One of Brussels, and Belgium’s for that matter most esteemed chefs has to be Yves Mattagne. He is a pioneer in culinary excellence and avant garde cuisine. Yves opened Seagrill in 1990 and the restaurant won its first star in 1991, and its second in 1997. Its managed to keep hold of them both ever since, which surely says something. The restaurant is housed inside the Radisson Blu Hotel in the center of Brussels – it’s a strange set up but step inside the restaurant through its medieval wooden doors and you’d never know you were still in a Radisson.
We arrived little seconds after they opened their doors for lunch and were warmly greeted by the staff. Service wise small things were missing. Our napkin wasn’t placed on our lap (or folded when we got up), one of the waitresses seemed extremely bored already and as we were the first to arrive staff were practically huddling round our table discussing start of service with each other – we felt invisible for the first 15 minutes. I may sound a little pedantic, but for these prices – i can be. We chose our menu (maree du jour) with wine pairing which will set you back around 100 euros a head. It’s very well priced considering it holds two stars. A small amuse bouche of a single scallop with a foie gras and cognac sauce instantly perked us up.
More little tasters arrived with two stunning slices of salmon covered in small pieces of chopped foie gras, some sort of biscuit cracker filled with flavoured jelly and a bacon infused sauce along with bacon bits. If someone had told me what i was eating prior to this, i’d wonder how it would all work together, but actually it was beautiful. And very rich. The whole meal in both flavour, and portions was rather substantial.
Translating dishes in to English which are so complex is sometime easier said then done. That was the case of this dish anyway, i had barely no idea what i was eating. And this was only just another ‘taster’. Very Japanese in style with some sort of minced fish turned into a sausage looking item with a sesame Japanese rice cracker, wasabi mayo and peas. Again the flavors were perfect but perhaps the skin casing on that dinky sausage was a little to tough and didn’t quite break away very elegantly.
When dining in Brussels, notably Michelin star restaurants. I noticed a lot of fruit being used in dishes, more so than in the UK anyway. It was so refreshing to see, but didn’t alwyas work. Luckily Seagrill have it spot on. Carpaccio of scallops with a tart citrus sauce, shavings of coconut, orange segments, green onion and sesame was a dish of dreams. Every mouthful was an explosion of flavour and those scallops were some of the finest examples i have had. A sheer delight and something i can’t quite forget.
The one problem with writing about food, is you get so hungry and end up browsing new restaurants, and then booking a table. Its a dangerous game, and one which i am happy to play. Especially if i can eat dishes like these everyday. Tournedos of king crab came topped with crispy onion pieces, alongside a carrot and sweet pepper puree – which was amazing. Miso and yuzu sauce was salty and rich and some dollops of passionfruit really livened things up. The outer skin of the tournedos was glazed in caramel, which against the delicate crab made this dish a delight.
Only getting round to the main course, for 100 euros this lunch this was one hell of a feast. Fantastic value. Fillet of seabass was a very technical plate of rich ingredients. The seabass was beautiful and its skin perfectly cooked retaining all its vibrant silver sheen. Artichoke, girolles, and a sea urchin emulsion were all a wonderful concoction together but the squid stuffed with foie gras was the revelation. The squid a tiny bit overcooked was so closely my answer to the most indulgent thing of all time
Pre dessert – of course. Was a taste of what was yet to come. Desserts here at Seagrill are to say the least – phenomenal. Some of the best i have ever had. A small raspberry mousse was topped with citrus sorbet, buttery crumble and yoghurt, it was an effortless delight.
The real star of the whole meal, or perhaps the whole dining experiences of Brussels was this dish. Even thinking about it all over again gets me excited. Named Revisited ‘Manon’ Praline, which is Yves’s own take on the classic. The plate was incredibly indulgent with chocolate truffles, Belgian white chocolate sauce, pure liquid praline, white chocolate ice cream mouse, biscuit crumbs, shards of meringue and hazelnut. It was all married together impeccably by small cubes of intense coffee ice. By far one of my favourite dishes this year.
Completely full we barely had room for our petit fours, but still managed it somehow. A small chocolate surprise, praline wafer and meringue were all very nice but perhaps not the best petit fours i’ve come across. Aside from that small niggle, which really needs addressing Seagrill is a true culinary experience. It felt, as for the whole of Brussels very geared up for business so lunch can all come out rather quick. Perhaps a slightly more polished service, slower pace of dishes and memorable petit fours then Seagrill would truly be, world class.
9/10
