Almost two years have passed since our last visit to Bord’eau, the two-star restaurant in Hotel de l’Europe, and so it was time to check the new developments on our home turf. Also because I was curious to compare it with our recent dinner at Librije’s Zusje. We opted for the 6-course degustation menu (118 euros) with matching wines (78 euros). Later on we added cheese (18 euros) with matching wine (12,50 euros).

First amuse bouche: veal jelly with lavas, very nice.

A miniature version of one of the chef’s signature dishes: seasonsal vegetable salad with Pierre Robert cheese.

Crab with smoked avocado, lime and a crab fritter. Delicious.

Another miniature version of one of the chef’s signature dishes: veal marrow with Beluga caviar on a crunchy cracker with a ‘bone’ made out of potato stuffed with veal tartare. Still as delicious as ever. The set of amuse bouche is a great start of the meal, which clearly shows the chef’s style. 9/10

First course: raw mackerel with quinoa, tarragon cream and tomato broth. A very nice combination of flavors and textures, paired well with an oaked Semillon/Sauvignon from Graves. A nice contrast between the creaminess of the mackerel, the tartness/sweetness of the tomato, the crunchiness of the quinoa, and the aniseed aroma of the tarragon. And the wine worked with all of that. 9/10

An oyster, served lukewarm, with a beurre blanc, paired well with a white from volcanic soil on Tenerife. Simple but delicious. 9/10

Lobster with mango, both cubes of perfectly ripe mango and frozen mango. A nice combination, although I thought the lobster was just a tad rubbery, paired excellently with a Savennières, a chenin blanc from the Loire valley. Although the wine wasn’t sweet, it could easily handle the mango and the combination was just perfect. 9/10

Oops, I neglected to take a photo of the following dish. It was a steamed sole fillet, served with clam juice and thin slices of raw mushroom. Paired with a very nice chardonnay from Hemel & Aarde in South Africa.

Lamb fillet with cream of olives, lamb jus, and droplets of olive oil. An interesting touch was that some lard had been inserted into the lamb to add more flavor. The olive cream was delicious; later we heard the chef includes strawberry in it. Another good wine pairing, with a Syrah from South Africa.

We still had some room, and so couldn’t pass on the cheese cart with a good selection of Dutch and international cheeses, served at the right temperature and ripeness. The sommelier paired each personal selection of cheeses  with a matching wine. I had selected blue cheeses, which were paired with a Trockenbeerenauslese from Chardonnay and Welschriesling.

Dessert amuse: another miniature version of one of the chef’s signature dishes. The apple core is made of apple sorbet, with chocolate seeds.

The dessert was very nice: different textures from strawberry and goat cheese. Paired outstandingly well with an Rotglipfen Auslese. 9/10

With the coffee all kinds of autumn themed chocolates were presented, like these acorns and oak leaves…

…truffles (white chocolate with actual truffle)…

…mushrooms, miniature pumpkins, berries, and hazelnuts. The last were presented in a giant mushroom made out of chocolate — which unfortunately we were not allowed to eat 😉

Bord’eau has maintained the constant high level of all the food and wines that I noticed on my last visit. It is the only restaurant where every dish scores 9/10 and where every wine pairing is at least good and some outstanding. I’m keeping the scores at 9/10 for the food and 9.5/10 for the wine. I’m taking the service up to 9/10. For two Michelin stars, this is very good indeed. I really like the concept of keeping the chef’s signature dishes on the menu by serving them as miniature versions, while at the same time changing the degustation menu itself completely. A perfect combination of classic and new.

In comparison, I think the food at Librije’s Zusje is slightly better (scored at 9.5/10) at a similar price level, so for now Librije’s Zusje is the best restaurant in Amsterdam for me. But Bord’eau is a very close second and remains recommended.