While we were on Cunard Queen Victoria recently we took the opportunity to eat at their speciality dining restaurant, The Verandah.
This speciality dining venue has extra charge and is available both for lunchtime and evening meals. The price per person for an evening booking is $58.50 if booked pre-cruise or $65 if booked on board. Lunchtime bookings at this speciality restaurant are chargeable at $31.50 if booked pre-cruise or $35 if booked on board. Drinks are chargeable as they would be in any other venue on board.
On arrival at The Verandah we were greeted at the reception and offered a choice of table. We took one in the corner of the dining room to give us a little more privacy. Our waiters introduced themselves, offered us the menu and explained all three courses. This is a very interesting feature and allows time to get to know waiters a little. They are also very knowledgeable about this speciality menu and therefore able to offer really good advice if you need it.
Whilst left to deliberate our choices, we also had a visit from the sommelier dedicated to The Verandah restaurant. He offered advice on the wines available and helped pick one that would suit the palette and choice of food.
Once our order was taken, we were given a pre-starter of bread which is a speciality of The Verandah. Now, this may sound a little boring – but that couldn’t be further from the truth. The bread is so light and fluffy with a coating on the top that is sweet and sticky (so sticky they provide finger bowls at the table). Absolutely delicious and not at all filling.
Our starters soon came to the table. I had chosen Crab Cake served with a side sauce – so full of crab meat, it was lovely. Ken meanwhile had opted for a Caesar Salad – which in The Verandah is prepared at table with a flourish by Michael the waiter.
In between courses we were offered our choice of steak knives unique to this speciality restaurant. We had the knives `introduced’ to us and then we were able to choose our preference. There were three that were recommended for ladies and I chose the middle one which was one of the oldest in the box and made of Sheffield Steel with a bone handle. Ken chose one that was again Sheffield Steel with a wooden handle and referred to as a Brooklyn knife. Again the intention is to give a little drama to the experience.
For mains, or entrees, I chose my preferred steak of fillet with a Verandah Steak Butter and Ken chose to have a rib eye steak with a peppercorn sauce . This was served with a choice of sides which for us included triple cooked chips, mashed potato, mushrooms, onion rings, long stem broccoli and creamed spinach. These complimented our steaks perfectly and there were clean plates at the end.
Of course there always has to be a dessert. For this Ken decided to have a chocolate fondant with cherry ice cream. As this is a speciality restaurant, dishes such as this are prepared to order and therefore there is a little wait – but worth it as Ken raved about the taste and how the ice cream complimented it so well. My choice was cheese and biscuits – served on the Verandah cheese trolley at the table.
We thoroughly enjoyed this evening and when they call it speciality dining, it really is. The ambiance of the restaurant was very special, the waiters were engaging, professional and happy to have a chat. The food was extremely good, beautifully prepared and served. The only down side was perhaps the conflicting piped music and live musicians in the atrium below.
We would definitely eat at The Verandah again, although at those prices perhaps not every time we sail with Cunard.
