After two years it was time to return to Ciel Bleu, the 2 Michelin star restaurant on the twenty third flooring of the Okura resort by chef Arjan Speelman with a beautiful view of Amsterdam. My earlier go to was in 2023 for my pal Sebas’ birthday, and this 12 months it was my birthday present to my pal Melvin.
At Ciel Bleu you may make your expertise as costly for those who like. It begins with the six course signature menu (225 euros) wine wine pairing (150 euros). We opted for 8 programs (275 euros) with wine wine pairing (200 euros). However you might additionally change the primary course to Waguy A5 (+65 euros), or go for Status with not solely the Wagyu but additionally black truffle and a few caviar (375 euros, wine pairing 275 euros). Or go all out with caviar on all programs (595 euros). A change in comparison with two years in the past is that there’s now just one wine pairing that’s at a value level between the earlier ‘common’ and ‘premium’ pairings.
I used to be happy to see sommelier Niccolò Benigni once more, who took such excellent care of us with the wines throughout my final go to. We began with a glass of a really good glowing rosé from Sussex, England, a mix of 55% Chardonnay, 45% Pinot Noir, and 5% Pinot Meunier, aged 3 years on the lees. Brut however easy with 10 grams of residual sugar. Very fruity however elegant.
The primary snacks have been some very crispy crackers with a curried pumpkin mousse and marinated olives full of Pierre Robert cheese.
Subsequent was uncooked hamachi with elegant and complicated Thai flavors.
The bluefin tuna and caviar dish from my earlier go to was now was an amuse bouche model. Nonetheless served within the vertebra of a bluefin tuna, however drastically improved because the tuna was now sliced a lot smaller and the steadiness between the tuna and the opposite elements was significantly better. Excellent!
The primary wine was a really traditional pairing, a single winery Muscadet from the Loire Valley in France with the standard salinity of this wine, however fortunately not with the acute acidity that Muscadet can typically have.
It was a wonderful pairing with the “fruits de mer”: a panna cotta of uni (sea urchin), oyster escabeche, mussels, uncooked scallops, uncooked shrimp, and crispy seaside leaves. Impeccably contemporary seafood and a fantastic mixture of flavors and textures.
We continued with a candy Riesling Spätlese from Mosel, with good steadiness and a chic contact of ‘petrol’.
This was an sufficient pairing for my least favourite dish of the menu: lobster with rhubarb, celery, and a sweetish ardour berry sauce with lobster oil (oil infused with taste from the lobster shells). The flavour of the lobster was drowned within the different flavors and the feel of the lobster was not practically nearly as good as two years in the past. Lobster is one in every of my favourite elements, so this was a bit disappointing.
We continued with an oaked Assyrtiko the Greek island of Santorini. A full-bodied white with plenty of taste, however balanced.
It was a wonderful pairing for the crimson mullet with ‘caponata’, smoked paprika (pimentón), and anchovies. The mullet was reconstructed after the bone had been taken out and had was very tender and juicy (most likely cooked sous vide). The mullet with the sauce was scrumptious, very daring flavors, however very properly balanced. A troublesome dish to pair a wine, however the pairing was excellent.
Niccolò modified the common pairing for us to a 2022 Chassagne-Montrachet, which was fantastic. Regardless of its youth, very properly balanced and complicated.
It was a fantastic pairing for the ocean bass with artichokes, Dutch shrimps, and beurre blanc sauce with crimson vanilla. I appreciated every little thing of this dish however the artichokes have been wonderful, I’ve by no means tasted such scrumptious candy artichokes earlier than. The chef promised to e-mail me the recipe — I can’t wait to attempt making them this manner myself.
One other detour from the common pairing, a 2016 Château Laroze Saint Émilion. A mix of 65% Merlot, 28% Cabernet Franc, and seven% Cabernet Sauvignon. Stunning fruit and really elegant. Tannins nonetheless fairly current, however with the dish they grew to become velvety easy.
The dish was breast fillet of a poussin de Bresse, an sudden pairing with a crimson Bordeaux wine. Nevertheless it was a fantastic pairing, because of the magnificence of this specific Bordeaux and the accompanying umeboshi, XO sauce, and numerous preparations of various kinds of onions. Rooster breast in a two Michelin star restaurant? Nicely, for those who put together it like this, then it’s fantastic. The rooster was stuffed below the pores and skin with umeboshi and (I consider) mushrooms. A really flavorful dish.
The subsequent wine was a 2020 Dominio del Aguila Ribera del Duero (Spain) of 85% Tempranillo, 5% Garnacha, 5% Bobal, and 5% Albillo. The addition of the (white) Albillo helped to make this wine fairly elegant for a Ribera del Duero. Clean tannins, good fruit and oak.
This was a very good pairing for the roe deer venison backstrap, morel full of spinach, extra spinach, parsnip, peeled walnut, and a roe deer jus. The roe deer was completely medium uncommon and tender. Peeling walnuts is a troublesome chore, however they style nice with out the astringent pores and skin. The parsnip was nonetheless crunchy and subsequently had a lighter taste, not as candy. It was a fantastic wine and it was a very good pairing, however I believe a extra earthy crimson (like a Barolo) would have labored even higher.
We couldn’t resist having a little bit of cheese from the good choice.
We requested for blue cheese solely, so it may very well be paired with a glass of Sauternes. One of many blue cheese was fairly extraordinary as a result of it was from Norway.
You may’t go flawed with blue cheese and Sauternes. This 2017 Château Guiraud was elegant and already had some tertiary saffron notes, regardless of being so younger.
The palate cleanser was a goat milk sorbet with violets, cucumbers, and wheat grass.
The dessert wine was a Rivesaltes, fortied Grenache Blanc, Grenache Gris, and Macabeu, aged for 20 years in barriques. Like a tawny port, however from France and with decrease alcohol (16% as a substitute of 20%).
It was a really good wine, however it was overpowered by the chocolate dessert with dulce de leche, hazelnut, and vanilla. A PX would have been a better option.
We ended the meal with tea and a few good friandises, particularly the strawberry frangipane tart.
This was one other fantastic night at Ciel Bleu. The meals was glorious, and it’s price noticing that the parts are fairly beneficiant. Typically in Michelin star eating places you appear to get a sequence of amuse bouche, however right here you really get fed. There’s good bread with butter and olive oil as properly. The wines and wine pairings have been glorious as properly. I like that the wine pairing is on the degree of the meals, which sadly is just not the case at many different eating places. The service was glorious as properly, very pleasant and attentive. Wine was topped up promptly when wanted with out having to ask for it. The tempo was excellent, neither too quick nor too gradual. I can’t look forward to subsequent time!
