Restaurant 1 & 2 difference?

[John Cruise]

Could someone please tell me the difference with

restaurants 1 & 2 ?

thanks,

John

[marazul]

Those were the names given to the restaurants in the original Seabourn triplets.  Their current equivalent are the Colonnade and The Restaurant.

[DJBRWN]

Hi we are just off Seabourn odyssey. You have a choice of 4 restaurants for dinner. Only one (The TK grill) requires reservation. All 4 post the daily menus on the Seabourn app.
1) main dining room - open seating , continental menu that has several selections that change daily and several that stay the same for entire cruise. 
2) earth and ocean- Al fresco dining on the patio deck of the pool, it transforms to a great evening choice for candlelit dinner outside with a 3 entre / appetizer choice. A great must try option. 
3) the TK grill- fine dining , with steak, seafood and pasta menu options

4) the collenade- this one changes up to be a great option . There is a typical theme with the menu (Indian, Japanese, Italian etc…) sometimes buffet and other times menu. We were pleasantly surprised with the Indian buffet…it was delicious.

the Colonade is also a breakfast and lunch buffet with a short menu to order from as well. 

 

 

Edited February 27, 2022 by DJBRWN

[John Cruise]

Thanks, that clears it up.

As a Crystal refugee, I am looking forward 

to trying  Seabourn Odyssey in a couple of

months.  Sounds great!

John

[SLSD]

My only comment is that many do not consider the TK Grill to be fine dining--but instead a typical America steak house kind of menu--steak, seafood, various sides and typical desserts.  Many find it very tasty (and we do as well) , but to me, it is not fine dining.  

[Covepointcruiser]

The TK Grill is fine dining on Seabourn.   There is table side preparation of many dishes.   The dishes, for the most part, are wonderful and the service is impeccable.    

[SLSD]

1 hour ago, Covepointcruiser said:

The TK Grill is fine dining on Seabourn.   There is table side preparation of many dishes.   The dishes, for the most part, are wonderful and the service is impeccable.    

There is the same in good American steakhouses (table side preparation) .  The service IS impeccable, I will give you that!

Edited February 28, 2022 by SLSD

[skybluewaters]

7 hours ago, SLSD said:

My only comment is that many do not consider the TK Grill to be fine dining--but instead a typical America steak house kind of menu--steak, seafood, various sides and typical desserts.  Many find it very tasty (and we do as well) , but to me, it is not fine dining.  

 

If you find the food "very tasty" and the service "impeccable," in what way does TKG miss out on being fine dining?  Is it the ambiance?  The menu selections? 

Thanks.

[SLSD]

6 hours ago, skybluewaters said:

 

If you find the food "very tasty" and the service "impeccable," in what way does TKG miss out on being fine dining?  Is it the ambiance?  The menu selections? 

Thanks.

My point is that American Steakhouses are not fine dining to me--even though some have delicious fare and great service.  To me, it is a certain type of restaurant but not what i think of as fine dining.  Others may think differently and that is fine.  To me, the menu type of the Main Dining Room more closely approximates fine dining. It's ok if you think differently.  

[brittany12]

TK has some nice and different dishes. Service is good, but overestimated as a fine dining establishment IMHO. But I do not care at all for how they treat the passengers with their wine offerings. It's  like the complimentary "fine wines" SB touts in their advertising do not exist in that venue. No reference on the TK menu last time I sailed that they are available upon request in TK. On other hand, there is their overinflated "extra" wine list included at back of menu. Or sitting on the table. Nothing about the free wines is mentioned by the waiters. This has to be by design to churn a little extra profit for SB and its TK partner.  One has to ask, almost embarrassingly, if these free "fine wines," as they call it, are available in TK. Some unsuspecting first time SB sailors and others more shy I've met told me they bought from this list because they did not know the free wines were available in TK. I find this just wrong. This was pre-Covid the I last sailed so I cannot say what marketing presently exists in TK.

[SLSD]

15 minutes ago, brittany12 said:

TK has some nice and different dishes. Service is good, but overestimated as a fine dining establishment IMHO. But I do not care at all for how they treat the passengers with their wine offerings. It's  like the complimentary "fine wines" SB touts in their advertising do not exist in that venue. No reference on the TK menu last time I sailed that they are available upon request in TK. On other hand, there is their overinflated "extra" wine list included at back of menu. Or sitting on the table. Nothing about the free wines is mentioned by the waiters. This has to be by design to churn a little extra profit for SB and its TK partner.  One has to ask, almost embarrassingly, if these free "fine wines," as they call it, are available in TK. Some unsuspecting first time SB sailors and others more shy I've met told me they bought from this list because they did not know the free wines were available in TK. I find this just wrong. This was pre-Covid the I last sailed so I cannot say what marketing presently exists in TK.

We ran into what you are talking about at the TK Grill on Sojourn, but not on Ovation or Encore.  Since we are not wine aficionados (and don't care to be)  we have no real interest in ordering wine that is not on the included list.  On Encore and Ovation, I ordered the included wine that I preferred and there was no issue at all.  It was just graciously brought to me.  On Sojourn, I got push back.   I was told that "surely" I wanted to order a special wine to go with a special meal. (I found this comment to be extremely patronizing.)  I am not particularly shy--and repeated my request of the wine I wished to order.  The waiter THEN told me that the ship was out of that wine.  I mentioned that I had enjoyed a glass of it with my lunch and would he please check.  Sure enough, a bottle of the wine was found.  And, I continued to enjoy the same wine on subsequent days.  

Edited February 28, 2022 by SLSD

[lincslady]

I endorse the last post - the food is generally very good of its type, but mostly rather large portions of comparatively  normal dishes, certainly nothing like the Michelin star restaurants in the UK, anyway.  And the expectation that you will pay extra for wine, or feel embarrassed about asking, is unforgivable to my mind, and very unlike Seabourn in general. And I suspect the decision could have been made by TK himself.  Or because it cost Seabourn so much to undertake the alterations he insisted on for 'his' restaurant.  I personally think TK as a chef is over-hyped.

 

I don't mind being shot down in flames for this!

[SLSD]

2 minutes ago, lincslady said:

I endorse the last post - the food is generally very good of its type, but mostly rather large portions of comparatively  normal dishes, certainly nothing like the Michelin star restaurants in the UK, anyway.  And the expectation that you will pay extra for wine, or feel embarrassed about asking, is unforgivable to my mind, and very unlike Seabourn in general. And I suspect the decision could have been made by TK himself.  Or because it cost Seabourn so much to undertake the alterations he insisted on for 'his' restaurant.  I personally think TK as a chef is over-hyped.

 

I don't mind being shot down in flames for this!

You describe this very well.  HUGE portions of steak house fare.  Good food for sure, but far from great or interesting or special, in my estimation. 

[alainciao]

The OP's post mentioned Restaurant 2.  This was the name of the restaurant on the O ships which has been remodeled to be TK Grill.  They served a set menu of small bites which changed periodically.  Sort of like a tapas meal but not limited to Spanish cuisine. They also pushed the upgraded wine list here.  It was not our favorite.  The TK Grill on the O ships is my favorite restaurant on Seabourn.  The decor makes me feel like I'm dining on a yacht. It's small (a good thing) and the service and food was always exquisite.  My experience on the Encore in the TK Grill (only once) was not as good.  They served a "Maryland" lump crab cake that was not lump crab meat and the service seemed stiffer than the normal Seabourn feel. I love the normal Seabourn feel which I would describe as friendly and energetic.

[brittany12]

All good comments about TK. Over hyped. and nothing remotely in food quality approaching any Michelin in UK or elsewhere. In fact, I've had far better meals in Jacques and other speciality restaurants on Oceania. I suspect that the former SB president made a deal with TK years ago that was very beneficial to TK. Including providing only TK caviar on ship. It was largely run when I was last on the SB ships pre Covid as a little world of its own. Its own little empire and probably profit center. A  F and B manager once told me he had very little to do with the running of TK.  He could not even get me a piece of one particular cheese I liked very much without causing diplomatic rupture. On the wine, its not like they don't have the complimentary "fine wines" if one asks for them. Even sometimes they're brought out begrudgingly. Its just the fact that it's hidden and one has to ask for it. They expect that to be the exception to their selling the premium product.

[lincslady]

We were on board at the same time as TK himself, when they were about to open the first one (I can't remember which of the Odyssey class it was).  Although he had a pleasant manner around the ship, it did seem obvious that he was extremely fussy about every aspect of the new grills, and not prepared to make any allowances for the problems of a ships  galley and so on.  I am sure Seabourn have had to pay him a great deal more than they would have liked over the years.   I fear that like many famous chefs, he probably thinks he is even better than he actually is!

[markham]

I would agree that the TK Grill is not fine dining as it is known in Europe. But it is TK-authentic.

 

However, it is what it is - American style selections - and only that. What does that mean? We went to the TK Grill at the Miami Surf Club just before our Ovation cruise last December. We found that the food quality and service was not quite up to the standard we experience on Seabourn ships although the menus were very similar. How so? It’s the attention of detail in the courses’ preparations on board, the calm environment,  and the personal service that the ships’ hotel staff deliver.

Happy and healthy sailing!

[MightyQuinn]

I've posted this before but it may be worth repeating for Crystal refugees and others.  We've never had a problem resisting even subtle pressure to purchase revenue wines at TK Grill.  Knowing it's likely that we'll be presented with the premium wine list at that venue, we head it off at the pass.  As soon as the sommelier or a wine steward comes along to welcome us, we don't give him/her an opportunity to pitch the premium list.  We usually are familiar with the complimentary wine list already and know our favorites, so we simply say we'd love a glass of ABC to start and then we'll switch to XYZ with the main course.  Our choices are always from the complimentary list.  We've done this for years at TK Grill and before that at R2 and we've never had any push-back.

[SLSD]

8 minutes ago, MightyQuinn said:

I've posted this before but it may be worth repeating for Crystal refugees and others.  We've never had a problem resisting even subtle pressure to purchase revenue wines at TK Grill.  Knowing it's likely that we'll be presented with the premium wine list at that venue, we head it off at the pass.  As soon as the sommelier or a wine steward comes along to welcome us, we don't give him/her an opportunity to pitch the premium list.  We usually are familiar with the complimentary wine list already and know our favorites, so we simply say we'd love a glass of ABC to start and then we'll switch to XYZ with the main course.  Our choices are always from the complimentary list.  We've done this for years at TK Grill and before that at R2 and we've never had any push-back.

We only had push back on time---on Sojourn.  Hopefully, it is a rare occurrence.  

[Covepointcruiser]

We found the experience in the TK Grill on the Sojourn to be unsatisfactory.   It is too crowded with no real bar,    On the Ovation there is a much larger restaurant and a wonderful bar.   We were never pushed on the Ovation to order extra cost wines.    We always had a bottle of good wine or champagne sent from the Retreat.

[brittany12]

Let's be clear. The objectionable thing in TK is not being "pushed" to buy from the premium list, or any push back when one tries to order one of the regular complimentary  "fine wines." No. It's that they subtly and not so subtly try to influence  passengers to go premium because they hide the availability of the  regular offerings. That's the slippery practice to line TK's coffers by not mentioning the free variety..

[skybluewaters]

Thank you all for your opinions, much appreciated.  If I can be a bit mundane, is there lobster offered every night at TKG? I’ve seen lobster thermidor listed on a sample menu, I believe.  And is the lobster good in your opinion?  Thanks 

[Mauzac]

In all the times we've been to the TK Grill, we've never felt any pressure whatsoever to purchase premium wines.  I vaguely remember being offered once, but that's it.  

 

We have just been on Ovation, a first on one of the larger ships for us, after many cruises on the smaller ones.  We loved the TK Bar but as far as the restaurant, we actually preferred the TK Grill on the smaller ships.  We felt there was more of an intimate ambience.  

[SLSD]

4 hours ago, Mauzac said:

In all the times we've been to the TK Grill, we've never felt any pressure whatsoever to purchase premium wines.  I vaguely remember being offered once, but that's it.  

 

We have just been on Ovation, a first on one of the larger ships for us, after many cruises on the smaller ones.  We loved the TK Bar but as far as the restaurant, we actually preferred the TK Grill on the smaller ships.  We felt there was more of an intimate ambience.  

We were surprised that we also prefer the TK Grill on the smaller ships.  After experiencing the restaurant on both Ovation and Encore, we preferred the ambience of the smaller version of the restaurant on Sojourn.  We do like the TK Bar on Ovation and Encore.  

[marazul]

6 hours ago, skybluewaters said:

Thank you all for your opinions, much appreciated.  If I can be a bit mundane, is there lobster offered every night at TKG? I’ve seen lobster thermidor listed on a sample menu, I believe.  And is the lobster good in your opinion?  Thanks 

That's on every night at TK.  It's good.