Cruise’s signature 90-day dry aged British porterhouse steak serves two, complete with one sauce, and three side dishes. The porterhouse steak was portioned well, but it wasn’t prepared properly. It lacked a proper seared crust on the outside, and the piece of meat was overcooked on the sirloin side. It was also in great need of seasoning as the beef lacked the intense meaty flavour from a properly dry-aged steak. The side dishes, however, were proper. Tomato and capsicum salad was refreshing, potato gratin was rich and creamy, and smoked capsicum and garlic was sweet with just the right hint of smokiness.

With just three options for desserts, passionfruit and lemon tart with vodka lime sorbet was a froufrou attempt to impress. The deconstructed dessert featured a lemon gel that was not sweetened with a glue-like viscosity to it, while the passionfruit tart was a mousse too pale and too sweet to bear resemblance to the tangy passionfruit. The vodka lime sorbet, however, could make a good sweet cocktail as a drinkable dessert.

The wine and cocktail menu is good enough with a handful of wines by the glass; it is, however, disappointing that wines were served in the wrong glass, and the service team lacks wine knowledge to suggest pairing options.

Service at Cruise is a major issue that needs improving. The staff team, though friendly at best, was careless throughout. Between missed orders, extended waiting time between courses, and being overly keen to upsell guests on menu offerings, the overall service was messy and confusing. We were told our prawn cocktail was served with dressing made of pandan leaves, which in truth did not exist in any of the dishes, or the steak was a hybrid between British beef and Hanwoo, which was also on the menu, but such hybrid was never served at the restaurant. The staff need better training to familiarise themselves with their menu to right the ship, so to speak.

It is worth noting that Cruise is also a rooftop bar, as its dim lighting and cocktail menu helps the genre, but music tends to be very loud after eight, and conversations can be difficult. The dining experience here may not be as smooth sailing as it could be, but we hope it can weather the storm, as it has the potential to become a better restaurant, as the only one of its kind in the neighborhood.

Cruise, 23/F, West Tower, Hotel Vic, 1 North Point Estate Lane, North Point, Hong Kong; +852 3896 9898

A meal for two with one beverage and service: around HK$2,500

Rating: 3/5 

How we rate
Each of our reviewers score restaurants based on four main criteria: setting, food, service, and drinks, taking into account more than 35 different points of reference including manners of staff, usefulness of the wine list, and whether or not the restaurant makes an effort to be environmentally aware. 5/5 indicates an exceptional experience; 4-4.5/5 is excellent; 3-3.5/5 is good to very good; and 2.5/5 or lower is average to below average. Before visiting a restaurant, the reviewers will book using a pseudonym and do not make themselves known to restaurant staff, in order to experience the venue as a regular guest—if this is not possible, or if we are recognised, we will indicate this in the review.