Virgin Voyages is expanding its culinary offerings with new additions both on board its ships and on land. The company has revamped the menus at The Wake, its steakhouse, and The Dock, with its Mediterranean-inspired cuisine, and has also introduced a new culinary experience at The Beach Club at Bimini, its private beach club in the Bahamas.
The changes are part of a strategy to update the menus without abandoning dishes that have become popular with passengers. The cruise line has more than twenty dining options and is committed to a diverse offering, with dishes prepared fresh and catering to different dietary preferences.
Bimini incorporates Rashida Holmes' family recipes
The main novelty on land is the new menu at The Beach Club at Bimini, developed in collaboration with chef Rashida Holmes, head chef of Bridgetown Roti in Los Angeles. Her menu draws on her Barbadian and Trinidadian roots and revives recipes and flavors linked to her family history.
Dishes include curry chicken roti, made from his mother's recipe, with Yukon Gold potatoes and turmeric-spiced cabbage, and snapper patties,inspired by the savory pie business Holmes started via Instagram during the pandemic.
The menu also includes pork skewers with tamarind barbecue sauce, grilled prawns with a spiced fruit relish, tostones (fried plantains), sweet plantains, and coconut rice pudding. The combination of curry, tamarind, coconut, and plantain forms the backbone of a dish designed for enjoying a day at the beach.
The menu is being rolled out gradually. Resilient Lady debuted it in October, followed by Scarlet Lady at the end of the same month and Brilliant Lady in November. Valiant Lady will incorporate it when she returns to Bimini in April 2027. Specific rollout dates can be found in the company's official information.
More variety at The Wake
Onboard, The Wake has revamped its late lunch and dinner offerings in collaboration with chef Brad Farmerie, who also contributed to the development of the restaurant's original menu. With experience at New York establishments such as PUBLIC and Saxon + Parole, Farmerie has worked to better differentiate the two service times and expand the selection of dishes.
The brunch menu features dishes such as Waldorf salad, sweet potato russet hash, and eggs Benedict with portobello mushrooms. Dinner options include chilled corn soup, leek and potato cream soup, pan-seared salmon, grilled swordfish, and caramelized scallops. Selections may vary by ship.
New additions include tuna tartare on select ships, twice-baked potatoes wrapped in bacon (available across the fleet), and oysters Rockefeller as a specialty. The menu also expands its vegan and gluten-free options, including a broccoli and quinoa fritter for dinner.
The Dock reinforces its Mediterranean inspiration
The Dock, a more casual space, adds new Mediterranean-inspired dishes, with a focus on sharing recipes. The selection includes tabbouleh, sauteed eggplant, oyster mushrooms, red lentil soup, Turkish-style stuffed eggs, and kibbeh.
The grilled dishes include pork skewers in a souvlaki and spiced beef skewers, while the seafood section offers swordfish, yellowfin tuna, and cooked prawns. A plum tart with pita bread is also available on board Resilient Lady.
As in the other renovated spaces, the menu includes vegan and gluten-free options, with the aim of expanding the choices without losing the restaurant's culinary identity.
The evolution of the menu is coordinated by Levi Mezick, senior director of culinary development at Virgin Voyages, whose experience includes kitchens such as Per Se, Daniel, and Café Boulud. The company thus maintains a strategy of preserving some of its most recognizable dishes while introducing new combinations and greater variety.
The updated menus for The Wake and The Dock are now available, while Bimini's new menu will be rolled out gradually throughout the season. Dining at these venues is included in the cruise fare, although certain specialty dishes may incur additional charges.
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