We went to have dinner on 20 June 2014. And I have to admit we did so on a Groupon deal. That said I would have been really upset if we would have paid full price for what we had. Especially since the drinks order (wine tasters, water and coffee) came to €74 for two of us. (€12,75 for the Kirrs; €42 for the wine tasters; €4,25 for 750ml of water; €14,00 for two espressos with sweets and €1,00 surcharge for their Culibus charity). Where the wine is concerned, we ordered the taster, which means one gets two sips with every course. This is nice because one can try seven wines. I did think they charged a lot for the deal since effectively we had barely one glass of wine each. Also every wine is served by someone else. There is no sommelier (should one care about these things).
We ordered Kirr as an aperitif, we were brought two glasses of Blanc-de-Blancs with a small carafe with a little bit of crème de cassis and an ugly plastic dropper which was too short. Disappointing. While we were fiddling with the dropper we were brought the "first course" and told we needed to put our napkin in our lap. I am aware one needs to do that - but usually not while fiddling with a cheap plastic dropper to fashion one's own Kirr. I did not find this action particularly welcoming.
The courses are minuscule very visually pleasing (but also gimmicky). But a meal the seven courses are not. I am a small eater, but even for me 7 courses were about half a meal. It really is so 80's to go for nouvelle cuisine with teeny tiny portions. A little bit of molecular cooking was also used. But that is not really very in anymore either. Terran Adrià has closed El Bulli some time ago and it doesn't seem they will open as a restaurant again.
Service is not bad for Dutch standards, but not outstanding either. And keep in mind that service in The Netherlands is usually plain bad and therefore easy to top. What is nice is that the girls all where a simple grey pinafore, which matches the grey suit the waiter wears.
Decor is so so. Saffraan is an old ship and that is nice, the crazy paving on the walls less so and the "art" is not worthy of a restaurant boasting a Michelin star.
The rest rooms are decent and very clean.
What got up my nose was the €1,00 surcharge on the bill for the
"Culibus" a charity project by Jeune Restaurateurs d'Europe. The charge is announced - but guests are obliged to pay. That in itself I have no problem with, but the actual project I don't agree with and do not want to contribute to. Overweight children need to learn to eat plain, healthy food, like a slice of bread with decent cheese on top and simple one ingredient dinners. There is no need for learning about extra nice food. Maybe it is the fact that I put so much effort into keeping my handicapped child on a healthy weight without any input from any charity ever at all that galled it for me. But still, paying for charity should always be a choice, not an obligation.
So far our experiences with "star" restaurants have been disappointing and we have now decided to give these places a miss from now on. The experience seldom if ever matches the price.
We love food, but are not that into gimmicks, we do have penchant for authentic food and experiencing eating cultures. So far we preferred the Foufou on the side of the road in Ghana, the street food in Laos and the Stovies we had at a food cart in Scotland to any of the "star" restaurants we have been to. read more
