MSC Virtuosa - our favourite restaurants and bars
With 21 different bars and a choice of 10 dining venues MSC Virtuosa offers a range of options for passing the hours, either eating a nice meal or with a drink in hand. We recently sailed on the inaugural 4 day cruise and made it our mission to visit as many of the bars and restaurants as we could in the time we had. Whilst we may not have got round to them all these are a flavour of some of our favourites.
Dining:
Butcher’s Cut:
Butcher’s Cut is a firm MSC favourite speciality restaurant. An American style Steak House it seats 58 guests on the Virtuosa and is located in the upper Galleria, mid ships on deck 7. Decorated in a traditional Steak house style with plenty of dark wood and sultry lighting, most of the seating is inside the restaurant but there are a few tables out on the balcony overlooking the Galleria. We pre-booked the two venue dining experience which along with a visit to Indochine cost us £62. However, there is the option to visit Butchers Cut once on the ship at a cost of £43 for the dining experience. This offers guests a 3 course meal from a set menu offering 5 choices per course, including Steak house classics filet mignon or a sirloin steak and chocolate lava cake or New York cheesecake. There is also an a la carte menu but at an average cost of about £70 each for 3 courses the dining experience offers much better value for money. Butcher’s Cut is also open for a reasonably priced brunch offering some delicious looking American style breakfast plates (we didn’t have time to try this unfortunately).
We thoroughly enjoyed our meal here, the filet mignon was melt in the mouth good and the service excellent and would recommend splashing out on a meal here if you fancy a change to the main dining room or have something to celebrate.
Indochine:
Indochine is a new to MSC Cruises speciality dining venue, which at the moment is only available on the Virtuosa. Located inside the L’Atelier Arts bar, it is a light and airy venue with large porthole windows and lush velvet seating. It offers modern Vietnamese cuisine with a classic French twist with the dining experience set menu costing £54 each and an a la carte menu which would average out about the same price. Thankfully we had pre-booked the two venue dining experience so it didn’t cost us this much and whilst the food was delicious and there was certainly plenty of it, we did think this was a little overpriced.
We started with two plates of spring rolls for the table to share, one plate hot fried spring rolls and another of cold salad spring rolls both served with a peanut, hoisin and sweet chilli sauce. The appetisers that came next were large with a choice of calamari, papaya salad, Indonesian soup or a snapper carpaccio. The main choice was beef bo bun, pork belly, cod papillote or noodles and a choice of sides. These were all delicious (we would especially recommend the pork belly) and the sides really weren’t necessary, there was so much food and we could only eat half of our plates of food. For dessert we all chose the Vietnamese custard which was like a creme caramel and was a lovely sweet little finisher to our delicious meal. If you fancy eating here we would definitely recommend pre-booking the two venue dining package which includes a meal here and in Butcher’s Cut.
Hola Tacos & Cantina:
Hola is another new to MSC cruises speciality venue, again only available on the Virtuosa at the moment. It is located in the main Galleria and offers Latin American street food. Inside is very colourful with a range of table and bar stool style seating and offers a very relaxed dining experience. The menu is varied, offering small plates of nachos, tacos, quesadillas, salsa and guacamole and larger plates of enchilada, burrito and tamales. To finish this all off are a range of Mexican desserts, including churros and ice cream tacos.
All of the dishes are reasonably priced but we would recommend the ‘all you can eat’ offer which is very well priced at £16.99 each. You order the food as you want it and you can just keep ordering plates of food until you can take no more. We went for lunch on a sea day and ended up being there for two and a half hours just ordering more and more of the irresistible food. My only regret is that the churros were unavailable when we went and I ate too much to fit in an ice cream taco - make sure you pace your self! Of all the speciality dining options this was our favourite and if you only do one additional cost meal, make it this one, you won’t regret it.
Kaito Sushi and Teppanyaki:
Kaito Sushi and Teppanyaki restaurant is located on the upper deck of the Galleria with Kaito offering a few seats at the sushi bar and some overlooking the Galleria, and Teppanyaki offering only 16 seats round the food preparation bar. We went to Kaito for lunch and shared a sushi and sashimi platter between two of us. We found this enough for lunch and this gave us a good selection of sushi. As with all sushi bars there is a variety of small plates, all reasonably priced, as well as combination plates and a dining experience priced at £31 each.
Teppanyaki is very popular and we would recommend booking this is early if you want to do this. It is more than a dining venue, rather an evenings entertainment as the chefs show off their knife and cooking skills in front of you before you get to enjoy the fruits of their labour.
Jean Phillipe Crepes and Gelato:
Standing either side of the middle of deck six Galleria are the chocolatey heaven Jean Phillipe Cafe snd the gelato and creperie bar. The chocolate cafe and shop is the perfect place to buy gifts, eat chocolate and sweet treats, or indulge in the most delicious hot chocolates. Not only is this somewhere for chocoholics to come and be relieved of their hard earned cash, it is also a place to stand and marvel at the chocolate makers practising their art.
Opposite the cafe is the most tempting of places in the Galleria, the creperie and gelato bar. Offering a multitude of toppings for the delicious crepes, indulgent milkshakes and too many flavours of mouth-watering gelato to be able to only visit once, this is a must stop venue for anyone with a sweet tooth. Although none of the offerings in the Jean Phillipe cafe or creperie and gelato bar are included in any of the MSC packages they are quite reasonably priced for a little daily treat.
Bars:
Sky Lounge:
Although it was a fiercely contested battle, our most favourite bar on the ship had to be the Sky Lounge. Located in the middle of the ship on deck 18 overlooking the outside pool area, this is an adult only bar specialising in molecular cocktails (although there are plenty of other drinks on offer here) and live music, often with a jazz vibe. There are large floor to ceiling glass windows and comfortable sofas which make this the perfect place to come and relax with a good book during the day as well as pre and post dinner for a cocktail and some chilled live music.
Virtuosa bar:
The Virtuosa Bar is located just outside the entrance to the Theatre in the Galleria and is the opposite in feel to the Sky Lounge. This is a lively bar with a band playing late into the night and a large dance floor for the more energetic of the guests. We loved stopping here for a quick drink or two after the show in the theatre and enjoyed not just the music from the band, but the company of the entertainers milling around to encourage the guests to join in with the dancing and themed nights.
L’Atelier Bar:
L’Atelier Bar is also in the Galleria but is a much quieter, more relaxed venue. The walls are adorned with artwork for the guests to enjoy whilst seated on the very comfortable lounge style seating. The bar offers small tapas style snacks (at additional cost) to enjoy with your drinks. There is also a small dance floor and live music every evening but the theme here is much more classical with the dance style more traditional.
Masters of the Sea:
Masters of the Sea is the British style pub located on the upper deck of the Galleria, also just outside of the theatre. Whilst most of the seating is inside the ‘pub’ there are a few tables located on the promenade for guests to take in the entertainment and busyness of the Galleria. The offerings here are typically pub-like, mostly offering beers, ales and wines but we also loved the cider/beer cocktails - give them a try. This venue also offers traditional pub style food at a small additional charge for those who need their fix of fish and chips or burger and fries.
Champagne bar:
The Champagne bar is located on deck 7 at the atrium end of the Galleria. This is a large bar spanning the width of the ship, focusing on champagnes and fine wines but also serving up the wider drinks menu. There are a range of comfortable chairs and being close too the atrium it is a popular place for people to gather during the day and late into the night.
Infinity bar:
The Infinity bar is located on deck 5 at the bottom of the three storey atrium, close to guest relations and the shore excursion desk. It again spans the entire width of the ship but is much more sultry than the other two bars above it, having no natural light coming in. At the moment there is restricted seating in this area which makes this a really intimate venue with guests seated in front of the grand piano where live music is played during the day with the addition of a singer in the evening.
Starship Club:
The Starship Club is located above the Infinity bar on deck 6 of the main atrium. There is a futuristic design to this bar which is also home to Rob the robotic bartender, who for an additional cost will mix you up a personalised cocktail in a keepsake glass. Like the Champagne bar there is plenty of comfortable seating around the bar area making it a popular space to relax during the day and late into the night. Although Rob is the main attraction in the bar there are other crew around ready and willing to take an ‘ordinary’ bar order. This area also features an interactive desk for guests to test their galactic knowledge.
Tropical bar:
The Tropical bar is located in the indoor pool and solarium area on deck 15 and gets onto our favourite bar list for two reasons. Firstly it has the most enigmatic and slightly crazy bar team (see photo below) and secondly it serves the most delicious frozen cocktails which are just perfect after a swim in one of the pools on this deck or after a soak in the stunning cantilevered hot tubs in the solarium.
Horizon bar:
Although we didn’t get to visit the Horizon bar on our voyage because the weather was so awful, we can’t help but resist an aft bar, perfect for enjoying a sun downer cocktail on a balmy seas day as the sun is setting. On the Virtuosa the Horizon bar is situated overlooking the three staged decks that lead down to the aft pool and gives some lovely wake views.
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If you enjoyed this blog why not take a look at our ‘Top 5 Fun Things to do on MSC Virtuosa’
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