Swept away by Jaan, once again

KW and I scored some time off at the end of 2016 and we decided to celebrate the year with a treat at Jaan. Admittedly, with Chef Julian Royer’s departure, I kept my expectations in check and wished for nothing more than a relaxing fine meal. It is quite obvious from the title that we had a great time.

At this point, I would like to make a note of their service, which initially borderlined on unacceptable for a fine dining establishment. Specifically, those white and in management positions need to work harder on their EQ – hey, everyone is working hard to make Jaaan an amazing restaurant, don’t let your team down. Kudos to the local staff who made our visit a pleasant experience.

Ok, onto the happy stuff.

Knowing that there would be amuse bouche, snacks and pre-dessert, as well as a heavy dinner at Basilico later, we opted for a moderately modest 5-course option. As soon as we settled down, a bevy of amuse bouche were served. Nice. I can’t think on a stomach. They were all interesting one-or-two bite snacks that made us go “Mmm, we are off to a good start.”

Tapioca chips with hummus and yogurt

 Foie gras truffle macarons

Cheddar Sticks  

JAAN’s version of fish & chips  

Truffle mushroom consommé with potato espuma and crunchy potato bits  

Bread basket 

Wheat, sourdough, milk brioche and walnut raisin (my favourite), served with unsalted butter and a very interesting seaweed butter.

Heirloom tomato  

Stuffed heirloom tomato, served alongside burrata espuma, basil sorbet, pesto and foam. A refreshing start.

Watching over our hatch like proud parents

Soft Organic Hen’s Egg  

This is a Jaan signature that we also had under Chef Julian Royer. Gimmicky and theatrical. Perfectly poached egg poured into a silky potato mash and crunchy chorizo iberico cubes. Yet another warm-thy-heart dish.

Turbot

Roasted fillet of turbot, cuttlefish and pumpkin puree. The turbot and cuttlefish were perfectly made (fresh and toothsome), and the company of pumpkin puree was unexpectedly good.

Guinea Fowl

Guinea fowl with potato fondant and rillette, drizzled with an unctuous foie gras and chicken jus. Once again, an elegantly plated dish that tasted as good as it looked.

Cucumber sorbet

Ivory Caramel

Go big or go home. I love my chocolate desserts bold and intense, and this was an arresting assembly of chocolate. They need to start selling that caramel white chocolate ice cream in pints. Chef Westaway came out personally to serve the chocolate foam, so this would be a good time to thank him for the meal.

Mignardises: Lavender jam biscuits, amalfi lemon tart and chocolate truffles 

The mignardises were a lovely end to the meal. It's hard to get the balance right with one-bite desserts and they are usually overwhelmingly sweet, but these were all perfect.

The dishes at Jaan are beautiful and elegantly plated, on top of that, the flavour profiles are varied, punchy and bold. You would probably have guessed from the title, we were not disappointed and this is arguably my favourite 'fine dining meal / special occasion meal' of 2016!