Het Nonnetje **

Het Nonnetje had been on my wish list for a long time. I'd seen chef Michel van der Kroft pop up on YouTube a few times and had become enthusiastic about his signature dish: the terrine of goose liver and smoked eel with beetroot and 25-year-aged aceto balsamico. My wife and I had something to celebrate, so we planned a weekend in Harderwijk, which also let us drop by Basiliek.

We were seated in the conservatory, on a bench at a small table, very close to our neighbours. This is of course personal, but it felt as if we formed a single party: conversations were fully audible back and forth, which detracted from the comfort and intimacy of the evening. I now know exactly what our neighbours' Christmas plans were, who was going to cook what, and whether or not the mother-in-law was welcome.

On two occasions we were given dirty glassware. My champagne glass had a clear fingerprint, and at the fourth (?) course we received wet wine glasses. On top of that, I was served sparkling water even though I had ordered still. That can happen, but when I pointed it out, still water was simply topped up into the existing glass. Only after reporting this to another member of staff was it properly resolved and did I get a new glass.

After a visit to the toilet, I found my napkin neatly folded on my bread plate: a detail that doesn't fit the level you may expect here.

About the food we were somewhat more positive. The dishes looked well-presented and generally tasted good. My wife, however, left part of two components (the snails and the hare) untouched because of the texture. That's a matter of personal taste, but on an evening like this you do hope to be genuinely impressed by at least one dish. Unfortunately, that moment never came. Although desserts normally don't really win me over, at Het Nonnetje it was my favourite dish. That says a lot about the other dishes too.