Spectrum is the 2 Michelin star restaurant within the Waldorf Astoria lodge in Amsterdam by chef Sidney Schutte and restaurant supervisor Cas Kratz. This dinner was deliberate lengthy prematurely to have fun my pal Martijn’s birthday, so it was a coincidence that it was on the day of Jonnie Boer’s funeral (which was attended by each Sidney and Cas). Cas was again in meal time and is such an expert that, though we might inform it had been an emotional afternoon for him and we did have a chat about it, this didn’t affect our expertise in any respect. The restaurant solely presents 7 course tasting menus, vegetarian (240 euros) or with seafood and meat (250 euros). We opted for the common tasting menu with wine pairing (with some upgrades to the common wine pairing).
We began with a rosé Champagne to accompany the small appetizers. This La Pluchotte Additional Brut Rosé by Jérôme Blin is produced from 100% Pinot Meunier, which is sort of uncommon. This made the Champagne further fruity, with out being too fruity (additionally because of the low dosage).
The appetizers had been a sequence of chic taste explosions. The primary was shiso leaf, trout roe, egg yolk and really skinny crispy potato.
The subsequent was sprat (tiny fish) with kalix löjrom, the ‘caviar’ from a small kind of salmon from the Baltic Sea.
Yellowroot with duck liver rollmops (pickled herring).
And at last snail with snail eggs, octopus, sunchoke, and bacon in a really flavorful broth. The entire appetizers had been wonderful.
The primary wine was from Jérèz (Spain), from the identical space and grape selection (Palomino) as sherry, however not made like a sherry (no flor, no fortification). The 2019 Univers by Muchada-Léclapart was very mineral with an earthy aroma that jogged my memory of wines made on volcanic soils.
The earthiness of the wine was an excellent pairing for the black truffle with carrot, Comté cheese, and potato, in a sugar sphere with codium seaweed. A wonderful dish with an excellent truffle taste and fantastic steadiness between all of the flavors and textures.
The subsequent wine was a Muscadet Théia by Domaine Bretaudeau (Loire, France). Muscadet appears to be making a comeback, as a result of I additionally had a Muscadet within the wine pairing at Ciel Bleu a few weeks in the past. Muscadet could be very acidic, however this was properly balanced, maybe partially due to the getting older in amphoras.
It was a wonderful pairing for the skate with artichoke, uncooked North Sea shrimp, and strawberry, with some drops of tomato oil and jalapeño oil. The skate had a really good tender and juicy texture. Sidney used to place fruit into all of his dishes (and in some circumstances I wasn’t satisfied), however on this case the strawberry labored very properly to masks the bitterness of the artichoke. Collectively they tasted like an improved model of artichoke. Additionally an ideal job by the sommeliers, as a result of strawberry and artichoke usually are not wine-friendly substances, however this was an ideal pairing.
Cas is aware of I like ‘excessive’ white Burgundy, so with sole with beurre blanc on the menu there was little question what kind of ‘upgraded’ pairing could be referred to as for. This 2019 Saint-Aubin 1er Cru En Remilly by Domaine de Montille was wonderful. This 1er cru is the closest in Saint-Aubin to Montrachet (the perfect and costliest terroir for Chardonnay on the planet). The wine had a ravishing steadiness between acidity and butteriness.
Precisely that steadiness was wonderful with the lemongrass beurre blanc, which had the same steadiness and an exquisite perfume. The tender and juicy sole was mixed with mussel, cauliflower, and marrow. Great. Lemongrass is an progressive addition to the basic mixture of sole with beurre blanc that works extraordinarily properly, additionally with the wine.
The subsequent wine was a 2022 Marsannay Rosé by Domaine Bart (Burgundy, France). Marsannay is the one village appellation that permits for rosé (clearly from Pinot Noir, the one allowed grape selection for crimson and rosé). A really good ‘severe’ rosé.
This was a wonderful pairing for the barbecued langoustine with lion’s mane mushroom, chipotle, kaffir lime, and cocoa. The langoustine had a tremendous texture. Langoustine is notoriously troublesome to get the proper cuisson, however this was like lobster. The very tasty meat from the claws was additionally included. The smoky chipotle was an ideal addition.
The common wine pairing for the meat course was a Garnacha from Méntrida, Spain. The upgraded pairing was a 2016 Valtellina Sassella Riserva by Ar.Pe.Pe, a Nebbiolo from Lombardy (Italy). Cas poured this blindly for me to guess, and I acknowledged the aroma of Nebbiolo however not the tannin construction of Barolo as these tannins had been extra velvety reasonably than grainy.
The wine was nice by itself, however turned even higher with the lamb with asparagus, lamb jus, cockles, and wild garlic. The crispy pores and skin on the lamb was good, crispy however tender. The meat was very tender, juicy, and flavorful. It was solely a tiny piece of asparagus, however the accompanying flavors had been fantastic.
The next wine was a medium candy Riesling Kabinett from the Mosel, Germany. Very elegant with a pleasant steadiness and only a contact of petrol.
This was a very good pairing for the rhubarb ‘surimi’ with dill, cervil root, and wooden sorrel. It was a bit troublesome to eat the rhubarb as no knife was supplied, which made it troublesome to style the rhubarb along with the opposite flavors.
The ultimate wine was additionally a pleasant improve, a 1997 Quarts de Chaume by Chateau de Suronde. Quarts de Chaume is just like the Sauternes of the Loire valley (France), candy from botrytis however from Chenin Blanc. The wine was very properly aged (and a couple of years older than Martijn) with nice complexity.
It was an excellent pairing for the superb dessert: smoked eggplant with bergamot, olive oil pearls, and pecan nuts. An amazing innovation to make use of smoked eggplant in a dessert, and it was completely scrumptious.
The meal ended with two extra small bites, the primary sticky rice with calamansi (Phillipine lime) and huacatay (Peruvian mint).
And the second licorice with coconut and tarragon.
As typical, candies had been served with tea or espresso that echoed the flavors of a number of the dishes from the menu.
This was one other excellent meal at Spectrum. Sidney has matured even additional as a chef. The dishes are extra pure and but progressive, and I like he has stopped utilizing fruit in all the pieces. I ponder when Michelin sees this too and awards a well-deserved third star. The one grievance I can consider is that in some circumstances the parts might have been a bit extra beneficiant, like the only real or the asparagus. The wines and wine pairings had been simply fantastic. It is rather uncommon that each one pairings work, with out exception. The service was nice as properly. As I defined to Martijn, the perfect service is when you may simply chill out and all the pieces is served completely earlier than you even take into consideration asking for something. And that’s precisely the way it was like at Spectrum. Sidney and Cas state that it’s their mission to let Spectrum be your second residence, and that’s actually what it’s beginning to really feel like for me.
