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Restaurant Aan de Poel is situated in Amstelveen, the rich suburb of Amsterdam. It’s located and named after a small lake known as “De Poel”. The terrace provides a gorgeous view of the lake, however the climate wasn’t The restaurant of chef Stefan van Sprang opened in 2007, gained its first Michelin star in 2009, and the second in 2013. I had been there solely as soon as earlier than, when it had simply gained its first star. I don’t bear in mind something from that dinner and am undecided that I haven’t been again since as a result of I didn’t suppose it was value returning to, or as a result of it’s not simply reachable by public transport and too near residence to remain in a lodge. Most likely a mixture of each. It is just 8-10 kilometers (5-6 miles) from the 2 star eating places in Amsterdam (Spectrum, 212, Vinkeles, Ciel Bleu, and Flore) and so this was to be the final cease in my tour of all 2 star eating places in higher Amsterdam. However with hindsight, I don’t think about Aan de Poel as a part of the Amsterdam effective eating scene.
After we arrived at 7pm, the restaurant was already fairly full, and by 8pm all of the tables had been occupied. That is fairly totally different from Amsterdam, the place most diners arrive later. (The picture doesn’t present as many occupied tables, as a result of I attempt to keep away from taking a photograph to be positioned on my weblog that prominently options different friends of the restaurant and so level my digital camera away from folks as a lot as I can.) I additionally observed plenty of households with youngsters, even young children, and it appeared like many friends had been locals and regulars. And there have been plenty of tables that had been fairly shut collectively — the restaurant has area for 80 diners, in comparison with solely 24 at Restaurant 212.
The restaurant provides a seasonal chef’s menu (5 programs for 169 euros), some à la carte choices, and a signature menu with the 7 favourite dishes of the chef (239 euros). As we thought the signature menu can be the easiest way to get reacquainted with the chef’s cooking, we opted for the latter.
We began with a Man Charlemagne Brut Traditional Champagne, of fifty% Chardonnay and 50% Pinot Noir, a mellow Champagne.
The amuse bouche began with a faux olive with inexperienced apple…
…a mandarin hoisin pancake with oyster mushroom reasonably than duck, a puff with truffle and mayonnaise…
…and a creation of peas and inexperienced beans. There have been plenty of candy components within the amuses, and the mayonnaise within the puff was extra outstanding than the truffle.
The primary wine of the pairing was a 2022 Chablis by Moreau. Properly creamy from the malolactic conversion.
This was a reasonably good pairing for the primary dish of steak tartare dressed with oil and chives and topped with caviar, a pan-fried langoustine tail, and wasabi mayonnaise. The caviar was a really creamy mellow kind of caviar, not very salty or ‘pop in your mouth’. Though there was beneficiant serving on prime of the tartare, it was tough to style the caviar. The wasabi mayonnaise solely had a small quantity of wasabi in it, in order that was very mellow as properly. The wine labored higher with the tartare and caviar than with the langoustine, for which the wine was a bit too creamy.
The subsequent wine was a 2022 Albariño from Fefiñanes in Rias Baixas, Spain. Properly fruity and mellow.
It was pairing for the yellowfin tuna with foie gras and bits of jamón iberico. The tuna was good and the foie gras was good, however they didn’t complement one another in any approach that was obvious to me.
We continued the wine pairing with a 2022 Toques & Clochers Clocher de la Serpent closely oaked Chardonnay from Limoux, Languedoc, France.
It was paired with lobster with a curry syrup and macadamias. The pairing of lobster with a (Thai) curry is sort of widespread and could be very good, however this syrup was largely sugar with mellow spices, and no chillies by any means (not less than not that I might detect). The dish was largely candy and though this was a hefty Chardonnay, the wine nonetheless couldn’t deal with all that sugar.
The subsequent wine was a small pour of the 2019 Château Piada Sauternes.
This was pairing for the signature dish throughout the signature menu, smoked eel lacquered with a candy teriyaki sauce. As you too can inform from the colour, this teriyaki sauce had extra sugar and fewer soy than a daily teriyaki. This was like a mellow model of the Japanese unagi eel.
The next wine was a 2020 Domaine Pierre Boisson Monthélie, a Pinot Noir from Burgundy. It was fairly wealthy, and dare I say mellow, for a crimson Burgundy.
After which nothing occurred for half an hour. We had been nearly to alert the wait workers, when the subsequent course did arrive.
It was a mushroom risotto with a beneficiant serving of shaved black summer season truffle. Once I first tasted it, I believed the rice was lacking. However then after I regarded, I might see there have been the truth is grains of rice within the risotto. They had been nevertheless fully smooth, not al dente in any respect. We complained about this to the waitress, who apologized and requested if we needed to get the identical dish once more. We didn’t really feel like that, so as a substitute recommended they may make up for it by upgrading the subsequent wine. At the moment I believed it was a mistake that the rice was overcooked, however now that I’m penning this overview, I’m curious whether or not it was the truth is a mistake, or that the chef supposed the rice to be cooked to mush, as that appears to suit together with his cooking fashion? The risotto did have a pleasant mushroom taste.
The ‘upgraded’ wine was a 2011 Valpolicella Ripasso “10 anni” by Cà dei Maghi from Veneto, Italy. It was properly aged and properly, mellow.
This was pairing for the Wagyu A5 strip steak with a pleasant jus. The wagyu was very tender and the garnishes had been good.
The palate cleanser was a sorbet with lemon bits frozen with liquid nitrogen.
The ultimate wine was a Riesling Trockenbeeren Auslese by Kracher, a botrytis wine from Austria.
It was solely simply wealthy sufficient for the Tarte Tatin with further caramel sauce and vanilla ice cream. The vanilla ice cream had a wonderful taste, however was melting quickly. The additional caramel sauce made the Tatin cloyingly candy and creamy. The crust of the tart was smooth reasonably than crispy.
The meal was concluded with some good friandises.
Through the drive to the restaurant, my neighbor Cees and I mentioned that with Michelin starred eating places the standard could be anticipated to be excessive, however whether or not you like it or not has extra to do with whether or not you just like the chef’s fashion or not. This chef has a really clear fashion of candy, mellow and smooth, with little or no distinction, edges, or sturdy spices. It isn’t stunning there have been so many households with youngsters, as a result of youngsters love this sort of meals. The signature menu has all the posh substances one can consider (lobster, caviar, foie gras, wagyu beef, truffle).
Aan de Poel clearly differs from the two Michelin star eating places in Amsterdam. It’s extra a household restaurant (for households who can afford it) with eye-catching dishes, than a temple to effective eating like the opposite locations. Once I write “temple” I don’t imply these eating places are formal, which they don’t seem to be in any respect (besides Ciel Bleu maybe). However the ambiance is totally totally different and appears to cater to a extra worldwide clientele. The gap is barely 8 to 10 kilometers (5 to six miles), however they appear totally different worlds.
I’m curious whether or not the seasonal chef’s menu is much less candy and mellow, however I’m undecided if I’m curious sufficient to go and discover out.
