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Rank your favorite ncl specialty restaurants

havanadaydreaming

By havanadaydreaming,
in Norwegian Cruise Line

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havanadaydreaming

havanadaydreaming

Posted
Posted

Heres mine, if memory serves: 

 

1. Cagneys 

2. Teppanyaki

3. Bistro

4. Margaritaville At Sea (im a Parrothead) 

5. Italian 

6. Brazillian meat place 

 

I liked them all.  First time to Italian restaurant my wife had her alltime favorite lasagna.  On subsequent cruises not so much. 

 

I liked the brazillian but my wife doesnt eat nearly as much as me so the concept is a bit wasted on her.  

 

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Cruzinnana47

Cruzinnana47

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Cagney's  (very good menu choices and accompaniments)

Moderno  (great salad bar, but don't feel up on these items or you won't have room for all the meat!)

Teppanyaki (fun--can almost be like a dinner show)

Le Bistro   (quite nice cuisine)

La Cucina  (good Italian venue)

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ChiefMateJRK

ChiefMateJRK

Posted
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Great thread!

Unfortunately, it's hard for me to answer, because at times the same venue that wowed me on the last cruise was crap the next time.

 

I've had my best experience at Cagneys.

Worst at Moderno and Ocean Blue (just one data point for each, Moderno showed pictures with delicious pink meats, but everything delivered was dry and brown).

Tepanyaki is always a nice show.  Food has varied.

Italian is good, but for me wasn't worth paying extra.

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seemoreroyals

seemoreroyals

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4 hours ago, ChiefMateJRK said:

Great thread!

Unfortunately, it's hard for me to answer, because at times the same venue that wowed me on the last cruise was crap the next time.

 

I've had my best experience at Cagneys.

Worst at Moderno and Ocean Blue (just one data point for each, Moderno showed pictures with delicious pink meats, but everything delivered was dry and brown).

Tepanyaki is always a nice show.  Food has varied.

Italian is good, but for me wasn't worth paying extra.

And we have had cruises where our best meals were at the main dining room.

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AnitaVacation

AnitaVacation

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1. We have found that you can get a (better imo) filet mignon at LeBistro than at Cagney's

2. Teppanyaki used to be our #3 (after LeBistro and Cagney's) but on our last cruise, we had a 'not so good' experience and now my husband is totally turned off.  We were seated with two women who seemed to be friends of the restaurant staff including our chef.  Our chef was not that good, the food was not that good (it's usually very delicious!)...the two women at our table totally ignored the chef/show and carried on a conversation between themselves (rude)... they did not even eat anything, just a few tiny bites...I felt like the chef couldn't wait to be done and leave...then the women got up and left...my husband and I were left sitting there alone, we had no idea if we were supposed to leave or stay...it was pretty awkward.  Finally someone brought over our slip to sign so we could leave.

 

1. LeBistro

2. Cagney's

3. Moderno

4. LaCucina

But, we really need to try some of the other specialty restaurants like Ocean Blue, Bayamo, etc...

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Sailing12Away "Live from...." Rare

Sailing12Away

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I enjoyed my meal at Q, but I won't waste a dining credit on it for the future. Get the combo platter thingy with 2-3 sides and share it for lunch with someone.

 

Cagneys has ok food, but my experience there has gone from slow to painfully slow each time we try it. Maybe our next trip that we're in Haven I'll get it delivered to the cabin instead. Won't sit there to eat though, I've never been in/out in under 2 hours. I've always enjoyed my filet from Le Bistro more for some reason, but I love the sides at Cagney's more (I can eat endless bowls of that polenta).

 

We went to La Cucina with low expectations and maybe because of that it's always a favorite of ours. Is it fine Italian dining? No. Does it hold a candle to any of the 20+ Italian restaurants within a 2 mile radius of my home? No. But it's better than Olive Garden, and I'm a sucker for the pesto gnocchi so it will always be a favorite of ours.

 

The food at Tepanyaki was good, but I can do without the show. How many times can you see an onion volcano or flipping of knives? Unless I have a big group of friends that I'm doing dinner with together (did someone say Iceland 2023? 🧀) I would probably not book this.

 

Our next cruise is on the Star and we'll be platinum. So between the free dinners that come with that perk plus our dining package, we'll get to try out just about everything for a fresh take on what we still like and what we really don't. Looking forward to that pineapple at Moderno as it's been too long since we tried them again.

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BirdTravels "Live from...." Rare

BirdTravels

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Le Bistro

Teppanyaki

Ocean Blue / Bayamo

Food Republic

Onda

Los Lobos

La Cucina 

Pinchos 

Cagney’s

Q

Raw Bar

 

Cangey’s has fallen to the bottom of the list. The food and service has declined across the fleet for several years. And on our two post re-start cruises, one dinner there was a total disaster. We had assistant general manager have the Cagney’s restaurant manager track us down in another restaurant to apologize for the abysmal dining experience.  

 

 

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LAFFNVEGAS "Live from...." Rare

LAFFNVEGAS

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We were just on the Bliss a few weeks ago so freshin my mind. My list was different several years ago but the restaurant that I feel has declined is Cagney's. As someone else said the steak in Le Bistro was better.

Here is my order of preference.

1. Le Bistro

2. Ocean Blue

3. Q Texas Smokehouse (this rates in the top three I was very impressed)

4. Food Republic

5. Cagney's

6. Teppanyaki

7. The Local

 

I did not list LaCucina or Los Lobos because frankly I have had them several times and never impressed but giving LaCucina a try in 4 weeks. Also did not list Moderna but again will be going in 4 weeks but I always found the meat to be of low quality and way too much tenderizer to make up for the low quality but husband likes it so will try it again since we will not have Q. Just one more added comment why even bother with American Diner when there is The Local that is actually quite good. They have got to be losing money with that space.

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OrlandoSquirrel

OrlandoSquirrel

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Of the places I’ve been to so far my rankings would be:

 

1. Ocean Blue - like to eat here twice a cruise, always find multiple dishes I’m interested in as someone who prefers seafood for my protein.

 

2. Cagney’s - will usually eat here twice on a longer cruise but usually the slowest service. I’ve largely given up red meat since my last cruise so I’m interested to try out their seafood options and maybe just steal a bite of my husbands steak. 

 

 

3. Le Bistro - always feels like the most special restaurant but I just prefer the lighter options at  Ocean Blue 

 

4. Food Republic - like the variety here, we’ve tried multiple dishes from here and enjoy them all. This is a great place to try something new or sample lots of dishes at once. 

 

 

5. La Cucina - I’m Italian originally from NYC - I’m hard to please when it comes to Italian. The food is fine, but not the best. I think they have some of the better desserts. 

 

6. Moderno - been to substantially better Brazilian steakhouses on land. I like their grilled pineapple A LOT but I’ve found the meats salty and not as good quality as other options on the ship. Would skip this restaurant likely unless my party was adamant about going 🤷🏻‍♀️ 

 

7. Teppanyaki - we have lots of similiar options at home - my husband and I find it too salty for our taste. We’ll still go once on our 11 day cruise next week because the show is fun and sometimes the people you sit with can be fun. But I don’t really go for the food and the dessert is the worst here. 

 

8. Margaritaville - waste of money, just go to The Local or O’Sheehans 


I’ll be trying Q on my sailing next week and also eating at all the other speciality restaurants while on the Joy. Except prob the American Diner - although might stop to share their lobster roll app on a sea day if they’re open for lunch. 

 

 

 

 

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psac

psac

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From the Breakaway in October 


Teppanyaki - 10/10 we added this as a third restaurant after getting tired of the abysmal service times in the Haven restaurant (taking over two hours for normal three courses). In any case, everything was freaking fantastic. We were shocked at how good it was. The chef definitely had the secret sauce. We had a table just for the four of us, so that might have made it more enjoyable as well. 

 

Ocean Blue - 9/10 — Everything was great, we’re definitely doing it again on our next sailing.  
 

La Cucina - 8/10 — agree with the reviews above, also from NY, also can get better Italian food here, but as a whole, we liked it. Better than OG (what isn’t?), and we’ll go again. 
 

Honorary mention, and not in a good way:  Cagneys. On our last pre-covid trip on the Escape, it was absolutely awful.  Ice cold side dishes, terrible rubbery steak, super long wait to get the food, etc. Just not good at all. 

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phillygwm

phillygwm

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Just got off the Bliss and I can announce an upset winner:

 

1.  Le Bistro

2.  Ocean Blue

3.  Cagney's

4.  La Cucina

 

(Moderno and Teppanyaki would be just below Cagney's but we didn't go/they didn't have on this ship.)

 

The staff on Bistro was, hands down, the most friendly and accommodating of any cruise I've ever been on.  EVERYONE went out of their way.  Same for OB, to a slightly lesser extent; I felt an extra level of service, maybe because the ship wasn't full. We cancelled our Saturday night reservation at Cagney's in favor of Bistro.

 

Cagney's was fine in all respects, just not over the top.  La Cucina is usually sub-OG on most ships; this one was better but still not wonderful.

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