The top two reasons people book a Royal Caribbean cruise are the food and destinations, and I can see why the food is such a draw.
I've been cruising on Royal Caribbean for two decades and I've been on almost 100 sailings so far, which means I've sampled quite a lot of food along the way.
If you think cruise food is limited to buffet trays of mediocre food, you'd be so wrong. Royal Caribbean has been upping its food game for years, even focusing massive effort to upgrade its complimentary pizza.
I've always thought Royal Caribbean's food ranges between "good" and "very good", with a few dishes truly standing out as excellent. I wanted to highlight those terrific dishes so you don't miss out on them.
I came up with 7 foods I've eaten on Royal Caribbean I think everyone should order, including one from its private island in The Bahamas.
Gyros at AquaDome Market
I came up with this list as I cruised on Icon of the Seas and went back to the AquaDome for my upteenth Mediterranean sandwich.
The AquaDome Market is a new food hall concept, and it's been a home run since the new ship launched last year.
I bet a lot of people would point to the crepes as a must-order, but I love the falafel even more.
Available at the Feta stand, it's complimentary and you can customize it anyway you like it.
It's probably easier to eat as a bowl than a sandwich because Royal Caribbean's pita bread is more like a base than a pocket. But I still order the sandwich because I like the texture of the bread brings.
It's light, made fresh on the spot, and doesn't make me feel guilty about eating it.
Beef tenderloin at 150 Central Park
Ever since I tried 150 Central Park many years ago, I've been drawn to its beef tenderloin entree.
150 Central Park is a modern American restaurant that's available only on the Oasis Class ships in the fleet. You'll find a lobster dish, steak, chicken, fish, and more. It has a cover charge to dine here.
I think it's a very strong menu overall, but the must-try option here is the beef tenderloin for two people.
You can order it for yourself, or even cut down the portion for a single person. There's no judgement when you order it from the waiter.
I prefer the steak at 150 Central Park over other restaurants that have a filet mignon, such as Chops Grille or Giovanni's. I think its flavor stands out just a bit more.
French onion soup from Main Dining Room
I'm going on a limb to say the French onion soup served multiple times a cruise in any Royal Caribbean Main Dining Room is the best version of the soup I've ever had.
There's something about Royal Caribbean's version and their ratio of bread, to cheese, to onions. Plus, I think their broth is the right amount of salt and flavor to it.
You can also get the same soup at Coastal Kitchen, and I've been known to go up to Coastal Kitchen to get a to-go soup before they close up for the night.
It's the very definition of a comfort food and it always satisfies. I could eat just the broth everyday, it's that good.
Seven cheese pizza from Giovanni's
I can't name seven cheeses, but Royal Caribbean put them in its pizza at its signature Italian specialty restaurant and it's so good.
I shouldn't be surprised how good it is, given the pizza is the creation of the amazing pizza chef Renato Viola. I was hooked the first time I tried it on Odyssey of the Seas, and it's been a must-order ever since.
All Royal Caribbean ships have pizza at Sorrento's or Park Cafe, but the quality of the pizza at Giovanni's Italian Kitchen is about five levels ahead of that.
It has a thin crust, light sauce, and the perfect amount of cheese. The slices are so thin, it's easy to eat half the pizza by yourself.
When Royal Caribbean was working on crafting the menu for this restaurant, they spent weeks agonizing over the menu. As an example, they tried to pick out the perfect San Marzano sauce. The sauce has no added sugar, and relies on a simple recipe of San Marzano tomatoes, water and herbs.
There are a few other pizzas on the menu as well, and each has its place. I've tried almost all of them at this point, but the seven cheese pizza stands out as my favorite.
Miso broiled cod from Izumi Omakase
Available exclusively on Utopia of the Seas, there's a chef driven Japanese meal you can try and it goes well beyond sushi.
The miso broiled cod was my favorite of the eight courses we were served, and that surprised me given how much I love sushi.
In the roku course is when you get a petite serving of this fish, and it blew me away with how flavorful it was.
This was an extremely tender piece of fish that had a miso glaze on it, and it was my favorite flavor of the evening.
It was the kind of food that I wanted the recipe for so I could make it at home because I didn't want to go months before having it again.
While I also really liked the wagyu beef and the sakura carpaccio, none were as impressive as the cod.
Fried cheesecake from 150 Central Park
I'm going back to 150 Central Park for dessert, because they might have the best dessert on any Royal Caribbean restaurant.
The fried cheesecake is exactly what it sounds like, a piece of cheesecake fried and served to you. You'll get two of these fried balls served to you, but you won't want to share it.
Each one is a rich, creamy cheesecake covered with a crunchy, powdered sugar-coated shell and doused with fresh whipped cream and caramel sauce.
There's an argument that anything fried is going to taste pretty good, I think these are next level tasty.
Mozzarella sticks from the Snack Shack
If your ship makes a stop at Perfect Day at CocoCay, you need to make a trip to the Snack Shack to try the mozzarella sticks.
Similar to other items on the list, the recipe for this specific version of the food truly stands out. Royal Caribbean serves mozzarella sticks on its ships, but they don't compare to the CocoCay one at all.
I think it's the breading that makes them so very good. And then when you dip them in the marinara sauce, it always delivers on being the ultimate comfort food.
