I ate so much good food on my Royal Caribbean cruise aboard Star of the Seas. In fact, a few were really fantastic.
Every cruise has a wide variety of food, and I'll admit I often go on cruises purely for the food. The destinations it visits are great, the shows are wonderful, but all the food brings me back each and every time.
If there's one area you'll notice an improvement with a new vs old cruise ship, it's the food. Royal Caribbean has steadily upped its food game over the years, and each new ship represents a step forward with new options.
After 7 nights on Star of the Seas for a spring break cruise, here are the seven dishes I ordered that I couldn't get enough of during my voyage.
I ordered the chicken parmigiana at Giovanni's Italian twice, because it was so good
My staple for any Italian restaurant is chicken parmigiana, because it's reliably good and can be used as a barometer for the restaurant as a whole.
We ate at Giovanni's Italian Kitchen twice during our cruise (because we had a dining package), and I ordered this dish twice.
The chicken parm here was huge, had a good mix of sauce and cheese, and the chicken wasn't rubbery, too flat, or tough.
I ordered a side of spaghetti to go with it, but it came with spaghetti and it was just the right amount to compliment the chicken.
All the food at Giovanni's is freshly prepared, and this is one of many dishes I love with the new menu offered. Shout out to the margherita pizza, giant meatball, and house salad as being really good too.
I always order the sushi platter at Izumi as one of my dishes
I'm no stranger to Izumi sushi on any ship, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't love the sushi on Star of the Seas too.
When you eat at Izumi, you have the choice of a few different small dishes, entrees, and dessert. Regardless of how many times I eat here, I think I always order at least one sushi platter.
There are two choices: Chef's Sushi Selection and Assorted Sashimi. The difference is nigiri vs sashimi rolls, and depending on my mood, I might pick one over the other.
On this occasion, I went with the Chef's Sushi Selection because the rice seemed like a good idea.
Not only is this a tasty option, but it's also an excellent value for how many rolls you get for the price.
I started ordering a chocolate croissant at Pearl Cafe with my morning coffee
I'm not a breakfast guy. I need have an iced coffee everyday and that's usually it until lunch.
But if we have shore plans, I'll grab something to eat so I'm not hangry at 10:30. The chocolate croissant from Pearl Cafe looked nice, so I ordered it. And then I ordered it again every single day the offered it.
Pearl Cafe seems to alternate between two breakfast menus each day, so I could only have the chocolate croissant every other day.
I love the combination of a buttery croissant with the richness of chocolate.
I've had similar pastries on other European cruises, and Royal Caribbean's version is pretty darn good. Tasty, quick, and the perfect compliment to my coffee.
The internet said the smash burger at Basecamp is the best, but I didn't believe them. They were so right
Last year we asked our readers for the best snacks on Royal Caribbean, and so many people said the smash burger was it.
I was skeptical that it was that good, or that it could be better than the burger at the Windjammer.
I was so wrong.
Basecamp has quickly become one of the best restaurant ideas to come out of the Icon Class, and I think the smash burger is a great example.
Smash burgers are regular burgers, but pressed into a super hot griddle until it gets a deeply caramelized crispy crust. Add onions, lettuce, pickles, and a tomato, and you get a winner.
I grabbed one for a late-afternoon snack and I was really impressed how good it tasted. Not only was it better than the Windjammer burgers, but after wolfing one down, I wanted another.
The best steak on Star of the Seas is the filet mignon at Hooked
I recently came around to liking Hooked Seafood again after years of hating on it, and the filet mignon is a top reason why.
You can make arguments for the filet mignon from Chops, Coastal Kitchen, or Giovanni's being the best steak on the ship. But I really think Hooked was the best I had.
It's simple, but it's a generous sized cut of meat and cooked well.
I think I like the seasoning they use primarily as the difference maker. I'm not a "sauce on my steak" guy.
Ultimately, I think this steak doesn't try to do too much, and because it's a decent sized cut, is something I'd order any day.
Shout out for the blackened salmon, which is also quite good!
The Playmakers chicken tenders became my ultimate comfort food
Our cruise went over the NCAA Basketball March Madness tournament, so I found myself spending a lot of time in Playmakers Sports Bar.
The chicken tenders are giant hunks of breaded chicken, and I think it pairs so well with the BBQ sauce you can get to go with them.
Every time I went to Playmakers, I'd order them. Even when I was just there for a drink. It's a solid meal in and of itself, as well as being the kind of snack you can pick at.
Plus, it's served with french fries that are equally addictive to snack on while watching a game and drinking a beer.
While the nachos, burger, and crunch rolls at Playmakers are all quite tasty, I found it was the tenders I wanted to have first, every time.
I had at least 3 or 4 falafel bowls from Aquadome Market, because it was both good and didn't make me feel guilty
It's easier to snack if you can tell yourself it's "healthy", and that's exactly what I did at Aquadome Market.
Royal Caribbean's food hall is my favorite included restaurant, and I think I must have gone up there at least 3 or 4 times during my cruise. It might have been more.
The Feta hall has the option of falafel, chicken, or pork to be used in a pita or bowl.
I used to order the pita bread, but it's nearly impossible to eat without making a giant mess all over yourself. I switched to the bowl to make it more manageable and then justified having more because there were less carbs.
I'm all for dishes made fresh and customized the way I want it. All veggies, no feta, extra hummus.
I wish they'd make the falafel fresh rather than in batches, but it's still so darn satisfying.
