Seven Lavish Trains with Dining Cars of Unparalleled Elegance
Introduction – Uncovering The Ultimate Train Dining Experience
Welcome to a journey into a realm where luxury meets locomotion – “The Ultimate Train Dining Experience”. We’ve compiled a list of the most extravagant railway adventures, where the rhythmic melody of tracks converges with a symphony of culinary delights served in an onboard dining train car. This blog will unravel the allure of the world’s top luxury trains, adorned with resplendent dining cars that redefine what you might think is possible onboard these hotels on wheels. From the panoramic views from the picture windows to the sumptuous feasts from a restaurant in a train car, these trains promise an unrivalled fusion of culinary excellence and glamour. Join us, savour all a dining car restaurant can offer, and see how impressive and unforgettable a luxury train dining experience can be.
Seven Stars, Japan: A Culinary Journey in the Land of the Rising Sun in an Exquisite Train Dining Carriage
Acquiring a much-in-demand place onboard Japan’s exceptional Seven Stars is a blessing akin to a lottery win. But, if lady luck is smiling upon you, and your seat is secured, the experience that awaits you promises unrivalled perfection. The train is home to ten luxuriously appointed suites, boasts fabulous amenities, and Jupiter, the train restaurant. As restaurants on trains go, Jupiter is right up there. This train dining carriage boasts lavish wood panelling, skillfully carved screens, luxurious floral upholstery, and ambient lighting that reflects the train’s overall aesthetic.
Once seated in Jupiter, the train dining experience begins as passengers indulge in a gastronomic delight with seasonal ingredients sourced from Kyushu, the region that Seven Stars traverses. Local culinary masters band together exclusively with local farmers and producers to present a diverse menu to diners in the train car restaurant. The menu is customised for each journey, and travellers fortunate enough to experience this dining train car can expect such classics as Takiawase and Takikomi Gohan. Away from train car dining, passengers can experience the region’s most renowned dining establishments, including La Verveine and Imoto.
The Ghan, Australia: Wilderness Meets Luxury Train Restaurant Dining & More Than Just a Railroad Car Restaurant
Since its maiden journey in 1929, The Ghan has become an icon of luxury train travel, connecting Adelaide with Darwin, plus a route to and from Alice Springs. Providing complete submergence into the country’s extreme Outback, The Ghan parades two extraordinary in-train restaurants and two lounges. The Queen Adelaide train restaurant offers diners classical Art Deco features and hearty breakfasts, two-course lunches, and fabulous three-course dinners. This is the train dining car where you’ll find the more relaxed Outback Explorer lounge that provides passengers with a social hub to hang out for a chat, a coffee, or a game of chess. In more recent times, the Gold Premium Dining car was introduced, again featuring a beautiful Art Deco design.
As a dining car on a train, this is fabulous and presents regionally inspired two-course lunches, four-course dinners, and wonderfully characterful Australian wines. This dining car restaurant is where you’ll find the Gold Premium Lounge, which is exclusive to Premium Platinum Service passengers. The Platinum Club features quartzite tabletops, natural wood floors, and banquette seating and is the perfect location for a morning coffee or an evening cocktail. Ticket prices start at under $2000 and offer a great way to enjoy a unique train dining experience blended with spectacular scenery.
Belmond Royal Scotsman: Train Car Dining at Its Best as this Train Car Restaurant Offers Dining Car Elegance on Wheels
Another train owned by Belmond Ltd, the Royal Scotsman, is a legendary train dedicated to railroad adventure, assuring those onboard have an unforgettable experience. Holidays on the Royal Scotsman train depart from and return to the Scottish capital’s Waverly Station via the highlands. This mesmerising journey underlines the restaurant, on-train wine, whiskey, and liqueur selection that caters for the cultured tastes of guests throughout the trip. The Scotsman features two railroad car restaurant options named Raven and Swift. These train restaurants are detailed with mahogany-panelled walls and traditional tweed fabrics, keeping with the local aesthetic, crisp white linen, and stunning fine porcelain ware.
Ensuring the eat-in dining experience is world-class, the head chef, Mark Tamburrini, designs a menu which exhibits Scotland’s finest produce from land, sea, and air. From either restaurant in a train car onboard the Scotsman, passengers are treated to exceptional delicacies, including smoked salmon, spiced roast halibut, pigeon salad, and kedgeree. One of the breakfast climaxes of these dining cars is the full Scottish. It is a rather substantial combination of eggs, bacon, black pudding, and haggis. Beyond the culinary delights of the train restaurants, passengers can relax in one of the fit-for-royalty suites and enjoy several spectacular off-train excursions.
Rovos Rail: Africa’s Most Famous Train Redefining Train Restaurant Culture with Gourmet Excellence
Restaurants on trains vary from informal to fine dining, and Africa’s most luxurious train, Rovos Rail, sets the standards for culinary excellence on the continent’s most breathtaking journeys. The sound of a traditional gong commences the beginning of an exceptional dining experience. Rovos Rail will have one or two dining cars depending on the passenger numbers. Guests must adhere to a dress code of suits for the gentlemen and formal evening gowns for the ladies when entering the train dining car for their evening meal. The atmosphere here is formal, and standards are high, with stunning Edwardian ornamentation. This pomp and ceremoniousness is a significant factor in why Rovos Rail has maintained popularity and made the journey delightfully memorable.
The gastronomy experience passengers get treated to on the pride of Africa train ride in the railway dining car is on another level and befits the continent’s most luxurious hotel on wheels. The train dining experience comprises international and African dishes that complement the luxury on hand throughout. Executive Chef Maryke Reuvers creates the menu, emphasising fresh, natural ingredients denoting the territory, including local specialities such as karoo crumble, springbok loin, Amarula parfait, and South koeksister. The onboard train dining carriage is also home to an incredible selection of African wines that pair beautifully with the carefully crafted menu. With tickets starting at well under $2000, you must try this genuinely spectacular experience at least once.
Belmond Andean Explorer: A Unique Dining Car Restaurant Experience Blending Peru’s Breathtaking Vistas with Incredible Culinary Delights
Peru’s premier luxury sleeper train offers a lavishly impressive adventure with the promise of outstanding panoramic views and enchanting Peruvian-inspired decor. Passengers can indulge in a relaxing spa treatment and delight in a Pisco sour or Chilcano before heading to one of the two dining cars named Lama and Muña. Each dining car is beautifully appointed with sumptuous leather seats, masterly millwork, and, for added intimacy, macramé screens. A seasonal menu is available on this dining car train to highlight the country’s wealth of fabulous ingredients and gastronomic traditions, with coastal, highland, and rainforest-inspired flavours.
The Belmond Peru tour price ensures the passengers in each train dining car are served the finest culinary wonders. Celebrated Peruvian executive chef Jorge Muñoz has added his country’s distinctive gastronomic touch to guarantee a remarkable train dining experience. The Andean Explorer offers some truly unique moments, from the observation car’s open deck, where you can sip a cocktail and stargaze, to the two stunning train restaurants, and with tickets for a twin bed cabin on a two-night trip from Cusco to Puna starting at a little more than $5000, this will be a trip to remember.
The Palace on Wheels: A Spectacular Feast Onboard This Luxury Train with a Railway Dining Car Fit for the Maharajas
Often referred to as the most luxurious train in the world, the name Palace on Wheels has been earned rightfully. This stunning train provides railroad adventure and opulence fit for the country’s great Maharajas of a bygone era. Brought into service in the early 1980s and then heavily refurbished in 2017, it offers those fortunate enough to be considering an adventure through India a host of amenities and services that give ample justification for its lofty ticket prices. Just one of those onboard services is the incredible on-train restaurants.
There are two dining cars, and the Maharaja and Maharani restaurants offer passengers spectacular regional dishes. Beautifully crafted furnishings set the tone in each dining car on a train where luxury knows no bounds. Meals are served in regal surroundings, and passengers can take in the spectacular landscapes through the large panoramic windows. The dining experience is raised to new heights through a menu focusing primarily on Rajasthani specialities. This is due to the Palace on Wheels taking a route through the desert state, and although the menu changes daily, it always contains the core ingredients used in local cooking. The dining cars also serve Thai and international dishes. A Palace on Wheels package price for a journey starts at just shy of $6000, but it’s well spent if you want to journey in the lap of luxury.
Venice Simplon-Orient-Express: Enjoy Dining Cars and Culinary Wonders of the Highest Order on a Stunning European Adventure
When it comes to lists of the world’s most luxurious railway journeys, the Belmond Venice Simplon-Orient-Express is consistently in the running for the top spot. The Orient Express epitomises luxury, and a tour through Europe makes for the perfect getaway. Passengers boarding this exceptional mobile hotel hoping to experience world-class cuisine are in luck as the Orient Express has three dining cars. The first dining car restaurant is named L’Oriental, and then there is Etoille Du Nord, and finally, Côte d’Azur. Originating from the 1920s, each railway dining car has undergone an exquisite restoration to preserve its original features. From floral marquetry, Laique glass panelling, and lacquer decorations, the interior drenches the passengers in opulence.
Blending the Orient’s timeless charm with a more contemporary touch is Jean Imbert, a gastronomy master who has invigorated the atmosphere of this dining car train. Chef Imbert has blended the train’s culinary heritage with a focus on French and Italian and a sprinkle of Austrian influence for the European Paris to Vienna route. For each restaurant, on-train menus are ever-changing and offer passengers incredible dishes, including free-range guinea fowl with corn polenta and marinated carrots on the lunch menu, and come evening, the dinner menu serves stunning dishes like lobster vol-au-vent with white pudding and spinach. The Venice Simplon-Orient-Express is also renowned for its impeccable service, from stewards to sommeliers. They are incredibly attentive and friendly while passengers relax and take in some of the most breathtaking European landscapes. Ticket prices for this dining car train start at less than $5,000, making this a truly fantastic option for a first-class luxury train journey.
Top Train Car Dining Experiences that Delivers Globally
Put simply, yes, they do. In the domain of first-class rail travel and experiencing world-class culinary delights in restaurants on trains, these seven spectacular global journeys transcend far more than mere transportation. You’ve been presented with the finest train car restaurant options worldwide that cover considerably different journey types across five continents. From Japan’s Seven Stars, a true rarity to board, gastronomic perfection unfolds before you with its lavish cabins to the unique dishes served from the train dining carriage to the Royal Scotsman, a journey through the highlands and an opportunity to bath in the country’s glorious landscapes and spectacular regional fare served in one of the two railroad car restaurant choices. Each of the seven journeys you’ve read about provides a unique journey with a magnificent culinary odyssey that transcends what you may have thought possible from a train dining experience.
