Welcome to my very first Carnival Cruise Steakhouse Review. It’s amazing this is the first time since I’ve easily been to a Carnival Steakhouse, at least, 60+ times-not just on the Legend (sorry if the title is like click bait :)). I’ve been to Carnival’s Steakhouses on every ship I’ve been on (I think there were a couple older ones that didn’t have a steakhouse) since the Dream in 2010. Back in 2010, I’m pretty sure it was only $25 a person. Now it’s $49 13 years later, and it was only $42 (I believe) the last time we were on the Carnival Venezia back in August.
I’m starting off with the price since the steakhouse is an alternative dining venue that’s not included in your cruise fare, and you sure aren’t going to pay $50 if the food is subpar. $50 isn’t a lot, really, considering you’d pay $100+ at a Ruth’s Chris or Fleming’s, but then you just paid $X to even get on the ship and have the main dining room and other places to eat that won’t cost any extra. Is it worth $50? Well, here’s my assessment from someone who’s probably had 50+ meals at a Carnival Steakhouse in the past 13 years.
First, the ambience is nice. It’s ‘steakhouse dark’, pretty much. The steakhouse is above the Lido buffet, but you don’t hear anything downstairs. Also, there are 2 levels. I’ve eaten at this steakhouse, probably 10 times since I’ve been on the Legend 5 times. I went to the restaurant from the buffet and up a glass spiral staircase. Don’t look down, or you’ll freak out! When you walk up, the host is right there to greet you. He was a very cheery person and sat me right away. The area next to the host stand has a lot of tables and is very expansive, but I always like to sit near a window, so he took me over to the side next to the bar.
The decor has been the same on most of the older ships since 2010. From the plates to the tablecloths, it’s the same look. When you go on the newer ships with the Fahrenheit steakhouse, it’s a bit more modernized. One thing that I noticed right away that has changed this trip is the salt and pepper shakers have gone ‘budget buffet’ from the nice Rosenthal salt and pepper shakers ( I loved so much I have one at home), to these icky ones. What’s up with that? They look silly next to the fancy plate.
About the bar, you can’t sit at the bar or order directly from the bar. That’s a bummer for me since I always sit at a bar to eat and drink, when I can. I sat at the table, and the server came right away to take my order. Apparently, the vodka (asked for something with orange or citrus flavored) tonic and the pomegranate martini was a bit too complicated, so he asked me to speak to the bartender directly who seemed to be confused by the order, but we straightened that out. The drinks were good, but the pomegranate was likely syrup since a bit too sweet. Just a personal preference.
You can look at the wine and food menus via a QR code on the table or a regular menu if you ask for it. Since I always get the same thing (usually), I really didn’t need a menu but still looked at it. Oh, one thing to know is that if you go the first night you get a free bottle of red or white wine per table. We always take advantage of that so we can take something back to the room and pour a glass before we go to bed. We do this, even though we have the drink package, because it’s convenient to not have to carry a glass of wine back to the room at the end of the night. Anyway, I ordered my usual: Risotto with mushrooms, French Onion soup, mashed potatoes with wasabi (this is the first time I haven’t seen Wasabi Mash on the menu, but they bring you side of wasabi to mix in it), spiced rib eye medium rare, red wine sauce, bearnaise sauce, and a cheesecake to take to my room.
First things first, they brought out a breadbasket with herb crusted butter and plain butter.
I always get the thin wafers. Diamond Tip: Don’t get too filled up on the starters and bread since you’ll be full by the time your main entree shows up! I’ll eat a little of the starters, but I still am full by the time my steak comes out. Anyway, so the bread is fine, and then they always bring the same Chef special appetizer which is a mini burger. A mini-Guy’s burger? LOL. We like the Guy’s burger better, but it’s cute.
Then, my risotto comes out. It’s somewhat flavorful but a bit undercooked since the risotto is crunchy.
The soup comes out, and it’s so hot, it’s steaming. I waited a while to even attempt to eat it, but I still almost burned my tongue. I asked them to give me a takeaway container so I could take to my room. Maybe it would cool off by the end of the evening. Kidding.
My husband Troy got the shrimp cocktail. The shrimps have shrunk about 25% since he first started ordering in 2010.
Now, comes the steak. Another Diamond tip:
As the steak, sauces (red wine and bearnaise are my favorite), Yukon gold potatoes with wasabi on the side, and mushrooms came out, I was already full. This happens every time. Like I said, go light on eating your starters because when the Reason you’re there in the first place arrives, you want to be able to eat it.
I cut right into my medium rare rib eye, and it was perfect. It’s a prime cut of meat that had a good amount of marbling. I love love eating the fat. It’s the most flavorful part and makes the whole steak juicy. It was just the right amount of pink but not too pink. I’m not sure if they put a Montreal steak seasoning blend on it, but it’s not too spicy but gives is the right amount of flavor.
The potatoes with wasabi was good. I guess it’s okay they don’t give you the wasabi mash anymore because you can make it as flavorful or as flavorfully HOT as you want it. The mushrooms were good. My husband said they’ve gone downhill. It’s always been a favorite of ours, but I notice they put a lot of regular button mushrooms in the mix now. I only ate about 5 or 6 bites of the steak. The server asked me if I wanted it go, but who wants cold steak? I said no. They asked if anything was wrong since I ate so little. Nothing wrong with it. I did notice that the Steakhouse Chef didn’t come out to see how our food was. That’s been sporadic for a while. It’s just something that makes you feel like they care you.’
Now, onto the dessert.
I ordered cheesecake for the room. I had it later, and it was really average. Barely a drizzle of anything on it. Very plain, and ‘in the day’ used to be twice the size. I know I keep referring to previous versions of things, but that’s natural. It seems like the food amount is half the size but twice the cost, which really makes it like you’re getting 200% less value than before.
What we had at the table was the apple tart and vanilla ice cream. It was good. Nothing different than a piece of pie and ice cream, but it was presented well, and was good. Oh, another thing they eliminated was MY FAVORITE-the cheese plate. That was what I got every single time. I believe it was on the Celebration in September, I couldn’t order it. Another cost cutting measure, with the prices going up. I have a whole lot of love for the cruise industry and it what it went through because of the pandemic, but now that we’re all sailing again, it’s hard to suffer for years because of that. That’s another blog waiting to happen.
Now to the verdict: Would I recommend going to the steakhouse? I would say YES. It’s definitely a great treat and relatively inexpensive. If you don’t know what it was like before, you’re going to enjoy it without a lot of ‘it used to BE’s’ going through your head. It was really empty the first night, but I heard it was booked for the night of Christmas. I think the law of supply and demand may stabilize the prices on Carnival for a lot of things, so I hope the steakhouse doesn’t go up anymore, or I won’t be going as much as I used to.
Before I go, a couple more Diamond tips: First, go to https://carnival.com and book the steakhouse before you get on the ship. That way you can get the day and time you want. I like eating early so I can hit the shows. Second tip/request, ‘tip’ well, if you can. These servers work really hard, every single day, for months on end. If you go to the steakhouse again, they’ll remember you well and give you even better service than before. Third, go to https://carnivalcruisehub.com/ship-spotlight-2/carnival-legend-2/ for more of my blogs about Carnival Legend! Fourth, go to my Youtube channel for more videos on my Carnival experiences http://www.youtube.com/@CarnivalCruiseHub.
Happy Eating!
