150 Central Park – fine dining on the high seas

Though there are more than enough complimentary dining options onboard Allure Of The Seas, we wanted to try at least one of the specialty restaurants onboard Allure on our recent Transatlantic crossing. With a wide variety of choices ranging from steak at Chops Grille, Italian inspired cuisine at Giovanni’s Table, Brazilian-style cooking at Samba Grill and Asian cuisine at Izumi, we opted to try the fine dining at 150 Central Park.

Located in the Central Park area of Allure Of The Seas, 150 Central Park is considered the signature dining establishment onboard both Oasis and Allure Of The Seas. The most exclusive dining option onboard is the Chef’s Table located in the Concierge/Suite Lounge. While dining at 150 Central Park carries a $40 surcharge (without wine pairing  which costs $75 extra), the five course dinner (paired with wine) at the Chef’s Table will set you back $85.

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Entrance to 150 Central Park onboard Allure Of The Seas
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150 Central Park interior, looking left
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150 Central Park interior, looking right

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150 Central Park features two six course tasting menus that are modified seasonally and rotate during the week. The menus are created by award winning chef Michael Schwartz, who is best known for his commitment to sustainable and seasonal food at his own restaurants.

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Our server greeted us with a basket of warm bread and fresh butter. He then uncovered a selection of salts from around the world, explaining that the butter served with the bread is unsalted, giving you the opportunity to try and experience each different flavor.

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Bread is served with 6 different kinds of salt

When our server put the first course on the table we thought we were going to leave the restaurant hungry. Fortunately this was not the case.

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Marinated baby heirloom tomatoes
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Parsnip soup
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Butter poached lobster
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Pan roasted duck breast

To err is human, even in a top-notch restaurant, one of us received the wrong menu therefore our server brought us an extra 7th course to enjoy…

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Falafel crusted lamb loin

A meal is never complete without dessert. It’s a shame I didn’t try and order a second portion (to take with me)…

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Indian river grapefruit torte

With all the ‘free’ food/dining onboard the ship it seems strange to go and spend extra money on dinner, but in our case dining at 150 Central Park was worth every penny. The restaurant offers a smaller, quieter and more intimate setting then the large main dining room. Service was just that little bit more attentive and less rushed. And most importantly the food was excellent, sending our taste buds on a cruise of their own…

 

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