Chasing Rabbits AND Flavors at Wonderland
Are you not an adventurous person when it comes to dining? I am not, I need to know what I am eating and if it sounds unappetizing, no thank you!
Prior to dining, I was extremely hesitant of how much I’d like dining in this specialty dining restaurant aboard Royal Caribbean’s Anthem of the Seas. Wonderland, themed after Alice and Wonderland, I was afraid of where this rabbit hole was exactly going to take me. However, I was pleasantly surprised!
And We’re Off…
Upon entering, our waiter David, built our trust by guiding us through the menu and selections. He assured us that he would not steer us wrong, turning our apprehension into curiosity and thus began our journey.
You begin the experience by “painting” the menu. You are provided with a frame and menu that is activated by water. They provide a paintbrush, and you paint your way to seeing the menu appear.
The menu is categorized into five elements – Sun, Ice, Fire, Earth, and Sea. Sun had radiant vegetables playfully reinvented, Ice is to chill and exhilarate the palette, Fire to emanate warmth, Earth to ground you whimsically and Sea to inspire you with the tide of imagination.
Cocktails and Appetizers
We began our culinary journey with Cocktails and Appetizers. We were met right away with theatrical presentation and whimsical theming.
I ordered the Cheshire Cat Cosmo, a glass brought to me filled with cotton candy. The drink was then poured over the cotton candy and magically melted away leaving the flavor behind. Others enjoyed the White Rabbit-rita for their cocktail of choice.
We ordered one appetizer from the Sun, Earth and Sea, two from the Ice and 3 from the Fire elements. The Bird’s nest and Mad Hatter’s Purple Potted shrimp were by far our most favorite dishes, ordering several times before the main course.
Main Course
Our main course consisted of the Earth and Sea elements. The Branzino, Chicken and Burger were hits. The pork was a little too fatty and the halibut needed a little more flavor. Most of us ate so many appetizers, we had trouble finishing the main course. With dessert ahead, we chose to leave some room for that!
Desserts
Presentation and theming were beyond measure here! Not a drop was left behind on any of these delicious plates. The kid’s banana split came out with a pile of cotton candy on top, only to lift the cotton candy to find the ice cream in a chocolate shell dish. The World – was exactly that, presented as a globe, to which they poured a hot fudge over top that instantly melted the world into an amazing shell of chocolatey goodness. The Mushroom Garden was the most colorful and cute dessert, made mostly of meringue. The Forbidden Apple was described by my daughter as tasting like raspberry pudding – can’t go wrong there!
Overall, the feeling before I walked into the restaurant and when I left were complete opposites. The immersive dining and the surprise factor at trying things I would not normally try won me over. I would highly recommend to my clients to TRY this experience. Traditional dining it is not, however, if you are in for an artistic, unique, creative and imaginative experience – it’s a home run!