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! :)

Specialty Dining on Norwegian- Moderno Review

Our visit to Moderno on the NCL Pearl was the third time we dined at this specialty venue and we enjoyed it yet again! The Pearl has a compact dining area for Moderno compared to the Getaway however, and the salad bar is noticeably smaller. The parade of meats was excellent and definitely up to the same high standards as the Getaway. Here is the current menu for Moderno:

The difference between the salad bar at Moderno on the Getaway and on the Pearl is not in quality-but in quantity. In contrast to Moderno on the Getaway the Pearl venue did not offer sushi, multiple cold salads, as many salad bar items, the same array of cheeses and meats or more than two soup choices. Now perhaps the Getaway and some of the larger ships have curtailed their selection since my last visit, but I know the Getaway, for example, had a very large area dedicated as a salad bar. My husband and son were disappointed that there was no sushi this time but that only meant that they ate more meat! :) The salad bar had plenty of traditional fixings, a nice variety of meats and cheeses, tasty marinated vegetables, various olives , shrimp cocktail and lots more yummy crudites and cold appetizers. Here is some of what we indulged on:

 How Moderno works is that you receive a card from your server-one side is green and one is red. You flip the card over from red to green when you are ready to have the meat severs come by and offer you pieces. Once you are full and ready to move onto dessert you can flip your card over to the red side. 

We did not feel rushed and took roughly two hours to enjoy our meal from start to finish. We began with the salad and soup, as well as their "bread" basket which is a small plate of Brazillian cheese bread. 

 Once we turned our cards to green we experienced many servers coming to our table offering all of the menu items for our indulgence. They all came around two to three times inquiring if we wanted more, so there was no need to nab more than a slice or two of each item as more would certainly be coming! In addition to the foods brought tableside there were side dishes offered and we could have them refilled as many times as we wished. My husband and son really liked the rice and ended up ordering that a few times while I always love the plantains. Here are some photos to make you drool: :)

 The picture above is of the famous grilled pineapple at Moderno which is so delicious! In addition to the meat selection we also got fish wrapped in banana leaves and sauteed shrimp. Dessert is decadent at Moderno, but there are unfortunately no choices sans dairy products. So, if you cannot eat dairy or consume lactose you will have to make the awesome grilled pineapple your dessert-which is still great! :) Here are some dessert photos:

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The cost of Moderno is a price fixe of of $24.95 per person, and you can use your SDP to pay for your meal as well. So after three visits to this magnificent restaurant I have come up with a few pros and cons to dining here, as well as some tips~

PROS

*The food is cooked and prepared extremely well, with a wide variety of choices for everyone (especially on the larger NCL ships).

*Dining at Moderno is a perfect opportunity for you or your children to try some new foods that you have never eaten before without getting a full entree.

*If you are a fan of beef, pork, chicken and even seafood this is your happy place!

CONS

*If you don't eat meat of any type and visit Moderno on a smaller ship, with a smaller salad bar, you may find it difficult to eat $24.95 worth of food. That being said, now that you know the menu you can contemplate whether or not you or your fellow cruisers will find the dining experience worth the extra cost.

*There are no desserts without dairy. While we have always been really too full from the barrage of meat at Moderno to truly relish dessert, it would be nice to see a dessert choice that is not rich and full of milk!

TIPS

*Make reservations! I know it's freestyle dining but if you want to ensure your visit to Moderno make a reservation. You can easily do this online 90 days before you embark (or 100 days prior to debarkation if you are in a suite). I have seen lots of annoyed cruisers who just show up to Moderno expecting to be seated at 7pm and are told there are either no seatings at all or to come back at 9 o'clock. I always reserve Moderno around 6 so we have plenty of time to enjoy the experience before the nightly shows and parties.

*Don't overeat at lunch the day you go to Moderno for dinner! I know, it is so hard not to eat every few hours on a cruise but if you indulge in lots of food and cocktails all day by the time you get to Moderno you will be too full to take in the experience enthusiastically. (I am speaking from experience! :) )

*If there is a certain dish you liked a lot and want more just ask! I have seen cruisers complain that no one came to their table with the sausage or filet more than once. Sometimes in the hecticness the servers may not come to your table more than once- just tell your main waiter or waitress to send them over! No problem!

I hope this short review of Moderno has helped you if you are considering dining at this delectable churrascaria. Please let me know if you have any questions or want to share your experience at Moderno! :)