A taste of Savoie at Mont Blanc
By Andy Fenner
Govert Flinckstraat 308, 1073 CJ Amsterdam
BOOK NOWThere are plenty of clues as to what to expect when you eat at Mont Blanc. The name, for example. That’s a clue, right there. Still, when you step off the street in the bustling De Pijp area, you may do a double take. Did you walk through some kind of culinary teleportal? Like, how did you get here? How did you end up in this wooden chalet high in the Alps? How did you end up lounging in front of a fireplace, on a leather couch, cradling a glass of Chardonnay? Is that sheepskin draped across your legs? You better believe it is.
Restaurants of this calibre tell a story. In Mont Blanc’s case, that story begins the second you walk in the door. Immediately, you are informed what kind of menu to expect here but the story extends beyond the food. This is Savoie and part of Savoie is the scenery. The energy. The people. The ingredients. Short of some cowbells – or some real cows – Mont Blanc has done everything possible to recreate the iconic heritage that owners Eigenaren Thibault Casasole en Dieuwertje Gordijn so desperately want to share with you in their restaurant.
This story runs through the service team, who do a brilliant job explaining the sourcing of ingredients, the curation of wines and the inspiration behind the menu.
And what a menu.
Guests have the choice of a five-course or six-course offering. This is over and above some additional amuse bouches and a pre-dessert. The dishes are a love letter to Savoie, with many of them revolving around edible flowers and specific herbs. When this is the case, these are brought to the table in ornamental vases. A nice touch, connecting the food to the story being told.
Green beans, for example, are lifted to new levels with floral, aromatic geranium and peaches. Pike perch gets doused in bitter genepi and paired with tart rhubarb.
Elsewhere, a rich confit egg yolk (done in walnut oil), is accentuated with earthy cauliflower and offset with a zingy sabayon.
Rabbit and snails are combined with lovage in the most ambitious dish, showing immense skill and technique.
Finally, a dessert showcasing various textures of milk (goat, cow and butter) arrives as one last nod to the beloved Mont Blanc. It is a dessert literally resembling a snowy peak. But it is also a dessert to embody what it takes to run a restaurant with this kind of ambition – an ascent that offers its own challenges.
Make no mistake, this is a fine dining restaurant. It has an obvious ambition for higher accolades and for recognition. But it does not feel like a kitchen that is cooking, with those as the driving forces. No. This is a kitchen, cooking to tell a story. To share a story. This is a kitchen cooking with pride and it is producing food that is being served with obvious joy.
Ironically, the restaurants not chasing stars are often the ones who end up getting them. I wouldn’t bet against this team earning that recognition one day.
Mont Blanc
The Space: Alpine Ski lodge meets Michelin.
The Base: €120 – 150 pp
The Face: Laid-back, but serious at the same time. People wanting a memorable meal, without pretense.
The Ace: The cheese trolley is basically an entire wall of the restaurant that gets trundled over. It must be a contender for the best in Amsterdam?
The Veg: The entire menu is available as a vegetarian option.
Opening Hours: Tues – Sat 19:00-00:00, Sun-Mon Closed
Images from restaurantmontblanc.nl, Mont Blanc
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