If you go to Enoteca Pinchiorri in Florence, Italy, you should go there for the wine. The name “enoteca” is already a big hint that this is the case, because it is an Italian word that means “wine library”. And not just any wine library, but one that is unique in the world and perhaps even the … Continue reading
L’Amaryllis is the restaurant of chef Cedric Burtin in the village of Saint-Rémy, near Chalon-sur-Saône in Burgundy, France. It is housed in an old watermill, le Moulin de Martorey. In the dining room the old cogwheels are still there, which makes for a very nice ambiance. We opted for the chef’s ‘surprise’ 8- course menu … Continue reading
Librije’s Zusje is the “little sister” of Librije in the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in Amsterdam, with two Michelin stars. Two years ago we had dinner there for the first time, and I concluded back then it was the best restaurant in Amsterdam. So now we were curious to try it again to see if it had evolved. … Continue reading
Podium onder de Dom is a restaurant in Utrecht (half an hour south-east of Amsterdam) that is located right under the city’s main landmark, the Dom (cathedral) tower. They do not have a Michelin star (yet) — but it seems that they are aiming to get one. Chef Leon Mazairac’s motto is “Simplicity is complex … Continue reading
Every year we celebrate our anniversary at Librije, our favorite restaurant in the Netherlands and one of our favorite restaurants in the world. The restaurant run by chef Jonnie Boer (no relation) and his wife and sommelier/maitre Thérèse is located in Zwolle, about an hour from Amsterdam, in a historic building (a former prison for … Continue reading
We have two restaurants with three Michelin stars in the Netherlands, the Librije and De Leest. This was our third visit and the second that I am writing about on the blog; click here to read about my previous experience in 2014. De Leest is the restaurant of chef Jacob Jan Boerma and host and … Continue reading
De Kruidfabriek is the new restaurant by Peter Lute, known as one of the judges of the Dutch version of MasterChef. The name is a pun that works in Dutch only, because the restaurant is housed in a former gunpowder factory (kruiTfabriek), whereas now they grown their own herbs in a greenhouse (kruiDfabriek, which looks like … Continue reading
Azurmendi is a restaurant in a futuristic building by the freeway near Bilbao in the Basque country in Spain. The restaurant of chef Eneko Atxa has three Michelin stars and ranks highly on the World’s 50 best restaurants and Opinionated about dining. As we were visiting the Basque country, we couldn’t pass up the opportunity … Continue reading
Frantzén in the old town of Stockholm is a small restaurant that seats only about 20. It has two Michelin stars and ranks 31 on the World’s 50 best restaurants or 16 on Opiniated About Dining. There are a few tables and there is seating at the bar with full few of the tiny kitchen. … Continue reading
Sinne is a small restaurant in the Pijp neighborhood of Amsterdam that was awarded a Michelin star in 2014. So it was about time I went to check it out. The cuisine is a mixture of Mediterranean and Oriental influences. You can look straight into the open kitchen (which featured a ‘big green egg’ BBQ) and … Continue reading
De Librije is our favorite restaurant in the Netherlands and we go there every year for our anniversary. We celebrate two anniversaries each year, and after 10 years of celebrating our wedding anniversary at the Librije in June, we decided to switch to our first date anniversary (which happens to coincide with Christmas eve) for … Continue reading
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 … Continue reading
For our final night in Italy we went to another famous trattoria with 3 gamberi from Gambero Rosso: Locanda delle Grazie in Curtatone, on the border of the Parco del Mincio. The Mincio is the river that changes into a lake here. We have moved from Veneto into Lombardia, into the region of mostarda, tortelli di … Continue reading
Le Calandre of chef Massimiliano Alajmo is one of Italy’s most famous restaurants, has three Michelin stars and is listed as number 34 on the World’s 50 best restaurants. It is located just outside of Padova. There are three tasting menus (11 courses) for 225 euros each: Classico (with classic dishes from the restaurant), Max, and … Continue reading
During our travels in Italy, we always try to include as many trattorie with 3 gamberi from Gambero Rosso as possible. Each year, leading gourmet magazine Gambero Rosso publishes a restaurant guide and there are only 18 trattorie in all of Italy that get the highest score. In Friuli there is one: Ai Cacciatori in … Continue reading
Agli Amici is a two-star restaurant in the village of Godia, just outside of Udine in the Italian region Friuli. It is run by a brother a sister: he is the chef, she is the sommelier and maitre. When we arrived, the annual Festa delle Patate (potato harvest party) was going on in a big … Continue reading
We are in Slovenia and Croatia for a few days before heading back to Italy. Porec is a nice little seatown on the coast of Istria, and there we had dinner at seafood restaurant Ulixes. The restaurant has a nice patio with an olive tree. They show the catch of the day to the guests … Continue reading
We had been looking forward to going back to Laite again, because we had good memories of our first dinner there in 2010. It is located in Sappada, a mountain town in the far North East of Veneto in the Dolomiti, and run by the couple Fabrizia and Roberto. She cooks, he takes care of … Continue reading
I use two rules for distinguishing a good Italian restaurant from a tourist trap. The rule in Italy is that the menu should have local dishes from the region (e.g. spaghetti alla carbonara is a good sign in Rome but a bad sign in Bologna, tagliatelle alla bolognese is a good sign in Bologna, but spaghetti … Continue reading
Restaurant Aqua of chef Sven Elverfeld is the 3 Michelin star restaurant located in the Ritz-Carlton in Autostadt, the Volkswagen theme park in Wolfsburg, in the middle of Germany near Hannover. It is listed as #33 on the World’s 50 best restaurants, and as it is ‘only’ a 4-hour drive due east from Amsterdam, it … Continue reading
One of our favorite restaurants is the Librije, three Michelin star restaurant in Zwolle (Netherlands) of Jonnie and Térèse Boer (no relation). Less than a year ago, sister restaurant Librije’s Zusje (“zusje” means little sister) opened in the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in Amsterdam. Chef Sidney Schutte is a former sous-chef of Librije and chef of … Continue reading
Inter Scaldes is a restaurant with manoir (hotel) that has had two Michelin stars since 1984. The current chef Jannis Brevet has been the chef since 2001. The name refers to its location between the Oosterschelde and Westerschelde near the village of Kruiningen in the province of Zeeland in the South-West of the Netherlands. Each year for … Continue reading
Etxebarri is a restaurant unlike any other restaurant I’ve ever eaten at before. It located in the Atxondo valley in the Basque country between San Sebastian and Bilbao. Etxebarri is an “asador”, a grill restaurant that cooks on a wood-fired grill. But Etxebarri is more about the quality of the ingredients than about being an … Continue reading
