Inspired by the cookbook Ma Cuisine by Auguste Escoffier, the Test Kitchen restaurant concept on Virgin Voyages cruises sets itself apart from your typical cruise ship dinner. Unlike your standard restaurant meal, where you select your meal from a menu, the Test Kitchen offers a five-course, fixed menu that only lists a few basic ingredients.
The limited-knowledge menu means guests enter the Test Kitchen not fully aware of the meals they’re about to consume — making each course like an experiment. As someone who likes to study menus before visiting any restaurant, this dining location was actually the one I was looking forward to least on my recent Virgin Voyages Greek Island Glow voyage. Luckily, I took a chance on this unique dining concept, which completely took me by surprise. Here’s a look inside the experience at this innovative dining concept, which makes your dinner into an adventure.
The Test Kitchen concept
As I first stepped into the Test Kitchen to check in for my dinner reservation, the periodic table on the wall caught my eye, showcasing various ingredients instead of elements. The lab theme of this restaurant felt a bit like I was stepping into a restaurant version of my high school science classroom. Guests can also choose to sit at the high-top seats to watch the culinary team prepare meals in the center.
Each station shows two menus (one regular, one vegetarian), which provide limited information about each course. For example, the appetizer listings just said “corn/truffle” or “salmon/cucumber,” which tells you almost nothing about the actual food you’ll get. — which is the whole point. The menu leaves each course up for question until it’s served. As a foodie, I found this concept especially intriguing. Once each course is served, the wait staff explains each meal table-side with a description of how it’s prepared and details about the specific ingredients.
The adventure experience
The culinary ‘adventure’ part of the experience at this Virgin Voyages restaurant extends the surprise factor of each meal. Part of the experience also includes trying flavors and ingredients paired together that you might never have ever thought to pair (hence, the “test” part of this experiment).
Think about things you would otherwise say “no” to, such as spicy desserts. The Test Kitchen has found a way to make these otherwise frowned-upon flavor combinations taste delicious. Each course of the meal surprised me not only in it’s flavor, but also in its presentation. During the upscale dining experience, I almost forgot I was out in the middle of the sea on a massive cruise ship.
Cocktails
To enhance the night even further, I ordered a few of Test Kitchen’s “concoctions with spirits”, which offer the same playful, mysterious vibe as the meal. I first started with the honeydew cocktail, a bartender’s creation made with fresh honeydew melon, gin, and a few other mystery ingredients. The presentation of this cocktail alone made this drink worthwhile, though every sip was thoroughly delicious. I also enjoyed the smolder and pear cocktails.
If you don’t have a bar credit while cruising on VV, you can still add drinks individually to your tab. The restaurant also had a great selection of fun, proof-free mocktails to choose from, allowing non-drinkers to extend the culinary adventure to beverages as well.
Sitting at the high-top bar area of the restaurant also provided a chance to mingle with other diners throughout each course of the meal. This allowed the culinary journey to feel shared rather than individual by discussing what we thought about each course as we dined. Shared dining experiences foster conversation and serve as an ice breaker, which could also be appealing to solo-travelers.
The Test Kitchen appeal
The appeal of the Test Kitchen concept is in the mystery of the unknown. Unlike your typical cruise ship dinner, you don’t know exactly what you’ll get when ordering here. The Virgin Voyages team also switches up the Test Kitchen menu throughout the duration of each sailing, which means you can dine here multiple times for a completely different dining experience. The lab-like setting makes the experience feel like a mixture between an experiment and a dining experience, helping to add to the fun of the night.
Part of what I loved about the experience is its broad appeal, attracting nearly any type of cruise ship traveler on board. From solo travelers to couples to first-time cruisers like myself, there’s a place for everyone at the Test Kitchen. For Virgin Voyages, this experiential dinner felt right on point for their branding, offering a younger, more hands-on cruise ship experience that defies many stereotypes about cruising.
Overall, I believe food adventurers will especially appreciate this concept, but it’s truly a must-try for anyone on board a Virgin Voyages cruise. It’s fair to say that picky eaters might be wary of the concept, but I think it’s an experience everyone should try at least once.
