Viking Chefs Table Menu

[KarKell]

Is there a way to see the offerings from Chefs Table menu before actually booking this week for our cruise?

[CCWineLover]

1 hour ago, KarKell said:

Is there a way to see the offerings from Chefs Table menu before actually booking this week for our cruise?

Been asked before - but the answer is No.

Viking does not set the Chef's Table menus except once per month, and even then it can change depending upon supplies they get, etc.

You will know when you get onboard.  In fact, it is one of the first stops we make - to see what the various menus are on which days.

Typically they rotate menus about every 3 days (although could be 2) - and the menu choices vary depending upon ship itinerary.

There was a great discussion on all the CT menus a bit ago.  I think they came up with about 21 unique ones.    Found it . . .

 

[CannotSwim]

The menus used to be available on My Viking Journey (after you book), but since the pandemic I haven't seen any way to know the menu until you board. (I suspect the change was made because of worries about pandemic supply change issues, but kept it because there wasn't a large push-back.)
 

They seem to start a new three day stretch of a menu at the start of a cruise, but there probably isn't a consistent first menu.
 

We are happy reserving Chef's Table without knowing the menu, and would encourage someone who likes that type of meal to do that. The restaurant will create substitutes for anything on the menu if you ask. I'm a vegetarian so I sometimes have three substitutions in the five courses. My wife has nothing she can't eat, but about half the time she has a substitution as she prefers not to eat duck or lamb.

We make as many reservations as we can before the cruise, and on the first day try make more to hit other menus -- with no care about what is actually on the menu.

[CDNPolar]

Although I hate the term "Foodie" that is what we are.

 

We book every menu throughout the cruise, and we don't look at the menu in advance.  We don't even really look closely at the menu when we sit down.  We more look at the paired wines as we love not knowing what is coming next.

 

I understand where someone is vegetarian and asks for substitutions or if someone has an allergy, and Viking do a great job of accommodating these needs.

 

To us, the Chef's Table is for those that are open to eating and trying any type of food and any type of flavour.

 

The ONLY menu in Chef's Table that we have ever been disappointed with is the British Menu.  We have probably eaten. 20+ Chef Table menus now, and this is the only one that was not up to par.

[island lady]

I stopped going to the Chef's Table on RCI years ago, since it has been years since they have changed that tired old menu.

 

Will be happy to enjoy the Viking Chef's Table a few times, since they have the changing menu, will book more than once.  🙂 

[Peregrina651]

15 hours ago, CannotSwim said:

They seem to start a new three day stretch of a menu at the start of a cruise, but there probably isn't a consistent first menu.

 

Actually, the menus are on a schedule that has nothing to do with the coming and going of passengers; this is true even in the main dining room and the buffet.

 

Each CT menu is served for three nights and there may be 6, 7 or more different menus in the rotation depending on the supply chain and the whim of the executive chef. So there is no way of knowing in advance if they are on day 1, 2 or 3 of a menu when you board.

 

To sample as many menus as possible, especially if you don't get to see what the nightly menus will be, book advanced reservations on days 1, 4, 7, 10, 13, etc. to avoid duplication. Once on board, you will be able to book as many additional evenings as they will let you

 

 

[CCWineLover]

5 hours ago, CDNPolar said:

We have probably eaten. 20+ Chef Table menus now,

Wow!  

Congratulations.  You may indeed hold the record!!  Outstanding achievement.

I think you might have tried them all, particularly if you were on a World Cruise.

Curious as to what your favorite few were...

(Note:  we also love CT and also thought the British Menu wasn't that great).

[Mich3554]

1 minute ago, CCWineLover said:

Wow!  

Congratulations.  You may indeed hold the record!!  Outstanding achievement.

I think you might have tried them all, particularly if you were on a World Cruise.

Curious as to what your favorite few were...

(Note:  we also love CT and also thought the British Menu wasn't that great).

We have had a few new menus on the WC.  Favorites were those where Viking brought in a special chef.  They did for both Indonesia and India.  I think we have only gone 7 times, CT really isn’t DH’s favorite.

[Peregrina651]

FYI, there was quite a discussion about the CT menus in this thread. It was a group effort to put together a list of all the menus.

 

21 Chef’s Table Menus?

 

As for the British menu, there are two of them, so could those of you who were disappointed by it possibly remember which one of the two you found disappointing.

 

Menu 1:

Great Britain: Cuisine from an Island Nation

Amuse Bouche

Quail Scotch Eggs – quick pickle, edible flowers, dressed baby salad leaves

First Course

Beer-Battered Fish & Chips – vinegar salt, minted pea puree, tartar sauce

Granité

Gin & Tonic – lemon twist

Main Course

Mini Yorkshire Pudding & Slow Braised Brisket – rich beef gravy, garden vegetables with chive butter

Dessert

Whim-Wham – Scittish Regency trifle with raspberries, oranges & whipped cream

 

 

Menu 2:

Great Britain 2: Cuisine from an Island Nation

Amuse Bouche

Glamorgan Sausages, Apple Chutney, Edible Flowers and Dressed Baby Salad Leaves

First Course

Beer-Battered Fish & Chips – vinegar salt, minted pea puree, tartar sauce

Granité

Pimm’s Number 1 Cup, with Cucumber, Strawberries and Mint

Main Course

Mini Beef & Guinness Pies, Champ Potatoes and Spiced Red Cabbage

Dessert

Everlasting Lemon Syllabub with Shortbread Fingers, Whipped Wine Infused Cream with Lemon severed with Candied Lemon Twist

[CCWineLover]

See my post #2 in this thread regarding the 21 menus.

 

We had the #1 menu.  Was sub-par, especially bad Fish & Chips.  The dessert was the one good thing however.  Not disappointed as we are up for trying anything at least once.  As someone said, going to Chef's Table is always a fun experience and adventure, without heavy expectations.  That's the great part about it.

Edited April 10, 2023 by CCWineLover

[CDNPolar]

3 hours ago, CCWineLover said:

Wow!  

Congratulations.  You may indeed hold the record!!  Outstanding achievement.

I think you might have tried them all, particularly if you were on a World Cruise.

Curious as to what your favorite few were...

(Note:  we also love CT and also thought the British Menu wasn't that great).

 

Two favourites that I recall immediately:

 

Lotus

Softshell Crab

Lamb Chops

 

Asian Panorama

Peking Duck

 

These two were outstanding in my opinion.

[SantaFe1]

3 hours ago, CCWineLover said:

We had the #1 menu.  Was sub-par, especially bad Fish & Chips.  The dessert was the one good thing however. 

We had #1 also, the first time it was ever offered with the originating chef in attendance right before the end of the 2019 WC.  We also didn’t like it, and we’re eating with British friends who called the chef over and well, let’s say it wasn’t pretty.  And she just kept defending her choices and her meal.  We’ve never wanted to have it again.  

[SantaFe1]

1 hour ago, CDNPolar said:

 

Two favourites that I recall immediately:

 

Lotus

Softshell Crab

Lamb Chops

 

Asian Panorama

Peking Duck

 

These two were outstanding in my opinion.

Two of our favorites!  

[Snowcat1]

Once on board where do you got to see the CT menus for the cruise? Would they all be posted at the restaurant or are they on the tv, where you can book them?

[CCWineLover]

2 hours ago, CDNPolar said:

 

Two favourites that I recall immediately:

 

Lotus

Softshell Crab

Lamb Chops

 

Asian Panorama

Peking Duck

 

These two were outstanding in my opinion.

2 of our top favs also!

[CCWineLover]

10 minutes ago, Snowcat1 said:

Once on board where do you got to see the CT menus for the cruise? Would they all be posted at the restaurant or are they on the tv, where you can book them?

Yes to all, and you can see menus and book down at floor one restaurant reservations desk.  Also often at the port side entrance to World Cafe (limited hours).  You can see menus on the video screens all around the ship too.  

[LindaS272]

You can also see the CT menus on the Viking Voyager app once onboard. Download the app before you go.

[Snowcat1]

Thanks for all the info.

I already have the app, so good to go.

[YWW]

On 4/10/2023 at 10:26 AM, Peregrina651 said:

 

Actually, the menus are on a schedule that has nothing to do with the coming and going of passengers; this is true even in the main dining room and the buffet.

 

Each CT menu is served for three nights and there may be 6, 7 or more different menus in the rotation depending on the supply chain and the whim of the executive chef. So there is no way of knowing in advance if they are on day 1, 2 or 3 of a menu when you board.

 

To sample as many menus as possible, especially if you don't get to see what the nightly menus will be, book advanced reservations on days 1, 4, 7, 10, 13, etc. to avoid duplication. Once on board, you will be able to book as many additional evenings as they will let you

 

 

Are you saying there's no limit how many times people can book the Chef Table? I thought that was dictated by your cabin category and the length of the cruise. People typically book CT or Manfredi's months in advance to try to secure a spot. How do you expect to book when you get on board when everything is full? I'm confused. Please advise. Thanks.

[Azulann]

11 minutes ago, YWW said:

Are you saying there's no limit how many times people can book the Chef Table? I thought that was dictated by your cabin category and the length of the cruise. People typically book CT or Manfredi's months in advance to try to secure a spot. How do you expect to book when you get on board when everything is full? I'm confused. Please advise. Thanks.

Pre cruise you can book  at the specialty restaurants one reservation to each if you have a DV stateroom Upper stateroom catergories can pe book more than one. 

Once on board, anyone can go to  the restraint specialty  person in World cafe , starboard side or guest relations or even just go to manfirdi;s and Chef table and see if you can  get secure  reservation or even be seated promptly  if there is a opening. 

It is very dynamic once on board. People  cancel reservations and others just t do not show up for their reservations.... 

I can book tomorrow ,one reservation for Manfredi and Chef table for our cruise in June have a DV 6 stateroom. It is a sold out cruise. So this time once on board might be different than past cruises, but I doubt it. .

Hopefully I get a reservation for each . Once on board I can cancel the reservation if  something comes up or I do not like the Chef table menu.

Those who book the V staterooms can only book when they are  on board: for both excursion and  speciality restaurants reservations.   

Edited April 13, 2023 by Azulann

[Peregrina651]

6 minutes ago, YWW said:

Are you saying there's no limit how many times people can book the Chef Table? I thought that was dictated by your cabin category and the length of the cruise. People typically book CT or Manfredi's months in advance to try to secure a spot. How do you expect to book when you get on board when everything is full? I'm confused. Please advise. Thanks.

 

You are right. Nowhere does Viking explain that once you are on board you can make as many reservations as they will let you (and that number depends on the demand on that particular sailing; they try to make sure that everyone who want to gets a chance to dine in the alternative venues).

 

The language on the website (click and scroll down the page to see all of the cabin amenities) is vague, to say the least. What do they mean by "priority"?

 

I picked one cabin to display here, just so folks can see what we are talking about.

 

Penthouse Veranda Stateroom (PV)

• Stateroom size: 338 sq ft (includes private veranda)
• Ocean-view stateroom with floor-to-ceiling sliding glass door opening to full-size veranda
• 11 AM Embarkation
• 1 PM stateroom access
• Priority shore excursion reservations 77 days prior to departure
• 2 priority reservations at each alternative restaurant 70 days prior to departure
• Priority spa treatment bookings 70 days prior to departure

 

 

 

 

[YWW]

1 hour ago, Peregrina651 said:

 

You are right. Nowhere does Viking explain that once you are on board you can make as many reservations as they will let you (and that number depends on the demand on that particular sailing; they try to make sure that everyone who want to gets a chance to dine in the alternative venues).

 

The language on the website (click and scroll down the page to see all of the cabin amenities) is vague, to say the least. What do they mean by "priority"?

 

I picked one cabin to display here, just so folks can see what we are talking about.

 

Penthouse Veranda Stateroom (PV)

• Stateroom size: 338 sq ft (includes private veranda)
• Ocean-view stateroom with floor-to-ceiling sliding glass door opening to full-size veranda
• 11 AM Embarkation
• 1 PM stateroom access
• Priority shore excursion reservations 77 days prior to departure
• 2 priority reservations at each alternative restaurant 70 days prior to departure
• Priority spa treatment bookings 70 days prior to departure

 

 

 

 

Thank you for your clarification. I wasn't aware of that. Very useful to know.

[phil1107]

I am booked in a V2. I cannot book specialty restaurants until on-board. But, contrary, to Azulann’s post, I can book included and additional cost excursions 60 days prior. I know because I did!

[KarKell]

Good luck fellow cruisers… up at 6:30am and thought I would Try the Viking reservation… nothing left at Manfredis or CT till after 8:30pm. Oh well, not worried, usually can find something once onboard. 

[Azulann]

4 minutes ago, KarKell said:

Good luck fellow cruisers… up at 6:30am and thought I would Try the Viking reservation… nothing left at Manfredis or CT till after 8:30pm. Oh well, not worried, usually can find something once onboard. 

Same here at 6am. I did book a shared table at Manfredi for 6pm on the first day, and did a chef table reservation for 8:30pm on another evening  but will change that when on board.