The New Pinnacle Grill Lunch Menu on Holland America

by Janis on January 14, 2016

Alaska King Salmon, Pinnacle Grill, Holland America Line, Zuiderdam

During our recent 7-Day Holiday Cruise on Holland America’s ms Zuiderdam, we enjoyed lunch in the Pinnacle Grill specialty restaurant.

We were surprised to find a new, updated lunch menu in the Pacific Northwest-themed steak and seafood restaurant. While dinner in the Pinnacle Grill is $29.00 per person and may be reserved in advance of your cruise, lunch reservations may only be made once on board. The lunch menu, priced at $10 per person, with discounts for 3-, 4- and 5-star Mariners, is quite a good value for fine dining, especially given the new, more expansive menu.

Take a look at the New Pinnacle Grill Lunch Menu

The new three-course lunch menu still has some of our favorites such as the Grilled Prawn Bruschetta on the appetizer list, but drops others favorites such as the Scallop Creme Brulee and the Five Onion Soup.

There are nice additions to the lunch menu, taken from the dinner menu, such as the guest-favorite Dungeness Crab Cakes with sweet chili-mustard sauce. Lots of crab with a little binding agent, coated in Panko and lightly fried.

Another first course choice is the Tomato Broth with Spicy Lemongrass Chicken. This is another dish from the dinner menu. A spicy, Thai-style soup, this was one of my favorite starters on the Pinnacle Grill menu, before someone involved in the last Pinnacle Grill menu decided to add the tomato broth to the recipe. (Tomato broth in a spicy lemongrass chicken soup with kaffir lime and cilantro is just weird and wrong, in my opinion.) Regardless, I tried it again during this lunch and enjoyed the spice that tried to mask the tomato.

For the main course choices, there are a number of new lunch entrees from the Pinnacle Grill dinner menu such as the West Coast-Style Seafood Cioppino, the Roasted Jidori Chicken with Porcini Mushrooms and the Wild Mushroom Ravioli with pesto cream sauce.

This gives guests a chance to try something new for the lessor lunch cost that they might not want to have for dinner.

I chose the Broiled Alaska King Salmon, with wild rice pilaf and sauteed pancetta-spinach. Mr. Jones – who grew up in Alaska, won’t usually touch salmon because he claims that he ate it for months on end as a kid – salmon cakes, salmon casserole, baked salmon, etc. – and therefore retired salmon from his adult diet.

I loved this salmon so much that I insisted that he try a bite. He begrudging agreed that it was delicious.

The Beef Tenderloin with Oregon Blue Cheese, served with grilled asparagus and scalloped potatoes is still on the Pinnacle Grill lunch menu. This makes Mr. Jones was very happy as this is his favorite lunch entree.

We are always to full to order dessert, but the updated menu is shown above. I enjoyed the Fresh Berries with sabayon sauce during an evening meal in the Pinnacle Grill. This dessert is pictured above at the top of the post.

If you love great food and superior service, you will enjoy lunch at the Pinnacle Grill. Lunch reservations can be made once you are on your Holland America cruise. We recommend that you do so the first day of your cruise, as lunch is generally only offered during sea days and reservations fill quickly.

Since the three-course Pinnacle Grill lunch is a substantial meal, you may want to skip breakfast or just have a coffee and light snack at the Explorations Cafe on the day you schedule lunch. With a glass of wine, this lunch is the perfect prelude to an afternoon nap. Now isn’t that the way that days at sea are meant to be enjoyed on cruise ships?

What’s your favorite dish in the Pinnacle Grill? Is it still on the new lunch menu? Please share in comments below.

You may be interested in these other posts on cruising with Holland America Line:

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