Scarlet Lady’s Dining Gives You The World On A Plate

Another elaborate Virgin Voyages bash was held this week at Chef Jody Williams’ New York Gastrothèque, Buvette. The company chose the perfect venue to unveil the latest wave of designs by their Creative Collective.

“We want our eateries to delight and ignite serendipitous experiences for our sailors, so have set out on a mission to capture the spirit of dining in the best cities of the world and bring it to sea,” said Tom McAlpin, president and chief executive officer for Virgin Voyages. “Because food is the fuel for our bodies and souls, and we’re Virgin Voyages, naturally it all had to be included within your ticket price.”

Sailors will have more than 20 dining options to choose from including restaurants, seaside lounges and casual eateries. Each restaurant has it’s own bar and designed to create experiences that reflect the daily lives of their sailors and who they aspire to be.

In alignment with the cruise lines promise to have the most sustainable ships at sea, their effort to cut back on waste will see all food made to order. There will be no buffets onboard and the restaurants that are typically exclusive on land, will be open to all at no extra charge.

The Restaurants

WAKE

Situated in a 5,866 square foot restaurant at the aft of the ship, designed by Roman and Williams, Wake offers sailors a dramatic view of the ship’s wake.

Serving a theatrical take on steak and seafood, Wake is the most glamorous restaurant on the ship with an experience inspired by The Wolseley – London and The Grill – New York, a dramatic grand staircase.

Offerings include a raw bar (design inspired by the bow of a speedboat), land and sea classics, a table-side cocktail cart and a Sommelier led Magnum program.

RAZZLE DAZZLE

“There’s a Virgin twist on everything you’ll see aboard the Scarlet Lady, which means there will be no stuffy formalities, boring buffets and no main dining rooms. Sailors are not going to want to leave our ship after they experience how we’ve designed our restaurants and tasted the dishes we are going to be serving up in 2020,” said Sir Richard Branson, founder of the Virgin Group.

With an interior scheme that nods to the namesake, the bold camouflaging of ships from WWI using patterns of black and white paint, Razzle Dazzle was designed by Concrete Amsterdam.

With vibrant and creative twists on vegetarian fare and a juice bar.  Razzle Dazzle delivers a healthy dose of nice with just the right amount of wrong.

The “nice” menu offers plant-based vegetarian and vegan dishes including must have munchies such as the Impossible Burger.

The “naughty” side enables sailors to order meat “add-ons” and offers to spike their healthy smoothies with boozy shots.

To live up to the boldness of its name, Razzle Dazzle will not simply brunch but rather Drag Brunch, where sailors are treated to a performance by the Scarlet Lady’s resident drag performer and friends.

For a small fee, sailors can opt to enjoy bottomless drag-inspired cocktails like the “Yasss Queen” and the Razzle Dizzle, a CBD infused cocktail.

THE TEST KITCHEN

The Test Kitchen will offer sailors innovative and avant-garde cuisine in a clean and modern space designed by Concrete Amsterdam.

Inspired by Escoffier’s Ma Cuisine, this laboratory-like eatery is part cooking school and part restaurant, making it the ultimate place for discovery through cuisine with an atmosphere that is educational, experiential and social all in one.  The chef-driven set menus are presented in the form of an ingredient list to Sailors who will discover how the chef combines the list of flavors throughout the course of the meal.

This eatery hosts a number of different experiences throughout the voyage from cooking classes, to mixology school to coffee labs, and even a few late-night lock-ins, where sailors will be invited to raid the chef’s fridge and dig into a midnight feast.

GEONBAE

 

 

Geonbae, the equivalent of the expression bottoms up in Korean, is a Korean BBQ restaurant designed by Soft Room.

Hosted by the loudest servers at sea, each meal will begin with a complimentary round of soju for the table and throughout the evening sailors are encouraged to take part in lively Korean drinking games.

A social, hands on, interactive, fun dining experience, Geonbae features specially engineered flameless grills built into each table and invites Sailors to literally play with their food as they cook their perfect BBQ.

PINK AGAVE

An elevated Mexican restaurant designed by Tom Dixon, Pink Agave transports sailors to the vibrant streets of Mexico City through immersive void lighting.

Offering a wide variety of Mexican specialties that inspire sailors to discover authentic Mexican flavours including tlayudas, memelas, sopes, tortas, esquites, and tamales.

Pink Agave’s dishes can be paired with a cocktail from the Scarlet Lady’s expansive collection of mezcals, or signature Agua Fresca cocktails. Pink Agave is designed to be a lively shared plate restaurant experience, where the DJ amps up the energy of the room as the evening hours slip away.

EXTRA VIRGIN

Extra Virgin is the ships trattoria serving regionally-inspired and approachable food, deeply rooted in Italian culinary traditions with handmade fresh pasta made daily.  A meal begins with shared antipasti followed by approachable pasta-centric favourites.

Extra Virgin features a wide and wonderful world of amari and digestivi and traditional Italian aperitifs. The wine list will be designed with a unique infographic system to help sailors better understand Italian wines, enabling them to navigate to the perfect bottle.  The integration of a Coravin at the bar will allow sailors to taste rare Italian wines by the glass.  Extra Virgin will offer an Aperitivo hour each day with drink specials and small plates.

DOCK

The dock is a perfect place to hang day and night.  Set at the aft of the ship on deck 7, The Dock is a beach club-inspired space.

Image: Virgin Voyages Dock RestaurantCarts of Mediterranean small plates, salads, dips and mezzes provide perfect grazing options throughout the day.  Flame grilled to order skewers provide filling hot options for those wanting a substantial bite to eat.

THE GALLEY

The Galley will be the main space for the quick and casual meal throughout the day.

The food hall will feature a mix of more than eight shops and food carts. Each one offering a unique concept, with irresistible signature dishes that changes to suit the time of day.

The Galley’s concept includes;

• Dedicated bakery and pastry shop
• Panini shop
• Burger grill
• Taco shack
• Sushi bar with bento boxes
• Noodle bar
• Soup and salad stand
• 24-hour American diner.

THE PIZZA PLACE

The beach club-inspired Pizza Place offers a quick, easy and delicious meal.  Sailors can choose from the classic menu or design their very own pizza.

This is a great spot for a casual lunch or late-night, post drink, hunger buster.

With such international cuisine, you can see how Scarlet Lady offers you the world on a plate!

Virtual Tour

I’ve created a video to help bring the ship to life. It’s on my YouTube channel. If you are not already, why not subscribe to my channel. If you like the video please give it a thumbs up. Feel free to leave a comments about your thoughts on the Virgin Voyages dining concept, below.

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More information can be found at Virgin Voyages