A culinary delight! (Assiette Blanche (Bruges, Belgium))

Member Name: becky92

Product:	Assiette Blanche (Bruges, Belgium)
Date:	18/03/09 (561 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Everything was perfect.

Disadvantages: Quite expensive.

When I recently went on a city break to Bruges, I have to admit to being slightly disappointed with the typical Belgium cuisine. Maybe it just wasn't really my thing. So anyway, we were wandering round the city looking for somewhere to eat for out evening meal, when we found Assiete Blanche.

Assiete Blanche is a French restaurant located right in the centre of Bruges, (although Bruges isn't very big so it wouldn't be a long way no matter where you were in the city). Inside the restaurant, we were instantly greeted and shown to our table. One of the lovely things about the restaurant was that the tables were quite spread out, so you felt you had your own space, and could talk without the people at the neighbouring tables hearing you. It was stylishly decorated, with quiet, non intrusive music playing in the background.

We were given our menus, which were in both French and Flemish, and the lady who had greeted us, who appeared to be the owner, offered to translate into English if we needed it. We all ordered the set menu, which cost 36 Euros per person, and consisted of three courses. For each course there was an option of two or three different dishes.

While we were waiting for the first course, we were offered a variety of different types of warm, freshly baked bread, which was lovely. We then received two varieties of canapés; one was black pudding with apple, and the other was a mascarpone and pistachio ball. Both were delicious, and this is the first time I've tried black pudding, so I was very impressed!

The first course of our meal was brown shrimp with asparagus and a poached egg. This was absolutely wonderful; it's a treat to have brown shrimps as they are so expensive over here, but in Bruges they seem to be much less pricey. The flavours and textures of the dish were fabulous, and it was presented beautifully.

The main course was steak with a mushroom, chips and truffle oil. The steak was perfectly done, and the chips were very tasty, however, as this was a posh meal, naturally, we didn't get a huge pile of chips, we got four, which I thought was a little on the mean side as I quickly ran out and so was left eating half a steak on its own. Although, the steak was so delicious I was quite happy to eat it on its own, and it was a divine dish.

For pudding, I had a summer fruits jelly with mint and mascarpone. (The other option was Irish coffee which apparently was very good.) I usually don't go for jellies but this was fantastic. It tasted very fresh and the mint meant that it was a very good palate cleanser. The jelly was packed with fruit and the balance between sweet and sour was perfect. It was the ultimate end to a beautiful meal.

The service in the restaurant wasn't the fastest I've ever experienced, but as I wasn't in any rush, and was in good company, this didn't bother me at all. However, if you don't like to hang around at all between courses you may have got slightly irritated. It was worth the wait though, as like I said, the food was spectacular. There were two people doing front of house, and both of them were no less than exceptional; they made our evening truly delightful.

Assiete Blanche is quite expensive, but eating out in Bruges is expensive wherever you go. You have to expect to pay a lot, but it is worth it, as it cost nearly the same amount to eat in a very bad restaurant as it did to eat here. Sometimes it's better, if you are on holiday, just to go that peculiar creature, the whole hog.

I highly recommend Assiete Blanche to anyone visiting Bruges. It was the best meal we had, and although it serves French rather than traditional Belgium cuisine, I think it's better to eat what you enjoy, and it has to be said, the French know how to cook.

Summary: A beautiful restaurant in the heart of a beautiful city.