Is the steakhouse on Celebrity Beyond a cut above the rest?

Now if you've ever met my Dad or read any of my other trip reports, it should come as no surprise that visiting the steakhouse was on top of Dad's list for specialty restaurants to visit on this cruise. I don't affectionately call him Mr. Meat and Potatoes for nothing after all. On Celebrity Beyond, the steakhouse is known as Fine Cut and normally costs a cover charge of  $55 + 20% additional service charge per person. The menu can be viewed as a PDF from Celebrity's website here. Note the fine print at the bottom of the menu that advises a $20 extra charge if you order more than one entree. Also, items under the "Premium Cuts" section of the menu carry an upcharge beyond the cover charge. Our cover charge and the order of Premium Cut items was included for being in a Royal Suite cabin or higher.

We ended up dining in Fine Cut three times during the cruise including the first evening. All three times our service was great and we enjoyed the majority of the food we tried. The first evening we were approached by the maitre'd and I thought it was simply because we were one of the first tables dining at that time. Turns out he wanted to say hello because he recognized us from another sailing. I'm sorry I didn't catch your name sir! I love when we run into crew from past sailings!

Here's a photo rundown by menu course what we tried over the three visits. This restaurant is often barely lit so forgive some of the darker photos. Side note: Celebrity Beyond got the memo when it comes to soft rolls in restaurants! I may have eaten more bread on this sailing that I ever have on a cruise because every venue offered soft rolls.

From the Starters section:

Ricotta Gnocchi - Artichoke puree, Iberico ham, herbed crispy crumbs, and truffle oil. This dish was not listed on the above PDF file of the menu but was in the app and the menu handed to us in the restaurant. First of all, I love the description of herbed crispy crumbs versus croutons. I didn't eat much of the ham/bacon strip arranged on top but the texture and flavors were good in the rest of the dish.

The Steakhouse "Wedge" - Iceberg Lettuce, Smoked Nueske Bacon, Blue Cheese, Pickled Shallots, and Cherry Tomatoes. Right up Dad's alley as the version of salad he'll willingly eat is lettuce, tomatoes, and a ranch or blue cheese dressing. Basically the veggies that top a hamburger. 

Signature Crab Cake - Lemon Pepper Aioli, Pickled Radish, Baby Lettuce. The grapefruit wedge and one skinny asparagus stick garnish seemed odd to me. The crabcake itself was good and was around 90% crabmeat versus filler. This hometown Maryland girl approves of this message.

Black Pepper Bacon - Steakhouse Sauce Glaze. I've tried a version of this at Royal Caribbean's Chops steakhouse so I wanted to compare them. Unfortunately, I found RCL's sauce too sharp tasting. While Celebrity's sauce tasted better, the bacon strip seemed overcooked despite being way more fat than meat.

The King Caesar Salad - Hearts of Romaine, Herb Baguette Croutons, Aged Parmesan, and Caviar. This salad could teach that Caesar salad from the Retreat Sun Deck some lessons. 

From the Entrees section:

"Premium Cuts" Certified Black Angus Tomahawk 30oz (for two). I believe we went with my preference of medium doneness since we shared this entree on the first night. Honestly, in other creator's vlogs, it looks bigger than it did in person to me. The meat was tasteful and tender. Dad insists he could have easily ate the whole thing himself. Personally, I probably could have as well if I didn't eat anything else in the meal. Dad of course would have gladly sacrificed eating the vegetable sides in order to eat the rest of this steak.

Bone-In Filet Mignon - 9oz. Listed on the menu linked above under From the Grill. Listed on our app as a Premium Cuts option. And no, we don't understand how you can have a bone-in filet mignon either. Dad says the tomahawk is better.

USDA Prime Boneless Rib Eye -14oz. Nowhere near as tender as I would have expected. Tough to cut and tough to chew. Gave up after a few bites.

Lemon Poached Lobster Tail - Melted Leeks, Shiitake Mushrooms, Lobster Ravioli, and Beurre Blanc Sauce. Don't sleep on this dish if you can eat/like lobster! The lobster tail was of a good size and tasted fresh but what looks like a mountain of mashed potato underneath is actually a huge snowball sized pile of lobster meat that the chef threw a ravioli blanket over and called it a night! No dinky bite sized where's the rest of my entree ravioli in this dish!

Roast Prime Rib of Beef - Herb Pepper Crust and Aus Jus. Are you a so red it better still be mooing prime rib person or a better not see any pink kind of prime rib eater? Dad's still insistent on ordering his beef dishes well done. He seemed to like the dish but to me it looked and tasted like tough shoe leather. I'd suggest backing off a little on the doneness level if you want to try the prime rib because it gets really dry the longer it cooks.

From the Sides section:

Gruyere Tater Tots (smaller rounded brown things), Parmesan Truffle Fries (longer brown things next to the tater tots), and the Grilled Asparagus because I needed to throw some other color besides brown in the mix. I never get to enjoy fresh asparagus at home so I order it when I can as a restaurant side. I was a little disappointed that a small sampling of each on a plate to share was how they presented it to us. Looked skimpy on a larger plate. Taste and texture wise - both tater tots and asparagus were good. Truffle fries were not as good as I'd hoped as they seemed a little undercooked.

Smoked Bacon Mac & Cheese. I liked the use of the little shells versus elbow macaroni. Gave a lighter, creamier taste to the dish.

On our second visit, our server announced "Oh and we have mashed potatoes and baked potatoes now too!" I had just been commenting to Dad that I was surprised there was no mashed or baked potato listed as sides on the menu. Guess they had been in some potato witness protection program and now that the Murderous Masher had been stopped from preventing kitchen drawers from fully opening nationwide, the coast was clear for them to come out of hiding.

Mashed Potatoes:

From the Desserts menu:

Double Chocolate Brownie - Toasted Almonds, Vanilla Ice Cream, Chocolate Sauce & Whipped Cream. I think you can tell by Dad's reaction how much he loved this dessert!

NY Strawberry Cheesecake - Graham Cracker Crust. A little smaller of a slice than I would've expected from a steakhouse but it was plenty for the amount of room I had left after dinner.

Ultimate Chocolate Sundae - Neapolitan Ice Cream, Hot Fudge, Sliced Almonds, Whipped Cream, and Caramel Sauce. Dad asked to have just chocolate and vanilla ice cream instead of the Neapolitan. He loved this sundae so much he had it on the last visit as well.

I ended my last Fine Cut visit by requesting a scoop of vanilla ice cream to accompany my NY Strawberry Cheesecake. They brought me the same huge glass as Dad's Ultimate Sundae except that mine had just the vanilla ice cream and no toppings. A great alternative if you don't want or can't have the toppings like the almonds and caramel sauce that normally come in the sundae.