Royal teas for the Royalty

I completed my tour of all the dining options on board Azura with an evening in the Verona trattoria.
A bustling self-service cafe by day, it is transformed into a waiter-service restaurant at night, offering traditional Italian specialities, and imposing a surcharge only for extravagances such as the stone-cooked steak, which passengers grill to choice at their tables.
It was a pleasant experience – made better by the fact that we could enjoy watching the sunset from our window table on Deck 15, rather than being stuck at a mid-restaurant table in the Meridian on Deck 6.
All in all, there has been little to fault with P&O’s food and service, and the vote for best restaurant still goes to the Glass House, where the awesome bison burger remains a challenge worth tackling, and the wine selection is unsurpassed..
The dining options on another new ship, Cunard’s Queen Elizabeth, have just been announced.
The Lido restaurant on that vessel, to be launched in October, will split into three separate international sections every evening, with each one adding a $10 surcharge (despite being quintessentially British, Cunard still use the dollar as on-board currency).
Asado features South American cuisine awith meat cooked on a grill. Sample dishes include Roasted Chimmichuri Chicken and Argentinean Lamb Chops with Pistachio.
Aztec will offer regional Mexican cuisine exploring the variety of spices and ingredients which are native to the country; for example Chile Relleno de Espinaca and Banana-Wrapped Snapper Veracruzana.
Jasmine will provide Pan-Asian cuisine, drawing on influences from Japan, Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand and China.
One section of the restaurant will remain open as an informal buffet for casual dinners, with no surcharge.
Elsewhere on the vessel, the space which is occupied by the Todd English restaurant on sister ship Queen Victoria will be the Verandah (pictured above), echoing the Verandah Grills of the original Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth, with heavily French-influenced menus created by Cunard’s grandly-titled Global Culinary Ambassador Jean-Marie Zimmermann,
As is the custom on Cunard ships, passengers from the most expensive suites will have their own restaurants, the Queen’s Grill and Princess Grill, with adjoining private bar, courtyard and sun terrace which are all off-limits to other passengers.
The main dining room is the two-deck Britannia Restaurant, spanning Decks 2 and 3 at the stern, with fixed early and late sittings for dinner, and open seating for breakfast and lunch.
As well as traditional afternoon teas in the Queens Room, Queen Elizabeth will provide Champagne teas in the Garden Lounge – for those prepared to pay $25 to have Veuve Clicquot with their cucumber sandwiches.
Sounds almost as exclusive as a Buckingham Palace garden party.