Explora Journeys ALL 6 Restaurants Ranked: Honest Review.

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Dining is one of the biggest selling points for Explora Journeys, and on our six-night cruise we tried every restaurant onboard. Overall, the food quality was good — sometimes excellent — and definitely a step above mainstream cruise lines. But as with any luxury experience, expectations rise with the price, and some venues simply delivered more than others.

This ranking is based on our personal taste, the consistency of the dishes, the execution, and the service experience in each restaurant. Food is subjective — what underwhelms one traveller may delight another — but this list reflects how each venue actually felt during our sailing.

How We Ranked the Restaurants

Instead of simply reviewing each restaurant in isolation, we ranked them from least impressive to most impressive based on:

Overall flavour and execution
Whether dishes felt authentic or over-worked
Dining room atmosphere
Service consistency
Whether the restaurant felt worth its “luxury” positioning
How memorable the experience was

Even the lower-ranked venues weren’t “bad” — but on a luxury cruise line with premium pricing, the contrast between restaurants can be surprisingly noticeable.

Comparison Table

Rank	Restaurant	Cuisine	Cost	Our Rating	Best For
#6	Anthology	Tasting Menu	€165pp extra	⭐⭐	Skip it
#5	Fil Rouge	French	Included	⭐⭐⭐	One dinner
#4	Marble & Co	Steakhouse	Included	⭐⭐⭐	If you love steak and meat
#3	Sakura	Japanese/Asian	Included	⭐⭐⭐⭐	Lunch & sushi rest good though
#2	Med Yacht Club	Mediterranean	Included	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐	Fancy a mix of med food
#1	Emporium Marketplace	International	Included	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐	Every meal

Anthology restaurant review explora journeys

6️⃣ Anthology — Luxury Ingredients, Underwhelming Experience

Anthology is positioned as Explora’s premium speciality venue, complete with a tasting-menu format, a supplement cost, and a menu featuring luxury ingredients such as wagyu beef, caviar and lobster. On paper, it sounds spectacular. In reality, it was our most disappointing meal onboard — not terrible, but simply lacking the “wow” factor you would expect at €165 per person.

The food: technically good, emotionally flat

We had a tasting menu that included a mix of wagyu, seabass, and a variety of amuse-bouches. Everything was well-presented and pleasant — but not memorable. The caviar was generous but didn’t elevate the dish. The palate cleanser included popping candy, which felt more gimmick than refinement.

The problem wasn’t what was served — it was how it felt

Anthology reminded us of restaurants that rely heavily on luxury ingredients rather than strong flavour development. It was high-end, yes, but never hit exceptional.

Would we book it again?

Honestly, no. We would have preferred returning to Med Yacht Club instead.

Anthology may impress diners who want a luxury “experience,” but for food-focused travellers expecting depth and flavour, it may not justify the price we would certainly NOT head back there.

lobster fil rouge restaurant review explora journeys

5️⃣ Fil Rouge — Good Food, Inconsistent Service

Fil Rouge has one of the more elegant menus on the ship, featuring French classics and refined European dishes. Our food here was good: a rich French onion soup, a well-prepared lobster, and a Dover sole filleted at the table.

But the presentation and service let it down

While the Dover sole was cooked perfectly, the tableside filleting didn’t add much drama — it actually looked a little underwhelming for a premium French dining room. More importantly, we had a service issue: a waiter was unexpectedly curt, and it changed the tone of the meal enough that we skipped dessert altogether.

Ironically, when we went upstairs to the Emporium Marketplace afterward, the buffet had lobster and a far more welcoming atmosphere.

dover sole fil rouge restaurant review explora journeys

Overall impression

Fil Rouge has good cooking, but luxury dining relies just as much on service as food, and this was one of the very few times onboard where the experience simply didn’t match the standard Explora aims for.

Steaks Marble and co restaurant explora journeys review

4️⃣ Marble & Co — Beautiful Venue, Average Steakhouse

Marble & Co is Explora’s take on a classic steakhouse: elegant wood panelling, a refined atmosphere, and a menu that focuses on beef cuts and traditional sides.

The food was nice… but surprisingly ordinary

Both steaks we tried — the tenderloin and the porterhouse — were cooked well but were noticeably thin, especially for a premium steakhouse. Flavour was fine, but nothing that stuck with us. In fact, we had better steaks on MSC Bellissima, a mainstream cruise that costs a fraction of the price.

oyster Marble and co restaurant explora journeys review

Service was better here than in Fil Rouge

No issues with staff, and the atmosphere is lovely — but the menu is small and doesn’t offer much that feels distinctive or indulgent.

Conclusion

Marble & Co isn’t a bad restaurant at all — it’s just not memorable. On a luxury ship, you expect a “wow” moment from a steakhouse, and this one never quite delivers it.

Sakura menu Sakura Restaurant review Explora journeys Cruise

3️⃣ Sakura — Excellent Japanese, Mixed Asian Fusion

Sakura was one of the more interesting dining rooms onboard because it offered both Japanese dishes and a wider Asian-inspired menu. Our experience here was very much a tale of two kitchens.

The Japanese dishes were the highlight

The sushi and sashimi were genuinely excellent — fresh fish, well-balanced rice, clean flavours and a level of precision that felt authentic. If Sakura had focused solely on its Japanese offering, this restaurant might easily have placed higher on our list.

Sushi and Sashumi Sakura Restaurant review Explora journeys Cruise

The fusion dishes were less successful

The cooked Asian dishes felt over-worked, as if every classic recipe needed a luxury twist. Pad Thai with lobster, curries that felt toned down but dressed up, and dishes that lost the simplicity that makes Southeast Asian food so good. there is a reason we all flock to the food courts and street vendors in Bangkok and Penang, and frankly its not for the lobster!

lobster pad thai Sakura Restaurant review Explora journeys Cruise

Living in Malaysia (and frequently travelling through Thailand), we’ve come to appreciate the beauty of simple, authentic Asian dishes. When they’re reconstructed with fine-dining flourish, the soul of the dish can vanish — and that’s what happened here. Still enjoyable, but never truly memorable.

Verdict

Sakura is worth a visit for the sushi alone, but expect the fusion side of the menu to be more hit-and-miss. Though remember we live in the thick of it so have been somewhat spoilt with our Asian food options!

2️⃣ Med Yacht Club — The Most Consistent Restaurant on Explora I

Med Yacht Club was the first restaurant onboard where everything aligned: food, atmosphere and service all delivered exactly the experience Explora promises.

Flavours that feel genuinely Mediterranean

We enjoyed an outstanding octopus dish, a beautifully presented Iberian ham, and a dessert that deserves special mention — a hazelnut creation that felt like a sophisticated take on a Ferrero Rocher. It was one of the few desserts on the ship that felt truly “wow.”

all food Med Yacht club restaurant review explora journeys

Service that felt warm and effortless

Apart from one small hiccup, the service here was the best we experienced in any of the included restaurants. The staff seemed confident, attentive and knowledgeable about the menu and wines.

A restaurant we genuinely wish we visited twice

In hindsight, we would have skipped Anthology entirely and come back to Med Yacht Club for a second dinner. It delivered comfort, flavour and consistency — exactly what you want from a premium Mediterranean venue.

seafood Emporium Marketplace restaurant reivew Explora 1 Explora journeys

1️⃣ Emporium Marketplace — The Most Surprising Star of the Ship

It’s unusual for the buffet on a luxury cruise ship to rank above speciality dining, but Emporium Marketplace truly earned its top spot. It was not just “good for a buffet” — it was good, full stop.

Breakfast was a highlight

After a service issue in Fil Rouge, we chose to eat breakfast in the Marketplace — and it was consistently excellent. Eggs Benedict cooked to order, pastries that tasted fresh daily, fruits, yoghurts, juices — everything felt thoughtful and well-executed.

Breakfast Emporium Marketplace restaurant reivew Explora 1 Explora journeys

Lunch offered both comfort and sophistication

From simple pastas and salads to premium items, the variety was wider than any of the restaurants. Quality never dipped, and the staff were some of the most welcoming onboard.

Evenings were unexpectedly impressive

Despite eating in the dining rooms each night, we found ourselves returning to the buffet afterwards because it genuinely offered things we didn’t want to miss:

lobster
oysters
noodle station
desserts
beautiful salads and appetisers
They even made me a curry on request!

live cooking Emporium Marketplace restaurant reivew Explora 1 Explora journeys

This was the biggest surprise of the cruise. While the premium restaurants each had their strengths and weaknesses, the Marketplace delivered consistent quality, excellent service and an experience that felt generous rather than repetitive.

Final thought

When your complimentary buffet outshines speciality dining venues, that says a lot — both good and bad. But in Emporium’s case, the “good” was very, very good.

Final Verdict — Explora’s Dining Is Good, But Not Equally Great

After dining in every venue on Explora I, one thing became very clear: the food quality across the ship is consistently good, but the overall experience varies much more than expected for a luxury cruise line.

Some restaurants delivered thoughtful flavour, excellent service and dishes we’d happily eat again. Others felt polished but emotionally flat, leaning more on luxury ingredients than memorable execution. And a few venues struggled with consistency, especially when service didn’t match the level Explora aspires to.

The standout surprise?
The best dining experiences on the ship weren’t always the ones with supplements or prestige — they were the places that combined flavour, comfort, and genuine hospitality. Emporium Marketplace and Med Yacht Club showed that great food doesn’t need theatrics; it just needs intention and consistency.

Food is, of course, deeply personal. Someone else may adore Anthology or place Sakura at the top of their list. But from our experience — and for travellers who value flavour over formality — the ranking above reflects how Explora’s dining truly felt day to day.

Explora Journeys offers a beautiful ship, elegant design and many enjoyable meals. But as with everything onboard, the dining experience shines brightest in its more relaxed, honest moments rather than its most elaborate ones.

Explora Journeys ALL 6 Restaurants Ranked: Honest Review.