variety of dishes in Tiffin boxes.  Basically it's a sort of Indian tapas.  Small charge per tiffin box.  Wish we'd gone more often when we did our TA in October.

 

A nice alternative to the MDR at lunch time.

[pete14]

One of the better ‘perks’ of booking a suite is daily breakfast in one of the speciality restaurants. Very civilised, attentive service and some very nice specials on offer along with the more standard fare. 

[Selbourne]

15 minutes ago, Son of Anarchy said:

Sindhu are usually open for lunch on sea days.  Menus change daily.  They do a variety of dishes in Tiffin boxes.  Basically it's a sort of Indian tapas.  Small charge per tiffin box.  Wish we'd gone more often when we did our TA in October.

 

A nice alternative to the MDR at lunch time.

Most of our cruises in the past 2 years have been on Aurora and, even on a 3 week cruise with lots of sea days, Sindhu was only open for tiffin lunch on 2 of the sea days. On Arcadia during a 7 night cruise with 3 sea days it didn’t open at all at lunchtime. It’s been 3 years since we were last on Britannia and I don’t recall Sindhu opening at lunch time at all over the 2 weeks, but I can’t be 100% on that. Are they now opening Sindhu at lunchtime on most sea days on the bigger ships then? It would make sense as they have a captive audience and the tiffin lunches always sell out, so I’ve never understood why they don’t do more of them. 

[Selbourne]

4 minutes ago, pete14 said:

One of the better ‘perks’ of booking a suite is daily breakfast in one of the speciality restaurants. Very civilised, attentive service and some very nice specials on offer along with the more standard fare. 

Yes, breakfast in Epicurean on Britannia is lovely although on our last cruise there was a family with two very noisy children and another with a crying baby in there which rather spoilt the usual tranquil start to the day! We also enjoyed breakfast in Sindhu when we had a suite on Arcadia. We find the suite passenger breakfast to be lovely, but the menu is a bit too restricted. Is it possible to order from the MDR menu as well? It’s never promoted and never offered but, then again, I’ve never asked. In fact (partly due to the noisy family) we went to the MDR once or twice on Britannia, even though we were in a suite, to get the wider choice!

[Son of Anarchy]

6 minutes ago, Selbourne said:

Most of our cruises in the past 2 years have been on Aurora and, even on a 3 week cruise with lots of sea days, Sindhu was only open for tiffin lunch on 2 of the sea days. On Arcadia during a 7 night cruise with 3 sea days it didn’t open at all at lunchtime. It’s been 3 years since we were last on Britannia and I don’t recall Sindhu opening at lunch time at all over the 2 weeks, but I can’t be 100% on that. Are they now opening Sindhu at lunchtime on most sea days on the bigger ships then? It would make sense as they have a captive audience and the tiffin lunches always sell out, so I’ve never understood why they don’t do more of them. 

We did our last TA on Azura.  Sindhu was open every sea day.  Surprisingly not very well attended, at least on the occasions we went.  Only down side was drinks.  I had the 20 pint draft beer package, but they would only serve bottled beers in there.  Of course I could have taken a draught beer in from Brodies.  Minor point, didn't detract from the overall concept.

[Scratchrat]

 

42 minutes ago, Son of Anarchy said:

Sindhu are usually open for lunch on sea days.  Menus change daily.  They do a variety of dishes in Tiffin boxes.  Basically it's a sort of Indian tapas.  Small charge per tiffin box.  Wish we'd gone more often when we did our TA in October.

 

A nice alternative to the MDR at lunch time.

 

The tiffin lunch does look and sound great for me 🙂

[DamianG]

We once shared a table with a couple who loved their food so much that they got more and more adventurous each day. They would have main courses as starters, double starters or desserts, and on occasions would have starter, starter, soup, main course, dessert, cheese and biscuits followed by fruit. They were a lovely couple and none of us minded. 

Similarly, my in-laws regularly choose items from my son's kids menu. 

We've always found the waiters to be fantastic and as per the above examples very accommodating.

[terrierjohn]

20 hours ago, jeanlyon said:

Have to say I definitely don't cruise for the food.  It's fine, but quite often I look at the menu and don't fancy anything.  It's all roast beef, roast lamb, duck.  I would so like something like a lasagne and I do love their Indian food, just wish it was on the menu more often.  I like things with a sauce and they are few and far between.

What about fish Jean?  The recent P&O menus seemed to have far more fish than meat dishes.

[Adawn47]

I've noticed that too. I've tried all kinds of different fish from the menu and loved them all. I'm not a fan of beef or lamb so the fish options for me are lovely.

Avril 

[KnowTheScore]

@Scratchrat

 

Definitely give each alternative restaurant one go to see what you think.

 

When you get on board and head to the buffet for lunch or elsewhere you will undoubtedly be approached by restaurant girls offering cheap visits and as a first timer I would encourage you to take up those offers.   Sindhu for example always offer the first 2 nights on-board with a significant discount to the supplement charge.  So a great opportunity to try that cheap and then if you like it you can book further nights later in the cruise.   Same will be true of Epicurean and some other venues.

 

As you are on Azura, definitely take a lunch in the Glass House, try the selection of mini dishes (you can pick 3 from the list).  They include battered King Prawns with aioli dip, Curried Scallops with Mango salsa,  Oxtail Bon Bons, Chorizo stew and more and they are delicious.   Also (another day!) try the "Sliders" which are 3 separate mini burgers which include a lamb burger with Tzatziki, Beef Brisket Burger with smoked cheddar and truffle mayo and Piri Piri chicken burger with Avocado.   All with fries.  Picture below.

 

 

 

Sample menus here:

https://www.pocruises.com/content/dam/po/inventory-assets/activity-types/dining/dining-menus/the-glass-house/H17-140 Glass House Menu Final Artwork_A1 NO PRICES_LR.pdf

 

https://www.pocruises.com/content/dam/po/inventory-assets/activity-types/dining/dining-menus/the-glass-house/H17-140 Glass House Menu Final Artwork_B1 NO PRICES_LR.pdf

 

Also I'm totally with poster Selbourne regarding Breakfasts in the MDR

 

English Breakfast however you like, the Kedgeree and Eggs Benedict not to be missed.  But you have to get up early which I find really difficult.   And yes, no decent toast to be had anywhere on the ship sadly.  Always dry and crisp and brittle.

 

Also note you can have breakfast delivered to your cabin.  Just fill in the card in your cabin with the options you want and hang it on the door handle outside.  You can order cereals, toast and jams, croissants, pastries, hot sausage/bacon Panini's, orange juice, muffins, hams and cheeses, grapefruit/orange segments, yoghurts and fresh tea/coffee.   If you have elected to have a balcony then having breakfast out on the balcony in warm weather overlooking the bay or port of your destination is a very nice thing to do.

 

.

 

Edited June 9, 2020 by KnowTheScore

[Adawn47]

29 minutes ago, KnowTheScore said:

And yes, no decent toast to be had anywhere on the ship sadly.  Always dry and crisp and brittle

We always ask for lightly toasted brown bread instead of the white. Not perfect but nice enough for your marmalade.

Avril 

[terrierjohn]

3 hours ago, Adawn47 said:

We always ask for lightly toasted brown bread instead of the white. Not perfect but nice enough for your marmalade.

Avril 

We always comment how the room service toast is far better than in the buffet.

[Adawn47]

3 minutes ago, terrierjohn said:

We always comment how the room service toast is far better than in the buffet.

Maybe because it's freshly done and not toasted well before needed then left to go hard. That's why we ask for brown toast as it has to be freshly done.

Avril 

[No pager thank you]

52 minutes ago, Adawn47 said:

Maybe because it's freshly done and not toasted well before needed then left to go hard. That's why we ask for brown toast as it has to be freshly done.

Avril 

I agree about the toast!

 

One of the things I find peculiar is how P&O spend a lot of time and trouble stocking British branded foods for their clientele, but when it comes to toast, which is a staple breakfast item for many, it tastes just like the stock from a Continental / European hotel buffet that's gone through a "warm it / burn it" machine with no in between!

 

I understand that it may be to do with storage but why doesn't the bread come from an accepted equivalent brand like Hovis, or Warburton's?  Just as possible to mass cook from one of these brands (or similar) surely?

 

Toast grumble over 😁

Edited June 9, 2020 by No pager thank you
Typo

[terrierjohn]

46 minutes ago, No pager thank you said:

I agree about the toast!

 

One of the things I find peculiar is how P&O spend a lot of time and trouble stocking British branded foods for their clientele, but when it comes to toast, which is a staple breakfast item for many, it tastes just like the stock from a Continental / European hotel buffet that's gone through a "warm it / burn it" machine with no in between!

 

I understand that it may be to do with storage but why doesn't the bread come from an accepted equivalent brand like Hovis, or Warburton's?  Just as possible to mass cook from one of these brands (or similar) surely?

 

Toast grumble over 😁

I think maybe the reason room service toast is still soft centred is due to it being wrapped in a paper napkin, probably while still warm.