Dinner at the Ocean grill

Whilst on board my mini cruise on board Oriana we decided on the first evening which was also formal night that we would treat ourselves and dine in Marco Pierre White’s restaurant – Ocean Grill.  My mum had dined in this restaurant when she was on board earlier in the year so I was keen to see what all the fuss was about as she had dined in there 4 times and thoroughly enjoyed it. Making a reservation was easy and we were able to book for the time we wanted (as I think we were one of the first to book)

The venue itself had the dress code of black tie so everyone had to adhere to the dress code to go in – or supposedly, however they did allow one gentleman into the restaurant wearing just a green checked shirt and trousers – no jacket or tie and they did not tell him to put one on or lend him one to wear. This was the main thing I was disappointed with as everyone else was suitable dressed.

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Me and my mother were shown to a table for two and the nice thing was they tried to stagger where everyone was seated so you had a little more privacy. the menus were delivered and there was plenty of choice.  I chose to start with the Thai Fishcakes, followed by the Sirloin steak with Peppercorn sauce and then the popping candy Mille Feuille. Whilst waiting for the starter we were also served an amuse bouche of Mushroom Soup. The service in the restaurant was very attentive as you would expect and we were not made to feel rushed or hurried out of the restaurant and overall we were there for 2 hours.

Some of the items on the menu did appear on the Main Dining room’s menu for the evening so for those people who didn’t want to pay the price tag, but still wanted to sample the food then this was a great way of sampling the ocean grill. Although the food was excellent and certainly filling, I think the £22.95 per person price tag was just a little too high. My mum sailed on the Oriana earlier this year and can remember paying just £44 in total and this also included a bottle of prosecco – it was only £12.95 per person cover charge. This time with just one large glass of wine each the bill came to £58 – so have they increased the prices for the mini cruise or were they struggling to fill it on the cruise earlier in the year so has special offers on? For me I would suggest the cover charge to be £19.95 per person and then maybe this would be more affordable to other guests on board.

Have you dined in the ocean grill and what was your experience? What has stopped you from dining in there? I would love to hear your thoughts.