A Food Lover’s Guide to Virgin Voyages Dining
Cruise food rarely lingers in your memory. After years spent traveling and chasing great meals around the world, cruise dining usually falls into a predictable category: big buffets, crowded dining rooms, and food designed to feed thousands of people quickly rather than create something memorable.
Virgin Voyages flips that expectation completely.
Instead of traditional cruise dining halls, the ship is filled with unique restaurants: Korean BBQ, modern Mexican, Italian trattorias, an upscale steakhouse, and even an experimental tasting menu. There are no buffets or assigned dining times, and the entire experience feels much closer to dining at real restaurants than to eating on a cruise ship.
Over the course of the trip, it became clear that the food wasn’t just good for a cruise — it was genuinely memorable.
So naturally, trying as many of the restaurants onboard as possible became part of the mission.
After a week of dinners, brunches, and a few standout bites that are still stuck in my head, here’s how the restaurants we tried on Virgin Voyages ranked.
Every Restaurant We Tried on Virgin Voyages (Ranked)
6. The Wake
The Wake is Virgin Voyages’ elegant steakhouse and seafood restaurant, located at the back of the ship with sweeping ocean views. It’s a beautiful space and definitely one of the most polished dining rooms onboard.
The standout dish for me here was the salmon, which was perfectly cooked and balanced — simple, clean flavors done really well. I was skeptical when I saw the thickness of the filet, but it was cooked to a perfect medium doneness.
While the meal was very good, compared to some of the other restaurants on the ship it felt a little more traditional. Virgin Voyages shines when it leans into creative dining concepts, which is probably why this classic steakhouse ended up lower on my list.
5. Razzle Dazzle
Razzle Dazzle is one of the most unique restaurants on the ship, known for its vegetable-forward menu that still manages to feel hearty and satisfying. Even if you’re not someone who typically seeks out plant-forward dining, this restaurant proves that vegetables can absolutely be the star of the plate.
The highlight here for this carnivore was the roasted lamb, which was beautifully cooked and one of the most memorable entrées we had during the entire cruise.
Razzle Dazzle is also one of the best brunch spots on the ship, which makes it worth visiting more than once if you have the time.
4. Pink Agave
Pink Agave delivers bold, modern Mexican flavors in one of the ship’s most visually striking dining rooms. The food here is vibrant, flavorful, and beautifully executed. One dish in particular completely stole the show. The esquites were easily one of the standout bites of the entire cruise; smoky, creamy, and layered with flavor in a way that made it hard not to order another round.
Pink Agave is the kind of place where every dish feels fun and a little unexpected.
3. Extra Virgin
Extra Virgin is Virgin Voyages’ Italian trattoria, serving classic dishes with a focus on handmade pasta and comforting flavors. One of the best bites here was the gnocchi, which was soft, pillowy, and incredibly satisfying. The first bite took me back to the Amalfi Coast and my cooking class in June of 2024.
Unfortunately, this meal was the only one during the cruise that felt a little off. The service felt noticeably rushed compared to the relaxed pace we had experienced elsewhere on the ship, and the presentation of some dishes lacked the polish we had seen at other restaurants.
Dessert was where things became particularly memorable, though not in the way you might expect. My plan for dessert had been to order the affogato, but when it appeared at a nearby table, it gave me pause. The ice cream had been placed in a drinking glass and the espresso being poured over it looked like it had already cooled.
Instead, the order shifted to the ricotta bomboloni, and that turned out to be the right move. They arrived warm, light, and perfectly sweet.
Because this dinner happened to be our final night onboard, the contrast stood out a bit more compared to the otherwise fantastic dining experiences throughout the trip.
2. Gunbae
Gunbae is easily one of the most fun dining experiences on the ship. Guests gather around Korean BBQ grills, where your host cooks your meats, and you share a lively, communal meal. The atmosphere is energetic, social, and completely different from traditional cruise dining.
The evening actually begins with a drinking game called Sam Yuk Gu, a Korean counting game in which players clap instead of saying numbers that contain 3, 6, or 9. Someone inevitably slips up, which usually leads to laughter and a round of drinks. It turns out to be a great icebreaker when you’re suddenly seated with four or five strangers. Within minutes, the entire table feels like old friends.
Food-wise, the short ribs were the highlight. Rich, tender, and perfect on the grill. Lots of food went around the table, and towards the end, I was only able to take a few bites from the items presented. Pro tip: skip lunch, or have a light lunch on your “Gunbae day” and come ready to eat!
But the surprise star of the entire meal might have been dessert. The Korean pancakes served at the end were easily the best dessert I had on the ship.
Gunbae isn’t just dinner, it’s an experience!
1. Test Kitchen
Test Kitchen ended up being the most memorable restaurant of the entire trip.
Instead of a traditional menu, the experience is built around a multi-course tasting menu focused on culinary techniques and creative presentations. The menu itself reads more like a list of ingredients and cooking methods than a description of the dishes you’ll actually receive, which adds an element of surprise to each course. Virgin Voyages rotates three different tasting menus, so the experience can change depending on when you visit.
It’s also one of the most talked about restaurants on the ship, and opinions tend to be mixed. The experimental nature of the dishes isn’t for everyone, but for adventurous eaters it feels a bit like a culinary playground.
One of the standout dishes for me was the venison, which was outstanding, incredibly tender and simply delicious. It was one of those dishes where every bite made you slow down for a second to appreciate how well it was prepared.
We actually returned for a second visit later in the cruise, not realizing we would be served the same menu again (yes, we miscounted the days). Luckily, our waiter, Dejan, who had taken care of us during our first visit, recognized us right away and suggested trying a few items from the vegetarian menu.
It turned out to be a fantastic call. The vegetarian dishes offered completely different flavors and gave us a chance to experience another side of the restaurant.
That combination of creativity, surprise, and thoughtful service made Test Kitchen the most memorable dining experience of the trip.
The Galley: Virgin Voyages’ No-Buffet Food Hall
One of the biggest ways Virgin Voyages changes cruise dining is by eliminating the traditional buffet entirely. Instead, the ship features something called The Galley, which feels more like a modern food hall. Rather than trays of food sitting under heat lamps, guests order directly from different stations and everything is made to order.
Depending on the time of day, you’ll find things like breakfast sandwiches, pastries, ramen, tacos, sushi, burgers, and fresh salads. Servers circulate through the space, so you can order from your table and have the food brought to you. Just another small touch that makes the whole experience feel more relaxed.
It’s a simple change, but it makes a noticeable difference. The food feels fresher, the variety is better, and the entire atmosphere feels far less chaotic than a traditional cruise buffet.
Final Thoughts
Cruise dining usually isn’t the reason people book a sailing. But after a week of bold Mexican flavors at Pink Agave, mouth watering short ribs at Gunbae, exploring the creativity of Test Kitchen, and discovering a few standout dishes that are still easy to remember, it’s clear that Virgin Voyages is doing something very different. For travelers who care about food, that difference might just be one of the best reasons to step on board.
Missed the first two posts in the series? You can find them here: