DAALDER is made up of 2 rooms and a small kitchen. Both rooms are tightly seated and packed with people. There is no music in the background but plenty of conversations and laughter. Wood tables are covered with white runners and nice cloth napkins and bathed in subdued lighting . There is only a surprise tasting of 4 – 7 courses. We opted for the 7 courses to try the most things. Service is efficient and super friendly. They were kind to repeatedly go over the descriptions for me as there was no printed menu and the noise level added to understanding challenge.
Snacks arrived quickly after we ordered. Salmon belly was torched and stacked on meringue that was placed like sushi rice would be. It was strong for my tastes but the meringue was a fun and tasty surprise.
Next snack was a pea sorbet with lemon foam. It was cool, smooth and really good. A layer of pea lined the bottom of the jar as well as being dotted on top. Great pea tastes.
Wheat bread arrives promptly and it had a soft center and was accompanied by butter and olive oil from Spain.
Tuna tartar was adorned with watermelon, avocado, jalapeño, green gazpacho and crunchy nuts. The watermelon was an amazing ingredient to mix with the fish and the kick of the spicy peppers. It was a perfect combination of flavors. A real winner here.
A perfect egg was plated with sour dough croutons, BBQ leeks, white asparagus, Romanesco cream(on the bottom) and roasted red peppers. After stirring all together no separate flavors remained but they all blended very well together and the textural contrast of the croutons was lovely. The white asparagus was lost in the mixture but the end result was nice enough that I didn’t care.
Scallops were plated with tarragon, raisins, hazelnuts, beurre blanc and cauliflower. The sauce was made of many flavors and was a good compliment to the perfectly cooked, sweet and tender scallop. The raisins had been marinated in tea and added an interesting twist. A good dish.
Green asparagus were paired with morels, parmesan foam and brown butter. With the browned butter and parmesan the sauce couldn’t be beat and the morel’s flavor made the dish outstanding. This was a lick-the-plate dish.
Lamb neck was covered with a sauce of seaweed and spinach and accompanied by horseradish mashed potatoes. I liked the seasonings on the meat and the creamy mashed potatoes. The lamb was nicely cooked but a tad tough and needed the addition of the crunchies on top and fun sauce to give it enough flavor.
Duck liver was served with smoked paprika cream, cucumber, herring eggs and shiso. The liver was a bit too cool in the center for my tastes and the bits of smoked meat on the top while tasty took over the flavor of the liver. The herring eggs were a lovely addition.
Dessert was a combination of blueberry, violet, coconut sorbet, matcha tea cake and little bits of chocolate. The chocolate bits gave texture to this light and good dish.
Vanilla ice cream was striped with caramel sea salt and sprinkled with chopped hazelnuts. A favorite combination of mine, my spoon was in it before the camera could go off. Please excuse the bite taken out of this totally yummy sweet and salty combination. A perfect ending.
