Flo suprised me by organising a celebration cake, which was a miniture of the cake we had at our wedding. The hotel accomodated the cake very well, offering to keep it in their chilled cake cabinet and bringing it up to our room for us to cut some slices from it whenever we fancied it. It went very well with the bottle of champagne that was waiting for us in the room when we arrived and also with a pot of hot coffee after spending a wet and rainy Saturday walking around Antwerp looking for an antique cupboard for our new bathroom to sit the sink on that we want. As you can see from the pictures below, Flo seemed to enjoy both the cake and the champagne (as did I) and after polishing off the bottle we just had time for a quick snooze before heading off for our anniversay dinner.
For dinner we went to a wonderful looking Art Nouveau building in the Jewish quarter of Antwerp called Dome Restaurant. I didn't realise when I booked the place that it is actually a Michelin star restaurant, but when I told Flo where we were going she'd read about the place. Actually, I was a bit apprehensive when I found out, since our experience with Michelin star restaurants has not been too good. However, my apprehension was short lived since the food, service and atmosphere (although unfortunately not all the clientel) was all excellent. We had an eight course menu and Flo had the wine arrangement. The food was excellent; not over the top, but relatively simple cuisine relying on the natural flavours of the ingredients. The wine selection was near perfect, complementing the food exquisitly. The place was also nicely finished in decor and indeed gave us some more ideas for our own house.
We left the place feeling very content and very full and slept very well that night!
After spending the night walking around Antwerp trying to keep out of the rain, we were ready for our second evening of dining. The choice of restaurant was a good one, since it was much more laid back and bistro in style, with a large choice of French style cuisine. The restaurant was called De Kleine Zavel. Here's what Special Bite has to say about it:
"Near the borders of the Schelde and close to other up-to-date hotspots (Velvet Lounge, Bar Italia, Hippodroom) you'll have to search hard for "De Kleine Zavel". This gem has been well known among culinary veterans for quite a while now.The colonial style interior looks slightly shabby, with a floor producing a tremendous noise even when the place is empty. This doesn't last long though because it's always packed. Studying the menu makes you kind of nervous because it's so hard to choose from. You start getting even more nervous when the waiter starts explaining the daily specials. This takes another 10 minutes. There’s no need to be nervous: everything really is delicious. You should listen well to the sommelier (German red wine!). This is a perfect restaurant to enjoy perfect food and spot some of the Antwerp ‘in crowd’. Tip: Have a drink after dinner down the street in "Cafe Beveren", mingle and listen to the huge organ (just 50 cents)."
I had a fish soup for starter and we both had an Irish steak with mushrooms, rucola and a very rich red wine sauce (with a roast potato covered in the red wine sauce as a side dish)... the steak was roasted to medium rare perfection, thickly sliced and piled high on top of a bed of mushrooms and rucola. We left the restaurant once again stuffed and returned back to the hotel and enjoyed a pot of peppermint tea in bed.
We had a wonderful weekend away and for me it was all topped off with the beautiful new cufflinks that Flo bought me. I feel a bit guilty that I didn't get Flo a present, but next time Flo will organise the weekend away and I'll get the presents!On the way back we stopped off at Rotterdam, where I managed to find a nice white shirt to go with the cufflinks. A perfect end to a perfect weekend!
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