With a glass of Champagne quickly consumed and some lovely home-made bread, we delved in to our starter. Oxtail soup was served alongside a compote of onion and thyme and a gelatinous, bright orange parmesan cylinder. I’m not entirely sure about the presentation of the dish, but with a mouthful of each you immediately notice just what a talented chef Toine Hermsen is. The soup was devilishly thick, laced with an array of spices and meaty flavoured chunks of chopped oxtail waiting at the bottom. The real star of this dish ended up being that little parmesan creation. A soft gel like covering encompassing a potent parmesan mousse and that delicious acidic and sweet compote will leave you salivating for more of it. One thing I have no time for is those paper doilies. Perhaps that’s this restaurants slight downside – it’s still stuck in the 90’s. The brown tinged orange walls are confirmation of that.
With 2014 almost over, I couldn’t have been more glad to stumble across what turned out to be my dish of the year. Hare, red cabbage, choux potato and cranberries. On a blustery cold winters day, at a glance from our table this dish couldn’t have been more spot on. When restaurants talk about seasonality then Toine Hermsen must have given the cooking lessons. The warmth and spices of cinnamon and a Christmas blend leapt out of the dish through its steaming heat. The fluffy choux potatoes were perfect and the poached pear – heavenly. A side of stewed hare and large chunk of soft pear was a little odd to serve alongside an already sauce heavy dish, but it was still just as delicious – if not more. This is comfort food at its finest.
Dessert came in the form of three small tarts of pure chocolate, caramel ice cream and a vanilla sauce. The dish was lacking in flavour in some parts, but the ice cream was some of the finest examples I’ve eaten to date. Vanilla sauce was much too thin and for an ex-Michelin star restaurant, presentation seemed a little relaxed – perhaps this is how head chef Toine Hermsen wants to take the restaurant forward. In fact presentation on the whole was very sloppy. As long as the kitchen here can consistently send out dishes such as that hare dish we ate, presentation can easily be overlooked.
I’ve waited so long to dine here at Toine Hermsen and to find what ended up being my dish of the year was a surprise alone. This renowned master chef may have lost his star, and unfortunately been very ill as of lately but his cooking still retains passion. Some old-fashioned tendencies such as the decor and of course those paper doilies can perhaps put a downer on some peoples perception, but strangely it all works here. Instead it feels cosy inside and paired with the charming service and rich hearty food it also offers fantastic value for money. If you’re visiting Maastricht then make sure Toine Hermsen is on your list – because it’s still one of the city’s best restaurants.
8/10
