Sailing on Carnival Spirit soon and curious if the upcharge steakhouse is worth the extra expense?
Nouveau means “newly created” and it seems to be a fitting name given the restaurant’s placement. Spirit class ships have a unique whale tail with red glass window inserts. The restaurant is located under this glass dome and becomes bathed in an interesting red glow as the sun starts to set.
The cost to dine here is currently $48. The meal includes an appetizer, salad, entree, side, and dessert. There is usually a free bottle of wine offered, per booking, if you dine on embarkation night.
We recently had the opportunity to dine here as a party of six, allowing us to sample a good portion of the available options.
Dinner began with bread service and seasoned butter. The herbed butter is always so good. This was followed by an amuse bouche of a mini beef burger.
My husband definitely enjoyed making a show of eating his “lil’ hamburger.”
The appetizers were just okay. The whole table agreed the French onion soup and pork belly were the best of the bunch. Be warned the soup comes boiling hot and was still too hot to eat at the point everyone was finishing their appetizers. It is a large portion and easily sharable. We actually passed it around the table two times and still didn’t finish it.
The iced smoked oysters came with a fun presentation, but it had a fruity pink foam on top that made for an odd pairing.
The main course was the biggest disappointment. The lobster tails were small and overcooked. The toppings for the potatoes were skimpy and even when we asked for extra, they only brought a spoon of sour cream at a time. The steaks were tender but very under seasoned, including the spice rubbed steak which was a little bizarre.
On the dessert menu the chocolate sphere is the showstopper. They bring a globe of chocolate and pour chocolate over it until it melts revealing even more chocolate on the inside. While it is entertaining to watch, it quickly turns into somewhat of a chocolate soup and wasn’t one of our favorites. The cheesecake was passable but very fluffy. If you’re looking for a dense style cheesecake, you won’t get it here. The apple tarte was the winner in the dessert round. I liked it so much I didn’t feel obligated to share.
We’ve generally had some really good meals in the upcharge restaurants on Carnival and have found it to be a good value in the past. However, this particular meal was more miss than hit. At the end of the week, we felt we had both better service and steaks in the main dining room.
First time Carnival cruiser? Check out my tips for first timers here!
