Bistro de la Mer on Utrechtestraat 57 in Amsterdam is the sister restaurant of De Juwelier, just some doorways down on Utrechtsestraat at quantity 51. It is usually owned by Richard van Oostenbrugge, chef of Restaurant 212 (simply across the nook). These of you that perceive French have already discovered that Bistro de la Mer is a seafood restaurant.
Many of the seating is on the bar, with some very slim excessive tables for 2 alongside the wall. Bistro de la Mer holds one Michelin star, similar to the Juwelier. The construction of the menu is similar to De Juwelier. It’s à la carte solely, with a alternative of 4 chilly starters (13-23 euros), three heat second programs (13-33 euros), 4 principal programs (28-53 euros), cheese (18 euros), and three desserts (13 euros). All the savory dishes are seafood (though one principal course is hen full of smoked eel). Identical to De Juwelier the atmosphere could be very casual and in that method totally different from conventional Michelin starred eating places.
We began with a pleasant glass of champagne: Jean Velut Premier Temps Brut, principally Chardonnay with a little bit of Pinot Noir.
The complimentary amuse bouche was a scrumptious bisque of Dutch shrimp with salted lemon. The bisque was very properly balanced and properly advanced and recent due to the lemon.
We additionally had some Irish Mor oysters, which have been served with a shallot French dressing and lemon juice. These oysters have been a bit small, however very elegant and creamy.
As starter I had picked Dutch shrimp with celeriac remoulade, XO sauce and foam of Poiré. This was scrumptious and my favourite dish of the night. XO sauce is a sauce from Hong Kong of dried scallops with oil and chillies, however for some cause the model with scallops is now unlawful to be imported in Europe and so it’s made with shiitake mushrooms as a substitute. The strong a part of the sauce was organized as a strip on high of the shrimp, whereas the shrimp was brushed with the XO oil. The shrimp was organized very neatly on high of the celeriac. The celeriac remoulade consisted extra of celeriac than of mayonnaise (which is an efficient factor). Poiré is a pear cidre, often known as Perry. The froth was properly tart. The mixture of the shrimp, celeriac and foam was very good. There was additionally some horseradish sauce on the plate, however I most popular it with out that sauce.
The starter had already been served earlier than we might order a bottle of wine. I had picked a bottle of Sémillon from South Africa by the well-known (deceased) Dutch sommelier Lotte Wolf, a 2017 “Onkruid vergaan nie”, which is Afrikaans for “Unwell weeds develop apace”. I had requested the waiter if the wine was oaked and he stated sure, however he failed to say it was an orange wine. It was a pleasant and sophisticated wine, however an orange wine is a little bit of a shock if you’re not anticipating it. (This was the primary time I attempted a wine by Lotte Wolf so I didn’t know what to anticipate.) An orange wine is a white wine that’s made in the identical method as a purple wine, i.e. the skins are left in in the course of the alcoholic fermentation. This offers the wine particular aromas and tannins, making the wine extra astringent.
As a second course I had chosen garganelli (recent pasta formed like penne however thinner) with smoked eel, Australian black winter truffle, cream, and plenty of black pepper. This was known as “Carbonara type” on the menu, whereas actual Carbonara is at all times made with eggs relatively than cream. However this isn’t an Italian restaurant so it’s forgivable. The pasta with truffles, eel, and cream was scrumptious. The black pepper was nice for offering a recent distinction to the creaminess of the dish, however there was a bit overpowering. About half of the black pepper would have been good. Nonetheless a really good dish.
As principal course I had chosen the tarbotine (small turbot) confit with grenobloise and veal jus. The tarbotine had been filleted with the 2 fillets stacked on high of one another. I used to be not accustomed to a grenobloise sauce, which is a tart sauce with capers from town of Grenoble within the South of France. This sauce was invented when there was no refrigeration but. Being some 300 kilometers (200 miles) from the coast, the fish wasn’t fully recent anymore when it arrived, and so this tart sauce helped to masks that. Because the turbot at Bistro de la Mer clearly was impeccably recent, it was a little bit of a disgrace that additionally on this case the sauce overpowered the elegant taste of the turbot. I at all times prefer to strive dishes I’ve not had earlier than, however on this case it could have been sensible to google sauce grenobloise earlier than ordering this. The restaurant ready it expertly the best way it’s imagined to be, so it was my very own fault ordering it.
I didn’t look after any of the desserts, so the tip the meal I simply ordered a glass of a purple dessert wine from Austria, a 2021 Zweigelt Auslese by Kracher from Burgenland. Very elegant and mineral, mildly candy with aromas of purple gooseberry.
The meals at Bistro de la Mer was glorious and a contact higher than at De Juwelier. In contrast to the wine, the costs of the meals are superb worth for cash, particularly for the placement in downtown Amsterdam. The wine record was a lot shorter than at De Juwelier, and had a restricted choice of bottles beneath 150 euros. Subsequent time I’ll order the most affordable (if I bear in mind appropriately) wine on the record, Nicola Bergaglio’s Gavi Minaia, which is a good wine and ‘solely’ 40 euros. Identical to at De Juwelier, the wait workers was not very educated in regards to the wines on the wine record. The service was good and really pleasant, with two exceptions. The starter got here too rapidly after the oysters and earlier than we might order the wine, and after we have been handed the dessert menu it took perpetually to take our order, after which as lengthy once more to serve it. However these have been minor points and we had a terrific night at Bistro de la Mer. That is now my favourite seafood restaurant in Amsterdam.
