Yesterday I had dinner at Wynwood, a restaurant in Strijp-S area
in Eindhoven, with the Social Dining Group I joined a few months ago.
I've heard great reviews about it and they have been mentioned as a
candidate for a Michelin star, despite being in business for less
than a year. So this was a place I have wanted to try for a while
now.
When I arrived, there were already 2 others there. We were shown
to our table at the back of the restaurant. On the table next to us,
there was a somewhat interesting company of one guy accompanied by a
group of attractive young ladies, while near our table the new
Maserati Quattroporte was on display, while outside a group of people
were re-enacting a scene from some Quentin Tarantino film. While we
were waiting for the others to arrive, we started with some drinks.
When we were all their, a waitress explained the menu to us. They
were serving a surprise menu and we could choose between 3 to 9
courses. As the dishes would be small, we were recommend to take more
than the minimum of 3 courses. Most of us, including myself, went for
5 courses while 2 of us went for 4 courses. With that settled, it was
time to enjoy the dinner.
We started with 2 amuses from the house. One was a mousse of
asparagus with herring caviar and mini shrimps. The other amuse was a
cracker of Parmesan cheese. I might have eaten it in the wrong order
by taking the cracker first, which was so salty that my taste
buds were numbed and I didn't really taste anything when I had
the asparagus mousse.
After the amuses, it was time for the first course. Before I
start, I have to admit that the dishes were quite complex, as one
would expect from an establishment at this standard, so I can't
guarantee that I've remembered everything correctly when I'm
describing the dishes, so I apologise for
that in advance. Having said that, let's go.
The first course was tuna in two ways, raw and seared, with
different textures of cucumber, a marshmallow
of Tom Kha Kai and a courgette flower. Normally, I don't like fish
and this is the reason I always go for the surprise menu when I have
the chance. Let me explain. I don't like fish because I can't cook it
properly. When I cook fish it tastes horribly, and based on that
experience, I would never order fish from a menu. But I also know
from experience that fish, when cooked properly and able chef, is
absolutely delicious. So, when I go for the surprise menu, I can just
sit back and enjoy whatever the chef comes up with and so far, it's
always been good. The tuna pieces were coated in some crispy stuff,
which gave it a nice combination of textures. The different textures
of cucumber added a refreshing note to the dish, making it a pleasant
combination. A good start to our dinner, I would say.
The second course was a soup of king prawn, with a king prawn
dumpling and fennel. Although still nice, I have to say that this was
my least favourite dish of the evening. The soup was too strong for
my taste and the fennel, which I assume was there to balance it,
didn't have the chance to do it's job. The soup was just too
overpowering.
The third course was only served to those who had the 5 course
option. This was a leg of quail with asparagus and some other
interesting stuff which I can't remember now. There were some dots of
green stuff and white stuff. Yeah, I know I will need some more
practice before I can make a living out of being a restaurant critic.
I should probably start paying more attention when the waitress is
explaining the dish. But I did remember the most important thing. It
was very nice.
At the fourth course, the people who chose the 4 course menu were
back in again. This was black grouse with asparagus (yes, it's
asparagus season here), a crisp of grouse with red wine sauce and
again some interesting blobs on the plate that I don't remember what
it is anymore. Once again, it was very tasty. I liked the crispy
stuff. I never had grouse before. I looked it up on the internet and
it looks like a sort of chicken. I like it very much.
The fifth and final course was the dessert. For me, desserts are
the highlight of any dinner. It was various preparations of honey and
lime, with several textures of ginger and white chocolate. It was
very nice. Normally, when I have dessert at home, it's sweet on
sweet, so not very exciting. Here we had the sweet of the honey and
white chocolate, with a tanginess of the lime and a slight heat of
the ginger, which was an interesting and very nice combination.
With the dessert done, it was the end of our dinner. After a cup
of coffee or tea, it was time to say goodbye and to go home. I really
enjoyed this evening. The food was delicious and the company was
great. The restaurant, although the food was of a very high standard,
was very accessible. There's a certain buzz which you wouldn't find
in more traditional fine dining establishments. At Wynwood, nobody
would blink an eye if you came to dinner in jeans and shirt. What I
also liked was the open kitchen, on which I had a good view. It was
nice to see how the kitchen was working. It's kind of reassuring to
know that your food is actually prepared freshly and not microwaved.
All in all, it was a great evening and I can definitely recommend it
to everybody. And the prices are very reasonable too. You pay 9 euros
per course. In total, I paid 60 euros including drinks, which I think
is reasonable at this level.
So, that's it and I'm already looking forward to the next dinner.
