Everything I Ate on my Costa Cruise (Photos and Menus)

If you are taking a cruise with Costa you may be wondering what the food will be like. Breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks are all included at no extra cost on a Costa cruise.

I have just disembarked a cruise on the Costa Smeralda and in this post we will look at everything I ate in the main dining room, buffet and room service. Menus are also provided.

I took my first Costa cruise in 2018 and the food quality has increased dramatically in my opinion.

Main Dining Room – Il Meneghino – Included in the Cruise Fare

There was more than one main restaurant. We were assigned Il Meneghino Restaurant on deck 6.

My parents and I had separate cruise bookings and so ended up with separate tables in the same restaurant at the same time. We asked if we were able to sit together, and they were very accommodating.

We were given a temporary table for the first night, then they sent a letter to our cabin with a permanent table number on the next day.

We ate at 5.45pm – the earliest time available. This suited us, as we rarely eat late at home.

There are no fixed dining times for breakfast or lunch. Guests are able to eat in the main dining room whenever it is open for breakfast or lunch.

Menus can be viewed in advance on the Costa Cruises App.

Starter #1	Eggplant Rolls stuffed with Mozzarella
First Course #1	Vegetarian Baked Lasagne
Dessert #1	Strawberry Roll with Lemon

Starter #1	Smoked swordfish
Starter #2	Bresaola with Cream Cheese and Walnuts
Main #1	Quinoa Salad with Broccoli Tartare

First Course # 1	Trofiette with Basil Pesto
First Course # 2	Rigatoni with Napolitan Ragu
Main Course #1	Pan Fried Tuna with Cherry Tomatoes
Dessert # 1	Double Strawberry Cheesecake
Main Course# 2	Spicy Vegetable Couscous

Starter#1	Home Made Buffalo Mozzarella with Cherry Tomatoes
Starter#2	Salmon Bites with Lemon and Turmeric
First course#1	Gratinated Vegetable Lasagne
Main#1	Beef Steak with spice and honey crust

Starter #1	Smoked Turkey with Semi Dried Tomatoes
Starter #2	Roasted Pumpkin with Sweet and Sour Sauce
Main#1	Boneless Oven Roasted Turkey
Dessert #1	Black Forest Cake

From The Main Restaurants Lunch Time Menu

The main restaurant on Deck 5, The Colombina Restaurant, was sometimes open for lunch.

The menu below shows a typical lunchtime selection:

Starter #1	Mediterranean Salad with Feta Cheese and Piadina Puff Pastry
Main Course#1	Fried Arancini with Spiced Rice and Curry Sauce

Buffet – Included In the Cruise Fare

The buffet on the Costa Smeralda was open for breakfast, lunch, afternoon snacks and dinner. It was shut in-between times, so consult your daily schedule or Costa Cruise App to check it is open before you visit.

The buffet is called La Sagra dei Sapori, and can be found towards the back of deck 8.

The buffet at dinner time consisted of:

Mini Pizzas
Pasta
Rotisserie
Cold Meats
Cheeses
Ethnic Corner (Usually Chinese)
Bread
Salads

The sections would be different for breakfast and lunch.

The above photos are of lunches I had in the buffet. The great thing about the buffet is that you can combine anything that you think looks interesting.

The last photo is of the Costa Mini Pizzas, which were delicious!

Afternoon Snacks in the buffet for us meant Churros!

Everyday from 4pm there were a selection of afternoon snacks in the buffet

Churros became a daily routine, in the absence of my normal cookies.

There was also a good selection of sandwiches, paninis, cakes and desserts.

The Salty Beach – Street Food – Additional Charge Fast Food Restaurant

The Salty Beach snack bar can be found on deck 16, under the dome where the indoor pool is situated.

Here you can order either a meal – burger or toasted Panini with fries and a cake for €5 – or just a burger or toasted Panini for €3.50.

At time of writing, this is around $5.50/£4.50 for the meal, or $3.80/ £3 for just the burger or panini.

The burger and chips meal was huge, and we struggled to eat that – and then there was an included cake too.

costa cruises salty dog street food burger menu

Both the burgers and toasted paninis were delicious!

Burgers came in a variety of options, including a veggie burger.

Toasted Paninis had a selection of fillings.

There was a variety of cakes, none of which looked familiar to me. Nice to try something different when on a cruise. Some I liked, some I didn’t…

The food was always cooked to order, so was hot and tasty.

Pummid’Oro Pizzeria – Additional Charge Pizzeria

Pummid’Oro Pizzeria can be found on deck 8, towards the middle of the ship.

They serve a selection of Pizzas, and you pay per item, as in a normal restaurant on land.

The pizzas we chose were €9 and €11.

At time of writing, this is around $10/ £8 for one pizza and $12 / £9.70 for the other.

If you are a member of Costa Cruises Loyalty Club, you receive a 25% discount. Worth joining for that alone. Joining the Costa Club itself is totally free.

Other Speciality Restaurants Onboard That I Didn’t Try – Additional Charges Apply to all.

There are many other restaurants onboard that you can try at an extra cost, some formal, some informal. Here is a selection of other options available:

Archipelago Restaurant

This is a gourmet restaurant with menus consisting of 5 courses.

You can choose one of 3 different menus, and these are apparently an interpretation of a route you are travelling around the world! (They serve specialities from different places along the way.)

Costa donates €5 to the Costa Cruise Foundation for every meal sold In the Archipelago Restaurant. This goes towards Social and Environmental projects.

Teppanyaki Restaurant

Food is served in an Oriental-style environment. Here you ca order Japanese seafood specialties. Restaurant tables are arranged around a large cooking table where the chefs prepare each meal at a time.