Wonderland is a restaurant on the Royal Caribbean Odyssey of the Seas cruise ship. As you may have guessed, it is themed after the Lewis Carroll books about Alice and her adventures down the rabbit hole.
The menu is playful with lots of whimsy and references to characters and themes from the books. You can just take a look at the cocktail menu for a preview of what lies ahead.
Your own adventure starts when you receive the menu.
"But it is blank", said Alice.
"Take this magical brush and water and reveal what lies ahead", said the Mad Hatter.
There are themes of Sun, Ice and Fire for starters. The mains are themed for Earth and Sea.
We had a terrific waiter who I will call Milo - because that is his name. He asked us if it was okay for him to select the starters and we could choose our mains. That sounded adventurous to us so we were onboard.
We started with the Bird's Nest. This came to your table in a dome full of smoke.
This was essentially two deviled eggs with a blue cheese spread and a dollop of siracha. The flavor was too muted for me. With two strong featured ingredients, I expected more of a punch in the mouth. Instead it tasted like an egg that was not salted. Somewhat disappointing based on the buildup and presentation. The most interesting part of the dish was the "nest". This was made of thin strips of filo pastry that had been formed into the ring and flash fried. It didn't have much flavor, but did add to the "wow" factor. Unfortunately, this was not a winning dish. I think if they had added just a little sea salt or a bit more siracha, it would have been much better.
Next was the Mad Hatter's Purple Potted Shrimp.
This has a whimsical presentation being served in a purple tea cup. It was a large shrimp coated with finely shredded filo as the breading. And there was a surprise when you lifted up the shrimp. There was a delicate sauce with a hint of scotch bonnet peppers. Not enough to knock.yoir socks off - but enough to cut the richness the fried seafood. This was a tasty dish.
Next was liquid lobster
This was meant to be consumed in one bite. It was a portion of lobster tail in a rich bisque then topped with Russian caviar. A very satisfying bite and one of the best single bites of food I have ever had.
Next was Tomato Water.
This was another dish made to be consumed in one shot. It was the water from a tomato that was filtered down to just the liquid - no pulp or other parts of the tomato to make it red. It had some small peppers and was topped with a bread foam. When you drank it, it was like you were having a bruschetta. Very creative and tasty.
Next was Crispy Crab Cones.
This was a crunchy cone made from a wonton wrapper. At the bottom of the cone was two kinds of crabmeat and it was topped with a luscious creamy avocado "ice cream". Definitely another one where you needed to eat in one bite to get all the flavors at once. Great combination of textures and flavors. Crunchy from the wonton, slighty briney from the crab, creamy from the avocado and a hint of freshness with the ohba leaf. What is an ohba leaf? I also had to look it up. It is a leaf often used in the presentation of sushi. Sometimes it as a serrated edge and the sushi is placed on top. Here a smaller leaf was used as a garnish.
The it was time for main courses. I chose from the earth menu. This was the Rib "I" Luscious Short Rib.
The playing was unusual in that it was upside down. And surrounded by various sides you could dip the short rib into. There was sweet potato, a vinegary pureed beet, miniature heirloom tomatoes and an apple puree. All were tasty and interesting to try with the short rib. I would say that none of that added to or detracted from the dish. Milo told me I shouldn't need a knife to cut this, and he was absolutely correct. This was a succulent and huge - and as the menu foretold - a luscious piece of meat. Juicy and full of flavor. And the addition of the bordelaise pan sauce brought it all together.
My wife ordered the Branzino in Crispy Bread from the sea menu.
This was a clever way to have a crispy "skin" without leaving the skin on the fish. The Branzino was combined with some basmati rice. The ratio of rice to fish was off. Needs much more fish. The best part of the dish? The tamarind spice emulsion!! The sauce alone took this from just being an ordinary dish to something to remember. Without it, this would have been disappointing.
For dessert, Milo asked if he could choose - as he had for the starers. We were in!!
This was "The World".
This was a chocolate dome. "What is inside this world", asked Alice.
"Let me show you", said the Mad Hatter as he poured melted caramel over the top.
Inside was cold and creamy salted caramel ice cream along with peanut butter ganache and chocolate mousse. All this flavors with the warm caramel made this one of the best desserts aI have ever had. You really wanted to get that perfect bite.
Milo also brought the Mystical Mushroom Garden.
This was full of whimsy. The mushroom stems were hardened meringue. The pink caps has a slight hint of pink peppercorn. The red cap was a moist pistachio cake. The orange was a delicious mango sorbet. And all "growing" on "soil" which was a combination of chocolate, red velvet and freeze dried fruit dust. Very creative and tasty.
So if you find yourself having a chance to eat at Wonderland, definitely take a trip down the Rabbit Hole. Just ask Alice.
