Behind the scenes of Azura... (Part Two)

Matt Sparks


Those of you who read the Discover P&O Cruises blog regularly will have seen my recent post showing you “Behind the Scenes” of the galley on board Azura. It’s part of a series of articles that I’ll be posting over the next few weeks. For the next post, I caught up with Riju; the Manager of ‘The Glass House’ wine bar and restaurant on board Azura.

The main entrance to The Glass House

If you’ve ever sailed on Azura, you’ll surely be familiar with The Glass House. The brainchild of TV wine expert Olly Smith, The Glass House has been awarded “Best Bar at Sea” by CruiseCritic for 2 years running. Within 5 minutes of speaking to Riju, it wasn’t hard for me to understand why.

Wine, and lots of it!

The cases contain all 32 varieties available to order

The Glass House has somewhat of an open-plan layout. Well lit, with a welcoming ambiance, you are instantly drawn to the inviting, chrome laden cases of wine. Together these cases contains all 32 wines available to order at The Glass House. The furniture is modern and classy, with many passengers favouring this venue for drinks in the morning, afternoon or before dinner. However, The Glass House has a fantastic menu of its own. It’s a more casual experience than the main dining room or other select dining venues, but don’t let that sway you - the food here is incredible. Typical choices include the catch of the day, juicy steaks and tasty burgers. Prices are excellent, with a sirloin steak starting at £4.50. The Glass House has its own galley, and everything is cooked to order here, which does mean you could wait a bit longer for your food than in the main dining rooms. But in these surroundings, with this quality of food, it really doesn’t matter. And when your food arrives, you quickly realise it’s worth the wait!

Contemporary decor makes The Glass House a nice place to relax

Riju manages The Glass House with passion and pride. He tells me that the team here are very close-knit, and strive to offer passengers a drinking and dining experience they’ll never forget. They abide by the motto “Together we can” and I fully believe that the teamwork of this fantastic group of individuals is big reason why The Glass House has been such a success. Every member of staff has been personally trained by Olly Smith himself. They certainly know their wines, and if you ask them for a recommendation to accompany your meal they will gladly oblige, telling you in great detail why a particular wine will match your chosen dish. This gives you the utmost confidence that you are in safe hands.

It's hard not to be tempted in The Glass House

What makes The Glass House so unique is its state-of-the-art wine dispensing system. The wine bottles are inserted into the Enomatic wine machine, corked and inserted with nitrogen gas. The nitrogen forms a layer on top of the wine, which means that oxygen never touches the liquid itself and as a result can stay fresh for upwards of 21 days. Riju explains however that due to the popularity of The Glass House, bottles don’t  often last longer than 21 minutes before selling out! What this system means is that all wines can be served by the glass, with each and every measure tasting like it’s fresh out of the bottle.

The enomatic wine machine

I opted for a glass of Malbec from Argentina to accompany my selection of sirloin steak. It was full bodied, juicy and velvety smooth. After all the deliciously rich food and wine, I decided to go for something palette-cleansing for dessert and opted for the lemon and raspberry creamed-rice tart. It rounded off the meal perfectly.

Sirloin steak and all the trimmings, cooked to perfection

The lemon and raspberry creamed-rice tart. Delicious!

Wine talks and wine tasting occur every so often at The Glass House, but places are limited and are reserved on a first-come first-served basis. If you’re a wine enthusiast, this is certainly for you – but act fast to book a place. On certain cruises you can also book a place on a tasting dinner, hosted by Olly Smith himself. Take a look on our website for details of when Olly is on board. The dinner, nicknamed “Olly’s Secret Supper Club” offers an opportunity to try 4 meals accompanied by 4 wines, hand picked and matched by Olly himself. Again, a very exclusive opportunity with only 20 places available per cruise.

Riju explains that the service here is personal and conversational. You can have a chat with the staff, talk about your tastes before being personally recommended a tipple for you. Furthermore, you can try a small taste of any of the wines on offer for free, without taking the plunge of an entire glass. Another interesting feature of The Glass House is the ability to order a “flight” of wine. There are a few to choose from, and what you get is a selection of 3 wines that all complement each other. If you’re not sure which wine to go for, this is a great option.

One of the flights of wine available to order

After hearing so many good things about The Glass House, I was excited to meet Riju and the team as well as trying it for myself, and I was not disappointed. The team really are what makes this venue special and the finished product is a stunning example of what can be achieved when people work together. Well done guys!

The Glass House staff in action!

I’ve got two more "Behind the scenes" articles planned; a tour of the engine room and a look around Azura’s incredible laundry – so keep your eyes peeled on the blog!


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