Alexandr Moroz
Google
No doubt that Royal Dinette's Executive Chef Eva Chin is one of the rising stars of the New American cuisine. Her prior experience at Maaemo, Brae and Atelier Crenn has a profound impact on the thoughtfulness of the menu and the elegance of food styling. She's not shy to search for new approaches and take the new challenges. However, you can expect some hits and misses in this search.
In our recent visit to Royal Dinette, we tried the First Signs of Spring special tasting menu. The elaborated menu was built around simple and local ingredients. Each dish was comprised of a symbol of the passing winter - pickled, marinated or fermented ingredient, and a symbol of the upcoming spring - fresh and invigorating. The dinner started with a grilled sprouted brassica, a bit heavy on the vinegar, and a braised rabbit in carrot puree, simply amazing. The beetroot foam with Comte cheese and flower petals was surprisingly sweet and tasted more like a desert; the milk bread with morels was heavily charred in the oven – we didn't particularly like either of these dishes. The main courses that followed were more balanced. We enjoyed the tender Spring salmon and especially the roasted celeriac. The deserts elevated our experience to a whole new level: foamy fermented oatmeal with brown butter ice cream was one of the most creative desserts we've tried so far, and the sorrel sorbet with elderflower jelly could be easily served at Atelier Crenn.
Royal Dinette is equally great for an elevated dinner or a quick lunch. A definite keeper in the list of restaurants to come back.