The Test Kitchen on Virgin Voyages: A Review
6/7 | Rebecca Jones
The Test Kitchen on Virgin Voyages’ Scarlet Lady is definitely a unique experience that everyone should partake in at least once. With a menu designed by a Michelin-starred chef, I was excited to try this location on my recent sailing with Virgin. Disclaimer: I was invited by Virgin Voyages on a complimentary sailing, during which I experienced this restaurant.
Walking into the restaurant, my husband and I were offered an aperitif, which is basically a drink meant to stimulate your appetite. Then, we were led to our seats, which were stools at a counter.
The atmosphere in Test Kitchen is very 50s diner/sterile. By that I mean, it’s all silver and aqua like a diner, but clean. Likely the cleanest restaurant I’d ever eaten in. The stools we sat in faced a counter where the courses were brought to before being dispersed among the diners but weren’t necessarily prepared in front of us.
Upon sitting, we saw a menu with basic words on it, no descriptions of any kind. Mushroom, Egg, Scallops, Venison/Beef, Blue Cheese, and Chocolate – that’s it. There is also a vegetarian option that includes Gazpacho, Egg, Asparagus, Tart, Mandarin, Coconut, but we chose the menu that included meat. We were given the option to purchase a complimentary drink flight, with a choice between beer, cocktails, wine, or non-alcoholic offerings. We chose the cocktail flight to split between us, as we already had other activities reserved for later in the evening that included alcohol, as well.
The first course is Mushroom. There are four types of mushrooms in this dish. The large one on the plate is a creamed portobello mushroom, served with buttery crustinis, along with two tiny types of mushrooms, and a dust over the whole thing. I enjoyed this dish much more than I thought I would.
Next was the Egg course. Presented under a dome with smoke piped in, the waiter opens the dome and it smells exactly like a campfire, which I didn’t appreciate. The egg is served almost raw over blanched English peas with a caviar mix, served with Guinness beer bread on the side. I wanted the peas to have a stronger taste but the egg was supposed to be the star of this course. I was hesitant to eat all of this, because as the woman next to me said, “I don’t really want to get salmonella in the middle of my cruise.”
The Scallops in course three were perfectly cooked with serrano ham, seaweed, and sea lettuce, covered with a ham-infused sauce. It was actually a very lovely taste, with the ham adding the perfect amount of salt to the dish.
I opted for the Beef option over the venison for the main meat course. It was a beef tenderloin, accented with a beet puree, pickled blueberries, chocolate twigs, and au jus. The waiter told us the dish was all about balance, and it was delicious! My favorite course of the evening! I had never dreamed of putting chocolate and blueberries with my steak, but it was such a treat.
The Blue Cheese served next is meant to be a palette cleanser before dessert. Served semi-frozen, it contained Gorgonzola cheese, cream, blue cheese, pickled pears, and citrus syrup, along with candied pecans inside. I do not like blue cheese, but this wasn’t as bad as I was expecting it to be. The bites with a pecan in them were much better, and I didn’t finish the whole thing, no matter how slowly I ate it.
Our final course was dessert, and of course that was Chocolate. Designed after an Australian dessert, it was a chocolate layer cake with strawberry jam and coconut cream inside, a strawberry coulee, with a vanilla sponge on top. YUM!
The menu is set and does not change with the seasons, or from ship to ship, so what we had is likely what you’ll have on any Virgin Voyages sailing at the Test Kitchen. My husband and I are plain eaters, not really foodies, and while I did enjoy some of the courses, I don’t think we’ll be eager to return here on our next sailing. There are so many other amazing locations to dine in with Virgin, that we’ll want to try the different menu items in those restaurants next time.
I’d love to chat with you about a sailing aboard the adults-only cruise line, Virgin Voyages. I honestly loved our experience on board. If you don’t have a favorite Wishes travel professional to assist you, please call me at 325-733-8399 or email me at rebecca@wishesfamilytravel.com. I’d be honored to work for you!