The first time I went to Cafe Toussaint was for the Netherlands vs. Uruguay semi-final of the World Cup. I couldn’t see much of the café itself (it was covered in orange) and nor was food an option (it was beer or nothing) but something about the atmosphere (and – admittedly – the hotness of the waiters) made me want to go back.
So last Thursday I returned, this time with two friends, to a much more civilized Café Toussaint, but with no less attractive waiters. My friends made me promise not to write about what we discussed, so I’ll get on with the food bit.
I ordered guinea fowl, which was gorgeously moist and comforting. It came with a creamy truffle sauce and lightly fried gnocchi, all of which were fairly rich and fairly delicious. My only issue was with the cabbage, which was green (not offering a lot in the way of contrasting colour) and simply boiled (not offering a lot in the way of contrasting flavour). I’d have served it with red cabbage simmered in spices, vinegar and orange peel. But then that’s me.
My two friends both had the rack of lamb (succulent and rare) with good, hearty mashed potato, fennel and slightly hard peas. The plates were piled high, but they did an admirable job of gnawing the bones down to the very last scraps of meat. My mother would’ve been proud.
Toussaint orders in a couple of their desserts from Holtkamp, so we took two lemon meringue tarts to share. Afterwards, we realised we’d been a little dim in ordering two of the same instead of sampling the chocolate tart as well, but (try as we might) we could hardly blame that on the staff.
Dinner was accompanied by a very acceptable bottle of French merlot, and came to a little under €35 each. There may have been no goals scored this time, but it was definitely worth the return visit.
