Portland (Restaurant) London, England, United Kingdom

Having a Michelin Guide of major European cities at home we had studied it and found Portland, which we thought would be a perfect and modern fit during our recent visit to London in July/August 2017. My fiancé and I reserved a table for Monday lunch in July 2017.

The restaurant opened in January 2015 and feels beautiful and inviting while offering modern British cuisine. The head chef is Merlin Labron-Johnson, who was only 24 then and had 9 months later earned a Michelin star.

As the name implies the restaurant is located on Great Portland Street with an unassuming shop front. We nearly overlooked it by ourselves. There were no obvious signs this is a Michelin stared restaurant, so by simply walking in front of the restaurant by chance one wouldn’t necessarily know.

The dining room was bright and understated with an open kitchen.

The lunch service wasn’t very busy. Our fellow diners were couples from thirty onwards.

We were warmly welcomed by James, the Maître d’. He was warm and friendly and had a lovely English accent – like Hugh Grant in “Four Weddings and a Funeral”.

Having provided our dietary requirements during the booking process the staff was already aware of them. James told us we could pursue the whole menu, since none of the items we are allergic to had been used.

The lunch menu is a real steal in our opinion. 2 courses are priced at 34 GBP (ca. 38.40 Euro / ca. 43.90 USD) or 3 courses are 39 GBP (ca. 44.05 Euro / ca. 50.30 USD). It includes still or sparkling water, freshly baked sourdough bread, hand churned butter, coffee and petit fours.

We started off with a summer cocktail, the Japanese Garden with Monkey 47 Gin, Midori infused with Shiso, Yuzu and lime, which we loved.

The greeting from the kitchen [Amuse-bouche] – carrot and ricotta - arrived soon afterwards with the bottle of still water, the sourdough bread and the hand churned butter.

The carrot was sweet and crunchy. It went well with the saltiness and softness of the cheese.

The bread and especially combined with the butter were excellent.

Studying the menu we wanted to try the snacks. We were advised they aren’t suitable for sharing, so we had each our own portion.

It was very well worth it to pay 6 GBP (ca. 6.80 Euro / ca. 7.80 USD) per person.

It was a trio of crispy chicken skins, liver parfait, candied walnuts and Muscat grapes, smoked cod’s roe tartlet with young peas and Parmesan biscuit, grilled corn, gooseberries and black garlic jam.

They were delightful.

It was amazing how intense the flavors were.

Our absolute favorite were the chicken skins, but we would love to eat them all again. Superb!

We had decided on a three course meal. As a side dish we ordered the famous husbandry salad.

His starter was the Isle of Wight tomatoes, stracciatella, raspberries and Kombu. Mine was the mackerel, dill, yogurt and cucumber.

My fiancé’s dish followed the newest food trends. Isle of Wight tomatoes are some of the best in the country – they can be bought at a few London Farmer’s Markets - and stracciatella cheese has grown in importance too.

All two dishes were delicious.

His dish was colorful too.

The main courses were smoked Ricotta tortellini, Fava beans and preserved lemon and Cornish cod, Sutton Farm artichokes and Blue Potatoes.

The tortellini were light.

The fish was melt in the mouth and pairing up well with the potatoes and artichokes.

The husbandry salad was fantastic too with mixed leaves, candid walnuts and the citrus dressing.

Our desserts were green gooseberries, elderflower, meringue and puffed barley and strawberries, yogurt cake and cashew nut praline.

The combination was sometimes a bit unusual, but all was of a high standard and very tasty indeed.

The coffee came in individual cafetieres. It was very mild, subtle and smooth, together served with a miniature jug of milk.

The petit fours were sweet-savory muffins with courgette, walnut and rosemary. Again unusual, but seriously enjoyable and memorable at the same time.

The invoice was 120.38 GBP, ca. 136 Euro or ca. 155.20 USD.

We would return again, because the staff is very kind, the food is experimental, fresh and of high quality and the value outstanding in our opinion.


©2017

Galvin at Windows @ The London Hilton on Park Lane, London, England, United Kingdom

Galvin at Windows at the London Hilton on Park Lane was longer on my fiancé’s and my radar. Since we had four days in London end of July/beginning of August 2017 and one of those was a Sunday, we decided to try the famous and only Michelin stared Sunday Lunch at Galvin at Windows.

A few days before our lunch we received a call from Galvin at Windows to confirm we were joining them as planned.

Arriving at the London Hilton on Park Lane we asked the concierge how to get to the restaurant. We were directed to the elevator bank, where we had to type in the floor we wanted to go to. In our case the 28^th. The display showed us which elevator we had to take. Security is good, because no one else can join you and you can only go to the designated floor. A key card is needed, when going to a guest floor.

The elevator was fast and within a minute or so we were at our destination.

The hostess greeted us warmly and took our jackets. She offered us to have drinks at the bar first or go immediately to our table. We decided to head straight for lunch.

The dining room was classic and beautiful with cloud inspired artwork.

At first the restaurant wasn’t very busy. The longer the afternoon progressed the more diners arrived. The clientele was international with most of them being couples. There was also a family with two small children. The kids were overall well behaved and had fun with the sommelier.

The chef patron is Chris Galvin with head chef Joo Won in the kitchen from South Korea, so the classic French dishes had some Korean influence too.

Our table at the double height floor to ceiling windows had views over the Intercontinental Park Lane, Piccadilly and other London landmarks towards Victoria and Battersea Power Station.

We were given the wine list and menu. When asking for the cocktail menu this wasn’t a problem either, it was promptly presented to us.

We were asked if we might be interested in olives.

We agreed and didn’t regret it. The Spanish green Gordal olives were delicious and addictive.

Our bottle of still Acqua Panna water and a bread basket with butter arrived soon afterwards.

We had one alcoholic cocktail called The Foreigner made with Nomad Whisky, Pedro Ximenez sweet Sherry, Palo Cortado dry Sherry and orange and one non-alcoholic, Betty’s Garden, made with raspberries, strawberries, lemon juice, Vanilla syrup and cranberry juice. The sommelier said Betty’s Garden was a good choice and it definitely was my kind of cocktail. It was sweet and fruity, while The Foreigner was definitely a manly drink. He liked it very much. It was slightly too bitter for myself.

There were about 20 cocktails created by the bar manager Tiago. The inspiration was travel.

Our waitress said that the chefs could work around our dietary requirements.

Our appetizers were Galvin smoked salmon, beetroot, horseradish and dill and seared foie gras, Iberico pork, brioche and tomato chutney.

The first one is a “signature” classic. Both were delicious and moreish.

The size of the dishes was generous, so I thought in order to have a three course I should choose something smaller or lighter. I tried the tart tartin with zucchini, aubergine, onion and tomato. My fiancé had the roasted breast of Cotswold Chicken, chilli barbeque glaze and vegetables.

The savory tart tartin reminded me of holiday in the Mediterranean, while his chicken was finger licking good and the glaze was the highlight. The meat itself was tender and virtually fat free.

As desserts we chose a lime and strawberry mousse cake and a hazelnut and almond Paris Brest with praline cream and chocolate ice cream.

There was a show element included. The desserts were brought to the table on a trolley and the cake was cut in front of us. The size of each dish again was fairly large.

The Paris Brest was covered in chocolate sauce by the waitress at the table.

Wonder what a Paris Brest is? The choux pastry was created in 1910 by Louis Durand, a famous French patissier, at the request of Pierre Giffard. It was named after a bicycle race from Paris to Brest and back. The pastry is circular shaped to remind of a bicycle wheel.

The mousse cake was light and summery. The Paris Brest was heavier, but the size was right and the flavors worked well together.

To round up the meal we ordered two cappuccinos.

As surprise we received dark chocolate and chocolate orange pralines.

The pralines have been memorable and the sommelier must have overheard us discussing that it would be nice to have more of them, if we weren’t so full, because of this he came with another set.

 Of course we couldn’t refuse the gift, so we ate further….

The staff was attentive and genuinely interested in us, for example we chatted about golf with the sommelier, inspired by the polo shirt my fiancé was wearing. We had bought it at the Elba Palace in Fuerteventura.

After our beautiful Sunday lunch it was time to settle the bill, which came with a large glass jar of marshmallows (mint and strawberry). Both tasted moreish and are fluffy and refreshing.

There was a slight mistake with the bill. We were charged for the 3 course dinner, not the Sunday lunch. It was fast corrected and the member of staff was very sorry about the mistake.

The bill was 179.61 GBP (ca. 202.80 Euro / ca. 231.45 USD) including service charge.

We would return for the Sunday Lunch again. It reflects good value, the cuisine is excellent, the portions generous and the staff efficient and warm, plus the location on the 28^th floor added a magical setting and wonderful views too.

©2017

Tamarind of Mayfair, London, England, United Kingdom

When planning our London trip end of July / beginning of August 2017 my fiancé and I wanted to try another Indian Michelin stared restaurant. Since we had tried Benares one year ago we thought Tamarind of Mayfair would be another good choice, so we reserved a table for dinner on the day of our arrival in London.

We were glad we had reserved for 19.30 hours. Due to our flight arriving late in London [LGW] we probably wouldn’t have arrived in time, if booked at 19.00 hours as we originally wanted to do.

Tamarind is located near Green Park, The Ritz Hotel, the Flemings Mayfair (Hotel) and Berkeley Square.

It was the first Indian restaurant to earn a Michelin star in the world at the time under the guidance of Atul Kochhar, who is now the chef patron of Benares.

Tamarind is specialized in Moghul cuisine of North-West India. The chef is Peter Joseph.

Unfortunately the restaurant isn’t suitable for people with walking disabilities. It is located in the basement and the only access is via a staircase.

The hostesses greeted us warmly and took our jackets and umbrella.

We were then accompanied downstairs and brought to our table.

The room was round/oval and the center piece was a beautiful flower arrangement, which reminded us of Four Seasons Hotels.

My fiancé had views over the bar, while I could look into a window to the kitchen.

The color scheme of the space was elegant in cream, white and gold with mirrors very attractively designed like a sun.

It felt lavish and we liked it.

Each table was covered with a white table cloth and decorated with an exotic flower in an intricate vase.

Our table had been set with a large gold plate and on top was another smaller porcelain plate.

Fellow diners were international and diverse in age from teenagers to matured patrons. Some celebrated a special occasion. There were families and couples also.

The maître d’ took our food allergies very serious and went with us step by step through the menu telling us exactly what we could and couldn’t eat.

We ordered a bottle of still Blenheim Palace mineral still water (the label was as lavish as the restaurant), 2 Tamarind Passion Mocktails made with mango puree, passion fruit juice and fresh mint and a mango lassi.

As a greeting from the kitchen we received pompadums with a berry dip, tomato and a date and fig chutney. His favorite was the date and fig chutney, mine was the tomato.

Our starters were Hara Gobi Tikki, broccoli cakes with potatoes, spring onions and gooseberry chutney and Gilafi Reshmi, chicken kabab with cheese, spices and mixed peppers.

Both dishes were tasty – a bit spicy, but not overbearing. I expected the kabab to be served on a skewer, but it had been removed beforehand.

The next courses were Adrakki Tikka Kabab (supreme of chicken with ginger, turmeric and yellow chilli powder) and Shai Dum Macchi (Halibut fillet with parsnips, spinach, tomato and kasundi mustard sauce).

We ordered two raitas, one with avocado, the other one with cucumber, and as side dish tandoori roti.

All dishes were delicious and the presentation was pleasing to the eyes. The parsnips looked like parpadelle and the whole combination was umami. The chicken was spicy and the raitas functioned as coolers. The roti was wonderfully fluffy and warm.

Our desserts were Shrikhand (hung yogurt, passion fruit gel and mango cheese) and chocolate delice (chocolate and coconut ganache, chocolate silk and blackberry sorbet).

The Shrikhand wasn’t sweet at all. It was utterly satisfying and silky.

The chocolate delice was very sweet in comparison to the yogurt dessert. The textures and warm/cold components worked well together.

The staff was friendly and knowledgeable. They were also incredible busy, which caused one member of staff to forget our second Tamarind Passion, which we wanted to enjoy with our dessert. We received a sincere apology and the drink was on the house. Memorable service standards. We felt in good hands.

Our bill/check came in at 121.61 GBP (ca. 137.35 Euro / ca. 156.70 USD) including service charge.

With our bill/check came a selection of gourmandizes. In our case mint leaves covered in white chocolate and dark chocolate orange pralines. Moreish and tasty at the same time.

We would return again, because we loved the lavish interior, the friendliness and warmth of the staff and the excellent cuisine, plus good/relaxing atmosphere.

©2017

Nobu Shoreditch, London, England, United Kingdom

My fiancé and I discussed which hotel to take for our stay end of July/beginning of August 2017 in London, this was dependend upon purpose, availability/budget and location of our visit. There were three choices: a budget hotel in Shepherds Bush, an upscale hotel in Camden or a brand new luxury hotel in Shoreditch.  The budget hotel we've stayed earlier in the year, the upscale hotel had the right location for one of our full days, which included lunch at The Portland, a visit to the British Museum and dinner at The Ninth.

On the other side we could connect relatively easy by Tube to all the places we wanted to go to, when staying in Shoreditch, so it was a memorable call to try the newly opened Nobu Hotel, which we have followed since hearing about plans it was going to be built a few years back, it offers 150 rooms/suites with a design and feel which cinnects certain elements of Asia, especially Japan with the heritage and surroundings of London Shoreditch connocted in a beautiful 5-star environment. When it opened on 1st of July 2017 it was the only Nobu Hotel in Europe.[More Nobu Hotels are planned worldwide incl. Ibiza and others in Europe].

We used their opening offer. It included a reduction of 40 % on the overnight rate and breakfast. Having stayed there now we both believe it is worth to pay full price as we liked the style of the hotel as awhole, it's like a breath of fresh air for a new generation of luxury hotels in London.

We contacted the hotel before our stay via e-mail to request a Deluxe Room (entrance category room) on the higher floors and the in room dining menu. We inquired what the breakfast inclusion meant too. 

A friendly reply arrived soon afterwards. We were advised the highest floor we could have was the third floor. If we wanted to have a higher floor we would have to upgrade to an Executive Room. The breakfast included was the Nobu style "Full English". We were a bit concerned, because normally we don't like a traditional full English breakfast. More about that later. The menu was also attached.

Finally it was time to fly. It was one of the busiest weekends of the year in travel terms, so our flight was delayed by an hour, which had a knock on effect to our plans later on the same day.

We were glad we had decided to buy a Gatwick Express ticket in first class, which made the journey into the city much faster and more comfortable. From Victoria train station we connected to the Tube. Getting off at Old Street Station we had difficulties finding the hotel at first, because the area isn't built in a grid system. Shoreditch is one of the oldest parts of London. 

After searching for about ten minutes in heavy rain we finally found the Nobu Hotel. It is located on Willow Street, which is a side street and very small. The Hoxton Hotel is just opposite. The Nobu takes the whole block and the facade is understated Japanese.

We felt immediately well and I liked especially the little gardens to each side of the entrance.

Reception was straight ahead, while the lounge was to the left.

Check in was friendly and efficient, as expected. 

We were accompanied to our room and some features were explained to us, but there were also some secrets left to explore ourselves.

The Deluxe Room was on the 3rd floor as we had requested. It had views over the side alley which gave us a good reminder about our location.

The color scheme was gold, red, brown, grey, black and white, plus it worked well together.

There was a small hallway with the bathroom to the left.

The room felt large, even so it was "only" 22 m2. 

The style was a combination of Japanese cool and Shoreditch chic.

The floor to ceiling windows had two shoji screens; one for the day, which let in limited light and provided some privacy and a black out screen with a print typical for Shoreditch.

The air conditioning worked fast [cold] and was easy to use. The complimentary WI-FI was fast and reliable throughout the hotel at any time during our stay.

There was a beautiful king sized bed, a swiveable arm chair in one corner and a 55-inch flat screen TV.

The flat screen was hidden in a gold colored Japanese credenza and offered a whole range of regional and international channels, including the whole line up of Sky Sports, CNN, BBC World News, CNBC and Bloomberg.

In the compartments of the lower part of the credenza were the minibar and the tea set - no coffee making facility.

The mini bar contained interesting items, like Nobu Sake, Double Dutch Tonic Water (the classic version and one with water melon and cucumber), Sangre de Vida Tequila, which is shaped like a skull, still Fiji and sparkling Voss water, Hendricks Gin, a half bottle of Veuve Clicquot Champagne, Pocky from Japan and Valrhona chocolate. There were also a phone charger, intimacy and emergency kits for sale and many more items.

The prices were easy to remember, because they were for the same group of items equal, so for the non-alcoholic drinks and snacks it was 4 GBP (ca. 4.55 Euro/ca. 5.20 USD), the alcoholic beverages 9 GBP (ca. 10.20 Euro/ca. 11.65 USD), the Champagne 30 GBP (ca. 33.90 Euro/38.70 USD) and the kits started from 15 GBP (ca. 16.95 Euro/19.35 USD).

The traditional tea set was from Kyoto and the tea was by Ikaati - the flavors were Royal Breakfast, soothe Herbal and Jasmine Song Premium Green Tea.

There was also a set of glasses for diverse drinks, coasters and recipes to make cocktails on your room with the contents of the minibar.

Even the compartments of the credenza were interesting.

For example the part that was hiding the TV contained a small mirror and all the drawers were red lacquered and had prints inspired by silk weavers and birds inside them.

The headboard of the bed was intricate too. It was extended and felt beautiful, it covered not just the bed with purpose, it was a design/quality statement at the same time. The design remembered us of Bottega Veneta's intricate leather work.

On both sides of the bed were outlets for electronic devices. 

The globe shaped lamps were suspended via orange rope from the concrete ceiling, which gave it an industrial feel and reminded us a bit about the Inntel Hotels Art in Eindhoven, which is set a former Philips light bulb factory in which we steayed in Sep. 2016.

The seating area was cleverly designed. It could be also used as storage unit. There was a bench with the luggage rack and a large drawer underneath it, and a chair. 

On the round wooden table, which reminded me of a tree or a mushroom, was a copy of the 24 hours in room dining menu, which was comprehensive, the menu functioned also as the Nobu Hotel guest magazine, plus there was a typed welcome letter reminding us that there could still some building works to be heard and that not all Nobu Hotel offerings are open yet incl. their fitness and wellness facilities/Spa.

The room was carpeted and grey with colorful stripes, which reminded us about Asian design sensibilities, especially Japanese design.

The shoji screens continued along the hallway, hiding two wardrobes and the bathroom door as well as one side where the seating area was.

There was limited storage space in the wardrobes. One drawer contained the safe. It was easy to use and there was no risk of the safe door falling suddenly down due to the design of the safe.

A full sized mirror was provided too.

The light was dimmable.

Turn down service was provided every evening with two small bottles of Fiji water and Japanese slippers [especially for her/him versions] inclusive.

The room was comfortable and we liked spending time there, even though we were very busy.

The bed and black out curtain allowed for restful sleep.

The bathroom was large and reminded us about the one we had at Das Stue in Berlin. It was completely white overall with some gold accents.

The material used was unpolished granite for the floors, stone and tiles. The gold sink and tap were a nice contrast to the dominating white.

There was of course a toilet and a large shower with a step up and a hanger to one side. The shower head was large and white too.

Water temperature and pressure were good.

A window with orange glass was located in the shower. It wasn't see through, but shadows could be seen, so this room type might be not suitable, if you aren't a couple or close family members. Using the light during the night in the bathroom could also disturb the sleeping companion, but all this was very subtle and didn't disturb us at all.

The bathroom amenities were by Natura Bisse Barcelona for Nobu Hotels with rosemary and white tea, which we loved.

Yukatas were provided [all Nobu branded and very soft] along with dental kits and other supplies.

As mentioned we had breakfast included at the Nobu Restaurant as part of our package/opening offer, the first one to do so. Some dishes were specifically created by Nobu Matsuhisa for this location.

The restaurant was located in the basement, but was double floor height and had massive floor to ceiling windows at the bar area with seating at the outdoor terrace. There was a pocket garden with Bonsai trees.

The bar contained many interesting Japanese Whiskeys and sakes.

The industrial and Japanese design continued throughout this fascinating space.

The maître d' greeted us friendly and brought us to our table.

There were booths on both sides and tables in the middle.

We preferred the booths, because they provided privacy, while sitting on one occassion in the middle we felt a bit exposed.

Our waiter explained we could choose the Nobu Style "Full English" or if a lighter breakfast was preferred the Nobu Style "Continental".

The "Full English" included green tea or coffee, orange juice, British and American bacon, Japanese style sausages, shiitake mushrooms, Japanese poached egg, crispy boudin noir (blood sausage), cherry tomatoes, adzuki beans with tomato jalapeno jam and Japanese buns.

We tried the full English with green tea on the first morning. It was delicious. The combination of all ingredients created an umami flavor. We liked especially the poached egg, the Japanese style sausages, the adzuki beans and Japanese buns. It was satisfying and left us definitely not hungry.

The second morning we had the continental, which looked like a piece of art. It consisted of exotic fruits, Nobu granola parfait and a green tea croissant. It gave us the option to try other a la carte items, which we paid for, and our dietary requirements could be easily accommodated.

We had the infamous Matcha Waffle and Chicken with smoked maple ponzu and pecan miso butter twice and also tried the Japanese Matcha flat muffin.

All the items we tried were of high quality, delightful, tasty and moreish.

If you haven't breakfast included, the full English costs 16 GBP (ca. 18.10 Euro / ca. 20.65 USD),the continental 13 GBP( ca. 14.70 Euro / ca. 16.80 USD), the Matcha Waffle and Chicken 16 GBP (ca. 18.10 Euro / ca. 20.65 USD) and the Japanese Matcha flat muffin 3 GBP (ca. 3.40 Euro / ca. 3.90 USD).

There were signs that the hotel is still in soft opening. Some examples are here:

The spa and fitness center and some of the rooms were still under construction. We heard a bit of building site work in the mornings, but it didn't influence us.

On our first evening we needed an umbrella, because we had a dinner reservation and it was still raining. I called the operator, inquiring about one. We were told housekeeping would deliver it to our room, only to receive a call a few minutes later being advised that we could request it from the doorman.

Shoe shine service was only available during the day, since housekeeping wasn't available during the night, we hope they might find a suitable solution to solve this "problem" in the future.

The breakfast inclusions should be better explained. On our first morning we weren't told that Matcha green tea wasn't included and cost 6 GBP (ca. 6.80 Euro / ca. 7.80 USD) extra. The second morning we were asked if we wanted one, so since we thought it's green tea too, it was included. When the bill arrived we queried the charges. We were okay with the explanation by the manager that the tea is rare and quite expensive and wanted to pay for it, since we had consumed it. He kindly took it off our bill.

Overall, it was surprising how smoothly the hotel ran after having opened only a month and given enough time the minor hiccups we encountered should have been worked out in due time.

The staff was friendly and personal. When we returned in the evenings, the gentleman, who checked us in had time for a chat and inquired how our days went and what we had done.

Check out arrived as always too soon and was equally friendly and efficient.

We loved our stay and would return again and we might try other room types offered in our future too. By the way, the suites offer balconies with views over their pocket garden which over time and good weather conditions will get "buzzy" IMHO. It's a beautiful and fascinating hotel which bodes well coupled with their location in equally fascinating Shoreditch, one of the oldest parts in London which feels creative and innovative at the same time, it's up and coming. 

©2017

Wiesen Eindhoven, The Netherlands

During our visit for 2 nights/3 days in Eindhoven my fiance and I had lunch at Wiesen, a 1* Michelin starred restaurant, on a Saturday in September 2016.

We wanted to have a Michelin dining experience, so we checked what options we had and reserved a table. Wiesen was the only one open on our full day in the city. We liked the modern cuisine.

During weekends the restaurant accepts walk ins. 

The chef patron is Yuri Wiesen and his wife Jessie is responsible for the front of house.

The restaurant is located in the oldest and most beautiful part of town. It had a very romantic feel, being surrounded by classic buildings, boutiques, cafes and restaurants.

The young and dynamic members of staff welcomed us warmly - we were the first to arrive - 

and left us the choice if we wanted to sit inside or on the small terrace outside. We decided to take a table on the terrace. The weather was nice and warm, so it was wonderful.

The furniture was elegant and made of wood and iron. There was a cactus on each table.

We ordered a bottle of still Bru water and four glasses of Natureo Muscat (non-alcoholic) 2015 by Torres. The wine maker is a pioneer in de-alcoholized white wines.

The staff was already aware of our dietary requirements, so we got totally different greetings [Amuse-Bouches] from the kitchen than others did, because the regular one included seafood and looked very stylish and creative.

Our greetings from the kitchen were onion tarts served on stone, small potatoes, sour cream and caviar, to be eaten with a mother of pearl spoon, seaweed crisps with pea cream dip and one of the highlights, the Golden Egg with Scottish smoked salmon, egg yolk, sauce Hollandaise and brioche. The Golden Egg is a signature dish of Yuri Wiesen.

All the dishes were delicious and came on very different crockery.

To accompany our 4 course surprise menu - our first - we received sourdough bread in a wooden bowl. It was made for sharing and everyone could tear a piece off the loaf. The conidments were olive oil, butter and salt, served on stoneware.

There was a tiny spoon to serve the salt.

Our first course was seabass, guacamole, avocado and edible flowers. It was of course international, but reminded us of a Japanese dish.

It was followed by grilled mackerel, fregola (a pasta type from Sardinia), which had the texture of a creamy risotto, luke warm tomato, beurre blanc, edible flowers, green asparagus and tomato cracker.

The main course was duck with summer vegetables, beetroot and potato mash.

With our dessert a wonderful raspberry millefeulle we enjoyed two cappuccinos. The millefeulle was made with thin crispy, sheets and served with raspberry sorbet. The plate was designed in a snow pattern.

While the atmosphere and other international diners's behaviour was overall good, a German couple destroyed it a bit. 

It seemed they weren't aware they had joined a one Michelin stared restaurant, even though the star is prominently on display, among other accolades.

They didn't wait to be seated and simply took a table beside us. She exclaimed loudly in German that she was hungry and would definitely eat something, while he replied he wasn't hungry. They ordered beer. W|hen they received the greetings from the kitchen it seemed they realized they had ended up in a fine dining establishment and suddenly the lady wasn't hungry anymore. Still it didn't keep them from enjoying the greetings from the kitchen. The staff was a bit taken aback when the couple didn't want to have a meal. After they had finished their drinks he snipped with his fingers and raised his arm to get the attention of one of the waitresses to get the bill.

We were glad when they left. Unfortunately the waitresses were for a short while a bit cooler towards us, because the Germans had been so disruptive, but after a short time all services received by the staff was warm and welcoming again.

We both believe there should be a rethink in regards of walk ins at Wiesen.

Our bill was 133.50 Euro (ca. 152.40 USD).

Of course we had also a peek into the restaurant inside. It's a bit darker, yet elegant, a combination of classic and modern, and lots of brown colors were used.

The toilets had interesting rock sinks.

We would return again, because we loved the great and colorful food, the creative presentation and the friendly staff.

 

The lunch was good value and next time we would love to try their five course surprise menu.


©2017

Inntel Hotels Art Eindhoven, Netherlands

During a weekend in September 2016 my fiancé and I have for our first time flown with Ryanair, our destination was Eindhoven for two nights, a fascinating city we hadn't visited before.

The flight was delayed, but pleasant and to our surprise my fiancé had lots of legroom and our first flight experience was overall pleasant.

We took the bus from Eindhoven Airport to the bus/train terminal in the city, once there we could walk to our memorable hotel.

The Inntel Hotels Art Eindhoven was our second Inntel Hotels after our stay at the Mainport in Rotterdam in April 2015, which is a Design Hotel Member.

Another reason why this particular hotel has caught our eyes was that the Inntel Hotels Art had been in a previous life the Philips light bulb factory, which was also responsible for quality control.

The Inntel Hotels Art was around ten minutes’ walk from the bus station in the heart of the city.

The hotel is located on a square with the Art Deco Philips Light Tower as anchor. The square was beautifully decorated with flowers and plants. The lobby, restaurant, bar and some of the rooms were located in the "new" building, which hadn't been part of the original factory. It was well integrated with the rest of the surroundings.

The restaurant and bar were to the right, the reception and internet stations for guests to the left. The welcome desk and the stations were shaped like flowers. Very high shelves provided more privacy for check in and surfing the web. The flower theme continued throughout the lobby.

Check in was friendly and efficient.

We had booked a loft with breakfast included, which was located in the original factory building, dating back to 1909. 

The two buildings are inter-connected with a small second lobby, which housed an art exhibition about wallpaper inspired by Hieronymus Bosch, M.C. Asher, Vincent van Gogh and Billie Holiday. There was a vending machine too for drinks and snacks.

Both buildings had very high ceilings, exposed concrete walls and industrial lightning. It was great to see the original features had been kept at the factory.

On every elevator landing a sofa was placed. Some were lavish, while others were understated.

Each room number was integrated in a former heritage advertising poster of Philips products incl. light bulbs.

Previous to our stay we were in contact with the hotel via e-mail to request a higher floor loft and balcony if possible.

The reply had been friendly, but nothing had been promised. In the end all our wishes were fulfilled. Our loft was on the fifth floor and had a balcony overlooking the hotels inner courtyard.

The loft's ceilings were 4 m high and the design of the floors continued inside our room.

A door to the left in the hallway led to the bathroom.

The loft was open plan and had no wardrobe in the sense, but a coat hanger stand and large credenza with an open storage space replaced it. The coat hangers were so high up, I had problems reaching them, so it's made for taller persons.

The writing desk was large and was formerly a real work bench, so it had an industrial feel to it, which added to the fascinating design and fell of our airy loft.

Artwork was a Dutch Lady with a light bulb, which reminded us about our location in the heart of Eindhoven and the connection with Philips felt one-of-a-kind to us. 

The color scheme was red, green, brown and gold.

The floor was tiled.

The large king sized bed was comfortable and inviting.

There was a mini bar, stocked with the usual items and local beverages and snacks. There were for example Stroop Waffles, Pringles, M&M's, a large bottle of Tynant water, small bottles of San Pellegrino or Acqua Panna, sparkling Lipton ice tea, Hero Orange Juice, Heineken Beer and two bottles of wine.

 

Prices ranged from 2.50 Euro to 6.50 Euro / ca. 2.90 USD to 7.45 USD for the snacks, 3.50 Euro to 4.95 Euro / ca. 4 USD to 5.70 USD for the non-alcoholic beverages, 4.50 Euro for the beer (ca. 5.15 USD) and 7.50 Euro (ca. 8.60 USD) for a bottle of wine.

There was a credenza and flat screen TV, offering around thirty channels, most of them were Dutch, a few German, BBC1 and 2, CNN and a classical music channel, showing opera and concerts.

All the appliances like the TV, hair dryer and light bulbs were Philips branded too.

A few steps up in our loft led to the balcony. There was no railing for the steps. The balcony was furnished with two chairs and views over the reception building, the city and the back of the Philips Light Tower.

The bathroom was large and came furnished in black porcelain tiles, concrete, granite and a glass sink shaped like a flower.

The bathtub shower combination was comfortable to use. The temperature was stable and the pressure was good.

There was also a toilet and the amenities were Inntel Hotels' own branded Green Tea with sexy people on the packaging.

We used the restaurant once for dinner and had breakfast every morning.

There was a wide choice of cold items available including cold cuts, smoked salmon, cereals, bread rolls, fruits, vegetables and much more. There was also an egg and pancake station, where hot items were made to order.

The dinner was of good standard and upscale. We ordered one large bottle of Acqua Panna, one glass of sweet wine, one vitello tonnato, four Mediterranean rolls, one Arts Burger with fries, egg, and truffle mayo, one Atlantic cod with endive, potato mash and red wine sauce, one strawberry and mandarin sorbet and one chocolate pie.

The bill was 81 Euro / ca. 92.45 USD.

Staff was friendly and attentive.

As a side note the hotel houses also has a spa, plus their complimentary WI-FI was fast and reliable at all times.

We had a wonderful stay at this fascinating hotel and would recommend the Inntel Hotels Art, when visiting Eindhoven.

©2017

The Restaurant at the Blythswood Square (Hotel)

While staying for 1 night in September 2016 at the Blythswood Square Hotel in Glasgow we went to dinner at The Restaurant, their style-driven yet elegant eatery.

Like the Sands Grill at the Old Course Hotel, Spa & Golf Resort, The Restaurant offered a Market Menu at a good value.

Both the hotel and the restaurant were glamourous. There were for example huge lampshades and inside were different classic cars printed which reminded us about their heritage.

The friendly and attentive staff took good care of us.

The only thing we didn't like that much was that in the middle of the meal the light was suddenly so much dimmed we barely could see what we were eating. While a more romantic atmosphere can be indeed achieved with dimming the lights, but when it's too dark it can get slightly annoying. Otherwise we enjoyed our dinner very much.

We ordered one bottle of still Strathmore water, a Bumbo Cocktail - it was inspired by adventures while travelling to exotic countries around 100 to 200 years ago -, a glass of the Champagne of the month, in this case Baron de Villeboerg Brut NV, two hot chocolates, two mackerel pate with chorizo, salad and bread disc, two butternut squash tortelloni with soya butter and micro herbs, one S'mores cheese cake and one plum frangipane.

All was delicious, modern and very nicely presented as expected from such an upscale venue.

The bill was 81.70 GBP (ca. 92.30 Euro / ca. 105.30 USD).

We would return and try their new restaurant offerings since the Blythswood Square has has/will join the Principal Hotel Collection which should further enhance the appeal of this beautiful landmark hotel in the heart of Glasgow.


©2017