DINING GUIDE:
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The entrance to Le Bistro.
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Specialty Restaurants
Guests do not have to dine in either of the main dining rooms. As an alternative, guests can dine in one of the several specialty restaurants. Each of these venues seeks to present a different dining experience, not just in the food that it serves but in atmosphere. There is a cover charge for each of the specialty restaurants.
Le BistroLe Bistro is a much-loved institution on Norwegian ships. On Jewel, it is located in an intimate room on Deck 6 midships. The room is reminiscent of a 19th century upscale Parisian restaurant.
“French fine dining, classic fine dining. Escargot, Chateaubriand, onion soup, the classic dishes. Something that most people like and expect from a French cuisine. Still, a very popular restaurant.” The cover charge for Le Bistro is $20. |
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Asian RestaurantsImmediately above Le Bistro on Deck 7 is a complex that includes three Asian style restaurants. There are two Japanese-inspired venues, the Sushi Bar and the Teppanyaki Room, where chefs with flashing knives cook the meal as you watch.
The third restaurant in this complex, Chin Chin, is more difficult to describe. Some guests assume that it is a Chinese restaurant like the ones in almost every American town. “It is not a Chinese restaurant. It is a mix of Asian cuisine. You have all sorts of dishes on the menu and they are not typical Chinese dishes. It is not like beef chow mein and chop choy. It is nothing like that. Yes, you can have fried rice if you want to and you have some classic dishes there but it is a mixture of Asian cuisines from Thai to Indonesian, all kinds of flavors.” “It is my favorite restaurant because it is tasty and light food and it goes fast. For me that is ideal. And it is cooked really ala minute. It is the Asian style of cooking, which is always fresh and tasty.” Chin Chin has a cover charge of $15. The Teppanyaki Room is $25 and the Sushi Bar is priced ala carte. 
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Above: Chin Chin.
Below: The Teppanyaki Room 
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Cagney'sAnother Norwegian Cruise Lines' favorite is Cagney's. On the Jewel, it is located at the top of the ship on Deck 13 midships, which gives it impressive view both to starboard and to port.
Cagney's is an American style steakhouse. Indeed, perhaps to underscore a link to Chicago, which is known for its steakhouses, there are portraits of Prohibition era gangsters amidst this venue's otherwise sober décor. “In the steakhouse, you have other items on the menu but the reason most people go there is to have a nice piece of beef. You go there to enjoy a steak.” As of this writing (Spring 2013), the Jewel was preparing to implement a new menu at Cagney's. “There are quite some changes on it but the main thing there is the beef quality. We are going to work with certified Angus beef - - the really good quality certified Angus.” The cover charge for dinner at Cagney's, with the new menu, is $30. |
In addition to dinner, Cagney's is open for breakfast and lunch for guests staying in the ship's villas and penthouses. For these meals, the menus are not steakhouse-oriented, although steak is an option both on the breakfast menu and the lunch menu. Rather, the offerings have a wider scope including such things as kosher roast chicken half and flounder as well as lighter fare such as sword fish burgers. There is no cover charge. |
Mama's Kitchen
Aft on Deck 12 is Mama's Kitchen, the ship's Italian restaurant. The menu for this restaurant was upgraded in 2012.
“Who doesn't like Italian food - - pasta, pizza. A nice Oso Bucco, chicken parmigiana, - - the classic dishes. You do not have to re-invent that kitchen. That kitchen is good, very good.” “And the fresh bread that we bake, served with the different oils. If you go there you have to watch out because you might eat the bread and stuff yourself before you start dinner.” “It is also a family-style restaurant - - big tables, you go with the kids, order a couple of pizzas for the table, and you order some other dishes. We very often have the whole family, the table full of food and everybody enjoying it. And for a very reasonable price, you get fresh and tasty food.” Here, the cover charge is $15. |
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ModernoJewel's most recent addition to its line-up of specialty restaurants is the Moderno Churrascaria. It overlooks the ship's lobby from the location where Jewel's Mexican restaurant used to be.
“The Moderno was an addition to our options and to the selection of restaurants that we have. A good addition and a popular one.” Although churrascarias are sometimes referred to as Brazilian steakhouses, “it is not like you order a steak.” Rather, the menu at the Moderno is more like a program outlining what is to come than a traditional menu from which you order an appetizer and a main course. “You don't really have to order because it just comes.” The meal typically begins with a visit to the Moderno's buffet. “You can go to the buffet, get some soup, some salad and appetizers.” |
Then a series of waiters come by your table each carrying a different meat selection. “They start with for instance the chorizo sausages, then chicken breast, then lamb, and then there is beef including a filet mignon. You say no to what you don't like and they won't cut it. You can have as much as you like.”
Moderno's cover charge is $20. |
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We conclude with casual dining venues
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Cruise ship dining guide - - Norwegian Jewel - - Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) - page 2