Please note that since writing this blog post, Spelt has closed down
As you might imagine in an office full of writers, we have plenty of hot debates over the ‘correct’ use of English. The way we usually kiss and make up afterwards is to put it all down to some vague difference between British and American English. I’m not always convinced the difference is there, to be honest, but it’s a handy excuse that means no one loses the argument.
So when I went to Spelt with my (American) colleague and (Australian) client on the Tuesday after the Easter weekend, I was unsure whether we were talking grain or past participle of spell. The American, on the other hand, whose voice raises to a pitch of vexed incredulity every time I say things like ‘are you sure that’s spelt right?’ was unequivocal. It was the grain. Anything else would be simply ungrammatical. So I did a bit of googling around, and found this fairly comprehensive guide to our linguistic differences – T, this is for you!
Anyway, back to the restaurant. The first thing we noticed was the loos: we were sitting right in front of them, so we didn’t have much choice, but the sign really was very cute.
Busting for a pee, as we say in British
Then the waiter, who was actually the chef, came and explained the specials menu to us, which was nice because he actually seemed to know what he was talking about. He also did that thing of taking our order without writing anything down, which usually worries me, but in this case didn’t because I kind of trust chefs to remember what people say about their food. He brought us some bread (spelt bread, obviously) and recommended us some Italian wine. All in all, things seemed to be going swimmingly.
Mackerel on spelt crouton with cherry-tomato salad
I went with the specials all the way. Three of us started with the grilled mackerel fillet, which came on a spelt crouton with some dressed leaves and cherry tomatoes. In theory, it also came with shavings of pork. I checked with the knowledgeable chef, who assured me all was present and correct. I tried very hard, but I couldn’t discern them. (And besides, even if the porky bits were there, for me the dish was lacking some kind of indefinable kick.)
Lamb two ways, pork sausage, pickled turnips
Next, I had two different cuts of lamb (I would guess fillet and leg, but I can’t remember the Dutch description – both very tender, at any rate) with a pork sausage (which was possibly home made), potato puree and veal jus. The meaty richness was cut with bursts of turnip (I think – but they were on the small side for turnips) that had been lightly pickled. Odd, but good.
Beetroot meets chocolate
Dessert was highly exciting. We all went for chocolate, but my colleague had the Puccini chocolate surprise (it totally wasn’t called that, by the way, but it was the Puccini bit that mattered) while I had a beetroot and chocolate combo. It came on a theatrical black slate, and the beetroot mousse was covered in gold leaf, which was all very impressive. I actually wasn’t so keen on the taste of the gold mousse element (it was sort of plasticky) but I was a big fan of the beetroot sorbet, hot-pink meringue and sort of cinnamon-milo-flavoured crumbs. The Puccini extravaganza was also top notch: a melting chocolate fondant, with two types of chocolate mousse and chocolate ice cream. Some of my friends should probably visit Spelt for that alone.
Puccini chocolate-tastic
So why did we leave with a bitter taste in our mouths? It probably had something to do with the fact that we felt the chef-waiter slightly lost interest in us after the main course (we got the impression he’d rather we went home, being the only customers by this point). The price was not unfriendly at just over €50 each, and I’d recommend it to others, though possibly on a busier night. Spelling differences aside, both Brit, American and Australian were agreed on one thing: we got the feeling we’d outstayed Spelt’s welcome.
