Seven Seas Explorer to feature gourmet French restaurantSeven Seas Explorer to feature gourmet French restaurant

The menu includes hand-cut Charolais steak tartare in a hazelnut-Dijon emulsion topped with Perlita caviar d’Aquitaine, roasted Cévennes rack of lamb with rosemary-mint persillade and sugar snap pea sauce, and poached Brittany blue lobster tail glazed with caramelized lobster roe butter on a bed of Sologne white asparagus and Romanesco.

Among the desserts are a frozen Chartreuse parfait with almond crumble and classic savarin cake made with aged Martinique rum and topped with vanilla cream.

Chartreuse joins Prime 7 steak house as two of three specialty restaurants aboard Seven Seas Explorer, with the third to be unveiled in June.

Deriving its name from the chartreuse-colored glass panels that adorn the dining room walls, Chartreuse is intended to evoke memories of a chic Parisian restaurant discovered during an evening stroll along the Seine or just off the Champs-Élysées, according to Regent Seven Seas Cruises. Diners will be greeted by a hostess upon arrival at the restaurant through a curved paneled entryway with flooring that resembles a cobblestone Parisian street dampened by rain.

Contemporary lounge chairs and embossed leather stools are assembled around golden Kosmos granite topped tables in an intimate bar area with scalloped marble Cosmati mosaic tiled flooring. Here diners can sip an apéritif, including specialty cocktails infused with the French liqueur Chartreuse. A solid zinc bar top on a softly illuminated frosted glass base sits near a back-lit wine display filled with fine French wines and selections from boutique vineyards of Bordeaux, Burgundy, Champagne and the Rhône and Loire valleys.

The dining room is in Art Nouveau décor with a feature wall lined with sculpted chartreuse glass surrounded by metallic and crystalline frames on one side and floor-to-ceiling windows separated by metal filigree screens on the other. Seating is at tables for two and white leather banquettes.

The design by ICRAVE includes a silver-leafed ceiling that is interspersed with gold-bordered black lacquered lines. The back portion of the restaurant transitions into a whimsical Parisian courtyard, creating the illusion of alfresco dining. Separated from the main dining area by a metal lattice screen, the garden area has marble flooring with gold mosaic tile inlays and is illuminated by a wall of decorative lanterns and a centerpiece crystal chandelier.

Beginning in summer 2016, the Chartreuse menu will extend to the rest of the Regent fleet, replacing Signatures on Seven Seas Voyager and Seven Seas Mariner, and with select dishes available at Compass Rose on Seven Seas Navigator.