Nearly every time I come back to Maastricht there is always a new restaurant opening. This time though we weren’t coming here because La Bon Vivant was new, but because we’d heard the dining room had been recently refurbished last year. And what a job they did, it looked stunning. A converted cellar, curved, with a classic rustic grey stone – all finished off with some low lighting, tall candles and sumptuous dining tables and chairs. With that came some lovely amuse bouches and bread with butter and oil.
The biggest problem Le Bon Vivant has is not necessarily with its food, but more to do with its service. I love fine dining, starch white linen tablecloths and pristine, proper service. But here they go a step too far, turning it into pure pretentious nonsense. Our waiter, who I believe is the owner barely talks to his customers – there was absolutely no interaction or personality here whatsoever between staff and customer. I even got told off for mishandling my menu, which I had no choice because of its ridiculous size. Also the white gloves our waiter wore, kept coming on and off at speed for serving plates to the table, it was all just very unnecessary – this isn’t the Ritz. Still the starter of tomatoes, fried polenta, basil and mozzarella was a nice showcase of ingredients, although the amount of mozzarella was questionable.
Some dishes here were excellent. This plate of tempura tiger prawns with a lemon foam and sweetcorn purée was gorgeous. The prawns were expertly cooked and the batter light, but crisp – while the purée was just astonishing. Who knew sweetcorn could be this good? Smooth and buttery but with such a punchy flavour, which went lovely alongside the zesty lemon foam. Definitely one of the stand-out dishes for us.
On comparison, what Le Bon Vivant does have going for it, apart from the décor is its very accessible prices. The eating habits in Maastricht are based very much on fine dining, a huge cafe culture and most importantly – quality. Three large courses here will set you back 35 euros, which isn’t bad for this city. Including dishes such as this grilled rib eye beef with carre aux pommes, grilled vegetables and a red wine sauce. The meat could have been a little more tender if I was to be picky, but otherwise a nice dish which had some good flavours but which was lacking an element to it which needed to have a wow factor.
Our tiger prawns and sweetcorn purée may have been a stunning concoction, but this gorgeous sous vide cooked veal dish with sweetbreads, broad beans, gnocchi and morel sauce was a heavenly plate of food also. Everything had so much flavour that each mouthful takes you on a journey around the plate. The veal was beautifully cooked and tender while the gnocchi had that all important firmness but with a soft and fluffy inner. I used to despise gnocchi once for its lack of flavour, but it turned out I was only being served bad examples. now I’m addicted to the stuff. A streak of sage helped round everything together gorgeously in this dish.
My mobile phone, which takes all these lovely photos for me didn’t do most dishes justice here because under low lighting conditions and the only help coming from a dimly lit candle – it’s never going to help me win the Pulitzer Prize. Yet this tarte tatin just may have been one of the finest examples I’ve eaten in a while. Light, wafer thin pastry was topped with soft mushy apples, and stooped in a sweet caramelised syrup. A side of moreish cinnamon mouse, vanilla ice cream and hazelnut crumble. Salivating yet? You should be.
Despite shocking service and a slight lack of atmosphere, it could somewhat be forgiven for some of the dishes that are created in the kitchens here. And while some dishes impress, others were lacking in charm or depth of flavours. While Maastricht continues to grow its restaurant scene, there is no doubt that Le Bon Vivant will continue to evolve into something the locals will always flock too. I only hope the service becomes a little more personal in time.
7/10
