Deventer is a historic city within the east of the Netherlands, on the banks of the IJssel river. This isn’t part of the nation that we go to usually, and we had by no means been to Deventer earlier than. I knew Restaurant Bouwkunde solely by the popularity of being a wine lover’s paradise. Heleen Increase and Pieter van de Pavoordt have run this restaurant for 40 years already. The restaurant is listed within the Michelin information with a “bib gourmand” for good meals at reasonable costs. And since Deventer was type of on the way in which to Oldenzaal the place I needed to be early Monday morning (extra about that in my subsequent put up), I made a decision this was a very good alternative to provide Bouwkunde a attempt. There’s a fastened menu of which you’ll select 3, 4, or 5 programs. We opted for five programs together with cheese (75 euros).
We began with a glass of Crémant du Jura, a glowing wine from Chardonnay made in the identical means as Champagne with a second fermentation within the bottle, however from the Jura area. Which is sort of uncommon, as Crémant from Burgundy, Alsace, or Loire are extra frequent. Sommelier and proprietor Heleen is a vinoloog like me (Dutch diploma for wine data) and a member of the board of the Dutch wine academy. The wine record is superb, particularly the number of Burgundy (about 40 white and 40 pink), additionally from older vintages, and for very affordable costs. Within the Netherlands it’s common in eating places to promote wine at 3 times the retail value or much more, however at Bouwkunde there may be solely a reasonable surcharge in comparison with retail costs, making it rather more enjoyable to order a pleasant bottle at lower than half the value in comparison with most different eating places.
And so that’s what we did, with some assist from Heleen because the wine record solely mentions appellation, producer, and classic, and at the same time as a vinoloog you have no idea what all of the wines from all producers are like. Collectively we picked a Chassagne-Montrachet 2019 by Jean-Claude Ramonet, and it was wonderful. Simply the way in which we like our white Burgundy: complicated, minerality, and a lovely stability.
The amuse bouche was salsify in crispy kataifi pastry with chive mayonnaise. Very nicely executed: very crispy, the pastry didn’t overpower the salsify, and the chives supplied a recent accent.
The appetizer was hamachi (kingfish) ceviche with black radish ravioli, and “Tom Ka Pla” sauce. The latter is coconut milk with lemongrass, galangal, and kaffir lime leaves, however with out the chillies. 5 spice powder was sprinkled on the rim of the plate, so as to add to your liking. The fish was served at room temperature and the sauce had a gentle however scrumptious taste. White Burgundy with Thai meals just isn’t a typical pairing, however by leaving out the chilies, it labored very nicely.
The following course was natural hen breast with little gem lettuce, anchovies, parmesan crumble, and aioli. This was like a heat model of a Ceasar salad with nice depth of taste and completely tender hen. I believe I could choose the lettuce to be much less cooked (and thus extra crunchy). Once more an amazing pairing with the Chassagne.
Subsequent was cabbage, barbecued with beurre noisette, with a miso and celeriac cream, and XO sauce. The cabbage had good crispy edges with barbecue taste and this was one other nice pairing.
Because the wine costs are so pleasant, we determined to get one other bottle to have with our essential course and the cheese. Along with Heleen we selected a Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru Les Charmes 2012 by La Pousse d’Or. It was younger than I’d have anticipated from a 2012 classic, with good fruit and balanced acidity.
The principle course was veal strip steak with cream of caramelized onions, and shimeji mushrooms. The veal was properly medium uncommon and the mushroom taste got here by way of very nicely. A superb pairing with the Chambolle.
The pre-dessert was served earlier than the cheese and was certainly extra a pre-dessert than a palate cleanser (as a result of it was fairly creamy and candy), so after the cheese would have been higher I believe.
The number of (largely French) cheeses was very good.
We opted for some cheeses that labored nicely with the Chambolle.
Espresso got here with waffles with the restaurant’s brand in chocolate.
This was a really good dinner and it’s actually a disgrace this restaurant just isn’t nearer to the place we stay. Regardless that the chef is new, it’s clear there may be loads of expertise right here. They know very nicely what they’re doing and it reveals. And it’s undoubtedly a wine lover’s paradise. We didn’t end the bottle of pink and determined to take it house to complete there. Heleen knew we had been staying at a lodge and requested if we had been going to complete the bottle within the room. As a result of if we did, she would lend us some wine glasses to forestall us from consuming such a pleasant wine out of cups (which we might by no means do, however she’d solely simply met me). Simply the truth that she supplied to lend us wine glasses speaks volumes to the service at Bouwkunde. Strongly really helpful.
