We were greeted with a few amuse bouches: A decadent cream with corn custard and caviar, presented in a pretty shell.
A bite of dried mackarel in a leaf.
Seaweed crackers presented on a platter of various sea shells.
Our first course was Herring with potato, buttermilk, dill, cinnamon, bacon, and egg yolk. It was paired with a dry riesling from the Mosel region of Germany, where we just visited!
Keith ate the Carabinero - short rib with roasted bell pepper, ginger, watermelon, and X.O. cream. It looked like lasagna.
I had a vegetarian substitute with Marinated Watermelon & Tomato with lemongrass, topped with horseradish pearls, pistachio, and mint. The watermelon was cut so thin, and had lots of great flavor.
Langoustine with kimchi, peanuts, oysters, and topped with black pudding. I had to remove the blood sausage from my version.
Red Mullet with razor clam, cockle, leek, fermented strawberry, garlic and coconut hollandaise.
Next, Keith ate the Crispy Smoked Duck with cherry muhammara, Mexican tarragon, duck liver, and celtuce. This dish was paired with a smokey red wine that I didn't get a chance to snap a pic of.
I had a substitute of Cod with quinoa, carrots, and olives paired with a Spanish white wine.
Next, we had a jelly-like fungus called Tremella that had been "growing" on our table the whole night. It was cut up and then presented to us with a bright green tarragon sauce, pink peppercorn, and BBQ white chocolate ice cream. The fungus had an anise flavor and was chewy like seaweed.
Though the dining room was elegant, it was typical of a hotel restaurant. For two Michelin stars, I expected a little more attention to detail. Some hiccups were including red meat in one of my dishes, though we specifically talked about my aversion ahead of time when I made the reservation, and again upon arrival; lack of water pouring - we had to ask multiple times; lack of cleaning the table; lack of proper silverware placement, just to name a few. These overlooked details may be minor, but are what is expected of a restaurant that is noted for its high caliber of service. Nevertheless, the food was delicious and presented in a creative way. We spent over 3 hours there and never felt rushed, so it was a decent first fine-dining meal during our European tour.
Total Rating: 3.85
Food: 4.5, Price: 2, Service: 4, Ambience: 3.5, Accessibility: 4.5
