Any recent Remy impressions? $125 seems steep...

[CampbellzSoup]

Hey fellow cruisers!

I had Palo for diner and let me tell you it was an experience and a half....

I really thought people hyped it up too much and things wouldn’t live up to the hype but man the diner was amazing...

which brings me to Remy! I can go to Palo THREE times for one Remy! I ask my fellow cruisers and foodies did you walk out thinking that was worth it!

thanks everyone!

 

[Snowwhyt]

If I may expand on your question...
Does Remy offer brunch, and how does that compare to Palo?

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Hey fellow cruisers!

I had Palo for diner and let me tell you it was an experience and a half....

I really thought people hyped it up too much and things wouldn’t live up to the hype but man the diner was amazing...

which brings me to Remy! I can go to Palo THREE times for one Remy! I ask my fellow cruisers and foodies did you walk out thinking that was worth it!

thanks everyone!

OK, my disclaimer is I've never eaten at Remy, but I probably never will. I thought the price was too high when it was $85. And I'm not a foodie. As long as food is not burned or overly seasoned, I'm good.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

If I may expand on your question...
Does Remy offer brunch, and how does that compare to Palo?

Yes, there is a brunch, but it's all table service, with courses, not the buffet-style service as in Palo.

 

[Snowwhyt]

OK, my disclaimer is I've never eaten at Remy, but I probably never will. I thought the price was too high when it was $85. And I'm not a foodie. As long as food is not burned or overly seasoned, I'm good.

I’m definitely a foodie, and so is my daughter. So I hope someone is willing to still offer a comparison that actually has been to both?

 

[VictoriaAndMatt]

We have only done Remy brunch and Palo dinner. We are doing Remy dinner and Palo brunch this time. Remy was the best meal/dining experience we have ever had and would not hesitate to do it every cruise. We aren’t foodies and really aren’t very adventurous, but agreed we would eat anything they gave us just to say we had the complete experience. There wasn’t a single thing we didn’t love. Including things we don’t normally like. Yes, it’s expensive, but much less than the same type of dining experience off of the ship.

 

[PrincessAriel14]

So my husband and I are definitely foodies. Palo is very good, especially the Chocolate soufflé, but it doesn’t hold a candle to Remy in our opinion. We did Remy with the wine pairing and it cost us around $400-500 by the time we tipped the servers. I never thought I’d be ok with spending that much money on food, but I immediately felt it was worth every penny. There was an American chef menu and a French chef menu (pre selected courses) or you can pick individual items. Our server suggested one of us pick the American and one pick the French and share all the dishes. We followed that advice and it was the best meal I’ve ever had! Each dish was well explained and delicious and each wine was perfectly paired. We 100% are doing the same thing on our next cruise.

 

[Disneypeach]

Granted I'm not a super foodie but I've travelled all over the US and Europe and experienced lots of different cuisines. I've done both Remy dinner and Palo dinner enjoying them both but Remy was the best dinner I've ever experienced in a restaurant. There was food I would never have chosen on my own but I loved all of it! Service was fantastic. Palo is also great but it is more "expected" food choices. I'd do both again.

My sister has done both Palo bunch and Remy bunch and while she thoroughly enjoyed Palo, she loved Remy. I've only done Palo bunch so can't compare but I given my Remy dinner experience, I'd try Remy bunch at least once given the opportunity.

 

[CampbellzSoup]

Thanks everyone again this is the greatest community ever!

if you walked out spending $500 and felt good THATS impressive!

 

[kiford]

Just came back last week from the Fantasy and did Remy brunch and dinner. Brunch was fantastic but dinner exceeded it by far. We spent much more than $500 for dinner but I did the champagne pairing (awesome), DH did the wine pairing, and DH had the caviar upcharge (so cute - they put it on the plate in a vague rat shape - only place you could get away with doing that and not offend the guests).

I'm allergic to seafood so they modified or substituted dishes at brunch which is a pre-set selection. The beurre blanc on the asparagus at brunch was sooo good. I don't know why they didn't give us a spoon but I did my best to scoop it all up with a fork.

For dinner, I had the American menu with substitutions for the seafood and DH did the French menu. I've heard the staff sometimes suggest doing this so that you can share but there was no way I was sharing anything and DH felt the same way. It's mine, all mine.

If you're not really into food, then the price might be a bit steep but for us it's all about the experience and one that we don't typically get more than once or twice a year if we're lucky. We live in a relatively small town and while there are some very nice restaurants, there's nothing of this calibre. We'd have to drive a couple of hours to find something equivalent and that's just not going to happen on any kind of frequent basis. So we indulge on vacation.

EDIT: we've done Palo brunch and dinner many times too and we do like it but it's just not in the same league as Remy. We've done Remy dinner 3 times, brunch twice and the dessert experience once. We've been to Victoria & Albert's 10-12 times and Remy is in the same category although V&A has the ability to source fresh items and change their menu more frequently so has a slight edge over Remy IMO. Although our server also told us that Arnaud Lallement (French chef) will be on board in the next couple of weeks and may be changing the menu.

 

[jdb in AZ]

I "justified" the expense of Remy dinner by comparing to it to a shore excursion. We've paid more for off-the-ship excursions. DH and I don't drink alcohol so our bill wasn't as high as it could've been. The food and impeccable service were a fun adventure. The ambience was great too. It's not something we would splurge on every cruise, but it was definitely a memorable experience.

DH and I are gold CC members, and we've been to Palo brunch and dinner. When we become platinum members we'll enjoy the freebie Palo meal, but probably won't go back to Palo before then.

 

[Lisa F]

loving all of this great feedback. I'm traveling solo as a single parent (so not alone but alone for adult activity purposes) and opted to do the two brunches feeling it would be less weird (less intimate, date night feeling during the day than at night). I've done Palo brunch several times as I cruised up to gold status on the classic ships prior to 2005 so I know what I am getting there but REALLY wanted to try Remy. Glad to see some good feedback on the brunch as well as dinner. Longing a bit to try to the dinner too but the larger volume of food (I can't eat that much, brunch seems more manageable) the longer time for the meal, and missing out on a dinner with my son along with anxiety about being a solo diner in a date-night atmosphere is stopping me, but you people are not helping!!!

 

[TortoiseTaughtUs]

Since 2018 we've had dinner at Remy once each on the Dream and Fantasy (with the same server and sommelier both times, which was funny), and had Palo brunch and dinner on the Fantasy and the Wonder. I personally find Palo/DCL food in general to be mediocre, but Remy's legitimately one of our favorite restaurants. We also treat it like an excursion when budgeting and let them upsell us on the caviar and Miyazaki beef and whatnot. There have been courses I liked more than others, but I can honestly say I have yet to be disappointed by a dish, the service, or the ambiance.

 

[jdb in AZ]

loving all of this great feedback. I'm traveling solo as a single parent (so not alone but alone for adult activity purposes) and opted to do the two brunches feeling it would be less weird (less intimate, date night feeling during the day than at night). I've done Palo brunch several times as I cruised up to gold status on the classic ships prior to 2005 so I know what I am getting there but REALLY wanted to try Remy. Glad to see some good feedback on the brunch as well as dinner. Longing a bit to try to the dinner too but the larger volume of food (I can't eat that much, brunch seems more manageable) the longer time for the meal, and missing out on a dinner with my son along with anxiety about being a solo diner in a date-night atmosphere is stopping me, but you people are not helping!!!

Not to make your decision harder, but the portions at Remy are really small, to leave you room for more courses.

 

[fredandkell]

Curious to hear from those who live in big cities. I haven’t done Remy because I live in a major city with access to multiple fine dining establishments.

 

[jdb in AZ]

As mentioned above-thread, the food at Remy can't be as fresh as V&A because markets aren't available in the middle of the ocean. That said, the Remy chefs certainly know what they're doing. Palo-quality food is readily available here in the Phoenix area, especially if you know which restaurants to try, but Remy has a variety of upscale dishes that are hard to beat. And no, Remy is not so gourmet frou frou that it would turn off meat and potatoes people.

 

[MinnesotaMouseketeers]

My wife and I have had dinner at Remy on three different occasions. The first time was just us two when it was $99.00 I believe. The second time was cruising over Christmas and our son was along. This was the first time he was old enough to dine in either Remy of Palo. By that time the cost had gone up to $125.00. We thought this would be our last time dining at Remy.

But, the third and LAST TIME dining at Remy was last year. Wife, son and me again and another couple with their daughter. This was there second DCL cruise, first time on the Magic the second on the Dream and they really wanted to go to Remy for dinner and we joined them. All three times we really enjoyed the experience and loved the food but we can't justify the cost any longer.

In my honest opinion if you're on the fence line, if you have never tried dinner at Remy I would highly recommend it at least once. As I mentioned earlier, we did enjoy Remy but the cost is a little too steep for us to go back again. We will be perfectly happy going to Palo on our future cruises.

 

[ScooterScott44]

We have only been able to do Remy for dinner, no brunch, but have done both Palo brunch and dinner plenty of times. My two cents are that Remy is about as close to Victoria & Alberts as you can get while still being on a cruise. It has the pace and feel of dining at V&A. The food is not quite the same since you are on a ship and are at the mercy of what you can get onboard. But it is still even a step above Palo. I’ll share that the French menu has much more subtle flavors than the American. As for the price, I think that DCL is currently pushing it to the limit and therefore we skipped it the last time we were on a Dream class ship.

Didn’t the Remy chef just win an award recently?

 

[hecmd23]

I haven’t been to Palo, so I cannot compare the two, but if you enjoy degustation meals, then Remy is worth a try. Like everyone is saying, it is like V&A since Chef Hunnel created half of Remy’s menu but it is just 5 courses compared to V&As 10. These are small portions, and it really is more of an experience, like each bite or plate takes you somewhere. I chose Gout, since I enjoy french cuisine, and was a feast to the taste buds. My wife chose the other menu, and she loved it as well. We recently got off the Dream a month ago and had a lovely experience (I would say the wine pairing is so worth it, and they have a very knowledgeable sommelier, at least on our sailing), and we will booking again on our next couple sailings within the year.

 

[Mcert01]

Hey fellow cruisers!

I had Palo for diner and let me tell you it was an experience and a half....

I really thought people hyped it up too much and things wouldn’t live up to the hype but man the diner was amazing...

which brings me to Remy! I can go to Palo THREE times for one Remy! I ask my fellow cruisers and foodies did you walk out thinking that was worth it!

thanks everyone!

As as "Once In A Lifetime" event, absolutely YES! We have been to Palo and love it. However, it isn't in the same league as Remy. Remy isn't just dining, its an experience. Think Victoria and Alberts at sea. The food was spectacular. It is really art. The service was beyond remarkable. We also added the wine pairing, which took it way over the top. We had such a great time. We will never forget it. Would we do it again? If we hit the lottery, sure. Was it worth the money? Absolutely. No regrets, just great memories.