Norwegian Pearl Garden Cafe Buffet/ Main Dining Room Overview

The night we ate in the main dining room, Indigo, on the Norwegian Pearl I decided to compare what was in the MDR to the buffet offerings that evening. I have always read on cruise sites that the main dining rooms and buffet essentially offered the same food~but I wondered if this was truly the case. So, here is an account of the MDR menu, and some food photos of our meal, as well as a complete photo gallery of the buffet that night! My son helped me by taking all the pictures. :) Above is the prime rib from the menu (my meal)-which was very tasty. It was not as good as Cagney's, however, but it was well cooked and seasoned nicely. Here is the menu from that night for the MDR's:

Here is the vegetable tempura appetizer:

 And the crab and cheese souffle:

Both appetizers were delicious and we really enjoyed our experience in Indigo. The atmosphere is casual compared to The Summer Palace dining room, nice shorts are okay. :) Now here are all the photos from the buffet that night, which you hopefully can zoom in to see the foods. First are some photos of the sandwich fixings, hot dogs, hamburgers, nacho and taco bar and fruit:

 Here is the cream of broccoli soup and french onion soup, which were both on the menu that night:

 The yummy breads which are varied compared to the bread basket in the main dining room. All the bread is fresh baked too! :)

 Here are some cheeses, fruit and crudites:

 Here are some panini sandwiches and cold prepared salads:

 Various hot foods are in these photos:

 Yes there is a bar with wine and beer in the buffet!

Desserts are here:

 This dessert was in the MDR and was really good! :)

 Crepes are offered in the evening buffet!

 We did find a few similarities at the buffet and MDR-I did not get a good shot of the prime rib and carving station though. As for how similar they were I would say there were definite differences. For example, a Mexican theme seemed to be at the buffet whereas the MDR had menu items along those lines the night before. The soups were the same, as were many traditional accompaniments in the way of salad, etc. If you or your fellow cruisers wants the option of getting hot dogs, pizza (which is very good at the buffet), a full salad bar and crepes then the buffet is the place to dine. If your party members want a sit down meal with likely some different choices from the buffet, as well as table service then the main dining room works best! Either way you cannot go wrong on the Norwegian Pearl! :)