Sometimes you just want to get up from the table and give host Lisa a hug, or go into the kitchen to give Chef Steven a heartfelt high five. The different courses are so tasty, surprising and harmonious, the atmosphere is so pleasant, and it is so interesting to be a guest in restaurant Culinair!
The aperitif was on the terrace, on an evening that felt more like mid-September than early August. And the feast started right away: three times two snacks that suggest the very best for the rest of the evening.
Watermelon is hardly a flavor bomb… and I didn't know Pan Soplao Negro at all. It turns out to be a kind of Spanish, dry mini sandwich that is used in tapas. But they result in mini-dishes that set the tone. The cream of Mermulette, hard cheese from cow's milk, completes it. How do you get to that…
The bar is immediately set at Nafi Thiam height…
It's strange, but I'm not particularly fond of smoked eel, for example. The oily fish in combination with the rather dry smoky taste is not my cup of tea. Unless… Steven Dehaeze does something with it. Because this one, though a small piece, was very soft and full of flavour. The tartare of young herring was also a discovery, as were the accompanying… edible presents.
Then we were invited inside for a tomate crevettes. You immediately envision a large, hollowed out and peeled beef tomato in front of you, filled with a mix of mayonnaise and hopefully fresh shrimps and a tuft of curly parsley on top? Me too. But not Steven…
For him, those are old tomato varieties with basil oil and calamansi, some burratina (fancy mozzarella) and finished with clear tomato water. Oh, and house peeled shrimp, of course.
Plate licked, that is to say: cleaned up with the super tasty and equally homemade bread.
We also got a glass of Pecorino from the South of Rome with that plate. Don’t laugh! Pecorino is also a wine grape that produces a delicious juicy wine with mineral notes. Very nice and original combo. Another common thread throughout the culinary adventure: the combinations of the unique dishes with surprising wines. Kudos to Lisa!
There is a screen in the room where a number of tables can follow the activities in the kitchen. Luckily we couldn't, otherwise I would probably have been gawking at that thing all night. Njam live, what more could the enthusiast want?
But from where I was sitting I could also look into the kitchen through the window over part of the terrace. And I think Steven has elevated the mise-en-place to an art form. Everything runs serenely in the kitchen, there is never any running, yelling or quickly changing or adjusting anything. I think. I’m pretty sure the kitchen team enjoys their creations as much as the guests do throughout the evening shift. Each has its tasks and fulfils a part of the chain and in no time a number of prepared and a few on the spot ingredients are conjured into a magical plate.
Always spot on, balanced in volume and taste palette, finished in style, very tasty.
We were then poured a glass of Viognier from Bilbao, something we hadn’t tasted before! And, for the wine lovers, there was also a bit of Muscat in it. To make it completely incomparable…
This wine came with an oven-cooked redfish fillet. Wait, we're in Culinair, so we also got rice with saffron and chorizo, some very tasty mussels and a nice green coulis of herbs. Particularly successful!
The combination of lobster and truffle is clearly logical and common. I didn't know. I eat very little, or no, lobster, and only quite rarely truffle. However, you already understand, in the Dronckaertstraat 508 in Lauwe, that's a great combination with a dressing of figs, and mashed sweet potatoes.
And a very tasty rosé, but the grape and origin were lost in my enthusiasm…
It is also just really pleasant to stay in Restaurant Culinair. There is enough space between the tables to guarantee your privacy, but there is a pleasant buzz with the occasional louder compliment about what is offered… The service is friendly and amicable, including the two young ladies. And Lisa is, of course, a one-in-a-million host who perfectly senses at which table she can chat for a while and where she should limit her presence to a minimum. And meanwhile keeping an eye on her colleagues and assisting where necessary.
It is interesting to always get a short explanation of the different dishes and also to have the menu on the table in order to be able to check what, for example, that green on the plate is or that flavour that distinguishes itself but cannot be named.
The last course was BBQ! You didn't see that one coming, did you?
A BBQ-style rib steak, probably from the gigantic Green Egg that I could partially see in the kitchen. Perfectly cooked, what did you expect, finished with Bordelaise sauce, completed with patatas bravas and actually two salads, again very refined and top notch.
That included a glass of Pinot Noir. And a firm one from, if I remember correctly, Portugal. Interesting combination, again.
We ended with a fantastic dessert plate and I must say: I felt a bit embarrassed that it was gone so quickly… I assume they put a lot of work into the lime bavarois, the strawberry meringue, the peppermint gel and the lemon sorbet. But I swear, it was consumed within three minutes. It shouldn’t have been so tasty!
A visit to Culinair, always a savoury treat!
We have been there several times and have always been positively surprised. The menu is always of a very high standard, the atmosphere stylishly amicable.
You can question the price, but one person is satisfied with a second-hand Clio, while the other wants the latest Audi… And both pay the correct price.
It's the same with going to a restaurant. I like fries from the snack bar (typical Belgian), but sometimes it can all be a bit more and a bit more pricey. The price at Culinair is justified by the extensive preparatory work, the top ingredients and the unique combinations that require endless creativity and patience.
Thank you, Culinair.
The aperitif was on the terrace, on an evening that felt more like mid-September than early August. And the feast started right away: three times two snacks that suggest the very best for the rest of the evening.
Watermelon is hardly a flavor bomb… and I didn't know Pan Soplao Negro at all. It turns out to be a kind of Spanish, dry mini sandwich that is used in tapas. But they result in mini-dishes that set the tone. The cream of Mermulette, hard cheese from cow's milk, completes it. How do you get to that…
The bar is immediately set at Nafi Thiam height…
It's strange, but I'm not particularly fond of smoked eel, for example. The oily fish in combination with the rather dry smoky taste is not my cup of tea. Unless… Steven Dehaeze does something with it. Because this one, though a small piece, was very soft and full of flavour. The tartare of young herring was also a discovery, as were the accompanying… edible presents.
Then we were invited inside for a tomate crevettes. You immediately envision a large, hollowed out and peeled beef tomato in front of you, filled with a mix of mayonnaise and hopefully fresh shrimps and a tuft of curly parsley on top? Me too. But not Steven…
For him, those are old tomato varieties with basil oil and calamansi, some burratina (fancy mozzarella) and finished with clear tomato water. Oh, and house peeled shrimp, of course.
Plate licked, that is to say: cleaned up with the super tasty and equally homemade bread.
We also got a glass of Pecorino from the South of Rome with that plate. Don’t laugh! Pecorino is also a wine grape that produces a delicious juicy wine with mineral notes. Very nice and original combo. Another common thread throughout the culinary adventure: the combinations of the unique dishes with surprising wines. Kudos to Lisa!
There is a screen in the room where a number of tables can follow the activities in the kitchen. Luckily we couldn't, otherwise I would probably have been gawking at that thing all night. Njam live, what more could the enthusiast want?
But from where I was sitting I could also look into the kitchen through the window over part of the terrace. And I think Steven has elevated the mise-en-place to an art form. Everything runs serenely in the kitchen, there is never any running, yelling or quickly changing or adjusting anything. I think. I’m pretty sure the kitchen team enjoys their creations as much as the guests do throughout the evening shift. Each has its tasks and fulfils a part of the chain and in no time a number of prepared and a few on the spot ingredients are conjured into a magical plate.
Always spot on, balanced in volume and taste palette, finished in style, very tasty.
We were then poured a glass of Viognier from Bilbao, something we hadn’t tasted before! And, for the wine lovers, there was also a bit of Muscat in it. To make it completely incomparable…
This wine came with an oven-cooked redfish fillet. Wait, we're in Culinair, so we also got rice with saffron and chorizo, some very tasty mussels and a nice green coulis of herbs. Particularly successful!
The combination of lobster and truffle is clearly logical and common. I didn't know. I eat very little, or no, lobster, and only quite rarely truffle. However, you already understand, in the Dronckaertstraat 508 in Lauwe, that's a great combination with a dressing of figs, and mashed sweet potatoes.
And a very tasty rosé, but the grape and origin were lost in my enthusiasm…
It is also just really pleasant to stay in Restaurant Culinair. There is enough space between the tables to guarantee your privacy, but there is a pleasant buzz with the occasional louder compliment about what is offered… The service is friendly and amicable, including the two young ladies. And Lisa is, of course, a one-in-a-million host who perfectly senses at which table she can chat for a while and where she should limit her presence to a minimum. And meanwhile keeping an eye on her colleagues and assisting where necessary.
It is interesting to always get a short explanation of the different dishes and also to have the menu on the table in order to be able to check what, for example, that green on the plate is or that flavour that distinguishes itself but cannot be named.
The last course was BBQ! You didn't see that one coming, did you?
A BBQ-style rib steak, probably from the gigantic Green Egg that I could partially see in the kitchen. Perfectly cooked, what did you expect, finished with Bordelaise sauce, completed with patatas bravas and actually two salads, again very refined and top notch.
That included a glass of Pinot Noir. And a firm one from, if I remember correctly, Portugal. Interesting combination, again.
We ended with a fantastic dessert plate and I must say: I felt a bit embarrassed that it was gone so quickly… I assume they put a lot of work into the lime bavarois, the strawberry meringue, the peppermint gel and the lemon sorbet. But I swear, it was consumed within three minutes. It shouldn’t have been so tasty!
A visit to Culinair, always a savoury treat!
We have been there several times and have always been positively surprised. The menu is always of a very high standard, the atmosphere stylishly amicable.
You can question the price, but one person is satisfied with a second-hand Clio, while the other wants the latest Audi… And both pay the correct price.
It's the same with going to a restaurant. I like fries from the snack bar (typical Belgian), but sometimes it can all be a bit more and a bit more pricey. The price at Culinair is justified by the extensive preparatory work, the top ingredients and the unique combinations that require endless creativity and patience.
Thank you, Culinair.
Pics Kevin Vroman