There is no shortage of really good food on a cruise ship, but a bar on the world's biggest cruise ship has food options not available on any other ship.
The Trellis Bar is the focal point of Central Park on every ship with this neighborhood, but Royal Caribbean tweaked the offering a bit with Icon of the Seas.
While not technically a secret, it's not well known that there are food options you can order at the Trellis Bar on Icon.
In fact, very few bars on Royal Caribbean ships offer food at all. You can't even get peanuts or pretzels to munch on as you drink.
I remember reading that there would be food at the Trellis Bar on Icon of the Seas, but I overlooked it with so many other options to consider.
Over the last few months, some readers alerted me to the fact that the food was really good here.
Don and Judy Goldstein are purveyors of the Trellis Bar on any ship they visit, and they recommended not only having a glass of wine at this bar, but trying the food.
On my recent sailing, I decided to give it a try.
A small menu, but it's to the point
If you look for the menu when you sit down at the bar, you'll need to spot one hidden among the bar menus.
Most people walk up to the bar, order a drink, and are then on their way. Tables go quickly, especially in the evening.
There's just 7 items on the menu, but each one hits the important notes. Better to do a few things well, than a lot of things mediocre.
We ordered five out of the seven items to try for lunch on a sea day. In fact, I chose to eat here not only for research purposes, but because I lamented repeating other specialty restaurants because I think the ship needs another signature restaurant.
The chicken on the Caesar salad was incredibly moist
I started off with the Caesar salad and impulsively added the chicken on top of it.
What impressed me about this was how juicy the chicken was on this salad. I'm so used to chicken on salads being tough and cold, but this was freshly cooked and sliced right on top.
It was a good omen for the rest of the meal.
The steak bites blew me away
If you order one thing at the Trellis Bar, it should be the steak bites. Run, don't walk, and order them.
We ate a lot of steak at different restaurants around Icon, but the steak bites are next level tasty.
The reason they're so good is they are glazed with sweet Thai chili sauce. Don't worry, it's not spicy at all.
I shared a plate with my wife, but I instantly regretted not ordering one just for me.
This is now one of those must-order items every time I sail on Icon.
Mac and cheese bites are the perfect comfort snack
The mac and cheese poppers are the kind of food you don't seek out, but when you see it on the menu, you want it.
The name "poppers" is apt, as these are fried balls of mac and cheese you can easily toss in your mouth to eat.
It's a great sharing appetizer to have, and had we not indulged in every steak bite we could find, we would have eaten more of the poppers.
A really large burger patty made this burger stand out
Why is this burger different from all other burgers on Icon of the Seas?
You can get a burger at so many different places around the ship, including many being free.
At the Trellis Bar, this is dry-aged burger from Chops Grille. The process of dry aging meat is supposed to enhance the beefy flavor of the burger that result from the natural enzymes in the meat breaking down during the aging process.
I'm not an expert on dry aged food, but I can tell you it was a really good burger, and I was more impressed by how big the patty was than anything else.
While the Trellis Bar isn't a pub, I've always had an affinity for a burger and a beer for lunch.
Lunch at the Trellis Bar is an easy to miss treat
There are so many good restaurants on Icon of the Seas, including some fantastic included options.
While I would never fault someone for eating at Aquadome Market instead, I think the food at Trellis Bar is fantastic too.
I ate here on day six of the sailing, and I think it's perfect for when you get well into the sailing and then start looking for some variety in the food choices.
It might be the perfect food to try to tide yourself over until a meal later, or sit down for a lunch like I did.
