Emeril Lagasse Is Finally Getting a Restaurant at Sea

Tanner Saunders
Updated

Emeril Lagasse fans, pack your swimsuits: the celebrity chef is bringing his beloved cooking to the high seas. "Bam!"

Emeril’s Bistro 1936, Lagasse’s very first restaurant at sea, is scheduled to open on Carnival Cruise Line’s newest ship, Mardi Gras, in summer 2020. The restaurant, which is situated in the ship’s French Quarter-themed area, will feature a cajun-inspired menu offering signature dishes from the chef’s popular restaurants in New Orleans.

"I've developed restaurants all over the country, but to create my first restaurant at sea — on a ship named Mardi Gras with its own French Quarter, no less — was an opportunity I simply could not pass up," Lagasse said in a statement. "I'm excited to be a part of this brand new ship and bring a taste of the flavors of New Orleans cuisine to the guests sailing on Mardi Gras."

Guests dining at Emeril’s Bistro 1936 — named after the ship’s hull number — can chow down on a number of New Orleans staples including muffaletta sandwiches, oyster and cochon de lait po' boys, roasted duck and Andouille sausage gumbo, jambalaya, and red beans and “jazz-man” rice. Shrimp and grits make the perfect breakfast for a day on the water and dessert just ain’t N'awlins-style without Bananas Foster and lemon ice box pie.

The first of a handful of new ships scheduled to join Carnival’s lineup, Mardi Gras is a 5,200-passenger ship scheduled to start service in Europe on Aug. 31, 2020. Once completed it will be the sixth largest cruise ship in the world.

Besides being the first ship with an Emeril Lagasse restaurant, it will also be the first cruise ship with a roller coaster at sea, worthy of another Lagasse “Bam!”

The coaster, which will rise 187 feet above sea level at its highest point, will send riders on 800 feet of track at speeds of nearly 40 miles per hour.

To make plans for your own trip to enjoy Emeril’s signature dishes at sea (and then chunk it all up on the roller coaster on a cruise ship), check out Carnival’s website for sailing dates and locations.