One of the specialty restaurants on Holland America Line that you need to try is Tamarind. This Asian-inspired restaurant serves up a mixture of small plates and entrees featuring Far East flavors. Earlier this year, we sailed a Caribbean cruise on Holland America Line’s newest ship, Rotterdam. Of course, we could not pass up a chance to dine at this restaurant. Get all the delicious details of our dining experience in this Holland America Tamarind Review.
Holland America Tamarind Restaurant Review
Like we do for most of our trips, we made reservations pre-cruise at our preferred dining time. Given our itinerary and other dining reservations, we made our Tamarind restaurant reservation for the last day of the cruise. This would be the perfect way to end the week.
On Holland America’s new ship Rotterdam, Tamarind is located aft on Deck 10. To access the restaurant, cruisers should head to the aft elevators and take them all the way up to the top.
Here, you will also find the Tamarind bar with its exclusive cocktail menu. Even if you do not have plans to eat at the restaurant, we suggest you find some time to grab a drink at the bar.
With our reservation at 6:30 pm, we arrived at the restaurant about 15 minutes early. The venue was not very busy, so the hostess escorted us directly to our seats. This allowed us to enjoy our “pre-dinner drinks” right at our table!
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Inside Tamarind on Rotterdam
Since Tamarind is at the top of the ship, it offers some amazing aft views.
As soon as you exit the elevator, cruisers are greeted with Asian accents and art pieces in the lobby area. The entrance funnels visitors into the restaurant, which opens up to showcase the back wall of windows overlooking the Sea View pool. For our early evening dinner, the setting sun gave the restaurant an inviting glow.
Inside the restaurant, the rich purple color palette couples well with the dark wood tones and metallic accents for a distinct look when compared to the other onboard restaurants.
On the starboard side of the restaurant is the Tamarind Bar. While on the portside of the restaurant, you will find Nami Sushi. This area includes a few booths and a large U-shaped sushi bar.
Dining at Tamarind
For our dinner at Tamarind, we scored one of the best seats in the house. We were escorted to a round table right near the back windows offering great views of the setting sun.
Quickly after being seated, our duo of waitresses introduced themselves and reviewed the menu.
While we needed some time to decide what we were going to eat, we were ready to place our cocktail order.
I did the Wasabi, which was a little sweeter of a drink than I normally order. The fruit flavors blended well with the silver sake. The Princess ordered the Far East Legacy, a vodka-based drink. Both drinks hit the right notes with hints of exotic flavors.
Of note, the Far East Legacy is over the Signature drink package allotment of $11. Unlike some cruise lines, this means that you must pay for the entire drink not just the additional cost over the allotment.
Now that we had enjoyed some of our drinks, it was time to order our dinner. For starters, the wife ordered the satay sampler. While this normally includes a variety of skewers, she requested just the Thai chicken. She enjoyed this dish, even though it had a bit of a kick.
Of course, I decided to sample two starters. First, I went with the pot stickers. Prepared in a traditional way, they had a light, crispy shell with a soft finish. The filling was a delicious blend of shrimp and lobster that was enhanced by soy-based sauce. This light and airy app is great for sharing.
Next, I dove into the Chinese five spice ribs. These were phenomenal. They had some nice heat, with zesty flavoring from the spice blend. The ideal amount of glaze coated the generous portion which was meat falling off the bone tender. Needless to say, I was very glad I tried this new starter.
For our main course, we ordered several plates. The Princess did the Coconut Curry chicken featuring a light sauce and all white meat boneless chicken. I continued the zesty trend with the Szechuan shrimp. Featuring lightly battered and fried shrimp in a chili pepper-based sauce, it was a spicy yet sweet combo. Again, it had the ideal combination of flavors and textures that you would expect from an upscale Asian-restaurant.
We also decided to try the dan dan noodles. These were a bit plainer than we expected, without much seasoning or sauce. We also went with the Dungeness crab fried rice. This is a great upgrade to the take-out classic. I could easily eat a whole order of this side dish as a meal!
Throughout the meal, the service was prompt and friendly. The waitresses made sure to check in with us several times. The courses were well-paced, with the entire experience taking 90 minutes.
Now, even though we had just shared a variety of starters and large plates, we couldn’t leave without trying dessert. While we never expect much from the desserts at Asian restaurants, we were both pleasantly surprised with the yuzu cheesecake. It offered a sweet, fruity finish with a smooth, light texture. A few bites of this small treat were the perfect finish to a meal bursting with unique flavors.
Recap of Our Holland America Tamarind Restaurant Review
An exotic departure from the main dining room, Tamarind on Holland America’s new Rotterdam delivered a fantastic farewell dinner.
The restaurant is perfectly situated, allowing guests to escape into this far east menu with captivating views.
With a signature cocktail menu that is just as distinct and well-crafted as the food, cruisers can easily make a complete night out at this rooftop bar and restaurant.
Given that our cruise was sailing at only 50% capacity, the restaurant was rather quiet. Likewise, Nami Sushi only had a few occupied tables as well.
While Tamarind might not be as fancy as the French-inspired Rudi’s Sel de Mer or the line’s signature steakhouse, Pinnacle Grill, the warm atmosphere and Asian-inspired décor make this restaurant feel a step above the other eateries onboard. Not to mention, the menu is delicious!
With a pre-cruise cost of just $29 plus 18% gratuity, it is a great value. Cruisers are essentially able to order as much as they want for this one reasonable cover charge.
Tamarind is great for larger parties too, given the menu is ideal for sharing.
While we did order several items, I could have easily ordered more given all of the great selections on the Holland America Tamarind menu! So, it looks like we will need to dine at the restaurant again on a future Holland America Line cruise. Maybe this time, we will bring some friends!
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Comments
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