Spectrum is the two Michelin star restaurant in the Waldorf Astoria hotel in Amsterdam by chef Sidney Schutte and restaurant manager Cas Kratz. This dinner was planned long in advance to celebrate my friend Martijn’s birthday, so it was a coincidence that it was on the day of Jonnie Boer’s funeral (which was attended by both Sidney and Cas). Cas was back in time for dinner and is such a professional that, although we could tell it had been an emotional afternoon for him and we did have a chat about it, this did not impact our experience at all. The restaurant only offers 7 course tasting menus, vegetarian (240 euros) or with seafood and meat (250 euros). We opted for the regular tasting menu with wine pairing (with some upgrades to the regular wine pairing).

We started with a rosé Champagne to accompany the small appetizers. This La Pluchotte Extra Brut Rosé by Jérôme Blin is made from 100% Pinot Meunier, which is quite unusual. This made the Champagne extra fruity, without being too fruity (also thanks to the low dosage).

The appetizers were a series of elegant flavor explosions. The first was shiso leaf, trout roe, egg yolk and very thin crispy potato.

The next was sprat (tiny fish) with kalix löjrom, the ‘caviar’ from a small type of salmon from the Baltic Sea.

Yellowroot with duck liver rollmops (pickled herring).

And finally snail with snail eggs, octopus, sunchoke, and bacon in a very flavorful broth. All of the appetizers were amazing.

The first wine was from Jérèz (Spain), from the same area and grape variety (Palomino) as sherry, but not made like a sherry (no flor, no fortification). The 2019 Univers by Muchada-Léclapart was very mineral with an earthy aroma that reminded me of wines made on volcanic soils.

The earthiness of the wine was a very good pairing for the black truffle with carrot, Comté cheese, and potato, in a sugar sphere with codium seaweed. An excellent dish with a very good truffle flavor and wonderful balance between all the flavors and textures.

The next wine was a Muscadet Théia by Domaine Bretaudeau (Loire, France). Muscadet seems to be making a comeback, because I also had a Muscadet in the wine pairing at Ciel Bleu a couple of weeks ago. Muscadet can be very acidic, but this was nicely balanced, perhaps in part because of the aging in amphoras.

It was an excellent pairing for the skate with artichoke, raw North Sea shrimp, and strawberry, with some drops of tomato oil and jalapeño oil. The skate had a very nice tender and juicy texture. Sidney used to put fruit into all of his dishes (and in some cases I wasn’t convinced), but in this case the strawberry worked very well to mask the bitterness of the artichoke. Together they tasted like an improved version of artichoke. Also a great job by the sommeliers, because strawberry and artichoke are not wine-friendly ingredients, but this was a perfect pairing.

Cas knows I like ‘high’ white Burgundy, so with sole with beurre blanc on the menu there was no doubt what type of ‘upgraded’ pairing would be called for. This 2019 Saint-Aubin 1er Cru En Remilly by Domaine de Montille was excellent. This 1er cru is the closest in Saint-Aubin to Montrachet (the best and most expensive terroir for Chardonnay in the world). The wine had a beautiful balance between acidity and butteriness.

Exactly that balance was excellent with the lemongrass beurre blanc, which had a similar balance and a wonderful fragrance. The tender and juicy sole was combined with mussel, cauliflower, and marrow. Wonderful. Lemongrass is an innovative addition to the classic combination of sole with beurre blanc that works extremely well, also with the wine.

The next wine was a 2022 Marsannay Rosé by Domaine Bart (Burgundy, France). Marsannay is the only village appellation that allows for rosé (obviously from Pinot Noir, the only allowed grape variety for red and rosé). A very nice ‘serious’ rosé.

This was an excellent pairing for the barbecued langoustine with lion’s mane mushroom, chipotle, kaffir lime, and cocoa. The langoustine had an amazing texture. Langoustine is notoriously difficult to get the right cuisson, but this was like lobster. The very tasty meat from the claws was also included. The smoky chipotle was a great addition.

The regular wine pairing for the meat course was a Garnacha from Méntrida, Spain. The upgraded pairing was a 2016 Valtellina Sassella Riserva by Ar.Pe.Pe, a Nebbiolo from Lombardy (Italy). Cas poured this blindly for me to guess, and I recognized the aroma of Nebbiolo but not the tannin structure of Barolo as these tannins were more velvety rather than grainy.

The wine was great by itself, but became even better with the lamb with asparagus, lamb jus, cockles, and wild garlic. The crispy skin on the lamb was perfect, crispy but tender. The meat was very tender, juicy, and flavorful. It was only a tiny piece of asparagus, but the accompanying flavors were wonderful.

The following wine was a medium sweet Riesling Kabinett from the Mosel, Germany. Very elegant with a nice balance and just a touch of petrol.

This was a good pairing for the rhubarb ‘surimi’ with dill, cervil root, and wood sorrel. It was a bit difficult to eat the rhubarb as no knife was provided, which made it difficult to taste the rhubarb together with the other flavors.

The final wine was also a nice upgrade, a 1997 Quarts de Chaume by Chateau de Suronde. Quarts de Chaume is like the Sauternes of the Loire valley (France), sweet from botrytis but from Chenin Blanc. The wine was very nicely aged (and 2 years older than Martijn) with great complexity.

It was a very good pairing for the excellent dessert: smoked eggplant with bergamot, olive oil pearls, and pecan nuts. A great innovation to use smoked eggplant in a dessert, and it was absolutely delicious.

The meal ended with two more small bites, the first sticky rice with calamansi (Phillipine lime) and huacatay (Peruvian mint).

And the second licorice with coconut and tarragon.

As usual, chocolates were served with tea or coffee that echoed the flavors of some of the dishes from the menu.

This was another outstanding meal at Spectrum. Sidney has matured even further as a chef. The dishes are more pure and yet innovative, and I like he has stopped using fruit in everything. I wonder when Michelin sees this too and awards a well-deserved third star. The only complaint I can think of is that in some cases the portions could have been a bit more generous, like the sole or the asparagus. The wines and wine pairings were just wonderful. It is very rare that all pairings work, without exception. The service was great as well. As I explained to Martijn, the best service is when you can just relax and everything is served perfectly before you even think about asking for anything. And that is exactly how it was like at Spectrum. Sidney and Cas state that it is their mission to let Spectrum be your second home, and that is certainly what it is starting to feel like for me.