by Hen Zannini
Welcome to the specialty dining restaurants on Royal Caribbean’s phenomenal Icon of the Seas! Am I Loyal to Royal? With delicious food like this, you bet I am!
I was able to try several specialty restaurants onboard the Icon. But please don’t ask which is my favorite—because I loved them all equally. The three major restaurants I tried were Giovanni’s Table, Hooked Seafood, and Izumi Hibachi.
Let’s start with Giovanni’s. Being 100% Italian, I can be quite critical when it comes to Italian food. That is not the case with Giovanni‘s. All the food at this restaurant was authentic and delicious. And the atmosphere was just delightful. I felt right at home! Can we just say charcuterie board? It was plentiful and full of Italian favorites, from cold cuts to olives to cheeses and everything in between. And let’s not forget the basket of bread with seasoned extra virgin olive oil for dipping. It is hard not to eat the bread and charcuterie appetizer all at once, but try—or you won’t have any room for your main course! Because you can order as much as you want of anything you want, I also ordered the Caprese salad, which was tomatoes and burrata cheese with oil, balsamic, and basil. Omg, sooooo good. I may have also gotten the crispy calamari, but that is between you and me, okay? For my side pasta, I ordered the pasta Bolognese, and for my main dish, I ordered the chicken piccata, which is one of my favorite Italian meals. Giovanni’s did not disappoint! Did I save room for dessert? Of course not! But I ordered it and ate it anyway. And I had some of the most delicious cannoli I have ever tasted in my life. I would be remiss if I did not mention the top-notch service at Giovanni’s. The staff goes above and beyond to fulfill your every desire.
Next up is Hooked, which is a New England-style seafood restaurant. Having grown up in New England and having lived there for most of my life, I was curious to see if this restaurant could really offer the real taste of New England. Guess what? They did! Hooked has quite an extensive menu, which made me very happy. There were so many appetizers to choose from, so I ordered only three lol. I started with the shrimp cocktail. I could select spicy or traditional; I went with the traditional, and it was deliciously sweet. Next, I tried the clam and crab chowder. I’ve only had clam chowder in New England, but I decided to try this one, and I’m so glad I did! I finished off my appetizers with the fresh salad, which was a little different because not only did it contain veggies, but it also had orange pieces and strawberries in it. It was a great combination, and I loved that, as well. For my main meal, I only picked one item. Can you believe that? I mean, how could I not get the whole Maine lobster? It was stuffed with crab meat, a creamy sauce, and a grated Gruyère cheese on top. It was divine! For my side, I chose old-fashioned, regular french fries. If I remember correctly, there were four or five desserts. I’m a chocoholic, so of course, I chose the chocolate brownie. But it wasn’t just any plain old brownie. It was covered with chocolate fudge and salted caramel sauce, along with a scoop of ice cream. My entire meal had me dreaming of the wonderful restaurants in New England.
The third specialty restaurant was Izumi Hibachi. This was the most entertaining restaurant I’ve ever eaten at! The chef puts on a show for the eight guests seated around his horseshoe-shaped grill. His jokes and songs are aplenty. And before you know it, you are trying to catch a piece of food in your mouth! And let’s talk about the food. Before the chef even got started, I was served a bowl of edamame, which I discovered I loved. Next came a pretty traditional salad, but the dressing was ginger. It was different than what I am used to, but I enjoyed it. And now, the chef starts cooking fried rice for everyone. He throws everything on that large, hot grill— eggs, scallions, fresh veggies, and all kinds of seasonings. It all comes together to make the most perfect, freshly made fried rice you’ve ever tasted. For my main meal, which is called Teppanyaki, I got to choose a single protein, or a combination of two, which includes beef tenderloin, New York steak, sea scallops, tiger shrimp, lobster, and chicken breast. Once again, how can I resist lobster? But as I mentioned, there are plenty of other choices if you do not like lobster. The chef cooks your protein in front of you, and then he places it on your dish, freshly made and steaming hot. It just doesn’t get any better than this! Or does it? Dessert is on the way! You have a choice of several Japanese desserts, as well as chocolate lava cake. As I told you before, I do love my chocolate. So I went with that lava cake, and I was in seventh heaven.
I recommend that you definitely make a reservation to eat at any of the specialty restaurants on the Icon of the Seas. They fill up very quickly, especially for dinner. You can also book specialty restaurants for lunch on sea days!
Another place I tried was the Desserted Milkshake Bar. The milkshakes are not expensive, and they taste as good as they look! The combos of ice cream and crazy toppings are delicious fun. And for adults, they’ll even throw booze in your milkshake!
Be sure to try as many specialty restaurants as you’d like. I promise you will enjoy them all!