Remy, The Sweets
As if consuming so many rich dishes and foods wasn't enough, Remy tops off the evening with more works of art--their desserts. Generally, we don't have room to consume all these, and this night was no exception, though I must say we managed (read: I managed) to mostly finish them. We did NOT have room to eat the chocolates they still bring to your table after the main meal and sweets. All the desserts were good, but the small cake with the chocolate arch was superb.
Chocolate bark with cranberry gels
Some sort of mousse/lava cake with vanilla creme
Pistachio and chocolate tart with fruit "rollups"
Chocolates to take with you. . .which we did. . .which were also excellent
To sum up the Remy part of our trip, I would give the following advice. If you enjoy fine dining, artfully created food, near perfectly prepared dishes, service second to none, and particularly want to spend a romantic 2.5 - 3 hour meal with your partner, then Remy is a gem that ranks up there with Victoria & Albert's at about half the cost. You are treated royally which, alone, is nearly worth the price of admission. For example, we both wore darker holiday colors, so the white napkins were immediately changed out for black. Moreover, they provide you with a small stool to hold a purse. And when
Luv excused herself to visit the ladies' room, they effortlessly took her napkin and then replaced it when she returned. If you've not been, I urge you to try it. You won't be disappointed.
HOWEVER, I will now add a counterargument to dining at Remy. We first dined at Remy several years ago when the cost was $75. It was a fabulous experience and such a steal at that price. A couple of years after that, the price had risen to $85 which was still an exceptional price. Two years later, the price jumped to $95, and we dined alone all evening. Literally, there were no other patrons the entire night, thus we had the entire staff waiting on us, and Chef Patrick came out to speak with us for a time. Still, the experience justified the cost. Now, the price has jumped to $125, and I'd be surprised if there's not another hike in the coming months. So, the cost for two (without wine) jumped from $150 to $250.
Is that still a reasonable cost for such a fantastic meal? I'd give it a qualified "yes." The food is still remarkable, and the service is unmatched. Yet, we found a few small missteps that will make us think long and hard about attempting another Remy meal. While the food was, indeed, better than most other fine dining restaurants we've had over the years, a couple lacked finesse and seemed uninspired. For example, though my Wagyu strip was very good, it was a bit tougher than it should have been and wasn't presented with any real wow factor as you can tell in the picture from the previous post. The gnocchi/ravioli dish was also a bit listless, though it looked gorgeous. Our service was also very good; however, our main server lingered too much over the descriptions of each dish--every one was lovingly detailed, too much to be frank. And while we know the best ingredients were used in making these dishes, you don't have to remind us every single time you present the next course. Am I being picky? Yes, a bit, and I no way mean to diminish his efforts other than he was simply overly zealous at times.
Those few small items then begs the question: "Is this meal still worth $125 per person?" If I'm bluntly honest, it was not for us this trip. While a great meal, it was a bit of a slog for us this time around. Perhaps we were jaded by the fact this was our 4th time in Remy; perhaps we were put off by the whole rocking and rolling ship thing by this time. Whatever the reasons, we left having enjoyed ourselves but not believing it was quite worth the cost anymore
for us. So, while I do still recommend Remy overall, especially for those who have not tried it, I think we'll give it pass on our next cruise. . .then again, by the time that next cruise comes around, we may change our minds.
Coming next: At sea day!