Restaurant Zarzo Eindhoven 8.6 out of 10

Damn, I am a terrible blogger…. Because I go out so many times a week all around Europe, I have a book full of writings and reviews and a memory stick full of photos. I just lack time to publish all these great dinners…..

So from now on, I will try to at least post 1 restaurant each week, and keep you all updated in my personal findings. Hope you enjoy them and I hope you understand that it is just a hobby and a passion. Maybe it is time to make it my job, that would make a lot of people very happy….!!!

So let’s start again with a great new finding in the beautiful city of Eindhoven (known as well for the soccer club PSV). Here is a relatively new restaurant with Spanish roots, tracing back to Valencia, called Zarzo, after the Zarzo brothers running it.

What did I eat?

Starters / amuse:

-apple with black pudding, nice combo, only would I use a different type of apple that would not overrule the typical black pudding taste

-goat butter / peanut, another good taste combo, only this time the cookie underneath was to dry and big, perfect taste, no perfect structure…

-in dutch:aardpeer in English: Jerusalem artichoke….. together with sour cream and herring fish eggs, just beautiful

-Endive with a granité (crushed ice) of lemon, honey and mint. Taste-wise by far the best “amuse”. unexpected easy and pure in taste, only the presentation was a bit home-cooking 1988 style….

Then:

Eel with structures of red and yellow beet, eel jelly and duck liver (foie gras). Damn you, what a perfect dish, the smokiness, the sweet beet, the different structures and the fat of the liver with all its earth taste and minerals. A shame there was not more because it was great !!! just the color of the plate I would change since it was so colorful, and all of it was lost in the dark colored plate. It made me hungry for more!

Then came the red mullet, a nice piece of fish, but in this course it was a bit disappointing. After the first beautiful eel, I expected way more. The fish was cooked properly, but the garnish of deep fried thyme vines was terrible. It did add structure, but it was like eating wood, without extra flavor. Also the broth made from the bones of the fish was not strong enough for my taste. The overall dish just missed something and could be better I am sure.

Luckily the porc cheeks came quickly, what a nice dish. Breaised to perfection, holding its original structure until you poke it with your fork and away comes this juicy and succulent pieces of soft pork meat. It was from a Danish land pork, beautiful product. Combined with oyster and artichoke, it was a great dish. Only if I want to be terrible critic, I would recommend an extra dot, foam, cream or sauce with some extra accidity. Or maybe just some extra “jus” around it, would finish it.

And then we had cheese (chevre de Montay, Tommes de florette, dutch 24month ripe hard cheese, Abraham red Irish and Bleu de Regaly blue vained cheese, lovely presentation, great figs and dried grapes next to it. Just as it should always be.

Finishing with the best dish of the day, at least in my perspective. As you all know I am a big fan of Heston Blumenthal and his deconstructed or creative unique dishes. And then it is all about tasting, not about seeing what you eat. On the menu it said: own made lemon pie. Which sounded just terrible to me, yet another restaurant with yet another lemon cake or pie….. Not here!

What a great way to finish, nothing was what you’d expect. There was no egg yolk, no butter of flour, even if it looked like that. What you get was a strong nice lemon custard with all the flavors together in different structures, tasting amazing both separate as all together.

Score:

Coziness: 9.2 out of 10, loved the surrounding, open kitchen, designed everything to perfection. Great chairs, only we had a wobbly table…..and I hate a not stable table.

Staff: 9 out of 10, Special thanks to Robin, who made me feel right at home, giving good explanation and a clear view on everything. Had a nice talk as well. Just some working points is that if 1 introduces himself, all staff that comes at your table should introduce. I prefer having just 1 waiter all night, in stead of 3 or 4. Also the red mullet dish was served from across the table, while the rest came from the right side as it should be.

Price: 7.5 out of 10, Getting michelin star prices (€225 for 2p.) is a bit on the high side for me. No problem if all is perfect, but there are some improvements possible…

Food: 8.8 out of 10, I will not talk about the bone I found in my pork meat….. overall very good food, they can be proud. Maybe some minor adjustments would make it perfect!

Overall a beautiful 8.6

The best dessert in years