October 2025.

Our last meal in this strange and interesting town was lunch at this place which turned out to have one Michelin star. It was nothing if not slick and classy in its presentation and the food was not bad at all either. The restaurant is a descendent of I think the only three-star place in town run by famous chef Geert Van Heck who retired several years ago. The original restaurant was next door, and the old man was present when we were, although it seemed like his wife is now in charge.

It’s a very nicely decorated room with the kitchen behind glass at the back of the long space. Welcome was very brisk and cheerful by middle-aged man in a green suit who quickly got us seated and made us comfortable. He chatted agreeably and knowledgeably about all sorts of things but was obviously moving right along even though there was nobody else in the room. During our lunch only two other tables were occupied but we had the impression that the emphasis here could be on dinner. I’m sure they are making a buck. The menu involved two fixed meals and a short à la carte section and prices looked reasonable for this class of eatery. We opted for the lesser of the two fixed menus.

Amuses bouches of which there were three were encouraging, tasty, and quickly cleared away. We both chose a mushroom-based bowl with a purée of porcini and delicious accompanying liquid and other vegetables. I had duck breast and Robin chose a seabass as second course that both of these were completely tasty, filling, and really perfectly prepared.

The wine list must be a hold-over from the former celebrated restaurant. It was a tome of bottles from just about everywhere topping out at €5900 for a Bonnes Mares from our sometime acquaintance Christoph Roumier. Much as we might have liked to be able to afford that one we opted instead for a tempranillo from Abel Mendoza who we also happen to have visited when we were in Rioja. This one cost about €90 and was perfectly made and delicious. The desert was simple caramel ice cream with some fruit.

The old man came out and chatted briefly with each of the three occupied tables. I didn’t do a Mini-Mental Status Examination but had the impression he was a bit blunted. We could feel the polish of the top-end former restaurant in the ambience, service, personnel, and the wine list, but we had to conclude that the food must have been a little more elaborate and the service cadence a bit slower and less overly snappy.

Comparing this place to Mistral in Bellagio we were dealing not just with seasoned professionals here but with sophisticated people who made us feel welcome and nicely looked after even though we did feel a bit hustled along. The bill was €378.

Food 9.0 service  8.9 ambience 9.3 value 8.1 peace and quiet 9.0