MSC Cruises, the world’s largest privately owned cruise line, is expanding its partnership with two Michelin starred chef Ramón Freixa to bring his unique tapas concept to MSC Meraviglia after a successful launch on sister ship MSC Bellissima in March.
Located on the bustling Mediterranean-style promenade at the heart of the Meraviglia class ships, the HOLA! Tapas Bar concept has been designed to offer a social dining experience where guests can enjoy a range of traditional and modern shared plates and small bites inspired by some of Spain’s most popular dishes.
Freixa is part of an impressive line-up of top international chefs that includes renowned German chef Harald Wohlfahrt who held a three Michelin Star rating for 25 years in a row, two Michelin starred chef Raymond Blanc, innovative pan-Asian chef Roy Yamaguchi, award-winning pastry chef Jean-Philippe Maury and acclaimed Chinese chef Jereme Leung.
Each of these talents represent some of the world’s most sought after cuisines, with their own distinct style and vision, creating a memorable fine-dining experience for guests across the fleet.
Ramón Freixa commented: “I am very happy to extend the HOLA! Tapas Bar concept to two more ships in MSC Cruises’ fleet, allowing guests from all over the world to enjoy a true taste of Spain through appetizing tapas in our cheerful bar atmosphere – it is a wonderful way to celebrate the Mediterranean style of life.”
HOLA! TAPAS BAR
Located on the bustling Mediterranean-style promenade at the heart of the Meraviglia class ships, the HOLA! Tapas Bar concept has been designed to offer a social and warm dining experience where guests can enjoy a range of traditional and modern shared plates and small bites inspired by some of Spain’s most popular dishes.
With an open environment containing a mixture of communal and individual seating, guests can savour a quick bite, glass of Spanish wine, or enjoy a full meal. Some of the menu highlights include authentic Spanish tortilla, olive, anchovy & pepper Gilda and for those with a sweet-tooth, the quintessential Catalan dessert: Catalan Cream.
Guests sailing with MSC Cruises over the last year have already been able to experience Ramón’s innovative gastronomy in a number of ways:
- An exquisite Elegant Dinner dish in the main restaurants across MSC Cruises’ fleet
- Exclusive tapas items and a signature dish for MSC Yacht Club guests across the fleet
- His first restaurant at sea, Ocean Cay by Ramón Freixa, which opened on board MSC Seaview in 2018, offering guests luxury fish and shellfish in this specialty restaurant
- Special menus for selected ships for Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve celebrations
- Most recently, his exclusive HOLA! Tapas Bar concept, which opened with the launch of MSC Bellissima earlier this year and will now be available on MSC Meraviglia and MSC Grandiosa
