After two years it was time to return to Ciel Bleu, the 2 Michelin star restaurant on the twenty third flooring of the Okura lodge by chef Arjan Speelman with a beautiful view of Amsterdam. My earlier go to was in 2023 for my buddy Sebas’ birthday, and this yr it was my birthday present to my buddy Melvin.
At Ciel Bleu you may make your expertise as costly for those who like. It begins with the six course signature menu (225 euros) wine wine pairing (150 euros). We opted for 8 programs (275 euros) with wine wine pairing (200 euros). However you can additionally change the principle course to Waguy A5 (+65 euros), or go for Status with not solely the Wagyu but additionally black truffle and a few caviar (375 euros, wine pairing 275 euros). Or go all out with caviar on all programs (595 euros). A change in comparison with two years in the past is that there’s now just one wine pairing that’s at a worth level between the earlier ‘common’ and ‘premium’ pairings.
I used to be happy to see sommelier Niccolò Benigni once more, who took such excellent care of us with the wines throughout my final go to. We began with a glass of a really good glowing rosé from Sussex, England, a mix of 55% Chardonnay, 45% Pinot Noir, and 5% Pinot Meunier, aged 3 years on the lees. Brut however clean with 10 grams of residual sugar. Very fruity however elegant.
The primary snacks had been some very crispy crackers with a curried pumpkin mousse and marinated olives full of Pierre Robert cheese.
Subsequent was uncooked hamachi with elegant and complicated Thai flavors.
The bluefin tuna and caviar dish from my earlier go to was now was an amuse bouche model. Nonetheless served within the vertebra of a bluefin tuna, however drastically improved because the tuna was now sliced a lot smaller and the stability between the tuna and the opposite parts was significantly better. Excellent!
The primary wine was a really traditional pairing, a single winery Muscadet from the Loire Valley in France with the standard salinity of this wine, however fortunately not with the intense acidity that Muscadet can generally have.
It was a superb pairing with the “fruits de mer”: a panna cotta of uni (sea urchin), oyster escabeche, mussels, uncooked scallops, uncooked shrimp, and crispy seaside leaves. Impeccably contemporary seafood and an excellent mixture of flavors and textures.
We continued with a candy Riesling Spätlese from Mosel, with good stability and a sublime contact of ‘petrol’.
This was an ample pairing for my least favourite dish of the menu: lobster with rhubarb, celery, and a sweetish ardour berry sauce with lobster oil (oil infused with taste from the lobster shells). The flavour of the lobster was drowned within the different flavors and the feel of the lobster was not almost nearly as good as two years in the past. Lobster is one in every of my favourite components, so this was a bit disappointing.
We continued with an oaked Assyrtiko the Greek island of Santorini. A full-bodied white with quite a lot of taste, however balanced.
It was a superb pairing for the crimson mullet with ‘caponata’, smoked paprika (pimentón), and anchovies. The mullet was reconstructed after the bone had been taken out and had was very tender and juicy (most likely cooked sous vide). The mullet with the sauce was scrumptious, very daring flavors, however very properly balanced. A troublesome dish to pair a wine, however the pairing was excellent.
Niccolò modified the common pairing for us to a 2022 Chassagne-Montrachet, which was fantastic. Regardless of its youth, very properly balanced and complicated.
It was an excellent pairing for the ocean bass with artichokes, Dutch shrimps, and beurre blanc sauce with crimson vanilla. I favored every little thing of this dish however the artichokes had been wonderful, I’ve by no means tasted such scrumptious candy artichokes earlier than. The chef promised to e-mail me the recipe — I can’t wait to strive making them this manner myself.
One other detour from the common pairing, a 2016 Château Laroze Saint Émilion. A mix of 65% Merlot, 28% Cabernet Franc, and seven% Cabernet Sauvignon. Lovely fruit and really elegant. Tannins nonetheless fairly current, however with the dish they turned velvety clean.
The dish was breast fillet of a poussin de Bresse, an surprising pairing with a crimson Bordeaux wine. However it was an excellent pairing, as a result of class of this specific Bordeaux and the accompanying umeboshi, XO sauce, and varied preparations of several types of onions. Hen breast in a two Michelin star restaurant? Properly, for those who put together it like this, then it’s fantastic. The hen was stuffed below the pores and skin with umeboshi and (I consider) mushrooms. A really flavorful dish.
The following wine was a 2020 Dominio del Aguila Ribera del Duero (Spain) of 85% Tempranillo, 5% Garnacha, 5% Bobal, and 5% Albillo. The addition of the (white) Albillo helped to make this wine fairly elegant for a Ribera del Duero. Easy tannins, good fruit and oak.
This was a great pairing for the roe deer venison backstrap, morel full of spinach, extra spinach, parsnip, peeled walnut, and a roe deer jus. The roe deer was completely medium uncommon and tender. Peeling walnuts is a troublesome chore, however they style nice with out the astringent pores and skin. The parsnip was nonetheless crunchy and subsequently had a lighter taste, not as candy. It was an excellent wine and it was a great pairing, however I feel a extra earthy crimson (like a Barolo) would have labored even higher.
We couldn’t resist having a little bit of cheese from the nice choice.
We requested for blue cheese solely, so it might be paired with a glass of Sauternes. One of many blue cheese was fairly extraordinary as a result of it was from Norway.
You possibly can’t go improper with blue cheese and Sauternes. This 2017 Château Guiraud was elegant and already had some tertiary saffron notes, regardless of being so younger.
The palate cleanser was a goat milk sorbet with violets, cucumbers, and wheat grass.
The dessert wine was a Rivesaltes, fortied Grenache Blanc, Grenache Gris, and Macabeu, aged for 20 years in barriques. Like a tawny port, however from France and with decrease alcohol (16% as an alternative of 20%).
It was a really good wine, however it was overpowered by the chocolate dessert with dulce de leche, hazelnut, and vanilla. A PX would have been a more sensible choice.
We ended the meal with tea and a few good friandises, particularly the strawberry frangipane tart.
This was one other fantastic night at Ciel Bleu. The meals was glorious, and it’s value noticing that the parts are fairly beneficiant. Typically in Michelin star eating places you appear to get a sequence of amuse bouche, however right here you truly get fed. There’s good bread with butter and olive oil as properly. The wines and wine pairings had been glorious as properly. I like that the wine pairing is on the stage of the meals, which sadly just isn’t the case at many different eating places. The service was glorious as properly, very pleasant and attentive. Wine was topped up promptly when wanted with out having to ask for it. The tempo was excellent, neither too quick nor too sluggish. I can’t await subsequent time!
