It is no secret that Mr B and I love our food. On Crystal we felt utterly spoilt. We both agreed the food was of extremely high quality, all whilst being enjoyed in plush surroundings and having friendly and attentive service.
Waterside
Crystal’s main dining room, Waterside, is open for breakfast, lunch (on sea days) and dinner.
Breakfast
I can’t imagine anyone could not find something they fancy on Waterside’s breakfast menu.
From continental options such as freshly-baked pastries, muesli, cereals, fresh fruits and yoghurts.
To hot options, where there really was something for everyone.
Some of our favourites were the cinnamon raisin French toast with maple syrup, perfect for when I fancied something sweet in the morning.
Mr B enjoyed the Crab omelette.
But my ultimate favourite breakfast, and in the top three breakfasts I have ever eaten, was the ‘Croissant’, which was served warm and filled with prosciutto, brie and truffled scrambled eggs. It was divine, rich, indulgent and a perfect combination of flavours.
My drink of choice was usually an ice coffee and the amazing team even spoilt me by making me an avocado milkshake on several mornings, something I found a love for in Vietnam.
Waterside breakfasts were so relaxing and a wonderful way to start the day.
Lunch
On our sailing Waterside was open for lunch on sea days.
There was always a choice of several appetizers and salads, along with a soup, a pasta and a sandwich which changed each day, along with approximately six other main courses.
I had a wonderful lasagne one day, a perfectly sized portion and very tasty.
Mr B tucked into the homemade cheeseburger and enjoyed every mouthful.
We tried to avoid having a dessert at lunch time, our way of ‘being good’! But we didn’t always manage to say no (and on the days we did I usually ended up enjoying an ice cream from Scoops!).
There was always a choice of two desserts during lunch at Waterside, along with an ice cream sundae, sorbet, fruit, cheese and ice cream.
The one I couldn’t say no to, the Lemon cheesecake, not too heavy, not too sweet and lovely and tart with lemon.
Dinner
Evening meals were always a wonderful affair at Waterside. I resisted having a sneaky peek at the menus in the day and waited with anticipation to sit down in the evening and see what choices I was being spoilt with.
There was always a choice of four appetizers, a soup, a salad and approximately seven main courses, I was quite often spoilt for choice.
Some of the standout starters Mr B and I enjoyed were the ‘Slow braised Octopus’, which had wonderful presentation.
I thoroughly enjoyed the Australian wagyu beef tartare, a must-order for me when I see it on a menu. This one was garnished with cured egg yolk and wasabi cream.
On formal night Mr B and I indulged in the caviar and bellinis, enjoying a serving each. We then ordered an extra serving to share.
Do remember you can make requests. As a fan of goat’s cheese, one evening they had a goat’s cheese and hazelnut tortellini with brown butter on the menu as an appetizer, and I ordered this as a main course. It was very well-made pasta with a delicious filling.
Main courses we thoroughly enjoyed were the Lobster with truffle risotto and lobster velouté.
The Lemon sole with chowder, dill and confit potatoes, and the Australian wagyu beef with potato mousseline and king oyster mushroom.
I also enjoyed a beautiful fillet steak one evening, cooked rare, as I requested.
I loved the fun and creativity which came with many of the desserts.
I think Mr B had the best one on formal night when he ordered the ‘Cotton candy’. The eye-catching dessert was an almond cake and vanilla gelato, the strawberry consommé was poured directly onto the cloud of cotton candy covering the dessert and we watched as it magically melted away.
Although I did not have dessert envy when Mr B enjoyed this theatrical dessert as I ordered the Grand Marnier soufflé and I absolutely adore a soufflé.
The ‘Beehive’ was almost too pretty to eat, it was made up of honey custard, fig, meringue, and Greek yoghurt ice cream.
Two traditional desserts which I often order when I see them on a menu, were the traditional crème brûlée and the pecan pie. Both were delicious!
And on some occasions, when we could somehow still continue to eat, we enjoyed ending our wonderful dinners with a cheese selection.
We thought the cheese trolley contained a nice mix of cheeses, all of which were high quality. We made our way through most of the available selection over the nights on our voyage.
Beef Bar
The newest addition to Crystal Symphony, and honesty, one of my favourites!
Lunch
We spent many a lunchtime relaxing in Beef Bar being utterly spoilt with great food, great drinks and great service!
What Mr B and I loved about Beef Bar was that their main ethos is sharing plates and that is something we both enjoy. During our lunches at Beef Bar we tried most dishes on the menu. Some we could not resist ordering time and time again.
Some of our favourites were the Bao buns, there were two versions to order, a beef and a vegetarian. For the beef option, the Korean soft fluffy buns were filled with jasmine tea smoked Wagyu beef. The pulled beef was melt-in-the-mouth good, the smokey flavour was present but not too overpowering.
The vegetarian buns contained a wonderful mix of shiitake, enoki and shimeji mushrooms, with a lovely crunch from red cabbage and freshness from cilantro.
We ordered the quesadillas on our first lunch at Beef Bar and I am pretty sure we re-ordered them on most of our lunchtime visits! The beautiful bite-sized quesadillas were filled with braised Wagyu beef, Oaxaca and Manchego and topped with black truffle, they came with an umptious dipping oil. We loved, loved, loved this dish!
We also enjoyed the pizzas, which were a perfect sharing size and again, there was a meat and a vegetarian option. Mr B’s favourite was the meat option, which was topped with wagyu beef pepperoni, very tasty indeed. My favourite was the Iconic pizza, which was topped with roquette, parmesan, truffle cream and fresh truffle. As a huge fan of truffle, this pizza was divine, packed full of that wonderful umami flavour you get from delicious truffle.
I also have to mention the KFC. Mr B loves fried chicken whereas I can take it or leave it, but if all fried chicken was like the Beef Bar KFC, I would be eating it a lot more often! The tender juicy chicken had the most wonderful crunchy coating and was served with a lovely spicy dipping sauce.
Dinner
We enjoyed three evening meals at Beef Bar, reservations for all of which we made whilst onboard and are included in your cruise fair.
We could have solely dined on all the wonderful small plates offered at dinner, but purposely didn’t due to the outstanding quality of the steaks we enjoyed for our main course.
I will try to mention my standout dishes without listing everything we ate, but it is difficult!
The ribeye ham was of exceptional quality and came with the most scrumptious savoury panettone, such a simple combination which really let the quality of the ingredients speak for themselves.
The tacos we devoured on more than one of our dining experiences. The miniature beef tacos were perfect for sharing and really got our taste buds going.
For a light and fresh option, the Tuna ceviche was perfect, with a coconut marinade and strips of papaya and bell pepper.
The star of our dining experiences were the high-quality steaks, which for us were cooked to perfection just as we requested each and every time.
The cuts offered are NYC striploin, Filet mignon and Ribeye. Two signature sauces are on the menu, Beefbar sauce and Paradise pepper, we enjoyed both. And lastly you have a choice of side dishes, from homemade creamy mashed potatoes, classic, gravy, lemon and lime or habanero. French fries classic or parmesan and lastly, an optional side of seasonal vegetables.
When not absolutely stuffed we did manage to enjoy a dessert on two of our visits, although I did have to request a little break between courses which was happily obliged as our glasses were topped up.
Two of the desserts we enjoyed were the Gelato Mantecato which came with a fun assortment of toppings.
And the stunning Mille-Crepe, the eye-catching layered crepes with miso caramel, almonds, walnuts and pistachio, tasted divine. Perfect for my rich, indulgent sweet tooth!
As well as the sensational food we enjoyed the open feel to the dining area and, of course, the fun quirky plates!
Umi Uma
We fondly remember our previous dining experiences at Umi Uma so were both very much looking forward to dining there again.
We chose a selection of starters to enjoy and asked for them to be served separately rather than all at once as we like to enjoy leisurely dinners. Something else we loved about Crystal, we made similar requests during our voyage during meal service and the relaxed pace at which we like to eat was never an issue.
We enjoyed the Nobu-style Lobster tacos, lovely, sweet lobster in a taco, what is not to love! And a dish which left Mr B and I fighting over the last piece was the Rock shrimp tempura with Amazu ponzu. We loved the slight spicy coating and perfectly crispy tempura.
The seafood ceviche was a light and fresh dish. Though at our server’s recommendation I also had the Mushroom soup. I could not believe how much mushroom flavour was packed into the clear broth.
With so much choice on the sushi and sashimi menu we asked for a selection to share and said we were happy for the chef to pick for us. We got a wonderful mixture and really enjoyed every piece.
With an extra gap, at our request, before our main course, and I think also with the help of both the hot and cold sake which our sommelier insisted we tried, we had enough room to enjoy our main dishes.
The famous Nobu-style black cod flaked away and the balance of sweet and savoury was delicious.
Last, but not least, was the Nobu-style Lobster with truffle yuzu. I am a huge lobster-lover and this dish, of course, did not disappoint.
Whilst Mr B was too full for a dessert, I enjoyed the ‘whisky cappuccino’ which was a surprisingly light choice and had some strong flavours which cut through all the richness I had enjoyed during our meal.
Osteria D’Ovidio
An exceptionally wonderful dining experience. If we had to pick one Mr B and I agreed this was the standout dinner for us of our entire sailing.
I was instantly spoilt for choice when browsing the menu. To start I ordered the beautifully-plated Lobster, which was accompanied with tomato essence, basil olive oil. A few high-quality ingredients, handled with love and care, it was such a perfect, light way to start my meal.
Mr B enjoyed the Insalata Caprese, another classic dish where the quality of the ingredients spoke for themselves.
As an enormous pasta-lover, I was utterly spoilt for choice from the pasta menu, which is why I persuaded Mr B that we order an extra pasta dish to share!
My first order of pasta was the Tortello filled with braised beef, figs and gorgonzola. It was incredible, perfectly made and cooked pasta with a rich and umptious filling. Every mouthful was a joy.
For our additional course, our server kindly asked us if we would like this after our first pasta course and bought us each a small individual serving. It was the perfect small portion and one we are both glad we got to enjoy was the risotto with scampi and caramelised onions, which was rich and creamy, an utter delight on the palette.
It took me a while to decide on my main. I was torn between the duck or the beef, but in the end I opted for the beef and it was utter perfection. The black Angus beef tenderloin had a gorgonzola crust and was served with an incredibly shiny, rich and sexy red wine sauce. Every mouthful was bliss for my tastebuds.
Mr B also found equal satisfaction in the perfectly cooked lamb which was served with sweet onion, balsamic vinegar and sea asparagus.
We finished off our already rich and indulgent meal with two stunning desserts.
I opted for the coffee dessert, a creamy hazelnut ice cream with a coffee foam and salted caramel.
Mr B chose the ‘Strawberry and balsamic’ which he said was very well balanced. Alongside our desserts we sipped on a perfectly chilled limoncello.
Trident Grill
If you are relaxing by the pool you are not far at all from the Trident grill.
From 10am to 11am it serves a late riser’s breakfast where hot options can be ordered, but we never made it here for breakfast, we are more early risers.
Then from 11am to approx 6pm you can get freshly-grilled burgers, hot dogs, grilled sandwiches and fries. After enjoying a morning excursion, lunch at the Trident Grill was just what we needed. I opted for the cheeseburger which was juicy, flavourful and well-seasoned.
Scoops
The onboard ice cream bar is located on the pool deck, which gives you the perfect excuse when you feel the heat from the sun . . . cool off with an ice cream!
We always thought there was a generous number of flavours on offer, many of which we tried during our sailing. My go-to favourite was the caramel or the chocolate, or a scoop of each!
We loved the creamy ice cream and the options of toppings; I usually got carried away and added two or three toppings and a sauce, of course!
The Bistro
The place to go for all coffee-lovers is The Bistro, any coffee you should wish for freshly made. Which for me was an iced coffee with a shot of vanilla, whereas Mr B often enjoyed a cappuccino or a latte.
However, it’s not just coffee which you can get from The Bistro, there is a small buffet selection which changes for breakfast, lunch etc. You can usually find fresh pastries, a selection of cheese and meats, and extremely tempting cakes.
My absolute favourite was the pastel de nata’s, I could not resist having one almost every time I walked past.
Marketplace
Open for breakfast and lunch, Marketplace is, what I would describe as Crystal’s high end buffet. We did enjoy one breakfast at Marketplace as it suited our departure time for an excursion we had booked. The quality of the food reflected that of all the other meals we enjoyed onboard, along with the friendly and special Crystal service.
However, buffets are really just not our cup of tea so we only opted to visit just the once.
In-suite dining
Whilst we don’t opt to dine in the evening in our suite we certainly love an in-suite breakfast and it was very pleasant having the dining table and chairs in our room, making the setup even more perfect.
There are lots of options for enjoying breakfast in your suite, but me being me, I went off-menu! By simply writing my request on the order form, it was bought to me the next morning without fuss.
Another thing we love is all the extra treats from our butler. We sometimes requested to forgo the daily canapes and instead requested a cheese board, or guacamole and chips, usually opting to enjoy with a cocktail or a glass of champagne. We felt utterly spoilt by all these fantastic treats.
You can order room service 24 hours a day and I have to admit to ordering a few late night toasted ham and cheese sandwiches, which trust me, works perfectly when you have indulged in a few too many cocktails!
Afternoon tea
Served in Palm Court guests can opt to enjoy afternoon tea. Mr B and I are both afternoon tea lovers and often enjoy an afternoon tea at home (in the UK).
We started ours off by enjoying a crisp cold glass of champagne at the bar before choosing a wonderful table by the window to enjoy the stunning uninterrupted ocean views.
The afternoon tea stand was a delight. The most important part of any afternoon tea for me, the scones. I confirm these were delicious, freshly baked and we requested clotted cream with ours, they were absolutely scrumptious. The dainty cakes were also extremely enjoyable.
Of course, we enjoyed our afternoon tea with English breakfast tea, but a tea menu was available.
Pre-dinner canapes and late-night snacks
It’s not that you ever need more food, but we often found it hard to say no when enjoying a pre-dinner drink when canapes were offered around, which changed nightly.
Additionally, when enjoying a nightcap, late night snacks were then also brought round. I found it easier to resist those (not always) as we were usually still so full from dinner!
So as I am sure you can see from the above, we ate, we indulged, we were spoilt with incredible food and loved every mouthful.
Want to see inside Crystal Symphony cruise ship, and our wonderful suite? Read my below blog post . . .
Read about our itinerary on Crystal sailing from Mumbai to the Seychelles . . .
https://www.crystalcruises.com/
