Jamie's Italian

Our first night on the ship we decided to go to a specialty restaurant that was not one we needed to dress up for, but had some hearty food since we were hungry. Jamie's seemed like it would fit the bill.

Jamie's Italian was founded in 2008 by world-famous chef, Jamie Oliver. Today there are over 60 Jamie's Italian Restaurants around the world, in every continent except Antarctica. In addition to his land-based restaurants, Royal Caribbean is proud to host a Jamie's Italian on five of their ships, and fortunately for us, Anthem of the Seas is one of them.

We were able to get reservations for our group of six and we all arrived hungry and ready to enjoy a nice Italian dinner together.

The staff was very friendly and wanted to make sure we all had a great meal. Since there were six of us at the table, the waiter said that he would bring us a large assortment of appetizers for us to all share, that reduces the need to try and choose from all that was available.

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The waiter brought out a large wood plank covered with various Italian meats and cheeses, which is known as their Famous Meat Plank. They also brought out a Black Truffle Arancini, which are black truffle &mozzarella risotto balls with truffled Béchamel for dipping, Garlicky Prawns, Ultimate Garlic Bread, which truly was some of the best I have ever had, and a Tomato Bruschetta.

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Then, for the main course everyone selected their own choice. I chose the Chianti-Braised Short Rib, which came with the Parmesan mash and horseradish. Without a doubt this was one of the best things that I ate on the whole cruise. The short rib was so tender and flavorful I honestly wish I could have had even more. A couple of the other people in our party had the chicken dishes, which they were very happy with. The Baked Lasagna was a decent lasagna, but nothing spectacular. With all of the other choices, I would recommend getting something besides a standard lasagna that you could get at any Italian eatery. They also had several pasta dishes you could order as a meal, or in a smaller portion as a side dish.

The sides were all brought over to be enjoyed family style and we all were able to have a little of each to try. The Crispy Polenta Chips, Seasonal Greens, Funky Fried (with Parsley & Garlic) and the Posh Fries(with Truffle & Parmesan) were all really good, but I think I enjoyed the Posh Fries the most.

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For dessert, they once again made it easy for us by bringing out a large selection of deserts. We got two each of about 5 or 6 deserts. The Tiramisu was a delicious Italian staple, there was a fruit tart that tasted wonderful, a deliciously decadent fudge brownie, a sorbet, a raspberry &chocolate desert and finally a lemon meringue cheesecake with lemon curd & black currants. To tell you how much we loved this cheesecake, we saw the manager of the specialty dining a couple nights later and told him how we enjoyed it so much, he had two pieces waiting for us in our suite when we got in later that night. Then on the last night of the cruise, he had a whole one sent over to another restaurant we were dining at for my wife's birthday cake.

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The cost for this delicious Italian feast was on $25 per person, or you can eat here as part of the specialty dining package if you decide to purchase it.

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