Restaurant-Check: Auberge Jean & Marie, Amsterdam

What a wonderful day! The first weekend of the year and we are already exploring Europe again. This time we had the honour to stay in Amsterdam, definitely one of the most beautiful cities in northern Europe.

After a comfy flight and an easygoing pickup to our lovely hotel (Review - The Waldorf Astoria) we were hungry and decided to go to a beautiful small restaurant.
As we arrived at the Auberge Jean & Marie we were warmly welcomed by the manager ... and were seated in a calm corner next to a beautiful fireplace. The whole restaurant was elegantly furnished with dimmed light and cosy atmosphere.

Our first course was a trio of the duck - a little bit of duck liver, stomach and two slices of the breast served with a seasonal green salad and walnuts as well as a mushroom ragout filled in puff paste -a very old, traditional german dish which gave us a wonderful throwback to our childhood.
The starters were served with an wonderful "Petit Chablis" Chardonnay from Bordeaux.

The entree was a special french dish, which got a bit lost in the last years. Frog legs in a creamy garlic sauce accompanied by a mineralic white wine from Côtes de Rhone.

The fin of ray with capers, fresh herbs, oyster mushrooms served on mashed potatos with fennel was the first main course. A fruity white wine from Latio, Italy matched perfectly to this dish.

A medium rare Rib-Eye steak with melting potatoes was served with the best red wine sauce we've ever had. This dish was served with sweet onions and sliced raddish. The meat was served with a full bodied red wine with strong tannins from Rioja, Spain. 

As a dessert we had a small cheese selection - a slice of blue mold cheese, dutch gouda and a Vacherin.
The corresponding wines to the cheese was a glass of Madeira - a liqueur wine from the to Portugal belonging island in the Atlantic ocean. And a Pineau des Charentes - a mixture of unfermented grape juice and eau de vie this quite unknown product which is produced in the departments Charente in western France.

We had a truly perfect evening at the Auberge Jean & Marie and will be back soon. The service was so nice and we even got a tour of the restaurant's wine room by the owner personally. 

Thank you for this wonderful invitation and an outstanding experience.