The Azamara Quest restaurants are generally very good, but as we discovered some are better than others. That said, we think the best of them is the Prime C steakhouse. There are five Azamara Quest restaurants:

• Discoveries Restaurant
• Prime C
• Aqualina
• Windows Cafe
• The Patio

Discoveries Restaurant

The Discoveries Restaurant is the biggest dining venue on Azamara Quest. It brings to mind the sort of restaurant you’d find in a grand European hotel, yet it also has a subtle modern flare. The Discoveries Restaurant has a warm and friendly atmosphere, great ocean views and delicious cuisine.

Indeed, the menu is a delight and it changes each evening. Starters include Grilled Octopus with Chickpeas, Cherry Tomatoes & White Wine Vinaigrette as well as Sesame Crusted Shrimp with Miso Slaw & Yuzo Cream. There is also Classic Escargots à la Bourguignonne and a spectacular Marinated Green Beans Salad with Feta Cheese, Kalamata Olives & Dill.

Main courses in Discoveries Restaurant included a tasty Balsamic Roasted Pork Loin with Scalloped Potatoes, Root Vegetables & Caper-Parsely-Olive Dressing. We also enjoyed a Baked BBQ Cornish Hen with Potato-Corn Fritters, Grilled Bell Peppers & Scallions, not to mention the Spicy Seared Chipotle Shrimp with Zucchini, Bell Peppers, Chorizo & Saffron Rice.

Desserts are sure to tickle your tastebuds with a delectable Passionfruit Cake, Banana Cheesecake and Vanilla Panna Cotta, to name just a few.

Each evening Discoveries Restaurant also presents a World Cuisine Menu. It’s a petit degustation – a culinary journey of discovery traversing the tastes of Europe, India, Asia and the Americas.

The Discoveries Restaurant is open daily for Breakfast and dinner. It is also open for lunch on sea days. You don’t need reservations.

Breakfast: 8:00am – 9:30am.

Lunch: 12:00pm – 1:00pm. (Sea days only.)

Dinner: 6:00pm – 9:00pm.

Prime C – the best Azamara Quest restaurant

Prime C is a steakhouse-style restaurant on Azamara Quest. It serves succulent steaks, as well as delicious duck and seafood. We rate Prime C as the best restaurant on Azamara Quest.

Starters include Classic Steak Tartare as well as Crab & Lobster Cake with Pineapple-Papaya Salsa & Fennel-aioli. The Smoked Fish Platter with Beetroot & Apple Relish, Quail Egg, Celeriac Remoulade & Salmon Roe was moreish.

For main course there is an exceptional Herb-Coated Rack of Lamb as well as Duck Confit with White Bean Cassoulet. The Chilean Sea Bass with Miso Glaze, Bok Choy & Japanese Fried Rice also proved popular.

However, steaks are the star of the Prime C show. There is Filet Mignon au Poivre, Steak Diane, not to mention a 16-oz Ribeye. We rate the Chateaubriand highly. In fact, it’s one of the best beef dishes we’ve eaten at sea.

All the classic steakhouse sauces are available including peppercorn, Béarnaise, mustard and Café de Paris.

Desserts include a traditional Key Lime Cheesecake with Meringue, Lime Jelly & Graham Crumble, as well as a Scotch Whiskey Chocolate Cake and a very pleasing Fondant au Chocolat. Although there was also a somewhat disappointing Grain-Nut Soufflé.

It’s worth noting that the Prime C menu rarely changes, however there are nightly specials so be sure to ask your waiter.

Prime C is open for dinner only. Reservations are essential. A dining supplement is payable unless you are staying in a Veranda Plus Stateroom or a Suite. Speciality dining packages start from USD85 per person.

Dinner: 6:00pm – 9:00pm

Aqualina

Aqualina is an Italian-inspired specialty restaurant on Azamara Quest with an emphasis on the cuisine of Tuscany.

Starters include a perfect Beef Carpaccio, as well as a Classic Caprese Salad of Seasonal Tomatoes & Buffalo Mozzarella. Although it has to be said the Pancetta Wrapped Scallops with Crispy Squid & Butternut Squash was a sensation.

If you enjoy a traditional Italian second course there are soups and salads too.

There is pasta, meat and fish for main course. Indeed, the Lobster Tail with Squid Ink Pasta was impressive. So too was the Garlic, Lemon & Herb Crusted Veal Chop with Potatoes & Arugula-Pistachio Pesto and Maple Balsamic.

Dessert is a tempting affair with choices like Panna Cotta, Tiramisu or a Flourless Chocolate Torte, not to mention Chocolate Covered Amaretto Mousse or Sbagliato Baba Neapolitan.

Like Prime C, the menu in Aqualina rarely changes, however there are nightly specials. Although it’s worth noting that during my voyage these specials were mostly Asiatic cuisine. I couldn’t help feeling these seemed out of place.

Aqualina is open for dinner only. Reservations are essential and a dining supplement is payable for non-veranda and Veranda Stateroom guests. Speciality dining packages start from USD85 per person.

It’s worth noting that Aqualina is closed on the White Night and the AzAmazing Evening.

Dinner: 6:00pm – 9:00pm

The Patio

The Patio is an al fresco, pool side venue serving lunch and dinner on Azamara Quest. It has a gentle sea breeze, glorious ocean views and in the evening there are white linen table cloths not to mention great service. Indeed, it was our preferred casual dinner venue.

The menu is small, but enormously satisfying. There are soups, salads and artisan breads for starters. Main course comes straight off the grill and includes BBQ Pork Ribs, Grilled Curried Chicken Kebabs, Tournedos of Lamb Tenderloin and Bone-in Beef Striploin. There are also expertly grill seafood specials each day.

We think The Patio is a great dining option, it’s casual without forsaking quality.

The Patio is open for lunch daily and dinner most evenings (weather permitting). Dinner reservations are recommended, but not essential.

Lunch: 12:00pm – 5:00pm

Dinner: 6:30pm – 8:30pm

Windows Cafe

Windows Cafe is the buffet restaurant on Azamara Quest. It has a good food selection and uninterrupted ocean views, not to mention a glorious teak terrace for al fresco dining.

Breakfast in Windows Cafe includes a spread of hot and cold options. At lunchtime there are salads and cold meats, as well as shrimps, roasted meats and fish. The dinner buffet is usually themed around ports of call or other regional cuisine. For instance, on my voyage there was a French evening in Windows Cafe.

In my opinion Windows Cafe was the least impressive of the Azamara Quest restaurants. While still good, the food was not as enjoyable as other restaurants on board.

Windows Cafe is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner. You do not need to make reservations.

Breakfast: 6:30am – 10:00am.

Lunch: 12:30pm – 2:30pm.

Dinner: 6:30pm – 9:00pm.

The author sailed as a guest of Azamara.