Which Pay $ Restaurant on NCL Dawn???

[cfc525]

Hi everyone, we will be on the NCL Dawn in June. There are four of us and we are trying to stick with our original plan (if we can), to have dinner only once at a pay restaurant, which will be to celebrate my birthday. Please help, we will tally up the suggestions and make a decision. The only one to rule out is Japanese, SO doesn't care for it.

 

Thank you!

[lamolesky]

We LOVED Cagney's, the priciest of the specialties, but great food. Our second was Le Bistro, for food it was great, for ambiance - ok, a little quiet. I have all the menus from the Dawn and it has their prices as well. We found the Mexican, Italian and Asian to be ok, but for a cover charge we thought the main dining rooms were better, and free. On some cruises, if it is slow, some of the restaurants offer deals like two for one before a certain time or free drinks, etc. We saw that in the Asian on our last Dawn cruise. Take a look at the daily's that I have posted for the Dawn and you can see the offers they sometimes make. Again, on a full cruise they might not do that. So keep that option open. I found that the main dining room food was very good, I LOVED the atmosphere of the Venetian (main dining room in the back of the ship). I felt like I was on the Titanic (but not doomed!!), very old world. So you can go the whole ship without a specialty and do fine. Have fun

[AdoptAtty]

From my review of the Dawn (link in my signature line)

 

Dining

Did I say I love good food? I might be considered picky because I like good food, but I am not a food snob... love to go under the bridge to Paradise Island in the Bahamas and eat as the locals do at one of those shacks, it doesn’t have to be fancy or expensive, just good. I also eat many different things... raw oysters, escargot, foie gras, but you can keep plain ole’ liver and other organ meats, the really weird stuff like fresh still beating frog heart, oh and parsnips... other than that, I’ll probably try it. (The one thing I do know how to say in Vietnamese is "No dog meat.")

 

After reading and rereading the boards I was still a bit confused about reservations. I was relieved to know I could rely on our concierge, Ryan, to make all of our dinner reservations for us. That wouldn’t be worth the extra money for a suite, but it sure was nice.

 

Before we left we had decided to try all the specialty restaurants we could, and do the "optional formal night" in one of the Main dining rooms. Because the DH’s weren’t into sushi, we knew we would not do a "sushi only" meal. We ended up not trying Le Bistro, so I can’t comment on that from personal experience.

 

Venetian - seats 472 persons, Deck 6, no cover charge

We had one dinner and one breakfast here.

We sat by the back windows for our dinner which was nice. I think it might be nicer at lunch or breakfast, when it is daylight. I ordered a scallop appetizer, and the beef wellington and lobster for my main course. The scallop appetizer was not bad, but honestly I’ve never seen scallops so small in my whole life. I do not believe they were as large as an eraser tip on one of those fat pencils some children use when they are learning to write. The beef wellington was decent, the meat was tender. Unfortunately the lobster tails were highly over cooked. We did not have desert because we were in a hurry to see a show. The service was good. We had let our waiter know about our plans to go to the show and he made sure we were out in time.

Our breakfast was fine, the service was a bit disorganized. The maitre d’hotel from Impressions was working in Venitian this morning and she went out of her way to make sure we were taken care of.

 

Aqua - seats 344persons, Deck 6, no cover

This is the smaller of the two main dining rooms. We did not eat here

 

Cagney’s - Deck 13, seats 132 persons, $20 pp cover charge for dinner. Serves breakfast and lunch for suite holders.

We ate breakfast at Cagny’s twice. The service was very good. I particularly enjoyed the French Toast made with Challah (egg) bread and the Crab Cake Benedict and Eggs Benedict. We were in the room adjacent to the Star Bar, which has many widows and is full of natural light.

We ate lunch here after embarkation. The service was little bit disorganized this afternoon, but the food was good.

We ate one dinner here, and other than the deserts and the service, it was a bit disappointing. The lobster bisque was good. I ordered a filet medium and lobster tail for dinner. I was surprised to see the filet as it was only about an inch thick. It was certainly acceptable, but nothing I could cut with a fork. The lobster tail was appropriately cooked, but completely flavorless. I ate about 1/4 of each and gave the rest to my dinner companions. The deserts were another story. I thought our waiter did a fabulous job of preparing the bananas foster and the kaluah coffee creme brulee was one of my all time favorites on this ship. Our waiter did an excellent job and the maitre d’hotel was very attentive.

 

LeBistro - Deck 6, seats 90 persons, French, cover $15pp

We did not dine at this restaurant.

 

Salsa - deck 8, Tex Mex Tapas, seats 112 persons, cover $10pp

We started off dinner on a great note, good margaritas! We also enjoyed the chips and salsa. For dinner I shared the il popo, which was beef, chicken, pineapple, red pepper and onion cooked on a strange contraption, almost like kabobs, and served with tortillas, cheese, salsa, guacamole and beans. The two of us weren’t able to eat all of it. The men had a burrito and the lobster tacos. I understand they were both good, maybe the tacos being better than the average burrito.

 

Impressions of Italy - Deck 6, seats 198 persons, Italian, $10pp

I was surprised to find one of my favorites in this restaurants, the pizza. It was so good our butler brought one to us the following evening, along with my favorite desert from Impressions, the ricotta cheesecake. I particularly liked the Sierra Nevada pizza which had artichoke hearts, black olives, mozzarella, mushrooms, pesto, bresaola and arugula.

I had Fettuccine Alfredo for my pasta course. The pasta itself was excellent, but the sauce was a bit disappointing. It also seemed as if the pasta has sat with the sauce on it longer than it should have, and was not immediately served.

My main course was Veal Marsala and I had the polenta substituted for the potatoes. The veal was very good as was the polenta. I tried the lobster ravioli someone else ordered and was disappointed in it. It certainly was not what I was expecting as one of their featured dishes.

Another of my ship board favorites was the Torta di Ricotta, a baked ricotta cheesecake with pine nut Florentine (much like pine nut brittle).

The maitre d’hotel, Jenenia, did an excellent job and was very personable.

 

 

Bamboo - A Taste of Asian - Deck 7, seats 112 persons, $15pp

Bamboo was a pleasant surprise, so much so this was the only restaurant we had dinner at two different nights. In addition to Bamboo, there is also the sushi bar and teppanyaki room which we did not try. Sushi was available as either an appetizer or entree at Bamboo.

All four of us agreed that the spare ribs appetizer was outstanding! The first dinner I was the only one to order them. I shared them with our group and our waiter was kind enough to bring me a second order, which I also shared. For our second dinner, everyone ordered their own appetizer of ribs! I also particularly enjoyed the hot and sour soup. My friends enjoyed the egg drop soup, which was a bit unusual, almost like a corn chowder. I would rate the crab wantons average and the spring roll good.

 

Garden Cafe (Buffet) - Deck 12

We ate one lunch here and the first night when everyone was not feeling well I got a few things to bring back to the cabin. Both times I had a little pasta with sauce from the pasta station. They seemed to have a good selection of items and what I ate was good.

 

Blue Lagoon - Deck 7, just off the Atrium

While I’ve read a lot of complaints about service, the one meal we had there had decent service. The tomato soup and the wings were good as I had read.

 

Bimini Bar & Grill - pool side, Deck 14

We never ate here

 

Wine

Did I mention I like good, red wine? I typically bring several bottles on a cruise and I typically drink wine with every dinner while cruising. When I bring wine it assures me I will have something I really like a couple nights and it also saves money. When you look at paying a corkage fee on a lower priced wine, it doesn’t usually make sense... unless of course, it is something you just have to have and they don’t offer it on the ship. With higher end wines, it is typically cheaper to pay the corkage fee, although I’ve seen some reasonably priced higher end wines on ships. However, I’ve found that sometimes the lines don’t seem to store their high end wines appropriately and have paid a pretty penny for something not as good as it should be. You also typically have no idea what vintage you are ordering... if that is important to you in making your wine selection. NCL has a $15 a bottle corkage fee.

 

I found the wine list on board to be reasonable and while I’ve seen what I consider to be better selections, I’ve seen worse. Here are just a couple of the selections I noticed:

Stag’s Leap Viogner $50

Caymus Conendrum $43 ($9.50/glass)

Rubicon $120

Caymus $80

Franciscon Magnificant $72

Jordan $68

Neibaum Coppola Claret $34 (in FL I can purchase for $16 in the store)

Columbia Crest Grand Estate $25

 

On the higher end stuff I always find it interesting that there is typically no vintage provided.

 

We also brought a few small bottles of water and those tiny, half cans of soda and had no issue. I had already left the house and didn’t know we would be staying in a suite where they provide the water and soda for you. Many people have said there is no reason to bring bottled water. I just like the convenience of my little bottles. I keep one by the sink, one by the bed and throw one in my bag when I go off the ship.

We did enjoy cocktails more than once! I don’t drink beer, so I can’t really comment on the selection.

 

.

[pajammies]

Honestly, our best meal on the Dawn was in Salsas. We were not impressed with Cagneys. I know that alot of people would disagree but that was our experience.

[DMH15]

Loved Le Bistro on the Dawn. Great food, ambience & service.

 

Second choice, Il Popo in Tex-Mex (forgot name - is it Mambo's?)

 

Third choice, Cagney's - gotta love a good steak!

 

Have fun!

[2Cruise4Ever]

Hi everyone, we will be on the NCL Dawn in June. There are four of us and we are trying to stick with our original plan (if we can), to have dinner only once at a pay restaurant, which will be to celebrate my birthday. Please help, we will tally up the suggestions and make a decision. The only one to rule out is Japanese, SO doesn't care for it.

 

Thank you!

 

We are sailing the same time as you. Come join our roll call! Link to our roll call is in my signature. Whenever DH and I have our date night on the Dawn, we always go to Cagney's. We are big meat n potatoes people. So, the steaks and lobster from Cagney's are awesome!

[sillysailor 1955]

I Agree 110% - Salsa's was a really enjoyable meal. Cagney's was medicore at best (I ate at Cagney on both the Dawn 3 years ago and on the Jade this past December)

 

 

Honestly, our best meal on the Dawn was in

Salsas. We were not impressed with Cagneys. I know that alot of people would disagree but that was our experience.

[**CruiseChick**]

We were on the Dawn in March and ate at Cagneys, LeBistro and Impressions. If I had to pick just one of the three to dine at again, my vote would be for Impressions. Not only was the service A+, the food was delicious!!!

[ictcruiser]

Get the Anniversary Package from NCL to celebrate your birthday (you can buy it for any ole reason, don't have to be celebrating an anniversary).

 

Its $79 and it includes dinner for 2 in Le Bistro. It also includes sail away champagne, snacks in your cabin one day on the cruise, and a bottle of wine with dinner. You'll get a special cake at your dinner (but be sure to ask them to box it to take to your room) and then an invitation to a celebration party which includes cake and a picture.

 

Its the best deal on the ship!

 

If you like steaks, the steak in Le Bistro is just as good, if not better, than the steak in Cagney's. And the atmosphere in Le Bistro is more intimate.