Specialty dining, is it real

[jbinbi]

Doing a Baltic Cruise in a month, and getting hit up to book specialty dining. However, I was just speaking with friends who came back from a cruise on a different line and did the 'kitchen tour'. They learned that the same kitchen produces all the food. So they didn't book a restaurant thinking , 'is this food really any different from what we are getting in the dining room"?. 

 

I am wondering a few things. Maybe this is different on Princess? Or maybe the chefs for the specialty restaurant cook specifically for those guests, rather than getting the pre cooked food that serves 700 people per serving? Or maybe the specialty restaurant gets different food, e.g. the steaks are different from the steaks that are serving the masses?

 

Hoping someone on the forums has real answers. TIA

[Outerdog]

A kitchen is a kitchen. The menu is what is different.

 

Look at some of the menus and compare them to the MDR menus that are floating around.

 

https://www.princess.com/en-us/ships-and-experience/onboard-experience/food-and-dining/specialty-restaurants

 

Decide if those dishes are something you would enjoy and worry less about which galley it comes from.

 

You're ordering dinner, not being elevated into some secret society high table.

 

[hpeabody]

On Princess I have never felt the specialty restaurant food was the same as in the MDR.  There is a kitchen in the restaurant that prepares these meals.  There may be some ingredients in common with the MDR due to volume buying.  But the meal is different than the MDR for sure.

[cr8tiv1]

On Princess ships, The Crown Grill and Sabatini's have their own kitchens and all foods are prepared right there.  Sabatini's starts making their own pasta in the morning for their evening meal.  

[lx200gps]

It's not just about the food. We pretty much only eat in the specialty restaurants, because of the ambience, service level, atmosphere etc. For us, there is a big difference between a restaurant and a dining room....

[Astro Flyer]

43 minutes ago, cr8tiv1 said:

On Princess ships, The Crown Grill and Sabatini's have their own kitchens and all foods are prepared right there.  Sabatini's starts making their own pasta in the morning for their evening meal.  

Also The Catch by Rudi has it’s own kitchen & it was the best specialty dinner I’ve ever experienced.

 

’jbinbi’…as others have written the Princess specialty restaurants have their own kitchen and the food is not from the MDR galley.

 

[Arizona Wildcat]

If a kitchen is a kitchen , then is McDonald's the same as the Arizona Inn?  Of course not.  The ingredients (and their quality) are more costly and the preparation requires more preparation.  Sort of like comparing a hamburger to an aged filet. 

[memoak]

Menus are better, service is better food is better. Doesn’t matter what kitchen it comes from

[BamaVol]

Order the strip loin in the MDR.  Then have dinner at the Crown Grille.  If you can’t tell the difference, avoid specialty dining for the rest of your cruise.

[kywildcatfanone]

They have items not found in the DR or buffet.  The question is, "is it worth the upcharge."

[memoak]

Chicken beast in MDR. Filet Mignon in Crown Grille. Nuff said

[jbinbi]

4 hours ago, Arizona Wildcat said:

If a kitchen is a kitchen , then is McDonald's the same as the Arizona Inn?  Of course not.  The ingredients (and their quality) are more costly and the preparation requires more preparation.  Sort of like comparing a hamburger to an aged filet. 

Don't know of the Arizona inn, but what I was asking was not really if the chefs use the same kitchen, but do they use different food, and is it prepared individually for you versus part of dinner for 700? When the MDR serves steak, is this different from what the Steak rest serves? Is it cooked in a large batch, or is it cooked specifically for you? Many restaurants these days par cook (lots of sous vide) and then finish it for you. Maybe the specialty rest do the same? Just trying to see if it is worth it to book in the specialty as I have found the food in MDR to be pretty good.

[mrmarklin]

At the Crown Grill I ordered the Ribeye steak a few years ago on the Pacific Princess. The next night it was on the menu in MDR. Same exact cut. Haven’t been to the Crown Grill since. And won’t. 

[cr8tiv1]

2 hours ago, jbinbi said:

Don't know of the Arizona inn, but what I was asking was not really if the chefs use the same kitchen, but do they use different food, and is it prepared individually for you versus part of dinner for 700? When the MDR serves steak, is this different from what the Steak rest serves? Is it cooked in a large batch, or is it cooked specifically for you? Many restaurants these days par cook (lots of sous vide) and then finish it for you. Maybe the specialty rest do the same? Just trying to see if it is worth it to book in the specialty as I have found the food in MDR to be pretty good.

 

In my opinion (without watching/peering the cooks), I am pretty sure it is cooked to order in the specialty restaurants.  I've had lamb chops in the MDR and Crown Grill.  No comparison.  There are dishes that are only offered in the Specialty Dining Rooms (except for the calamari rings in Sabatini's which tasted similar to MDR).

 

The price of the specialty restaurants have escalated.  Except for my suite embarkation complimentary dinner or gifted by my TA, I will not pay for the more expensive meal.  Part of the cost is the attentiveness of the waiters.  Expect to spend 3 hours dining.  

[Scottdalfonso]

On Royal they use the same kitchens...but it's different food, Different cuts of meat, different preparation of the food, maybe even different people making it- they just use the same equipment.  

[jbinbi]

7 hours ago, mrmarklin said:

At the Crown Grill I ordered the Ribeye steak a few years ago on the Pacific Princess. The next night it was on the menu in MDR. Same exact cut. Haven’t been to the Crown Grill since. And won’t. 

Thanks. This is exactly what I was asking about. I am not saying the experience isn't different, dining with 100 vs 1000 has to be, the atmosphere, etc., but was wondering if the food was really noticeably different.

 

We are on a 14 day cruise, maybe we will try one night to see for ourselves.

[555]

15 hours ago, BamaVol said:

Order the strip loin in the MDR.  Then have dinner at the Crown Grille.  If you can’t tell the difference, avoid specialty dining for the rest of your cruise.

After eating at Sabatini's a while ago, I'm not sure if it was actually worth the extra $$. I think we'll be skipping it next time & just enjoy the included food in the DR. 

[BamaVol]

6 minutes ago, 555 said:

After eating at Sabatini's a while ago, I'm not sure if it was actually worth the extra $$. I think we'll be skipping it next time & just enjoy the included food in the DR. 

I think value is a different question than is it the same food as the MDR. I don’t do SD myself because I don’t see the value for money. Others must or the lines would be trying something different. 

[Outerdog]

It's amazing that this is even a debate.

 

How can it be the "same food" if the menu items found on the SD menus are not available in the MDR?

 

I find it remarkable that at home, folks will go out to dinner and drop $50 to $100 pp without thinking twice, but the SD up-charge on a ship warrants all this consternation and hand wringing using subjective terms like "worth it" in the process.

 

Speciality Dining food is better, the preparation is made to order, the service better, the menu unique, the ambience different. 

 

If one is on a tight budget, then it might not be "worth it" -- those who are making it rain don't give the money a second thought. Maybe it's a matter of YOLO versus FOMO. I tend to rock the former.

 

[555]

1 hour ago, BamaVol said:

I think value is a different question than is it the same food as the MDR. I don’t do SD myself because I don’t see the value for money. Others must or the lines would be trying something different. 

Also the last time we ate at Sabatini's the waitress made a special point to mention that extra appetizers we at a cost. At one time as many as you wanted were included.

[kywildcatfanone]

52 minutes ago, Outerdog said:

 

 

I find it remarkable that at home, folks will go out to dinner and drop $50 to $100 pp without thinking twice, but the SD up-charge on a ship warrants all this consternation and hand wringing using subjective terms like "worth it" in the process.

 

Speciality Dining food is better, the preparation is made to order, the service better, the menu unique, the ambience different. 

 

If one is on a tight budget, then it might not be "worth it" -- those who are making it rain don't give the money a second thought. Maybe it's a matter of YOLO versus FOMO. I tend to rock the former.

 

I think some view that the food is not that noticeably better in SD vs MDR for the upcharge.

 

Food is subjective.  We want to CG every cruise on formal nights for years, but noticed over time the quality changing and when the price increased we no longer thought it was a good value for what you get.

 

I doubt budget is the reason people don't pay for the upcharge restaurants.

[memoak]

30 minutes ago, 555 said:

Also the last time we ate at Sabatini's the waitress made a special point to mention that extra appetizers we at a cost. At one time as many as you wanted were included.

Just look at the menu it says choose one from each group. You can’t keep living in the past   I remember when a nice Mac, fries and coke cost $1

[555]

3 hours ago, memoak said:

Just look at the menu it says choose one from each group. You can’t keep living in the past   I remember when a nice Mac, fries and coke cost $1

If that's the case in the future, we'll just skip SD.

[MsSoCalCruiser]

We love the specialty dining venues. This photo was taken several years ago, pre-pandemic.

 

I wish I had photos of when we went to the Crown Grill last year on the Discovery because it was also wonderful.

[robbinsca]

My comparisons are for multiple lines, not just Princess. Crown Grille was my Princess experience.

 

The quality of the food is consistently better in the Specialty restaurants. The beef seems to be a prime cut rather than choice. You can “upgrade” in the MDR and get a filet for a lower price than going to the Specialty restaurant- and that was the higher quality. That was a nice option.

 

We have probably dined at SD 20 times, and I have been very happy with 18-19 of them. The MDR foods have devolved from Prime Rib to Meat Loaf. I crave at least one REALLY special dinner each cruise.