The Food Post, at Last!

 As usual, Crystal does not disappoint with the food service. Although one of our favourite casual spaces, Tastes, is being transformed during the next cruise into Beefbar. This is a high-end restaurant 'chain' with locations in Paris, New York, Istanbul, St. Barths, Dubai, Doha, etc, etc. So it is a real coup for Crystal to get the only Beefbar at sea on both ships. We just hope that they don't change the bright and open design of Tastes, just as we hope the lunch menu still has some of our favourite dishes available. Editor's note: As it has taken me long enough to get this post up, photos of the Beefbar on Serenity have been posted online, and it looks very nice. Still a nice open concept that looks quite welcoming.

As to our current experience - delicious! I'll just post some photos of our meals by restaurant.

Tastes - these are some of the dishes that will disappear from the menu shortly. The Asian flavours are being replaced at dinner, but we hope the Chinois Chicken Salad, which is always a crowd favourite, will still be on the lunch menu.

Shrimp balls and tuna tacos

Chimichurri Steak

Fish tacos

Next up, Umi Uma and the Sushi Bar. These never seem to change, although the offerings the chefs come up with at the Sushi Bar can always be something interesting. The regular menu is so varied that you can always find something you like. Everyone has their favourites, which is why Umi Uma is usually the busiest restaurant on the ship!

Nobu Special Yellowtail

And New Style Beef

They are always so creative with their sushi/sashimi
presentation

Lobster Tempura

Shrimp and Vegetable Tempuras

Salmon

We sat at the Sushi Bar on our second visit

Shrimp Sashimi 

Tuna Ceviche

Another beautiful sushi bar platter

The Osteria D'Ovidio. This has been the most controversial redo under the 'new' Crystal, as they changed the entire menu to be more authentic Italian, reflecting the native cuisine of Manfredi d'Ovidio, one of the new owners. Many people preferred the 'American' Italian of Prego, and it's been something of a hard sell to get longtime Crystal cruisers to like the new offerings. We like the new menu, although sometimes it seems like there could be a bit more variety. But almost everything on the menu can be ordered in appetizer or main sizes, so we've always been able to put together a nice meal.

The 'amuse bouche' platter of prosciutto, whipped
ricotta cheese and a celeriac ravioli

 One of my favourites - Caprese salad

Beef tartare

The cheese filled tortelli looked so good, I had
to have a small plate

Larry tried the Minestrone Soup - yes it does
look a lot different that what we're used to, but it
tasted good!

Beef Tenderloin with a parmesan crust

Larry had another version of tortelli as his main
course - braised short rib

One of the lovely desserts - strawberries, mascarpone
and strawberry gelato

We had a few meals at Waterside as well, delicious as usual, but it would be taking far too many photos to include them, too.

The cuisine on Crystal ships never disappoints, from the breakfast and lunch buffets at Marketplace to the casual lunches at Tastes (let's see how much of that they keep) and the Trident Grill, and the various dinner locales. We always look forward to our next Crystal cruise for the food as much as we do for seeing all of our friends on the crew again.