I’ve got a dinner date in Eden and an evening of grand dining in a four-star rated restaurant. And they’re both on a cruise ship.
Le Voyage on Celebrity Ascent rates four stars among restaurants around the world in the latest Forbes Travel Guide’s global dining list. It’s a remarkable achievement for an eatery at sea and second only to a restaurant on Ascent’s sister ship Celebrity X-Cel. Both are inspired by renowned chef Daniel Boulud, owner of award-winning DANIEL, in New York, who is Celebrity Cruises’ global culinary adviser.
Another evening we’ll test Eden, a restaurant with an idyllic menu and the most stunning ocean view at sea. Both come at extra cost and we’ll see why.
Le Voyage to gourmet Nirvana
This intimate dining salon can only be found if you know the secret. You enter through a portal on the upper level of the always-busy Grand Plaza whose motion-activated automatic sliding doors are straight out of Star Trek.
We’re greeted graciously and whisked gracefully to a table in a round room that’s subtly divided into quiet enclaves. The ambiance of the restaurant is from the French architect-designers Sanjit Manku and Patrick Jouin, who also created the restaurants of La Mamounia in Marrakech.
Along with menus that were updated for Ascent’s European season there’s a complimentary glass of Champagne and the decisions start.
How hungry are you? A five -course tasting menu could also come with a wine paired to each course. That would include a soup, crab cake, baked cod and steak au poivre plus dessert. Be aware that the portion sizes are generous and that includes even the pre-meal amuse bouche.
My surprise appetizer discovery was the Vadouvan roasted cauliflower with a lentil ragout and Pondicherry lime pickles. I’d never dream of trying to make it at home and I never could have beleived that the simple white vegetable could reach such tasty heights.
Favorites on the a la carte menu include the Moroccan lamb shank or the lobster risotto with squash. I chose the five-spiced duck pithivier with bok choy, shitake and sweet and sour sauce. It’s a classic round French pie made from two layers of puff pastry that are sealed together and packed with the ground duck along with bok choy, shitake and sweet and sour sauce wit awesome effect by the chefs in Le Voyage’s dedicated litchen who prepare everything a la minute.
And then comes dessert, with a highlight signature mille-feuille Martinique featuring layers of pineapple, kumquat and passion fruit. It can be paired with a Canadian ice wine by Inniskillin. But by then, it’d already reached my limit.
Verdict: This is as true a Michelin-star worthy dining experience as you can find on a cruise ship. And checking websites, the experience comes in at half the price you’d pay at Chef Boulud’s table in New York.
The standard three courses come at a charge of $75. The five-course tasting menu is just $155 and including the wine pairings will add $100 plus a $20 gratuity.
Enraptured in Eden
Another location you need an invitation and directions to enjoy is corner with a forever view tucked away beneath Eden’s bar and show lounge at the rear of the ship. Come for the view, but the real revelation is on the plate.
I’d definitely advise foregoing breakfast and going easy on lunch if you want to launch into the seven-course tasting menu which also features a sweet surprise after dessert. As well as being supremely tasty, the portions are generous.
The choices on the tasting menu are a tour of world cuisines, for instance tuna crudo, tamarind encrusted prawns or a deliciously flavorful moqueca, a Brazilian, fish stew. There is also wine pairing available for a $100 supplement.
Some recommendations on the tasting menu are the bazaar bowl, chilled yogurt, beets cucumber and almond in a dip that’s perfect for dipping with their warm home made naan bread. And you can have it paired with a glass of Billecart Salmon, one of my all-time favorite Champagnes. Next up Aegean sea ceviche fresh seafood cured in leche de tigre and is balanced with mango, celery anda coriander sorbet. It’s paired with a Gerard Bertrand Chardonnay from France.
If you’d rather go a la carte you can choose from the tasting menu or additions that include lobster risotto. An appetizer not to be missed is the jumbo lump crab cake, aptly named huge stack of sinfully rush pure crab topped with creamy chipotle sauce. This dish alone is all I’d need to book Eden for second dinner on this cruise.
For an entree, the crowd-peasing filet mignon and mini short rib Wellington I went with the perfectly I watched the kitchen perfectly grill to my order to its desiretd state of medium rare.
My wife was faced with a choice of either a Nova Scotia lobster tail or a branzino filet topped with crusty bread and tamarind, sesame and bok choy. She opted for the Asian -inspired fish, knowing that before the end of the cruise, lobster tail will be a feature on the farewell cruise in the dining rooms.
After you’ve absorbed all this, a decadent desert menu appears and its decision time all over again. But be aware: just when you’ve realize you’ve blown past your calorie limit, a two-tiered Sweets sampler tops off the evening.
Dining at Eden comes at a $85 surcharge, that’s $125 if you opt for the seven course tasting menu. The pairing of premium wines adds a $100 supplement, plus 20 per cent bar gratuity.
Bottom line: If these restaurants were on land, I’d make them valued addresses for celebrations. But you don’t need a special occasion to want to experience this on Celebrity. They are their own celebrations that have to be experienced to be truly appreciated.
Story by Wallace Immen, The Cruisington Times
Be the first to comment