Coulisse has been awarded its first Michelin star in 2023, and so I was curious to check it out. It is located in a historic building, a former theater. The Dutch word “coulisse”, usually used as plural “coulissen”, refers to … Continue reading Dining in Amsterdam: Coulisse*
Bistro de la Mer on Utrechtestraat 57 in Amsterdam is the sister restaurant of De Juwelier, just a few doors down on Utrechtsestraat at number 51. It is also owned by Richard van Oostenbrugge, chef of Restaurant 212 (just around … Continue reading Dining in Amsterdam: Bistro de la Mer*
After our dinner at Aqua we were spending the weekend in Berlin before going home. It was my going to be my first time in the city, so I did some research online to decide where to eat. The highest … Continue reading Dining in Germany: Nobelhart & Schmutzig*
For our 21st wedding anniversary we returned to Aqua, the three Michelin star restaurant by chef Sven Elverfeld in the Ritz Carlton in Wolfsburg, Germany. We’ve been here before in 2015 and 2019. We opted for the all-inclusive “Grand Culinary … Continue reading Dining in Germany: Aqua*** (2023)
Regular readers have guessed it: yet another friend’s birthday to be celebrated with a dinner at a Michelin starred restaurant. In this case it is Melvin’s birthday, and because he likes Asian cuisine I took him to Yamazato in the … Continue reading Dining in Amsterdam: Yamazato*
To treat my friend Martijn for his birthday, I took him to dinner at De Juwelier. Chef Richard van Oostenbrugge of two-Michelin star restaurant 212 has opened up two new restaurants around the corner: De Juwelier and Bistro De La … Continue reading Dining in Amsterdam: De Juwelier*
This was a very special wine dinner at Restaurant Karel 5 in Utrecht, organized by Fred Nijhuis. Fred is a wine writer who specializes in Italy and was the guide for the wine trips to Lombardia and Piemonte. For this … Continue reading A Dinner at Karel 5* With Very Old Wines
I wanted to treat my friend Sebas for his birthday and allow him to experience a two-start Michelin restaurant for the first time in his life. Since I had not been to Ciel Bleu in a long time (the last … Continue reading Dining in Amsterdam: Ciel Bleu** (2023)
Ku’uk restaurant in Mérida, Yucatán, Mexico is housed in a restored mansion. It offers fine dining with dishes inspired on Mexican dishes and ingredients, with some Lebanese influences due to the Lebanese community in Mérida. We opted for the 21 … Continue reading Dining in Mexico: Ku’uk
We were not planning to do any ‘fine dining’ during our vacation in Mexico, as we were expecting that the ‘regular’ restaurant food would be special enough. But when we realized we were staying close to number 29 on Latin America’s 50 best restaurants and that we could still book a table for the next day (albeit at 5:30pm), we decided to go for it. And so we ended up at Arca in Tulum. The Mexican-American chef Jose Luis Hinostroza has an impressive resume, which includes not only Noma but also El Celler de Can Roca (my personal best restaurant … Continue reading Dining in Mexico: Arca
Terroir is a restaurant in the picturesque old town of Utrecht with an extensive wine list and a weekly changing à la carte menu. For starter (15-17 euros), in between (18-21 euros) and main course (25-30 euros) there is one … Continue reading Dining in the Netherlands: Terroir
We have been celebrating the anniversary of our first date with a dinner at Librije for years now, although in 2020 and 2021 the restaurant was closed due to Covid and we had to go to Librije on another date. … Continue reading Dining in the Netherlands: Librije*** (December 2022)
This was our third meal at Ristorante Ispinigoli, after earlier visits in 2017 and 2019 that I did not blog about. The hotel and restaurant is located in the mountains on the east side of Sardinia, near the town of … Continue reading Dining in Italy: Ispinigoli
Fradis Minoris is a fish restaurant on the southern coast of Sardinia in the town of Pula that has just received its first Michelin star. It is located on the dam that separates the lagoon of Nora from the open … Continue reading Dining in Italy: Fradis Minoris*
Our last dinner in Campania for this trip was at Taverna Estia, where we wanted to return after our great experience there 4 years ago. In the meantime they added outdoor seating. It is a family business with Mario Sposito … Continue reading Dining in Italy: Taverna Estia** (2022)
Chef Peppe Guida has two restaurants: Antica Osteria Nonna Rossa with a Michelin star, and an agriturismo called Villa Rosa di Nonna Rosa. The produce used at both restaurants comes from the agriturismo, from farm to table. We had dinner … Continue reading Dining in Italy: Villa Rosa di Nonna Rosa
For our 5th dinner at Torre del Saracino (and some other restaurants in this area) we made a bit of a detour, because the primary destination of our vacation is Sardinia. We were seated at the table in the corner … Continue reading Dining in Italy: Torre del Saracino** (2022)
Lo Stuzzichino is just around the corner from Don Alfonso in Sant’Agata Sui Due Golfi. It is an osteria that has been recognized by many guides as one of the best trattorie in Italy, including tre gamberi by Gambero Rosso. … Continue reading Dining in Italy: Lo Stuzzichino
We really enjoyed our first dinner at Don Alfonso 1890 in 2018, so it was the perfect restaurant to start off this year’s culinary adventures in Italy. This is a family business, run by two brothers and their mother. Apart … Continue reading Dining in Italy: Don Alfonso 1890** (2022)
Bussia is one of my favorite restaurants in Amsterdam. I had not been for a while, due to Covid and because it is so popular that you usually need to make a reservation a few weeks in advance. The restaurant … Continue reading Dining in Amsterdam: Bussia (2022)
I wanted to introduce our best friends to fine dining in a Michelin starred restaurant, and thought Spectrum would be a great place to do it. The restaurant of chef Sidney Schutte opened in 2014 in the Waldorf Astoria hotel, … Continue reading Dining in Amsterdam: Spectrum** (2022)
Geranium in Copenhagen by chef Rasmus Kofoed has held 3 Michelin stars since 2016 and is ranked 6th on the World’s 50 best restaurants. A perfect location to celebrate our 20th wedding anniversary. The restaurant is located on the top floor of Copenhagen’s soccer stadium and offers wonderful sunset views. There is a set menu of 18 courses for DKK 3200. The wine pairing is offered at four price points: DKK 2000, 4000, 6000, or a whopping 18,000. We opted for the DKK 4000 pairing. It is very difficult to get a reservation, as the number of tables is limited. … Continue reading Dining in Denmark: Geranium***
“Høst” means harvest, to make it clear that this Nordic restaurant in Copenhagen bases its dishes on the best seasonal ingredients. It is part of Cofoco, the Copenhagen Food Collective. Reservations are accepted for two shifts: you can either start … Continue reading Dining in Denmark: Høst
We were supposed to go to Librije in December for our annual anniversary celebration, but due to the pandemic it was postponed until now. As usual we had a package with an 8 course degustation plus champagne and wine pairings, … Continue reading Dining in the Netherlands: Librije*** (2022)
We were in Sancerre to stock up on Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé wine. Since there aren’t any great restaurants in the town of Sancerre itself, I looked around and noticed a restaurant in the town of Boulleret, just 15 minutes North … Continue reading Dining in France: l’Ardoise du Marché*
Five years ago we enjoyed a nice dinner at l’Amaryllis, so we decided to go there again when we were visiting the area. The restaurant holds one Michelin star, same as five years ago. The restaurant is located in an … Continue reading Dining in France: l’Amaryllis* (2022)
I have good memories of my first dinner at Schanz back in 2014, read my review here. Thomas Schanz became the chef in the hotel-restaurant of the Schanz family in 2011, received his first Michelin star in 2012, second in … Continue reading Dining in Germany: Schanz***
The food in Costa Rica is usually nothing to write home about, or in fact to blog about. A lot of rice and beans, and very little spices or herbs. But there are some exceptions. A hidden gem is Ubin … Continue reading Dining in Costa Rica: Ubin by Keilor Sanchez
I am a member of the Dutch association of Vinologists (Verenigde Vinologen Nederland) and for the first time I went on a wine trip organized by them. Piemonte is a large region and we did not visit all of it, … Continue reading Wine trip to Piemonte: Dogliani, Roero, and Barbera d’Asti
I am a member of the Dutch association of Vinologists (Verenigde Vinologen Nederland) and for the first time I went on a wine trip organized by them. This is the second article in a short series, in which I describe … Continue reading Wine trip to Piemonte: Barolo
