Our favorite restaurant while on a transatlantic cruise on the Norwegian Encore, my wife and I…read moredined in to try every type of meal of the day, including one really late night (or real early morning). Almost every dish we sampled was excellent, prepared well and superior to the more complicated dishes served in the main dining hall. We were able to get seated right away every time we came through, and were even able to sit in really large and comfortable booths. One can also get seated overlooking the busy atrium below, providing an audience to whatever event might be happening at that time. The service was very good every time we came.
The Local Bar & Grill has a very specific menu, focusing on bar food classics. We've eaten almost everything on the menu in the past, so I intentionally chose new dishes (my wife tends to stay with her tried'n'true). The fish and chips continue to be good, using real cod (almost all the other fish on the cruise was the eponymous 'white' fish which wasn't great). Two dishes I tried for the first time was the Reuben sandwich and the fettucine alfredo, and both were excellent.
Details:
Day One: Stopped in for lunch on embarkation day, with ability to find space for our carry on luggage while eating. Shrimp corn chowder; rich and thick, but very (strangely) grainy. Bowl of beef chili (no beans) topped with onions and sour cream with tortilla chips: very good. Half dozen buffalo wings with choice of sauces...pretty much the only place we saw bone-in wings throughout the ship. Tasty, though not really crispy...reminded me of ones you make from frozen in the oven, not deep fryer. Pretzel Bites with Beer Cheese...can sub out for nacho cheese. Cuban style braised pork chunks, with rice and bean and plantains. Can skip the rice and bean, and I don't like plantains...but the pork was excellent.
Day Two: Opens at 06:30 for breakfast, and we arrived right when it opened, after our morning stretch. They serve a classic English Breakfast here, with pork sausage, baked bean, grilled tomato, and grilled mushrooms. I had this dish so many times on our trip, I (almost) lost count. My wife tried the French Toast, and she said it was excellent: the sweet brioche slices made syrup unnecessary.
Day Three: Ditto above for breakfast, except I doubled it. They are now able to customize the plates, adding or removing things.
Day Four: Breakfast again. Same for me except I added a veggie omelet, pancakes for my wife. Not nearly as good as the French Toast, per her.
Day Five: Breakfast again. Same for me (with omelet), but American classic breakfast for my wife. Good though, I wish they had salsa available with my omelet.
Day Six: DItto. This time added corned beef hash: definitely skippable compared to others.
Day Ten: Lunch! Reuben Sandwich, which was solid. Beef chili, artichoke spinach dip (good and shareable). Fish and chips (cod): as good as I remembered.
Day Eleven: Late Night meal at 02:00 (had skipped dinner night before). Buffalo wings, caesar salad (plenty of dressing and grated parm), fish and chips. For being so late at night, the fries were fresh and crispy. It was still pretty crowded with late night revelers, most of them in some state of inebriation.
Day Twelve: Lunch. Ordered the fettuccine alfredo for first time, and it was surprisingly very good...very rich, very filling.
It's only when you slowly go through your notes, does one realize how many times we went here. It really was our favorite restaurant on this twelve night cruise.