How are the chicken, salmon and steak?

[foolish-mortal]

On every MDR menu it lists steak, salmon or chicken that you can order if you don't want one of the regular dinners. I believe they come with rice or a baked potato. How are they? Not expecting 5 star but are they on par with the other dinners on the menu? Thanks!

 

[soniam]

They are fairly bland. The steak isn’t the best cut, no filet mignon. My son gets the steak, but he likes well done bland steak and bland food in general. The rice is just plain white rice. The other dishes are better.

 

[Rob1872]

My son tried the salmon once and didn't like it. I tried a bite and it was fine; he just was used to fish with a milder taste. Not as fancy as some of the main entree options, but perfectly acceptable if you don't like anything on the menu.

As a side note, this experience was what made me realize that the Head Server is doing more than some people give them credit for. (I've heard people comment, "Why do I tip the Head Server? They just walk by once a night.") When my son tried the salmon and didn't like it, the Head Server realized there was a problem before my wife and I even did. He immediately came over to our table, asked my son what else he might like, and had a chicken breast and rice out in less than a minute.

 

[tvguy]

They are fairly bland. The steak isn’t the best cut, no filet mignon. My son gets the steak, but he likes well done bland steak and bland food in general. The rice is just plain white rice. The other dishes are better.

Given how many of the passengers are children, I suspect every menu item is going to be more on the bland side. Just out of necessity. Sort of like Disney parks. How many plates of buttered pasta do they serve in the parks? A lot.

 

[Karin1984]

I had the chicken once. It was the worst meal of my cruise.

There was nothing else on the menu that appealed to me, so I opted for the chicken. It was so bland, I dont think they even used a bit of salt, I ate a few bites, left the remainder on the plate and ordered an extra dessert.

 

[kiford]

I think it's kind of intended to be bland for those people who have to cut out all salt, don't like seasoned food, just want something plain, etc. Our friend often ordered the steak but asked for steamed veggies and whatever potato might have been available for other dishes and liked it. Me, I like a well-seasoned steak and specific cuts, so it wouldn't work for me, but that's his particular taste. If there is a sauce on one of the other dishes, it is probably also possible to ask for that on the side to add some flavour. I would never ask for something on the side instead of the rice unless it's already on the menu with another dish, but I think you could mix and match with something that's already available to dress up the plate even if the protein is itself plain.

 

[soniam]

Given how many of the passengers are children, I suspect every menu item is going to be more on the bland side. Just out of necessity. Sort of like Disney parks. How many plates of buttered pasta do they serve in the parks? A lot.

Bland steak and buttered noodles. 2 of the things my 17 year old loves the most Ironically, it's kind of hard to get buttered pasta in the parks. They are always wanting to add tomato sauce or Alfredo. I personally do love buttered noodles, but it's not something I eat much of anymore. I do think those items are specifically there for people who want bland or have special dietary needs. Glad they are there, or our son would hate cruising.

 

[tvguy]

Bland steak and buttered noodles. 2 of the things my 17 year old loves the most Ironically, it's kind of hard to get buttered pasta in the parks. They are always wanting to add tomato sauce or Alfredo. I personally do love buttered noodles, but it's not something I eat much of anymore. I do think those items are specifically there for people who want bland or have special dietary needs. Glad they are there, or our son would hate cruising.

My wife wanted to order spaghetti without sauce for our picky son at Disneyland and the staff said they do that all the time, or with just butter. As the staff member put it, "this is Disneyland and lots of kids don't like pasta sauce"

 

[Erica1016]

If I don’t care for the entrees, I’ve asked for appetizers as an entree. For example, I don’t love the entrees on the Pirate a night menu, but I love the crab cakes. So, I get samosas as an appetizer and ask for two crab cakes as my main. No problem!

 

[tink1970]

If you're like me and really don't care for (or have a zillion reactions to-not allergies!--NO I DON'T WANT THE ALLERGY MENUS) a lot of extraneous sauces/spices etc, then they're fine...bland, boring, fine...nothing special. I actually order the chicken 50% of the time since I'm just picky...and the kid's mac and cheese the other times, lol. It's nothing exciting and provide basic protein. I do add a lot of salt and pepper but frankly I eat to live not live to eat so it's definitely not going to be great or even good...but does the job.

 

[CaptainMarvel]

My mom is a very picky eater (prefers simpler/plainer recipes, extremely hesitant trying dishes with unfamiliar ingredients or spices, loves STRONG singular flavors--this is hard to explain on the internet, but she is someone who can eat basil like its lettuce) and she loved the baked salmon from the lighter notes section of the menu (had it six out of seven nights on our recent Wonder cruise). She DROWNED it in lemon, which is not going to be everyone's thing, but she very much looked forward to her salmon, double portion of plain steamed vegetables, baked potato with butter, and side of lemon every night.

So, to go back to your initial question OP, I (an adventurous, not at all picky, eater) don't consider the lighter notes salmon/chicken/steak to be on the same level as the rest of the menu, but they can certainly do the job for some people, be it picky eaters, or just someone who is having a hard time finding anything appealing on a particular menu.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

On every MDR menu it lists steak, salmon or chicken that you can order if you don't want one of the regular dinners. I believe they come with rice or a baked potato. How are they? Not expecting 5 star but are they on par with the other dinners on the menu? Thanks!

I often have the chicken. I think it's good. I agree it's fairly bland, but you could order an extra side of something that's already on the menu, if you want. How it comes can vary -

 

[DisneyConvert]

On every MDR menu it lists steak, salmon or chicken that you can order if you don't want one of the regular dinners. I believe they come with rice or a baked potato. How are they? Not expecting 5 star but are they on par with the other dinners on the menu? Thanks!

I am not a big meat eater, BUT I do like a nice grilled steak now and then. I also like grilled salmon with the searing and carmelization, etc.

No grilling or open fires on DCL (maybe Palo?), so good luck on that. Most everything is baked or pan-fried. Some items are very tasty, but I generally
pass on the beef. Ymmv.

 

[cinnamoroll]

They brought the wrong salmon one time and the plate looked really unappetizing. The salmon was charred at the top and looked really dry. It came with a plain baked potato and 2 asparagus. No sauce, nothing else.

 

[CaseyCruiser]

On every MDR menu it lists steak, salmon or chicken that you can order if you don't want one of the regular dinners. I believe they come with rice or a baked potato. How are they? Not expecting 5 star but are they on par with the other dinners on the menu? Thanks!

The food is generally very good. I usually ask the head waiter for a recommendation. They know the best choices.

 

[71 Truck]

I had the steak a few years ago and it was fine. It was probably seared on a flat top grill. It was not as good as a specialty steak house steak but considering it is prepared almost as an assembly line/banquet meal it was better than most.

Years ago on the Magic there was a couple at the table next to us that ordered the steak and potato every single night of the cruise. It may have been something they do not eat on a regular basis and thought why not.
My wife and I, on our last cruise ate Indian food every night. It was some of the best Indian food we have had.

 

[71 Truck]

I had the chicken once. It was the worst meal of my cruise.

There was nothing else on the menu that appealed to me, so I opted for the chicken. It was so bland, I dont think they even used a bit of salt, I ate a few bites, left the remainder on the plate and ordered an extra dessert.

Always let you servers know that there is nothing on the menu that appeals to you. You would be surprised what the chef might be able to come up with that you might like. We were on a Disney cruise several years ago sitting next to an Indian family that were vegetarians.
Every night it looked to be something different for dinner and it smelled wonderful.
This is why my wife and I ate mostly Indian food in the main dinning room on our last cruise.

 

[71 Truck]

The food is generally very good. I usually ask the head waiter for a recommendation. They know the best choices.

Years ago while on the Magic, during dinner my wife orders the shrimp and rice. The server says no, yucky you don't want that so she ordered something he recommended.
We were at the second seating so when he brought out our dinners he brought out the shrimp and rice for us to try, he was right it was yucky. We were very pleased with his recommendations from then on.

 

[RedHead0186]

Those options are billed as "lighter fare," I believe, so they are not likely to be the most flavorful. Also, taste is very subjective - as you can see from this thread, some people have enjoyed them and others haven't. If you go in knowing they won't have a ton of salt/extra seasoning/sauces, then you'll probably be good.

But I also second what some others have said that there are lots of options on the 'regular' menus. If you want to skip a course or order double of a course, they'll do it. If you don't like any of the entrée options, get a couple appetizers instead. If you really don't like any of the menu options, let your servers know and sometimes they can come up with something. Or maybe so some substitutions.

 

[Karin1984]

Always let you servers know that there is nothing on the menu that appeals to you. You would be surprised what the chef might be able to come up with that you might like. We were on a Disney cruise several years ago sitting next to an Indian family that were vegetarians.
Every night it looked to be something different for dinner and it smelled wonderful.
This is why my wife and I ate mostly Indian food in the main dinning room on our last cruise.

It wasn't worth the hassle. I had plenty of food that day.

One thing that did surprised me about the servers on DCL. The cruise with the bland chicken was my 2nd cruise, and I had two similar evenings on my 3rd cruise where the entree was just bad.

Reading trip reports here I thought that servers were trained to spot full /almost full /untouched plates and ask if you want something else. On both cruises my servers didn't notice, or if they did, they didn't offer a replacement.

Again, no big issue, as there is way too much food anyway, but It was an impression I got from more experienced cruisers here.

(My 2nd cruise was around 50-60% capacity, my 3rd cruise around 80-90%, I guess)