't Raedhuys, the New Restaurant of Stam

Restaurant Stam has been very busy reconstructing and have bought the old city hall. They have turned it into a beautifully decorated restaurant, called 't Raedhuys.

We had dinner with a party of five on a Wednesday in April 2002 for which we made a reservation the day before. Other visitors were a group of 50 persons, a party of seven and a couple.

We were served a basket with bread, herb butter and butter of olives with herbs first. Extra bread was added without us having to ask for it.

I had a kind of Carpaccio, with salad in a dressing of oil and honey. It looked good and the taste was fine, but nothing special.

As a main course I had a RibEye steak with a red wine sauce. The steak was reasonably good and came on a bed of light shortly baked vegetables. Along with all the dishes came a wide variety of vegetables (broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, prunes and pears, chicory, salad, baked potatoes and endive rolled in bacon) which were very good.
The sauces come in separate cans. You can pour as much as you like on your meat (and try the sauce someone else ordered). You have to order them separately, so you can add any sauce to the dish you ordered or have no sauce at all.
There was plenty of everything, and if you run out of anything the waitress will get you some extra when asked (and she askes if you need anything at times too!).

The endive in bacon was a surprise to me. I happen to hate endive, but this way it did taste very good. I think we need to try that at home sometime. The other vegetables were good too.

The dessert menu seemed a bit short on choices for me. Just a few ice, fruit and coffee desserts. So I had a "Mexican Coffee", which is ordinary coffee (European style ordinary, not the watery crap Americans dare to call coffee) with a bit of Kahlua (I believe that is a Tequila based spirit).

The group of 50 made a lot of noise, so we didn't hear the music until they were gone. It is a fact that a large group of people seated in rows facing eachother make a lot more noise then the same people spread on several seperate tables. It wasn't much of a nuisance.

The interior is stylish, 19th century I guess, with large windows all around and a fine choice of colours for the wooden floor, lower walls and curtains. It really gives the feeling of an old city hall. I didn't notice anything uncomfortable about the seats and table.

The girl that served us was helpful, patient and decent. Quite something as she had a very busy evening.

The average price was € 32,- (excl. tip) based on 4 appetizers, one soup, five main coarses, 4 desserts, one beer, six cokes, 2 diet cokes and five glasses of red wine.

Menu of the month was around € 25,- and the most expensive main course (excluding fish) was € 19,25.    [18 Apr 2002 09:18:08]

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     ­Azrifel   

Improved

On the 29th of April I visited the restaurant again. This time with a party of 15.

Compared to the last visit the food has improved.
I had a 'salmon fettucine' as appetizer (could spell the fettucine wrong or use the wrong word). It is smoke salmon on a bed of pasta. It was excellent. The salmon had a nice color, good texture, wasn't dry nor was it dried out. The smoke left a delicious taste. The pasta was well cooked and not overpowering. Combined it was very good.

My main course was a steak from a deer (Hertebiefstuk) in a wildsauce. Served with a variety of vegetables. The meat was very good in all aspects and the vegetables too.

The other people who were with me last time also said they felt the dishes had improved and were very happy with what they ordered.

I finished the evening with a Cognac.

The noise was a lot better, I could talk to the people at the other side of the table (length) without a problem.

The service was friendly and good. The only flaw was that one of the waitresses didn't know their choice of Cognac's.    [30 Apr 2003 11:08:24]

Food:    Service:    Ambiance:    Overall: 
Recommended Dishes: Salmon Fettucine

     ­Azrifel