To have fun my good friend Robert’s birthday, I took him to considered one of my favourite eating places in Amsterdam: 212, led by chef Richard van Oostenbrugge. I’ve been a fan of his cooking ever since my first go to to Bord’Eau in 2013 (examine that right here), the previous restaurant in Lodge de l’Europe the place Richard was head chef. Again then it had only one Michelin star, however I predicted a second—and certainly, it was awarded a number of months later. In 2018, Richard opened his personal restaurant at Amstel 212, regaining two stars in 2021.
Since my final go to, sommelier Sjoerd Hartog has been promoted to restaurant supervisor, and a brand new sommelier has joined the staff: Thomas Blokdijk, who brings expertise from Librije’s Brass Boer on Bonaire.
At 212, the eating room and kitchen share the identical house, with the kitchen functioning as a theatrical stage. (What you see is the ‘ending’ kitchen; a lot of the prep work is finished in a bigger kitchen downstairs.) It’s as if each desk is a chef’s desk. You may watch the kitchen in motion when you dine, and the cooks themselves serve and end the dishes on the desk. This creates a relaxed, casual environment that distinguishes 212 from extra conventional high quality eating institutions like Ciel Bleu.
The restaurant presents a five-course chef’s menu (€268) or à la carte (three programs for €258 or 4 for €328, with a collection of six starters, 5 mains, cheese, and three desserts). Lots of the dishes on the chef’s menu have been ones I had already loved in 2023 and 2024, however Sjoerd kindly supplied substitutions with dishes I hadn’t tried earlier than. We opted for the wine pairing (€148).
From the three glowing wines obtainable by the glass, I selected the 2015 Rosé Reserve Sekt from Sekthaus Raumland, aged over 90 months on the lees. Regardless of the low dosage of 4 grams per litre, it was impressively well-balanced. With the sekt we loved the pleasant sequence of amuse-bouches, which was the identical as in 2024.
The ‘leaves’ have been manufactured from celeriac this time.
The bread stick to fennel seeds, orange zest, and aged Beemster cheese was as scrumptious as ever.
Brown crab with lavender and bitter cream.
Our favourite: shii take with foie gras and umeboshi: a taste explosion within the mouth.
And eventually, a crunchy sunchoke full of sunchoke salad, garlic French dressing, and Dutch shrimp, topped with grated Belper Knolle cheese.
The primary wine within the pairing was the 2021 Schiefergestein Bockenauer Riesling by Schäfer-Fröhlich, from slate-rich terroir in Nahe, Germany. Crisp and vibrant, with a beautiful petrol word.
This was a superb pairing for a chef’s traditional (which I already loved as an amuse-bouche in 2013): a potato formed like a hole bone, full of veal tartare ‘marrow’, and topped with caviar and smoked herring. Visually placing and full of taste. The wine paired finest with the caviar; a creamier wine would have complemented the opposite parts extra successfully.
The following wine was a 2014 Muscadet by Clisson. Though Muscadet isn’t usually recognized for its getting old potential, this bottle had matured fantastically and remained vibrant.
It was a superb pairing for a superb dish: an ‘open ravioli’ of oyster with kale, preserved lemon, and oyster jus (which the chef informed us included many extra components from the North Sea to realize its complicated and balanced taste). The ‘open’ ravioli was what Italians generally name a ‘bare’ ravioli—simply the filling, with none pasta. The mix of the salty, creamy oyster with the crunchy, barely candy kale was merely divine. Muscadet is a pure selection for a dish that evokes the ocean (in the absolute best manner), however a younger Muscadet would have been too sharp for the creamy texture. A sensible transfer by the sommelier to pick a mature one.
From the second I noticed we have been going to have turbot, I had been trying ahead to pairing it with a white Burgundy (which I like). So when Thomas arrived with a calming Mencía from Spain, I believed: that’s not going to occur. Not simply because I had white Burgundy in thoughts, but in addition as a result of I’ve had too many disappointing experiences with sommeliers attempting to include extra reds into pairings by serving them chilled. I’ll have been a bit hasty in refusing the Mencía with out tasting it with the dish. Thomas kindly introduced out a 2022 Puligny-Montrachet by Domaine Bohrmann at my request, which had a beautiful physique and aroma.
It was an excellent pairing for the grilled turbot with jus Bordelaise, contemporary porcini mushrooms, and a gratin of veal bone marrow. I hadn’t realized the turbot can be served with a crimson wine sauce, which in fact made it appropriate for a crimson wine pairing—although I might have most well-liked a crimson Burgundy over a Mencía. The Puligny held its personal because of its physique; a extra mineral-style Puligny would have been overpowered by the sauce. The dish was glorious, particularly the wealthy and silky meat from the aspect fin.
The fourth wine was the 2020 Aria di Caiarossa, a mix of Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Grenache from Tuscany, Italy. Wines from the world round Bolgheri are sometimes thought-about a Tuscan tackle Bordeaux, and this vineyard follows the Bordeaux custom of manufacturing a ‘second’ wine from grapes not chosen for the flagship Caiarossa. Regardless of being a second wine, it was very satisfying, with aromas of darkish fruit and silky tannins.
This was an excellent pairing for the pigeon breast, stuffed underneath the pores and skin with olive tapenade, served with rehydrated beetroot, the leg as a croquette, and a jus constituted of pigeon offal. The dish was intensely flavorful, with the breast completely cooked and tender.
We had observed the cheese cart at different tables, and it regarded like a powerful choice. In contrast to the everyday strategy most eating places take—and most company appear high quality with—I desire to pick cheeses with a single taste profile, to allow them to pair properly with one wine. No wine pairs completely with all cheeses, from goat to blue, and having a number of wines with the cheese course is never an possibility. I requested if there was any good crimson Burgundy obtainable by the glass, and Thomas talked about he had some 2018 Vosne-Romanée left. That sounded glorious, so we ordered two glasses and waited for the cheese cart to reach. Given the generous-looking choice, I anticipated cheeses like Emmental, Morbier, Comté, or Gruyère—cheeses that pair fantastically with crimson Burgundy.
It has been a pattern for a while for eating places to concentrate on serving native merchandise, and consequently, many high quality eating eating places within the Netherlands now supply solely Dutch artisanal cheeses—typically impressed by French originals—moderately than precise French cheese. This was additionally the case at 212. Since these cheeses are produced in small portions, they’re not extensively obtainable, and I’m not accustomed to most of their names. Often, it really works to ask for one thing by referencing the French authentic. However as you might have guessed from this introduction, I drew a clean once I requested the fromagier for something resembling Emmental, Morbier, Comté, or Gruyère.
He did provide you with some ideas, and it was glorious service that he allowed us to style small samples with the wine earlier than deciding. Sadly, all of them clashed with the wine. Ultimately, we managed to seek out 5 cheeses that paired very properly with the wine by describing the kind of cheese we have been searching for—laborious however mildly flavored—and choosing cheeses the fromagier initially thought wouldn’t work, however really did. I felt a bit sorry for giving him such a tough time, however we ended up with a really satisfying end result. Subsequent time, I’ll select the cheese first after which the wine—or stick with one thing less complicated, like blue cheese with candy wine.
The dessert amuse was the identical as final yr: roquefort and chocolate ice cream.
The dessert wine was a 2021 Muskat Ottonel Auslese by Kracher from Burgenland, Austria. Muscat Ottonel is a lesser-known number of Muscat, and this instance was elegant and contemporary, however with sufficient sweetness to work with the dessert.
The dessert was Mirabelle plums with goat cheese ice cream and rose. The crunchy shell was cracked on the desk with a hammer.
The aroma was fairly pungent, seemingly as a result of presence of rose.
The meal concluded with an beautiful set of petit fours of outstanding high quality to accompany espresso or tea. The baba au rhum, cannelés, and madeleines have been maybe one of the best I’ve ever tasted.
After which there have been bonbons as properly.
On the finish of service, among the workers have been peeling an unlimited quantity of small sunchokes. Fortunately for them, they weren’t as gnarly as sunchokes can typically be, however they have been small—and there have been a lot of them.
In wine training, we’re taught to evaluate wines with out factoring in private desire. As a substitute, we consider whether or not a wine is “acceptable,” “good,” or “glorious” based mostly on comparatively goal standards like stability, size, complexity, focus, and getting old potential, moderately than merely calling it “scrumptious.” If we apply the identical logic to eating places, then all institutions with two Michelin stars might be anticipated to be glorious: high-quality contemporary components, flawless execution, inventive combos of flavors and textures, and attentive service. However that alone doesn’t assure a night as fantastic because the one I had with Robert at 212.
To really take pleasure in a restaurant, there must be a match along with your private preferences—whether or not it’s the model of service (casual or formal), the flavour profile (elegant or daring), or the menu format (à la carte or tasting menu). For me, 212 is an ideal match, so I’ll hold coming again. The meals is scrumptious, with daring flavors. The wine pairings are considerate and well-matched. The service is so attentive that the night flows naturally, by no means feeling such as you’re ready. If the menu modified extra ceaselessly, I’d return much more typically—however I perceive that creating dishes at this degree takes time, and plenty of of them are so good that it’s no punishment to take pleasure in them once more (and this time all the pieces besides the amuse-bouches was new).
