Catch by Rudi - Have fun with your food

The Catch by Rudi is a mostly seafood based specialty restaurant brought to Princess through their partnership with Chef Rudi Sodamin. His philosophy of having fun with your food results in a lot of whimsical dishes and presentations. You truly eat with your eyes first.

Each meal starts out with Rudi's play on the concept of loaves and fishes. A single soft baguette is brought to the table with a fish shaped dish containing a flavorful spread with tomatoes and pesto. There is also the offer of butter to use on the bread.

Dad's Sherry Baby Salad - tossed salad with greens, shaved vegetables, and sherry dressing. Note the added theming of having the sherry dressing brought to him in a tiny fish shaped bottle. 

My appetizer (big surprise) was the Calamari - seasoned panko coating with lemon aioli. 

My entree was Sea & Shore - surf-and-turf filet mignon 5-6 oz, lobster tail 4 oz, red wine sauce, and steamed vegetables.

Dad's entree was the Poivre Perfection - steak frites with peppercorn sauce, french fries, and frizzled onions.

Roasted fingerling potatoes and parmesan french fries were our choices for sides. We could have also chosen either ratatouille, garden greens, or cauliflower puree.

The theming continues with the fries served in a parchment paper cone. All that was missing was news stories printed on the parchment so it looked like a classic shoreside fish and chips stand wrapping your order in sheets from the local newspaper. 

These fries might have surpassed my love for the old truffle parmesan fries the Crown Grill used to have. 

We both went with the Chantilly Lace for dessert - mini croquembouche filled with creme Chantilly, hot chocolate sauce.

The little shapes of items added to the plate were solid chocolate popped out of molds. I loved how the croquembouche was cold but not hard. Just set up enough to stay put on the chantilly creme. The molded solid chocolates was such a contradiction to the softness of the dessert. I could see offering a little cup of those on the side or even a plate to enjoy later so that they can be savored. 

This was our first time being on a ship that had the Catch by Rudi restaurant onboard. Was it worth trying? Even if you aren't a seafood lover? Absolutely! Is it worth returning to again? Absolutely! That oven baked whole lobster with garlic and herbs is calling my name.

Sabatini's Trattoria - Is the Carbonara worth the carbs?

This Specialty Dining venue costs $45 per person. If you have Premier 80 (with two specialty dining meals included) or Premier 90 (with unlimited specialty dining) then the cover charge is waived. The cover charge includes one selection from each course. Any additional pasta or main course is $15 each.

If you've ever been around an Italian family long enough, you learn that the Italian word mangia ("eat" in English) is equivalent to saying "I love you." Dining in a restaurant like Sabatini's Trattoria will definitely make you feel full of food and love. There are several courses to the meal but there won't be any calls to the mafia if you skip a course or choose not to clean your plate. 

Stuzzichino Della Casa (Small snack or appetizer of the House), sometimes called amuse bouche and served to stimulate the appetite.

 Polenta Fries with Tomato Sugo di Pomodoro 

Zuppe e Insalata (Soup and salad) course

Antipasti (before the meal) small bites

Antipasto Platter - finocchiona salami, prosciutto di parma, terre ducali coppa, parmigiano reggiano, sicilian olives

Arancini al Tartufo - aromatic Sicilian fried mozzarella rice balls scented with black truffle, served with tomato and herb marinara, named for the little oranges they resemble.

Burrata Caprese - creamy, fresh stracciatella-filled cheese complemented by red and yellow tomatoes, fresh basil leaves, balsamic glaze and basil oil. 

Primi Piatti - (First Plate) pasta and risotto course

Spaghetti Polpette - a family favorite of rich beef and pork meatballs braised in a san marzano tomato broth with garlic, onion, and herbs. Basically the classic spaghetti and meatballs and one of Dad's favorite dishes. Note that these are not all beef meatballs so you may want to choose something else or ask for a modification if you don't eat pork.

Spaghetti Alla Carbonara - our classically Roman dish of spaghetti tossed with lucious egg, pancetta, and parmesan cream sauce. Now you know I wasn't going to pass up the chance to try the Carbonara! I can't believe I'm even saying this...but this dish was just a little too cheesy. Who knew there was even such a thing as too cheesy?! I did order this again during a second visit and it wasn't as cheesy.

Lobster Tortellini - delicate pillows of lobster-filled pasta, simmered in a rich creamy lobster sauce

Secondi Piatti (Second Plate) - Main Entrees that are mostly meat and/or seafood based

Tender Grilled Lamb Chops - served with truffled polenta, broad beans, and mushrooms. I've only recently tried lamb chops so I've had the dish a few times at most. I'm sorry to say this was way too tough and stringy. I gave up after a few bites.

Chicken Parmigiana - classic dish from southern Italy with fresh buffalo mozzarella and tomato, served with basil roasted potato.

Tried the Chicken Parmigiana again during a later visit

Dolci - desserts/sweets

Ricotta Cheesecake - served with vanilla and chocolate sauce (interestingly similar looking to the Sanctuary Cabana cheesecake option)

Classic Cannoncini - italian cream horns of buttery puff pastry filled with chantilly cream

While customary to dip desserts like this into nuts like the pistachio pictured here, I was surprised to not see any notation on the menu that this item contains nuts. Always make sure you mention any allergies at each dining venue. 

Butcher's Block - would you like a side of vegetables to go with that cow?

Butcher's Block is also a new restaurant concept for Princess Cruises from their partnership with famed butcher Dario Cecchini. During our cruise, it was still the old serving style of seating everyone at shared tables. Big presentations of each course were made to the restaurant as a whole and then servers came to your tables to offer pieces off a big platter to put on your plate. The courses were presented to showcase all the different cuts of meat that come from the cow. The default cooking doneness is medium rare which is why Dad was hesitant to try this restaurant. They have become more lenient since the restaurant's opening and will allow you to specify a doneness preference. The only drawback is that you have to wait for a server to come back around with the platter of well done meat whereas there was plentiful platters going around with the medium rare meat. The whole dining experience is drawn out due to the course presentations so having to wait even longer for well done meat was frustrating.

Since our visit, Princess has slightly changed the style of this restaurant so that it's more about family style platters brought to your table of each course versus a few pieces given to each person from one tray by the server.

Disclaimer - we wanted to catch the Dome show this night and after a while of slow service beyond the doneness issue, we gave up on having the last course and dessert in order to make it to the show. Unfortunately, one of the acrobats in the early show had been injured and the rest of the Dome performances for our cruise were cancelled. Better safe than sorry and completely understandable. I heard later that the acrobat was not too seriously injured, left the ship in the next port, and is doing better now.

The Butcher's Block reservation starts with everyone gathering at the kitchen window to hear the butcher's presentation about the meat cuts and the courses. Small glasses of a chianti are offered as well as bread and butter as we stood listening to the speech. Then the servers encourage everyone to fill the tables on down the line sitting with strangers at tables for four or six. Our would be tablemates asked to be moved when their group of three was asked to sit with us at a table for four so we ended up having a table to ourselves. Thanks for the four place settings worth of bread all for us guys!

Each table had a water carafe and a bottle of chianti so you could refill your glasses as you wished. Each place setting started off with two slices of rye bread in a little paper bag and a drawn out diagram of the cow allowing you to reference which part of the cow you're currently eating. Little bowls of olive oil and butter were for the bread while the third bowl was full of salt. The crew explained that they never seasoned the meat and have left the bowl there for you to add as much as you wish.

All of the meat in these pictures is cooked medium rare.

First course

Second course

Third course:

Cannelloni beans for a change of taste:

Fourth course:

A little meat break for some grilled veggies:

Above: Carrots, asparagus, and zucchini. 

Below: Mushrooms, spinach, caramelized onions

Fifth Course:

The baked potato that was originally the only vegetable offered in this dinner experience. You still only get the provided butter for the bread and the little bowl of salt to season the potato however. 

Sixth Course:

I'm glad to see that Princess changed their format for table service in this restaurant. There were a few tables I watched get offered extra meat routinely and others were ignored. Now each diner can have as much as they wish. Would we dine here again? I think for us it was worth trying but not worth repeating.

Crown Grill - A steakhouse that has more to offer than steak

This Specialty Dining venue costs $45 per person. If you have Premier 80 (with two specialty dining meals included) or Premier 90 (with unlimited specialty dining) then the cover charge is waived. The cover charge includes one selection from each course. While they usually allow ordering extra appetizers, salads, or desserts, any additional main course is $15 each.

 

I guess my weakness for cheesy bread runs in the family

The Crown Grill has been our favorite specialty restaurant when we sail on Princess. We love starting off each cruise with dinner here. It's our way of treating ourselves after the hustle and bustle of traveling to the port and getting through embarkation. What follows is a culmination of 2-3 dinners here over the course of our two weeks on board. 

Colossal Lump Crab Cake - Cognac mustard cream sauce, shaved asparagus fennel salad.

Is it really a visit to a steakhouse if you don't try the onion soup at least once? Did I also mention my weakness for cheesy bread? At least this time I didn't drip any on my blouse.

Black and Blue Onion Soup - Roquefort crust, fresh thyme, Jack Daniel's

Blue Iceberg - Applewood smoked bacon, heirloom cherry tomatoes, point reyes original blue cheese dressing. Classic steakhouse wedge salad. The one salad Dad is always willing to eat, especially when it is followed by steak.

Shellfish Bisque - Lobster chunks and shrimp, aged cognac, whipped cream

Boneless Ribeye 14 oz - rich with heavy marbling. 

The Filet Mignon 7 oz from the Steaks menu plus the 6 oz Maine Lobster Tail entree. The top of the menu states that while you can have more than one main entree, each additional one is an extra $15 charge. We were fully prepared to pay the upcharge but it was never added to our account.

New Zealand Double Lamb Chops 9oz - Rosemary essence (with loaded Idaho baked potato)

The black swipe at the top of the plate is supposed to be the mint jelly or perhaps the rosemary essence?

I also tried the Porterhouse 20oz but I guess I was too mesmerized by the size of the steak to take a picture.

For sides - pardon the double potato but I had to get the parmesan french fries. Plus mashed potatoes are a great side to steak.

The Ten Layer Chocolate Cake - brushed with Baileys Irish Cream, chocolate mousse ganache. Ten layers sounded a lot bigger on paper than the whoopie pie sized tower that arrived. Definitely chocolatey and sweet but definitely not the huge sharing portion sizes typical of a steakhouse.

All of our visits (confusion with reservations on night one notwithstanding) to the Crown Grill on the Sun Princess were delightful in food and service. We look forward to continuing the tradition on our next Princess cruise.