The other great thing about dining out is discovering new cities, food you may have never eaten, service which goes beyond the call of duty and the people who make it all happen. Sometimes, and especially in this case – it’s the awe-inspiring location in which some restaurants are housed. I honestly have to say, I despise football (sorry) but once I heard about a restaurant inside the Philips Stadium – I got a little excited. And rightly so. It was a stunning way to start a meal. After searching for the entrance which of course happened to be right on the other side of the Stadium from where we started. Into a lift, through the restaurant doors and on to the balcony for a glass of champagne looking out over the pitch – it was surprisingly tranquil.
Owner and head Chef is Johan van Groeninge, who gained his first Michelin star here in 2004 and has kept hold of it ever since. And he certainly knows what he’s doing in the kitchen, a culinary genius are the best two words to describe him. Taking in the breathtaking view, and delicious champagne we were brought out a little beetroot jelly topped with piccalilli. As short as the mouthful it was, i loved every second of it.
A flat sesame snap glistening from its glaze was accompanied by a sweet and smooth carrot dip. It was the sort of thing you only wish Marks & Spencer could recreate to buy and take home. I’ve never quite grasped why it’s mainly only Michelin star restaurants, or restaurants trying to get Michelin stars who serve amuse bouches – I wish something like my local curry house would. It’s become such a standardisation that when I’m in fine dining establishment, I expect pre-nibbles – and when I don’t get them, I feel lost.
Half macaroons with caviar, mushroom mouse and ghost white mushrooms came served on a bed of sesame seeds which added a nice little aroma upon revealing the lid. The one mouthful was a an explosion of rich earthy flavours and a powerful hit from the fresh caviar. A very marmite kind of dish, one of us liked it (me), the other didn’t, I guess if just depends how bold and strong you like your food.
The famous white dutch asparagus is put into full use again here in Eindhoven, and everywhere else in the Netherlands at this time of year. Here Avante-Garde serve the asparagus as a puree with cubes of smoked ham, toasted croutons and a pea puree. It wasn’t the most technical, or exciting of dishes but every restaurant serves a similar dish around this time, and its all about celebrating this wonderful vegetable, something they do very well.
Mascarpone cream, sea bass marinated in lemon, chantilly, were all brought together with a richly infused rice wine. This dish had such a list of ingredients in you’d think it would be too much, but of course, it wasn’t. The chefs here have far too much skill to let a thing such as abundance of ingredients deter them. The sea bass took centre stage and so did the lovely, (if not unusual) octopus gel and a sweet and juicy crab salad. All married together with a ponzu gel – outstanding.
My favourite food has to be a juicy and meaty prawn or a succulent langoustine. So when this dish consisted of rock lobster, beurre blanc, thinly sliced asparagus, egg yolk and shavings of foie gras arrived – I thought I’d died and gone to heaven. When beurre blanc is made right – this light and buttery sauce is perhaps one of the most satisfying things known to man. Incredibly unhealthy, but utterly delicious.
Fillet of bream which had been fried with a layer of parma ham on one side made for a lovely, meaty piece of well cook fish. Diced artichoke, almonds and truffle were arranged in a cold salad style – a very decadent and rich one. A beautifully executed sauce of veal had the most tantalising smell, while anchovy, leek and artichoke was blended together to make a strong, and flavour lingering puree which just kept on giving, in fact everything in this dish did.
I wasn’t quite sure about this next dish. It had good flavour, but the confusing amount of textures made it somewhat of an acquired taste. A piece of tender duck sat on top of creamed potato and asparagus puree, a clear gel made using tomatoes (I wasn’t so sure about this item). A good helping of pecorino cheese, poached tomatoes and basil oil – it was all very technical, and perhaps too technical for what it was essentially offering. I liked this dish, but I just didn’t love it.
For dessert two dishes accompanied each other at the same time. The first were an incredible bowl of glossy strawberries unlike any I’ve experience before. They were so sweet, and full of such flavour – you’d have thought they’d literally been picked just moments ago. Some passion fruit ice cream and light and airy strawberry meringue made for a few stunning mouthfuls of food. The other bowl consisted of sweet, aerated egg whites covering a warm rolled crepe suzette all sitting in a concentrated and vibrant strawberry sauce, plus more of those beautiful whole strawberries. These were easily strong contenders for the best desserts i have ever eaten.
We finished off our memorable and outstanding meal at Avante-Garde with a selection of petit fours such as a white chocolate chewy, praline chocolate and a raspberry marshmallow biscuit. Who knew Eindhoven, this tiny little town famous for being the home of Phillips was hiding a stunning restaurant in a football stadium. It may have been that lift that takes you up to the dining room, the stunning lavish décor or food which had been executed to such a perfection, it did that rare thing of blowing me away. It was such an unexpectedly good meal, in fact almost close to perfect . It will set you back a small mortgage with most of the diners looking as though they were here on special occasions, so don’t forget the credit card. The meal may set you back around £350, but trust me, it’s worth every penny of it. Although I’m very surprised it hasn’t quite yet gained a second star.
9/10
