It is no secret that eating a nice meal is more my kind of thing that preparing one. Don’t get me wrong, I love to cook but my cooking skills are limited. As a result, I have a growing respect or even admiration for people preparing good food in fine dining restaurants. Not only because…
Pied-a-Terre – Refined French cuisine in Londen
Located at walking distance from Oxford Street, London’s best known shopping street you will find a Michelin star awarded French restaurant called Pied-a-Terre. It’s home base is a nice little street full of restaurants and shops, just outside the part flooded by tourists. Just like many or even most restaurants, the outside of the restaurant…
The Park – Hotel restaurant by a Michelin star chef
Many of the Michelin star chefs have secondary restaurants, either with or without a star of its own. Parkheuvel is one of the Netherlands’ best-know Michelin star restaurants. The chef of Restaurant Parkheuvel, Erik van Loo, has also prepared the menu for The Park which is the restaurant inside the Bilderberg Hotel in Rotterdam. As…
A seasonal treat: Truffels at De Burgemeester in Linschoten
One of the great joys of the seasons is the variety of food they bring to the table. Strawberries are best in May/June, but the autumn also has its delicious treats; Truffles. Once a year, one restaurant in the small town of Linschoten (Holland) dedicates a whole menu to this one ingredient. By popular demand,…
Dinner with a view – Dining at the Alhambra in Granada
Granada in Spain is probably best-know for the Alhambra compound on top of the hill. Because of this tourist attraction, the town is teeming with hotels and restaurants. Like in all town, the quality varies immensely; Some are in great locations where others really focus on serving great food. With a view of the Alhambra,…
Balijepark Restaurant – Dining close to home
Some restaurants in The Netherlands are in unusual or unexpected places. Several of them are in really nice places, either in a nice area or a nice building (or both). Located in a nice old farm in De Meern (a town next to Utrecht in the center of The Netherlands) is Balijepark. The farm is…
‘t Amsterdammertje – Relaxed fine dining just outside Amsterdam.
When hearing the name of this restaurant, many people would assume it is based in the center of Amsterdam. Not quite, although Loenen Aan De Vecht is not that far from Amsterdam. Here chef André Gerrits with his wife run the most relaxed Michelin start restaurant that I have visited in a while. Arriving at…
Heddon Street Kitchen – Simple breakfast: Nice, but not perfect
Gordon Ramsay operates a dozen restaurants in central London. One of them is located just off Regent Street, about half way between Oxford Circus and Picadilly Circus. As you pass through a little alley, you get to Heddon Street, home to Heddon Streek Kitchen. Where this is a classical British style restaurant with a focus…
Onder de Linde – Nicely presented food for everyone
Holland is home to many nice coastal towns. Some very popular and some are still undiscovered by mass-tourism. One of the popular destinations is Noordwijk aan Zee with the adjacent town of Noordwijk. Like any place, these towns are home to many good and not so good restaurants, ranging from the Michelin star awarded “Latour”…
Fratelli: Reasonable Italian food in a luxury setting
The centre of Leiden is littered with restaurants, ranging from really bad to pretty good and from Asian to Italian. Just off the main shopping street, there is an Italian place called Fratelli. The place has a nice terrace in the summer, which makes it an attractive-looking place for lunch or dinner. On the day…