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Top 9 Restaurants Onboard Ovation Of The Seas: Dining Options

Planning a cruise onboard the award-winning Ovation of the Seas®? You’ll have your pick of crave-worthy dining options onboard this cutting-edge cruise ship.

By Amanda Mesa | Published on March 9, 2023

Delicious flavors and top-notch dining are always on the menu when you set sail on a vacation with Royal Caribbean. The cruise line that brought the industry five-star hits like Izumi Sushi and Chops Grille℠, fan-favorites like Sorrento’s Pizza and Fish & Ships^SM, and creative culinary concepts like Wonderland Imaginative Cuisine has definitely perfected the recipe for dreaming up foodie-approved cruise dining options.

As one of its fleet’s top-rated cruise ships, Ovation of the Seas offers everything Royal Caribbean is best known for — wow-worthy thrills, cutting-edge tech, spectacular entertainment, and of course, some of the best cruise food in the world. Whether you’re craving flavorful teppanyaki bites and fresh sushi rolled by a master chef at Izumi, an authentic taste of Tuscany at Jamie's Italian by Jamie Oliver, artisanal brats loaded with all your favorite toppings at Dog House or mouthwatering eats from every corner of the world at Windjammer and the Main Dining Room — you’re only ever steps away from a memorable meal when you choose to sail on this award-winning cruise ship.

With so many tempting cruise dining options onboard, it helps to set sail with a game plan (and a specialty dining package — more on that later). To help you narrow down your options, here are the top 9 best places to eat on a cruise when you sail on Ovation of the Seas.

1. Fish & Ships

Ovation of the Seas is one of the few Royal Caribbean cruise ships to offer Fish & Ships, a relatively new, fast-casual cruise dining concept that serves up crazy-good seafood just steps from the pool. Order a basket of freshly battered, golden-fried cod and hand-cut fries, served the classic UK way with mushy peas. Indulge in crispy calamari, savory battered sausage, a hearty house lobster roll or a side of the restaurant’s signature chips. Fish & Ships also offers frosty pints of beer and fizzy soft drinks as the perfect pairing for every mouthwatering bite. For dessert, there’s a deep-fried candy bar that’s as delicious as it is decadent. On the run to your next onboard adventure? No worries. Just order your meal to go.

2. Dog House

Another fast-casual favorite, Dog House delivers the ultimate snack at sea — a range of artisanal hot dogs you can load up with all your favorite toppings. Go the traditional route with a Coney Island dog, made with classic American beef. Get a taste of NYC with the Big Apple, a delicious chicken sausage cooked with sweet and tart apple bits. Enjoy an Old World-style German Thüringer bratwurst made from minced pork and sandwiched between toasted buns. Or turn up the heat with The Smoke House, a savory pork bratwurst infused with traditional spices. Dog House’s creamy homestyle coleslaw and silky potato salad both double as refreshing accompaniments to every bite. Oh, and everything here is included in your cruise fare — so you can go ahead and come back for seconds or thirds any time you like.

3. Sorrento’s Pizza

Sorrento’s Pizza is also completely complimentary for guests onboard Ovation of the Seas — and its hands down one of the best places to eat on a cruise. A mainstay across the Royal Caribbean fleet, this iconic onboard pizza parlor has earned a reputation for crafting and cooking up perfection by the slice. You can stick to one of Sorrento’s classic pies — the Margherita, pepperoni and traditional cheese pizzas are oldies but definitely goodies. Or you can get adventurous with the pineapple, bacon and BBQ-infused Caribbean Dream or the meat-loaded Carnivore. Enjoy some fresh salad or antipasto along with your pizza, and save a little room for one of the desserts on offer. Oh, and there’s more — one of the best things about Sorrento’s is that it’s open late, making it the perfect spot for an after-hours snack.

4. Jamie's Italian By Jamie Oliver

If you’re craving a taste of Tuscany, you’ll find it at Jamie’s Italian. This intimate, top-rated specialty cruise restaurant checks all the boxes when it comes to elevating family meals and date-night dinners. Crafted by one of Britain’s most celebrated chefs, each dish here channels major Old-World vibes. It’s all served family-style, too, making this a great option for dining with friends and family. Start your meal with the creamy, cool burrata — it comes garnished with slow-roasted tomato, tender arugula and carta di musica bread. For lovers of truffle, the homemade tagliatelle is a knockout — you can taste the slightest hint of nutmeg in the rich truffle cream sauce. And if you’re in the mood for seafood, don’t miss out on Jamie’s famous prawn linguine. It comes tossed with juicy, vine-ripe tomatoes, saffron, shaved fennel and garlicky prawns — and those are just some of the many tasty options available on the menu.

5. Wonderland Imaginative Cuisine

Like all Quantum Class cruise ships, Ovation of the Seas is all about pushing the envelope when it comes to onboard activities, spellbinding entertainment and mouthwatering eats. Wonderland Imaginative Cuisine is the perfect example. This one-of-a-kind specialty restaurant offers a full-sensory cruise dining experience, with dishes that double as art and fly in the face of convention. The magic begins the moment you arrive and brush the invisible-ink menu. Watch as dishes and drinks appear on the page as if by magic — each is grouped under a different natural element. You can indulge in unique offerings like crispy crab cones topped with cloud-like avocado mousse, pepper spheres and bread foam served with refreshing gazpacho, smoky and spicy Buffalo chicken eggs and crispy shrimp kataifi with Scotch bonnet pepper. Grown-ups can also savor tantalizing cocktails — they’re called “elixirs” here at Wonderland.

6. Izumi Sushi

Ovation of the Seas is home to the hottest sushi spot at sea. It’s so good, it’s one of the most popular specialty cruise dining options across the fleet. Take your taste buds on a well-rounded tour of Japan at Izumi Sushi, where the menu includes fresh nigiri and sashimi, izakaya-style appetizers and sushi rolls that run the gamut from classic options to bold and imaginative creations. Treat yourself to a tantalizing four-course meal that includes a starter, two mains and a decadent dessert. Options range from shrimp- and crab-stuffed spring rolls paired with sambal chili and cream cheese to hearty yaki udon loaded with thick, stir-fried noodles and stellar rolls like the fan-favorite salmon dynamite, which spotlights cool cream cheese, cucumber, spicy mayo and a delicate champagne sauce. Just make sure you save room for something sweet at the end. Guest favorites include Izumi’s refreshing mochi, gooey chocolate lava cake, creamy green tea ice cream and crispy sesame balls stuffed with sweet red bean paste.

7. Chops Grille

Fine dining comes to life onboard Ovation of the Seas at Chops Grille, a world-class steakhouse at sea that’s been presenting quality, hand-cut meats for more than a decade. Its revamped menu offers plenty of traditional steakhouse classics with a contemporary twist. Tuck into exceptional prime meat sizzled to perfection. Succulent Maine lobster that flakes apart as you cut into it. Tender grilled branzino that’s bursting with flavor. A chilled seafood tower heaped with jumbo shrimp, green-lipped mussels, clams and Jonah crab claws. And shareable sides that act as the perfect accompaniment to every bite — like truffle fries, gruyere cheese tater tots, creamed spinach and steaming Yukon Gold mashed potatoes. Dessert is your choice between a refreshing key lime meringue pie or a silky New York cheesecake served with tart cranberries and lemon confit.

8. Windjammer

If you’re looking for crave-worthy complimentary eats onboard, Windjammer serves them every day for breakfast, lunch and dinner. This is most guests’ go-to restaurant onboard Ovation of the Seas and many other Royal Caribbean cruise ships — and it’s without a doubt one of the best cruise restaurants on offer. You’ll find it all here, from freshly pressed paninis and crisp salads to flaky pastries, made-to-order omelets, carved meats and a seemingly endless array of global delicacies. Craving crispy buttermilk fried chicken? They have that. Tender Vietnamese braised Ho Chi Minh pork? They have that, too. Plus, other international favorites like tangy duck a l’Orange, bold Caribbean goat curry, Old World-style chicken marsala and so much more. If you’re cruising with dietary restrictions, that’s no problem. Windjammer offers lots of gluten-free and vegetarian options, and many dishes can be modified to suit your needs or preferences.

9. Main Dining Room

No matter where in the world you’re traveling or what cruise ship you’re sailing on, no Royal Caribbean getaway is complete without at least one dinner (or several) in the Main Dining Room. A hallmark cruise dining option across the fleet, it presents lavish, multi-course meals in an elevated, upscale setting — paired with five-star, white tablecloth service. Aside from a few guest-favorites that are always on the menu, offerings here rotate daily — which means you can dine in every night and never repeat a dish. Some highlights include savory duck terrine layered with apricot chutney on toasted sourdough bread, spiced eggplant and Kalamata olive tartare served with creamy red pepper hummus and crispy garlic bread, Moroccan spiced ahi tuna paired with cool mint couscous, and so much more. Dessert is just as wow-worthy, spanning decadent delights like sweet cream-soaked tres leches, fluffy Grand Marnier soufflé and moist, home-style carrot cake with cream cheese frosting, just to name a few.

Keep in mind that these are just some of the many delicious cruise dining options that you’ll find onboard Ovation of the Seas. You can check out the full selection of cruise restaurants onboard. You’ll find that there’s something for every craving and palate — even the pickiest eaters.

The best way to take advantage of all the concepts that this groundbreaking cruise ship has to offer is to opt for a specialty dining package. It will unlock discounted access to the ship’s specialty restaurants, like Izumi, Chops Grille and Fish & Ships. Or you can pay a la carte throughout your cruise getaway. Remember that dishes at the Main Dining Room, Windjammer, Sorrento’s and several other restaurants onboard are complimentary for cruise guests, and all are delicious options.