We wanted to try the Southern-style specialty dining option on Utopia of the Seas, The Mason Jar, after a recommendation from our daughter. She said The Mason Jar was her favorite meal when she cruised on Utopia of the Seas last summer.
The Mason Jar is currently available on Utopia of the Seas and Wonder of the Seas. This venue will also be added to Allure of the Seas when she is revamped this year.
On Utopia of the Seas, The Mason Jar offered a sea day brunch that went until 2 p.m. We paid $57 for the two of us, and this was after our 30% Diamond Plus discount. We had a 12:45 p.m. reservation and got seated at 1 p.m. They were busy at this time.
One thing that surprised me was that the venue was not very big. There was seating for maybe 60-70 people. The décor reminded me of a Crackle Barrel restaurant with simple country décor and wooden chairs – both casual and welcoming.
There were four of us at a table, including my daughter and son-in-law. We all wanted to try as much as possible of the Southern-inspired menu with the idea that we would share most of the items we ordered. This way, we could experience more of the menu.
Wet Your Whistle
My daughter enjoyed a cocktail called Mississippi Moonshine, which included lemonade, blackberry moonshine, and fresh blackberries. The cocktail was refreshing but not too sweet.
My son-in-law had the Apple Pie Old Fashioned, which he said was very good but sweet, so he would recommend it for those who enjoy sweeter cocktails. These cocktails were $14 each, but we used our Diamond Plus drink vouchers to get them.
Somethin’ Sweet
The Mason Jar offered us two starters: Pimento Cheese and Saltines and Jalapeño Cornbread. Both are served with cajun butter and whipped honey butter. We really wanted to try the cornbread, but they had run out. This was probably because it was the last hour of the brunch.
Instead of cornbread, we had biscuits. The biscuits with honey butter were creamy with a touch of sweetness.
We decided our appetizers would include Red Velvet Pancakes (served with a cream cheese glaze), Stuffed French Toast (stuffed with bananas, peanut butter, and candied bacon), and the Sweet-Tooth Cinnamon Roll (rolled with chopped candied pecans).
The pancakes were more cake-like than pancake-like. Actually, there was not that much flavor, so between the four of us, we didn’t finish even half of the order. The French toast was average; it too lacked flavor.
The big cinnamon roll, however, was very popular! All four of us shared it and chowed it down. We ended up asking to have one more to go to share with my father-in-law who was traveling with us because he loves sweet rolls. Our accommodating waiter was happy to serve one up to go!
Eggs n’ More
My daughter ordered The Meemaw’s Fried Chicken N’ Waffles. The two crispy Belgian waffle quarters were each topped with a breaded boneless chicken breast with honey and maple syrup served on the side. The chicken was quite moist and seasoned perfectly.
I ordered the Smoky Deviled Eggs, which included pickles, peppers, capers, fried chicken skin, and paprika. They were very good with a unique smokey seasoning. There were two eggs halved, so four bites was the serving size.
The Southern Burger my husband had was very tasty. It had sharp cheddar, crispy bacon, chicken skins, BBQ sauce, and remoulade on a toasted brioche bun. His only minor complaint was that the thick bacon was chewy.
It came with Cajun fries that we felt were basic fries with no real Cajun seasoning that we could taste. The fries were served in a cute, small paper bag. He is a burger snob and would recommend it!
My son-in-law got the Crispy Chicken Sandwich with the Nashville hot option. This sandwich also had lettuce, tomato, spicy remoulade, and pickles. He thought it was excellent – he always prefers spicy foods!
Sweet potato hash was a side option for the burger and chicken sandwich, but they both chose the fries instead. We wanted to try the hash, so we ordered a small side of it. It was essentially fried cubed sweet potatoes with some onions and not much other seasoning.
Two of us had the Breakfast Biscuits, which were two biscuits with bacon onion jam, cheddar, sausage, gravy, and eggs. We thoroughly enjoyed the biscuits since we were wanting more breakfast food than lunch at the brunch. The homemade sausage and gravy took it to a higher level! We recommend this if you are wanting breakfast-type food.
Gimme Some Sugar
We were all pretty stuffed by this point, but we felt compelled to try three of the five desserts to share between the four of us. The desserts we tried included the Cherry Pie, Warm Bread Puddin’, and the Twice-Fried Oreos.
Our unanimous favorite dessert was definitely the fried Oreos! The bread pudding was in second place, and the cherry pie was last place.
Cherry pie is my husband’s favorite pie, but he was done after trying only three small bites. The “sweet and tart cherries” were flavorless – he said the ice cream was the best part of that selection. I agreed after tasting it also.
Is The Mason Jar worth it?
So, the big question: Is The Mason Jar brunch worth it?
For almost $60 for two of us plus a tip, we will not be rushing back on future Royal Caribbean cruises if given the opportunity.
The highlights of the brunch were the excellent waiter, big cinnamon roll, Southern Burger, chicken sandwich, and breakfast biscuits.
We are glad we tried the new venue, but we prefer other Royal Caribbean specialty restaurants, like Giovanni’s Italian or Chops Grille, for about the same cost.
The Mason Jar brunch menus
