While on a recent Royal Caribbean cruise onboard the Ovation of the Seas, we got the opportunity to try Wonderland. Wonderland is a specialty upgrade restaurant found onboard a number of Royal Caribbean ships. The upgrade is $45 per person. You can also visit the restaurant as part of a dining package, which is what we did.
Royal Caribbean describes Wonderland as:
VENTURE DOWN THE RABBIT HOLE
Venture down the rabbit hole and ask yourself: What is real and what is imagined? At Wonderland, our chefs twist their culinary kaleidoscopes to invent an elaborate dreamscape of never-before-seen fare. The story begins as you “brush” the menu and find your element— Wind, Ice, Fire, Water, Earth and Dreams— each with a selection of small or shareable fantasies. And magical elixirs whisper “Drink me.” Amidst amorphous mirrors, mystery and sensory surprises, the intention of it all becomes more certain with each maddeningly delicious bite.
The experience at Wonderland started with being handed a blank menu and using water to brush the menu until it appeared. The waiter asked if we had any food allergies (which we explained) and he asked us to allow him to bring pre-selected food dishes and to keep an open mind. So, in that vein, I won’t comment on the dishes so we don’t prejudice anyone that wants to try this experience for themselves.
The restaurant itself was very whimsical in its decor and in the waiter’s attire.
The first course we received consisted of Smoked Buffalo eggs, crispy crab cones, and tomato water. The eggs came with a presentation and the water came with instructions (just down it like a shot).
We had two different plates of the cones, two with crab and two without (we have a shellfish allergy and a vegetarian).
The next dish served was the baby vegetables in the garden. This was a series of softened (blanched?) vegetables in “soil”, which consisted of crumbled pumpernickel bread. It was an amazing presentation.
Our next dish was the Ocean Citrus, which was a combination of spicy tuna & floral yuzu granite.
We got one without the tuna though.
We then got a serving of the liquid lobster and Shrimp Kataifi for two of us.
Now, it was time for the main entrees. We got one entrée of tofu with vegetables.
We also got Halibut, Terroir Beef, and Roasted Chicken.
After our entrees, it was time for desserts, which were all wonderful looking.
If you have enjoyed this article, please be sure to check out our Disney Cruise Line information page or our Royal Caribbean Cruise Line Information page, which has useful hints in addition to our cruise trip reports!
