While planning for the trip, a common theme seemed to be that reservations at restaurants were highly recommended. And honestly, it’s so easy to do in the age of the internet and excellent translation, that why not?
In Rotterdam, I read about De Matroos en het Meisje and thought it sounded absolutely delicious. It also seemed to be reasonable in its portion-sizes and since we could pick 4 or 5 courses, it sounded perfect since appetites can be unpredictable while traveling!
SMS and I picked the four course option. I picked the wine pairing, which is available by full and half glasses. I picked the full glass pairing since I am a lush planned on sharing with SMS.
Our first taste was an amusé bouche, which was a tomato tartlet with a special oil. Afterwards, the server came and poured the first wine. I was afraid I had ate the food before the pairing. Never fear! They were very focused on pouring the wine before the pairing.
The actual first course was a grilled corn on Jerusalem artichoke purée with corn ice cream. Delicious! The waiter said how he and the staff thought that savory ice cream was the new culinary trend. In his words, what yuzu was a few years ago.
The second course was a fennel, sea leaf, crunchy zest, and flavored thin dressing that was wonderful. The pairing was with a young Spanish wine from a winery outside Madrid that is owned by a young couple. When I asked if the wines were from places where the chef knew people, the waitress shrugged and said, “No, it’s what the distributor tells us.”
The main course was absolutely delicious: morel mushrooms, delicate mackerel, turnips, artichoke purée, and “gravy from young cow.” It was paired with Sabia and overall, I think this was my favorite course! The corn may be tied.
The dessert was a smooth, liquid-y marangue on top of more ice cream and some crunchy crumbles. It wasn’t the most beautiful looking thing on the plate, but it was tasty.
Dinner was on the sidewalk next to a large square where people were walking, kids were playing games, and other restaurants had tables set up. It felt so neighborly that it was a lovely feeling to carry through a meal. The four course option was also nice to have a meal that was large, but manageable. I definitely recommend this restaurant in Rotterdam!