HAL Pinnacle Grill

[Tamara]

Has anyone tried this? Seemed that they were really promoting it on our cruise, memos every day about getting a spot in there, but, whenever I passed by there, the place was pretty much empty. They seem to seat people near the front so that people passing by will see that there are people eating there. Wonder if the food and service is so much better than in the dining room? Though, may be a place to get away if you don't like the people at your table.

[JohnG]

From my Maasdam review from Feb 2004 sailing:

On “Dutch Night†we opted for a reservation in the Pinnacle Grill, the featured specialty restaurant, with a $20 per person surcharge ($10 on sailing day). We had a reservation for 8:30pm and arrived a few minutes early. Forty minutes after we were seated they finally took our order. By then the wine steward, who had held the wine tasting the first day at sea, had opened the wine I had brought to dinner and helped himself to a large glass without asking instead of the tasting cup. Butter arrived 20 minutes after the bread. While water from a pitcher was adequate in the regular dining room, the Pinnacle poured bottled water, at extra charge, without asking. An hour and 20 minutes later, still only on the second course, I tried to order another bottle of wine. They were out of 15 wines. I went back to the cabin and brought another of my own. The presentation was fine and the food was good, but no better than the dining room food. There were huge time gaps between courses, and they tried to explain it away that every order was prepared from scratch to order and takes time. The restaurant was less than half full by that time and that excuse doesn’t fly. Gracefully, they said they wouldn’t charge the corkage fee for my wine because of the slow service.

Others have been pleased. I think the quality of the Pinnacle Grill varies by ship.