Jacques aboard Oceania Marina

We were able to dine here twice during a Mediterranean cruise this fall, due to other passengers missing the ship in the wake of Hurricane Sandy. Having followed Jacques Pepin for decades on TV, I came in with high expectations.
The fare and décor is traditional French, with a few minor twists.
First, the postives. The service, like throughout Marina, was impeccable. The quality of the ingredients was second to none, and the menu fairly extensive.
Unfortunately, this eponymously named restaurant was our least favorite specialty restaurant on board Marina… we gave it two shots just to be sure. I’m not trying to say it’s a bad restaurant, but it gets three stars for not living up to its potential. Some of the issues are easy to fix, e.g. getting a soundtrack that contains more than what seems like just various versions of La Vie en Rose (any Edith Piaf fan can only take so much!), or fixing the descriptions of menu items (the «crispy» duck a l’orange is a «misprint», we were told after it arrived). Looking at the sample menu online, this may be moot now.
What grinds my gears are people who complain about a restaurant without having given the establishment a chance to fix the issues during their meal. In the case of Jacques, i believe that my tepid assessment of some of the food is born of design issues rather than execution issues we could have raised with the staff. The pistachio «crust» on the lamb was a paste, and en croute, whereas modern restaurants would roll the lamb in the roasted crushed nuts. The frogs’ legs had a coarse, soft breading that defies modern sensibilities. Even the much ballyhooed Iberian pork was quite plain. it was more interestingly prepared at the other specialty restaurants on Marina. Perhaps I’m just too used to contemporary techniques now to appreciate classic French preparations, but I imagine that I’m not the only person in this boat (no pun intended).
The dishes with little manipulation were the best, such as the foie gras with artichoke, and the heavenly cheese trolley. The Coquilles St. Jacques and the bouillabaise were very good as well, highlighting the quality of the seafood on board, so my suggestion would be to stick with these types of items.

This is a review of Jacques aboard the Oceania Marina. This is the eponymous French restaurant of Jacques Pepin, Executive Culinary Director for Oceania Cruises and renowned cookbook author and chef to three French Presidents, including Charles de Gaulle. I had the pleasure of dining here recently while on a 10-​day Mediterranean cruise, and the reservation was both very difficult to get and equally well worth waiting for. To score a table, Diane and I had to agree to dine with other passengers previously unknown to us. This turned out to be enjoyable also, because we had the lucky draw of a food-​loving and personable assemblage of six other guests – a husband and wife from Solvang, California and a pair of married couples who traveled together from Long Island, New York. Several bottles of wine later, by night’s end the eight of us had become fast friends. And, it was a long evening of dining. Our reservations were for 6:30 p.m., when the restaurant opened, but we didn’t finish our expansive meal until 9:40 p.m. No one tried to rush us out either. This great dining experience just took that long to complete.
Dinner began with an amuse-​bouche called Barbajuan, crispy spinach-​filled ravioli with a tomato dip. Scrumptious and gone in 60 seconds! Next I had Escalope de Foie Gras, Crue aux Artichauts, Artichoke Salad over thinly sliced Foie Gras with a very good Perigord Black Truffle Vinaigrette. The Foie Gras slices clung to the china plate and were cool, smooth, and incredibly rich. To offset the richness of this appetizer somewhat, I also enjoyed a fresh French roll which had «Pain de Jacques» and a cute parasol prominently displayed on it on edible rice crisp. This was my first experience with the controversial Foie Gras, although it was pronounced the food favorite of one of the foodies at our table who hailed from Long Island. I found the Foie Gras to be very delicious and exceedingly rich, with a cholesterol level that probably shoots through the roof. I greatly enjoyed it, and now understand what all the fuss is about concerning its great taste offset by the force-​feeding of ducks and geese to make it, but no doubt my body and PETA will appreciate that I plan to order Foie Gras in the future only sparingly if at all. In my opinion the force-​feeding of these fowl would have been outlawed long ago if the Foie Gras didn’t taste so darn good!
Next for me was Moules Mariniere, fresh mussels with shallots in a white wine broth. These black-​shelled mussels with blue insides were long and numerous (about 18), and quite tasty. I slurped up the broth with a spoon. These crustaceans were immediately followed by Gratine a L Oignon, baked French Onion Soup with wonderfully gooey shredded Gruyère Cheese. The soup broth was prepared with dry white wine, brandy, chicken stock, and consommé made in the kitchen from scratch. The onion was nicely caramelized, and the saturated croûton was very tasty because it was composed of slices of quarter-​inch thick baguette. The baked soup had a nice crusty and cheesy top, and a few rivulets of cheese had just missed overflowing the sides of the white crock. It was hot, delicious, and excellent all around!
Service by our knowledgeable and helpful servers was formal but efficient and unpretentious. Diane’s French fries were forgotten initially, but then quickly supplied. And, there were some amazing extra touches – like Pumpkin Soup ladled into a bowl straight out of a real hollowed-​out pumpkin, and served to one of my tablemates. The ambiance of Jacques was well lit and very white (white chairs, white tablecloths, white linen napkins, and white-​aproned servers), with contrasting patterned walls, gold-​colored curtains, and brown hardwood flooring. Individual seats were comfortable, and the restaurant reflected the elegance of a fine brasserie serving classic French comfort food.
Homard Thermidor a ma Facon, Maine Lobster baked in the shell with a Mushroom Cream Sauce and crispy Parmesan Cheese, and served with a nicely seasoned serving of very tasty Ratatouille, was as creamy and tasty as I had hoped. It contained just enough morsels of Lobster Thermidor and mushrooms to please, and was simply great. I didn’t want this great and hard to find classic seafood dish to end. But there were more good things to come.
The dessert cart was filled with tempting offerings (see pic). And then our server asked me, «How many Crepes Suzette would you like to have?» Not «Would you like to have Crepes Suzette?» but «HOW MANY would you like?» I had been wondering what that man with a white chef’s hat was doing at the side of the dining room (see pic), and now I knew. He was continually preparing Crepes Suzette! I selected two to split with Diane, plus a Milles Fleur Napoleon, which had great cream filling and was sweet and delicious. So were the Crepes Suzette!
Best of all, this fine repast did not cost a cent beyond the regular cruise fare!