Silver Moon Dining

Included

Virtually all dining is included in the price of your cruise on Silver Moon, and the means luxuries like caviar anywhere and everywhere you could want, snacks and canapes, tea time noshes and breakfast, lunch and dinner across multiple restaurants around the ship. It also includes an extensive in-suite menu, for those night when you just don't want to go out.

Dining at every venue is done exceptionally well, with as much thought and care given to food at the casual pool grill as there is to dishes at the beautiful SALT Kitchen. We love the portion sizes, which are small enough for you to enjoy multiple courses without feeling overstuffed.

But the biggest hit is the commitment to local ingredients and local dishes, thanks to Silver Moon's commitment to its SALT program. SALT is an immersive cultural and dining experience designed to give guests a fuller understanding of the food their eating and its relation to the culture of the places the ship visits. (Read our article about SALT and how it will change your cruising experience.)

There are no set dining times on Silver Moon, though many of the restaurants require reservations.

One of the things Silver Moon does very well is accommodate special dietary restrictions, from seafood allergies to low-sodium needs and vegan or vegetarian requirements. Passengers fill out their preferences online ahead of the sailing, and they meet with the chef on the first day onboard to go over their needs. In every restaurant, servers use tablets. When they ask for your suite number, it's linked to your dietary instructions, so they can advise you on what to eat (and avoid) based on your specific needs.

Tip: Servers are well-versed in the menus, so ask for their favorites and recommendations; you won't be disappointed.

Atlantide The closest thing Silver Moon has to a main dining room, Atlantide is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner. This is the ship's Continental restaurant, offering international favorites as well as some American standards. At breakfast, the menu is an exact replica of what you can order for room service. That means you can expect eggs and omelets, muesli, toast, pancakes and French toast, cured fish and full English breakfast.

At lunch, it's a multicourse affair, with starters like tuna tacos or cream of black mussel soup. You can order entree or starter salads, as well as made-to-order pasta in a small or large portion. Entrees might include bouillabaisse or roasted pork loin, and sweets are always available for desserts.

At dinner, the menu is surprisingly vast; we found we wanted to make a meal of starters alone. Which you absolutely can do, if you're so inclined. Appetizers might include a goat cheese salad or black angus carpaccio, while mains could include miso-glazed cod or delightful rack of lamb.

Tip: Order the Oscietra caviar with traditional condiments at least once here; they're served with excellent houseemade blinis.

Reservations aren't required at Atlantide.

SALT Kitchen Silver Moon is the first ship to offer SALT Kitchen, a restaurant dedicated to giving guests a taste of the flavors of the region. This isn't a broad, bird's-eye-view approach; rather, it's an immersion into the history and culture of a region through food.

The menu reflects the dishes of the region to which the ship is sailing, and several pages of it are devoted to the overall destination. If you're sailing an eastern Mediterranean cruise around Greece and Cyprus, for example, those options will broadly represent that region (think meze plates loaded with cheese and olives, fresh seafood and crispy baklava). But each night, another menu is added that represents specifically the port you visited that day. Dishes will reflect the ingredients that are important to that port. It's a lovely culinary journey that introduces guests to a region and allows them to learn along the way.

SALT Kitchen is open only for dinner, and reservations aren't required.

La Terrazza La Terrazza is the ship's hybrid buffet restaurant at breakfast and lunch. At breakfast, guests can order items like fresh-made eggs, any style, omelets and smoothies, which waiters will deliver to your table. Additionally, the restaurant offers a number of buffet items to supplement your meal. Choose from items like sausages and cured fish, bacon and hash browns. The buffet is a "served" buffet, meaning crew will put your choices on your plate for you. You also can find some food packaged neatly in glass boxes. (Bagels and lox, along with all the fixings, are one prepackaged grab-and-go option.)

Tip: The smoothie bar doesn't offer protein mix-ins, but if you travel with protein powder, you can have it blended in to your custom order.

For lunch, La Terrazza takes the same approach as it does at breakfast, but this time, you have buffet options like a pasta station and a carving station. Rotating items might have a theme -- Mexican, for example -- and a salad bar offers plenty of options for those looking for something a little lighter. You will also find a good selection of sushi every day.

We were impressed with waitstaff, who eagerly offered to carry our plates from the buffet to the table and overheard us talking about sushi so volunteered to put together a plate for us. The service there -- and everywhere -- is intuitive and friendly.

At night, La Terrazza transforms into an Italian restaurant, with an extensive menu that changes slightly each night; most of the entrees and all of the pastas stay the same, but you'll find different fish of the day selections as well as a few new mains tossed in. Pasta courses can be served as your main, but smaller portions can also be requested as an appetizer. Carbs are king here, thanks to the pasta and some really excellent bread, but the menu has solid seafood and meat options as well.

Reservations are required only for dinner at La Terrazza.

Kaiseki (Lunch) The ship's sushi bar during the day, Kaiseki offers a variety of sushi rolls and sashimi options. One of the smaller venues onboard, Kaiseki is a popular spot on sea days especially, when people are looking to explore something different. Diners can select tables or sit at the sushi bar while the chef makes rolls fresh to order. Reservations aren't required for Kaiseki at lunch.

Tip: Rolls are small -- three per order -- so order a variety if you're unsure what you'd favor. You can also keep ordering if you're still hungry.

The Pool Grill For casual dining, the Pool Grill is the best option onboard. Open for lunch, the Pool Grill offers standards like burgers, hot dogs and salads. It's a quick bite al fresco, for when you want something satisfying but not large.

This restaurant is located right below pizza joint Spaccanapoli, so if you're craving pizza but your dining partner wants a veggie burger, eat at the Pool Grill.

Tip: You won't see the poke bowl on the menu, but you should order it as an appetizer -- with tuna or chicken.

At night, the space is transformed into The Grill. (On other ships, this venue is called Hot Rocks, but on Silver Moon, they’ve simplified the name.) This spot is a joy for dining, giving guests the opportunity to cook meats of their choice right at their tables. If you're steak is overcooked, blame the chef. The atmosphere is casual; it's one of the few spots where you can skip dressing up for dinner. Waiters will help you navigate the menu, and they'll cover your duds in an oversized bib, designed to protect you from the splattering of juice bits.

Spaccanapoli If you're craving some Napolese pizza, it doesn't get much better than Spaccanopoli. Open for lunch and dinner, this outdoor restaurant offers up a great selection of pies. Choose from the menu, or custom make your own. Our favorites onboard were the margherita and the cheesy bianca regina.

Tip: Pizzas are designed to be single serve, but if you don't have a huge appetite, ask for a small. (It's not on the menu, but chefs will accommodate.)

Tip: Pizzas are served European style, meaning not cut into slices. If you'd rather grab a slice and eat with your hands, ask for it to be cut for you.

Arts Cafe One of the prettiest venues onboard, thanks to its light and bright decor, sophisticated artwork and floor-to-ceiling windows. Not really a restaurant, the Arts Cafe is more a snack spot that changes throughout the day. In the morning, you can find yogurt parfaits, small egg or lox sandwiches and detox waters. For lunch, you'll get sandwiches and the like. Later in the day, its canapes and sweets.

Silver Note If you're looking for something truly different, look no further than Silver Note, which offers South American and Japanese fusion food. It's a menu of light bites, so diners usually select between two to four dishes; the waiters will make suggestions for the order in which you eat them. Silver Note also is a jazz club, so one night you might hear a trio, another a pianist. Regardless, the music is a lovely complement to the meal, serving as a pleasant backdrop but still entertaining.

Reservations are required at Silver Note, where dinner isn't served until after 8 p.m.

All-Around Dining On those occasions when you just don't want to go out, All-Around Dining is your option. Silver Moon's room service menu is excellent, giving guests the extensive choices so they don't feel like they're missing something by not visiting a restaurant. Food is available 24/7, and it features many of the items you can find at Atlantide.

Tip: You don't actually have to eat room service in your room. All-Around Dining allows you to order food to any location, any time that the restaurants aren't open.

For Fee

La Dame by Relais & Chateaux
$$ In partnership with the luxury collection of hotels and restaurants, La Dame is Silver Moon's upscale French restaurant, offering classic dishes with the occasional contemporary twist. A light meal, this is not. You'll dine on items like foie gras, escargot and caviar, along with filet of beef, lobster tail or Chilean sea bass. For dessert, souffle and a beautiful cheese plate are on offer. This was a favorite for many people on our sailing, who dubbed it "something special." A sommelier will pair wines specifically to your menu, but be aware that wines are available in all other venues, so don't feel obligated to go just for the pairings.

Kaiseki (Dinner)
$$ At dinner, Kaiseki offers an elevated Asian menu, with items such as surf and turf featuring a buttery lobster tail and Waygu beef, chicken thigh skewers and marinated raw tuna.

Tip: If you don't know where to start, try the chef's Omakase suggestions.

Our Pick

SALT Kitchen is a winner for its rotating menu that places guests squarely in the heart of the destinations through food.

For the sheer fun factor, visit The Grill.

And grab a pizza at least once.