Jimmy’s Restaurant on the AmaMagna
Hank Schrader, USMA '71, Europe Destination & Europe River Cruise Expert
Anne Schrader, Certified Travel Counselor & Certified Luxury Cruise Specialist
Our 2023 trip on the AmaMagna was an amazing experience.
There are 4 restaurants on this double wide ship, and we ate at 3 of them—we missed the Chef’s Table but have eaten in this wonderful venue numerous times on other AmaWaterways ships, so we didn’t take advantage of this option on our cruise.
Since we have already written about the Al Fresco Restaurant and told you about the Chef’s Table, the only missing restaurant is Jimmy’s.
So, let’s explore together and learn about Jimmy’s Restaurant on the AmaMagna.
Overview
Jimmy’s Wine Bar and Restaurant is located on the Deck 1 of the AmaMagna. It is a unique small restaurant. The concept here is a family style meal served at long tables family style. It is open only for dinner. For dinner, you need reservations.
The concept of Jimmy’s is a testament to the late Jimmy Murphy’s love of family. He was a co-founder of AmaWaterways, and the restaurant was named in his honor. Jimmy’s offers a family-style restaurant experience designed to bring everyone together at one table, as if you were dining at Jimmy’s home.
So, get ready to enjoy a variety of shared dishes delivered right to your table on self-serve platters—you get to eat, drink and be merry here with your fellow AmaWaterways travelers—Jimmy’s is a venue the Irishman Jimmy Murphy would be proud of—family is the heart of the travel experience for him, and this continues his 50-year ethos –nothing is more important than family!
Here are some pictures of this cool venue:
A wonderful way to remember one of the co-owners of AmaWaterways—Jimmy’s Wine Bar and Restaurant
The long, family style tables
Another picture of the venue
One of the great waitstaff with Anne
These photos are a wonderful tribute to the Murphy family
The wine cellar area
Another view of Jimmy’s
Dinner
Reservations are necessary to eat a night due to the limited space.
Here is the Menu we experienced:
Appetizers
We had 3 choices. They were:
“Raifart Panana Cotta a la Truite Fumee”.
This was a smoked trout rillette, horseradish panna cotta, cucumber-macha Coulis, tomato chips and micro-herbs dish.
“Salad Nicoise Nouveau”
This was lettuce, heirloom tomatoes, string beans, potatoes cubes, boiled eggs, olives, and a crispy tuna spring roll.
Our other choice was “Classic Caesar Salad”, with crispy bacon, garlic croutons and parmesan cheese.
Each of us got to select our appetizers and they were served individually to us by the great waitstaff.
Our Main Courses
All of these were served family-style on large platters, so we could pass them around and enjoy each other as we selected our food. Here is the 3 choices for the meal:
“Fillet de Fletan Breton”
This was pan-fried halibut filet, tomato beurre blanc, braised fennel, and Parisienne potatoes.
“Medaillons D’Agnneau en Croute Moutarde”
This was mustard crusted medallions of Lamb, thyme sauce, ratatouille, artichokes puree and potatoes gratin.
“Tomato Tarte Provencal” which was served with wild broccoli, pumpkin mousse, and ricotta cress. AmaWaterways always serves an excellent vegetarian choice during meals.
Wines
There were 2 good wine selections from France.
The white wine was a Louis Eschanauer Chardonnay from the Pays d’Oc vineyards (the Rhone River area) Grape: Chardonnay.
It was very good with young fruits, a light, soft taste, and noticeable acidity.
The red wine was a Louis Eschanauer Bordeaux, from the Bordeaux region and the grape was Bordeaux. This was my favorite wine, as it had an intense, and elegant taste, had a wonderful deep ruby color, you could taste blackcurrants and dark cherries and had a great nose that made you realize it was going to be an excellent wine.
Both wines paired well—the chardonnay went well with the fish course and the Bordeaux was a good choice for the lamb dish.
If either of these two wines did not appeal, there were 2 California wines also available.
Desserts
Our fun, lively evening ended with “Crepe Suzette”—the well-known thin pancake topped with orange-Cointreau, caramel, vanilla ice cream and fresh seasonal fruits.
They also served a selection of European Cheeses and biscuits.
A Few Photos to Share About our Experience
We are lucky to be part of the AmaWaterways family. Here are 3 photos about the wonderful folks at AmaWaterways
The radiant Kristin Karst, on of the co-owners of AmaWaterways. In the background our two traveling friends—Lenny the Leopard and Little Bear
Alex Pinelo, Senior VP of Sales with Lenny and Little Bear
St. Patrick’s Day on the AmaMagna in 2023. From left to right Diane, Jasmine,, Hank, Anne Kristin, and Cesario.
Our Final Thoughts
We really enjoyed the lively atmosphere of the restaurant, and the food was excellent. I think you can see how this restaurant could capture your taste buds and you will get to meet some fellow travelers. It is a great place to go with new or old friends but not a romantic, quiet place to dine.
We hope you enjoyed this report.
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Whatever your Dream Destinations are, we are here to help you get the best possible vacation based on what is important to you! We will provide you high quality, expertly planned travel. Please give me a call 713-397-0188 (Hank) or email me at hschrader@visitdd.com. We want to help you: Savor life…make memories…Visit Dream Destinations! Your journey begins here!
ANNE has earned a degree from the University of Houston in Hotel and Restaurant Management. Serving as the President of Visit Dream Destinations, LLC, since 2016, she is uniquely experienced professional travel advisor with over 26 years’ experience in the travel industry. Among her numerous certifications, she is a Certified Travel Counselor (CTC) by the Travel Institute, considered the gold standard in travel agent certification and she is also an Accredited Cruise Counselor (ACC) by the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA), as well Luxury Cruise Specialist also from CLIA. Having traveled often to Europe since 1989, she has expanded on her certification as a Destination Specialist in Western Europe (DS) with extensive first-hand experience in luxury vacations. She holds numerous other specialty designations from individual vendors. An expert photographer, she delights in capturing the true essence of destinations to share with all.
HANK is a certified Western European Destination Specialist (DS) who has been traveling to Europe for 52+ years. He is also an Accredited Cruise Counselor (ACC), conferred by the Cruise Line International Association (CLIA). This recognized expert in cruise and leisure travel is a retired Army Officer, and taught World Geography for 8 years. He is a `71 graduate of West Point and has earned 2 master’s degrees. His other Certifications:
AmaWaterways River Cruise Specialist
Viking River Cruise Specialist
Scenic River Cruise Specialist
Emerald Waterways Specialist
Avalon Waterways Specialist
Brit Agent
