Amazing Cuisine and Beverages on Riverside Luxury Cruises

Hank Schrader, USMA '71, Europe Destination & Europe River Cruise Expert

Anne Schrader, Certified Travel Counselor & Certified Luxury Cruise Specialist

www.dreamdestinations.com

I’m not a big fan of river cruise lines awards, since all river cruise lines are so good, sometimes the award is not as significant as posted by the media. We do agree with some awards, and I must say both Anne and I feel that Riverside deserves the following accolade:

According to Cruise Critic’s editors:

“Riverside Luxury Cruises has set a new standard for dining on a river cruise…Food is expertly prepared, down to the smallest detail, and even buffets feel special, with dishes cooked à la minute with surprises like fresh seafood. The cruise line also holds a top-deck barbecue that serves up delicacies like giant prawns, tender steaks and grilled kebabs of all sorts.”

There is no doubt they are excellent and, in our opinion, edge out AmaWaterways for our favorite cuisine and beverages on Europe River cruises.

While we can’t help you taste how good the food is, you can imagine that the quaity ingrediants and careful preparation, along with the friendly service. makes the food special and will provide you with exceptional dining experiences and perhaps our pictures will entice to try Riverside for yourselves.

One thing is sure—the selections are extensive, so we feel you will have an appealing choice for your meals during your whole cruise.

So, let’s see our experiences dining 4 times on Riverside Luxury Cruises, which are best told through our pictures (59 total) , and we will show you examples of meals on their 3 ships—the double wide Mozart and the two 135-meter ships Debussy and Ravel.

Our Latest Dining Experience during the 2026 ASTA River Cruise Expo in March

We had a great diner on the Debussy during the Expo. Since we had sailed on her in April of 2025, most of the crew remembered us and gave us big hugs. So, now to our dinner meal:

My ribeye steak cooked to perfection (medium rare for me) with bordelaise sauce (classic French brown sauce made by reducing red wine, shallots, herbs and beef stock) Awesome!

Freshly made a la minute pasta—always great!

Great, friendly waitstaff who were glad to see us again

Bruno (Maitre D) sharing a smile by welcoming us back to the Debussy. He truely is the “Master of the House” making sure we had a great experience as we had during our past sailing on the Debussy.

The reason we were greeted again so warmly was the restaurant staff of the Debussy from our April 2026 sailing—what an exception group, highly trained yet friendly!

They Make Celebrations Special

Our stateroom with a birthday message for Anne

Anne on the Debussy on her birthday in April 2025

My birthday cake on the Ravel in Octoberr 2024

Restaurants

There are 4 possible eating venues on all Riverside ships.

The Waterside Cafe is the main dining area.

Breakfast and Lunch are served buffet style in the Waterside Cafe. Here are some pictures of the Waterside Cafe setup on 2 of the ships:

Ravel—note the tables for 2 —carrying only 110 guess on a 135-meter ship allows for this unusual feature as compared to other river cruise lines

During lunch and dinner, unique among river cruise lines, is a pasta station available for every lunch and dinner meal—you can see the chef ready to make the pasta in the middle of the hot service buffet area in the photo below. Typically, there was a couple of meat or fish dishes, and a vegetarian option.

chef preparing the pasta on the Riverside Debussy

The hot meal options during lunch on the Ravel

One of the 2 salad stations on the Ravel

Lunch on the Mozart 2025

Hot service area (left) and pasta station center on the Mozart

My steak and prawn kabob, rice and amazing beef stroganoff (beef in rich, creamy sauce made by simmering onions, mushrooms, and garlic in butter thickened with flour and beef stock, and when reduced finished off with sour cream)

A typical Dinner Meal on the Ravel

The next pictures are of a typical dinner meal. It is served at your table after you order from the menu. Here is our first night menu:

Atelier

The Atelier (formerly called the Bistro) is a more informal area to eat during your cruise. It serves late breakfast, and a light lunch, as well as lighter all-day meals, specialty coffees and teas, pastries and snacks.

Special Diner Experience—Our Zwischenspiel Meal

A Zwischenspiel (interlude is the exact translation) is usually a course served during a meal like a sorbet during a 5-or 7-course meal. Riverside took this concept and created a tasting menu with small dishes. This was an unexpected treat that was fun and tasty. It was served in the Atelier

The cold plates offered during the Zwischenspiel

Sauerbraten—beef slow cooked in a red wine vinegar sauce.

Anne took a picture up above with aid of the ceiling mirror

A Late Riser Meal Option

Another cool feature is to get up late one day and still get eggs benedict instead of just some bread or sweet rolls as a late riser!

The specialty dining room is the Vintage Room. It is only available if enough guests agree to pay the extra charge. I wrote a blog about our experience on the Ravel. Here is the link:

https://www.dreamdestinations.com/blog-main/the-vintage-room-on-the-riverside-ravel

The real value of this experience was the high quaity wines paired with the meal. While an expensive experience, the wines were exceptional.

The venison main course during our Vintage room experience

Each course was exploained in detail along with the wine pairings

The Outdoor Grill Area

Weather permitting, once a sailing, they try to have an outdoor lunch. This is the best lunch I had on any river cruise line. Check out these pictures to see if you agree:

A grill feast. On the plate a gaint tiger prawn, mac-n-cheese, steak, chicken, pork, sausage and potato! It was my favorite lunch during our Ravel cruise.

The staff ready to serve us on the Debussy on the top deck

Grilling prep for a wonderful meal on the Debussy

My meal—steak, a prawn, corn on the cob, stuffed potato and grilled bacon. I wisely took only one of each amazing grilled items but was tempted to load my plate wih more. Restraint is not my best trait when it comes to great food!

An Amazing Bar Staff

The quality bar is well stocked and the bartenders are expert mixologists!

Another picture of the pop-up bar. This is a unique aspect of Riverside—the bar pop ups only when needed. Most river cruise lines place the wheelhouse where the bar is and lower it when faced with low bridges. Riverside 135-meter ships have the wheelhouse in the front of the ship and it never needs to be lowered. A relly cool feature and a difference maker.

Sommelier Stefan was excellent at pairing wines with our food

Our Final Thoughts

We are foodies. There is no doubt most of the river cruise lines have very good food and that is one of the appealing factors why we love Europe River cruising so much.

We judge Riverside the best for the culinary experience, edging out AmaWaterways for foodies. It is pricey but worth it—why not try it yourself to see if we are right?

We would be glad to help when the time is right, so we can get you a foodie experience like we have had.

We are travel experts, ocean and river cruise specialists, and Europe destination experts. We have first-hand knowledge of almost anywhere you want to visit in Europe. We know our products and the vendors who sell them to you. We have designed special tours for dozens of clients, led several and will continue to find just the right vacation that will exceed your expectations.

When you are spending your hard-earned money for a vacation, you want an advisor who can match you with the right trip. You want someone who will understand your expectations and fuel your anticipation (or excitement) to get you the best possible trip experience. And, you want someone who can help you with the decision-making process. We think we have all these qualities.

Whatever your Dream Destinations are, we are here to help you get the best possible vacation based on what is important to you! We will provide you with high quality, expertly planned travel. Please give me a call 713-397-0188 (Hank) or email me at hschrader@visitdd.com . We want to help you: Savor life…make memories…Visit Dream Destinations! Your journey begins here!

ANNE has earned a degree from the University of Houston in Hotel and Restaurant Management. Serving as the President of Visit Dream Destinations, LLC, since 2016, she is uniquely experienced professional travel advisor with over 30 years’ experience in the travel industry. Among her numerous certifications, she is a Certified Travel Counselor (CTC) by the Travel Institute, considered the gold standard in travel agent certification and she is also an Accredited Cruise Counselor (ACC) by the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA), as well Luxury Cruise Specialist also from CLIA. Having traveled often to Europe since 1989, she has expanded on her certification as a Destination Specialist in Western Europe (DS) with extensive first-hand experience in luxury vacations. She holds numerous other specialty designations from individual vendors. An expert photographer, she delights in capturing the true essence of destinations to share with all.

HANK is a certified Western European Destination Specialist (DS) who has been traveling to Europe for 55 years. He is also an Accredited Cruise Counselor (ACC), conferred by the Cruise Line International Association (CLIA). His last major certificate is a Verified Travel Advisor (VTA) certificate earned from the American Society of Travel Advisors (ASTA). This recognized expert in cruise and leisure travel is a retired Army Officer, and taught World Geography for 8 years. He is a `71 graduate of West Point and has earned 2 master’s degrees. His other Certifications:

AmaWaterways River Cruise Specialist
Avalon Waterways Specialist
CLIA Riverview Certificate
Emerald Waterways Specialist
Riverside Luxury Cruise Specialist
Scenic River Cruise Specialist
Viking River Cruise Specialist
Brit Agent

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