If food is your love language, Riverside Luxury Cruises might be your soulmate. This is the ultimate river cruise line for foodies.
Riverside isn’t just another cruise line offering a decent steak or a fussy dessert. The line is owned by Seaside Collection – a group behind high-end hotels known for their exceptional dining. From the Maldives to the Danube, they’ve built a reputation around great food. On Riverside, that legacy travels with you.
Before this trip, I thought I knew what good food on a river cruise looked like. I’ve been on plenty. And I’ve had really nice meals. But I’ve never had caviar on a river cruise. I’ve never had mustard ice cream that somehow really worked. I’ve never been served a tomato soup so rich and flavorful I considered asking for it to-go.
A Different Kind of Dining Experience
The food on Riverside stood out from the start. Not because it was fussy or overcomplicated, but because it was clearly taken seriously. There were whole slabs of honeycomb at breakfast. Flatbreads topped with shaved truffle at lunch. Things that made you pause (like mustard ice cream), but in a good way. And then there was The Vintage Room.
This is their optional tasting dinner, hosted by the ship’s chef and sommelier and capped at ten guests. It costs €320 per person, and I’ll be real – if I’d seen the menu ahead of time, I probably would’ve passed. The first course was raw tuna on toast with pâté, which felt like a meal custom-designed specifically to test me. But I went for it. And somehow, it worked. I loved it.
The whole night was like that. Elevated, but not stiff. Branko, the sommelier, guided us through each pairing like we were friends at his dinner party. The chef gave quick intros to every dish. And that tomato soup I’d already mentioned? It absolutely deserved the hype.
By the end of the night, I wasn’t second-guessing the menu or the splurge. I was just glad I got to experience it.
A Better Kind Of Main Dining
Waterside is the ship’s main dining venue, but it doesn’t feel like your standard cruise restaurant. Breakfast had everything you’d expect, eggs made to order, fruit, pastries, meats and cheeses, but everything just felt a bit fresher. At lunch, the stations rotated daily: soup and salad (always two salads, one curated), pastas, grilled meats, roasted vegetables. One day there was fried chicken, another day, minute steaks cooked perfectly to order. It was technically a buffet, but never tasted like one.
Dinner took it up another level. Menus changed nightly, with thoughtful wine pairings and dishes that managed to feel upscale without being fussy. One night I ordered a steak just to test it, and it ended up being one of the best I’ve had on a ship. Another night I went for steak tartare with a parmesan crisp. Then came the caviar on a potato cake. Every meal delivered something unexpected.
And the bread? They baked it fresh every day, served with flavored butters that changed constantly – herbed, citrusy, slightly sweet, depending on the day. The salty breadstick in particular became a mild obsession.
Even the outdoor lunches & dinners, those casual grill-out buffets set up picnic-style on the sun deck, were better than they needed to be. Lamb chops, skewers, grilled vegetables, chilled rosé and that same level of care you’d find inside. It was consistent, thoughtful and impressive from start to finish.
Want Something More Casual? Meet The Atelier
Upstairs, The Atelier became our hangout. It’s a café space with a coffee bar, lounge chairs and a snack spread that just simply never runs out. There were cheeses, finger sandwiches, cakes, fruit. We’d go in “just to peek” and end up staying for a full second lunch.
The flatbreads came topped with shaved truffle on request. The burgers were massive and messy in the best way. And then there were the bubble waffles – sweet, airy and weirdly addictive. I had more than a few.
My Favorite Bites
I wasn’t keeping track at the time, but these are the ones that stayed with me.
- Beef carpaccio with mustard ice cream (seriously, it worked)
- Saffron pasta that felt like silk
- Lamb chops from the grill
- That tomato soup (you know the one)
- A pretzel-inspired ice cream dessert
- And honestly, every single beef/steak entrée
Riverside Is Definitely The River Cruise Line For Foodies
You don’t have to be a foodie to appreciate Riverside. But if you are? You’re going to lose your mind.
This isn’t cruise dining as usual. It’s curious, playful and executed with real finesse. It feels luxurious without being stiff. Thoughtful without being precious. From the buffet that doesn’t feel like a buffet to the tasting menu you’ll be talking about for weeks, Riverside Luxury Cruises delivers one of the most impressive onboard culinary experiences I’ve ever had.
I boarded this ship expecting to knowing the views, the comfort, the service and the food would all be great. But I didn’t expect to get weirdly sentimental about a breadstick. That’s the thing about Riverside. It’s full of delicious surprises.
