Category: Mediterranean Glimpse

Jose Avillez - Belcanto Lisbon Portugal

Belcanto – Lisbon – Portugal

  Fire and passion are the hallmarks of Portuguese cuisine, a story masterfully told through José Avillez at Belcanto, Lisbon, Portugal.   Distinguished with 2 Michelin Stars, 132 OAD Top 100+ European Restaurants 2017 and eighty-fifth place in “The World’s 50 Best Restaurants List”.      José Avillez, one of Portugal’s most celebrated chefs, tasting menu runs for around 20 courses, featuring updated takes on traditional Portuguese concepts, like a dish he calls Wave Breaking, which combines a coastal prawn with bivalves, seaweed and seaweed “sand,” and oxtail with chickpeas, foie […]

Chef Alija Nerua Guggenheim Bilbao

Nerua Guggenheim – Bilbao – Spain

Rarely has one building defined inspiration and architectural genius more than anything that’s been before; Frank Gehry’s masterpiece, the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, is frequently referred to as one of the greatest buildings of our time. The building that rendered a seismic shift in architecture and global art culture could easily make some restaurants invisible, but not Nerua Guggenheim Bilbao. Head Chef Josean Alija, himself a student of one of the worlds greatest, most creative chefs, Ferran Adrià, is the creative force […]

Review - Restaurant Bartholomeus by Georgie

Restaurant Bartholomeus – Knokke-Heist – Belgium

Heist-aan-Zee, or Heist, is a town in Knokke-Heist, West Flanders, one of Belgium’s better-known and more affluent seaside resorts, equivalent to France’s Deauville, the perfect setting for Michelin Star Restaurant Bartholomeus.     Restaurant  Bartholomeus is creatively led by Head Chef and owner Bart Dismidt. Two Michelin stars, Gault Millau 18/20, 168 OAD Top 100+ European Restaurants 2017, Foodtaster 90/100 and great reviews from those who dine at this tranquil beach-front pearl make the trip to Restaurant Bartholomeus a very worthwhile and memorable one.    […]

Review-Restaurant-Johannes-Amsterdam by Georgie

Restaurant Johannes – Amsterdam – Netherlands

After a wonderful day in Amsterdam we’re hungry and excited to get to our dinner booking. Restaurant Johannes is in pretty little canal house. Inside the decor is simple,  white gallery like space with black leather chairs and timber tables. We are seated at a little table near the bar.  Our young waitress comes to take our order and it’s clear she is quite new and inexperienced with customer service of any type.  I can’t put my finger on it […]

Restaurant De Kas – Amsterdam – Netherlands

  Founder and Head Grower Gert-Jan Hageman had the idea for De Kas:    “A kitchen surrounded  by fertile soil where vegetables and herbs thrive … Where daylight shines in from all sides and where the chefs are free to express their creativity daily using the best the season has to offer. It seems an obvious concept, but I spent twenty years surrounded by white tiles under fluorescent lighting before I came up with it.” Frankendael Park – Restaurant De Kas […]

Vincent van Goh

I dream of painting and then I paint my dream – Vincent van Gogh

A soft silvery gold announces the beautiful new morning and our morning walk. It’s a good long walk, along canals, over bridges, past tall thin buildings with long windows and quite often long thin bricks. My love tells me we are going to stop at Omelegg for breakfast on the way.   Omelegg – Ferdinand Bolstraat, Amsterdam, Netherlands This is Netherlands first Omelettery apparently – everything eggy you can imagine. We spot the little red and white awning with wooden […]

REVIEW - DE SILVEREN SPIEGEL by Georgie

De Silveren Spiegel – Amsterdam – Netherlands

As there are many choices, sometimes you’ve just got to take the easy way to easily finalise your dinner plans; look into the mirror and ask, “Mirror, mirror on the wall, who is fairest of them all?” de Silveren Spiegel (translated in English to The Silver Mirror) is the winner.      Michelin worthy de Silveren Spiegel offers contemporary Dutch cuisine prepared by talented young chef Yves van der Hoff, whose father, Jim van der Hoff owns the place. (That’s […]

Dutch Courage and Other Adventures

Much mischief  can come from not understanding the differences between Dutch courage, or going Dutch, so I’m off to find some clarity, in Amsterdam, of course.    I am so excited! We are about to embark on a journey to parts of the world that I have imagined but never seen. Our first stop on this magical adventure is Amsterdam. When I t hink of Amsterdam I think sex, drugs and canal houses. A funny collection of thoughts I guess. I […]

Georgie