FG - François Geurds

Excellent cooking

You are immediately made aware upon entering that François Geurds leaves nothing to chance. The ambiance exudes pure luxury, featuring comfortable high-backed leather swivel chairs that create your own personal 'bubble', beautiful wooden floors, a green-painted vaulted ceiling, and exquisite wooden lamps. The menu offers – hurray – generous à la carte selections alongside several set menus, the wine list is phenomenal and spans four volumes, and the service is, in one word, perfect. The sourdough bread is baked in-house using a seven-year-old starter. François feeds the starter himself. It is served with the renowned Bordier cultured butter accompanied by yuzu, algae, and seaweed. We taste marinated sea bass atop blanched green beans and paper-thin slices of seaweed, Tasmanian truffle, a generous helping of Oscietra caviar, and croutons, all tableside poured over by the maestro himself with a Mimolette-based sauce. What a flavor explosion. The craftsmanship leaps from the plate. The greatest surprise, however, is the dish featuring the highest quality wagyu. Perfectly cooked with crispy edges. The shabu-shabu-style preparation of roasted wagyu in a rich broth is equally delightful. Eager to make the risotto lighter, François opts for pine nuts instead of rice. It takes a creative touch. The red Apollonio Terragnolo Negroamaro 2018, with its gorgeous deep red color and subtle tannins, pairs perfectly with it. The closing course, a beet cream with fresh yogurt ice cream infused with lemongrass and ginger, is a fitting end. Kudos to the hospitality radiated by maître Brian, which lifts the dishes to an even higher plane. Not a single ingredient goes unexplained. Save room for the pastries with coffee, because we’ll be back tomorrow for them. Especially the canelé de Bordeaux with its crisp sugar crust and tender filling. François rules. Score rises to 30.

Under the old Hof arch, François Geurds' restaurant has been beautifully and safely nestled for years. A wonderfully unique spot that perfectly aligns with the distinctive cuisine of a chef who has been there for the past fifteen years...

Beneath the arches of the historic Hofbogen, we find a culinary temple in Rotterdam: FG Restaurant. Before being seated, we are drawn to a collection of artisanally forged knives that we can choose from and take to our table. We settle into the beautiful, modern, and gigantic chairs and let ourselves be attended to by Chef Geurds' team. Here, a luxurious international cuisine is served, enriched with Asian influences. After the Delamotte champagne, we began our menu with the 'black beauty': oven-roasted celeriac with olives, croutons, curry sauce, and an oil infused with 43 different herbs and spices. A strong first impression has been made. We enjoy the main course: beef with beef stew, beef tartare, king oyster mushrooms, golden-baked millefeuille potato, and various vegetables. The Primitivo from Apollonio served alongside it is found slightly too sweet for the dish, but oh well. The FG team is quickly forgiven, however, as we order an additional dish we certainly won't regret: foie gras wrapped in white chocolate, dressed with Beluga caviar and finished with olive oil. Flavor combination, mouthfeel, temperature, experience. Everything is spot on. Just for this dish alone, we would return tomorrow. The dessert, a pure chocolate sorbet with orange sauce and a piece of orange, bergamot foam, and a Napoleon cookie mirror, feels dissonant. The flavors are not in balance. Pity. The sweet trolley, on the other hand, makes an impression, offering more than enough choice among beautiful confections. This time, FG leaves a memorable impression. But so does the bill. For this culinary spectacle, we certainly pay top dollar. It stands firmly at 31.

The entrance is impressive. The restaurant is housed under a railway viaduct in a beautiful arched space. Matte-lacquered wooden tables, large oblong-folded linen napkins, leather swivel chairs with high backs that guarantee privacy, ultra-light and elegant glassware, plus cutlery on slate from which you may select your own knife upon arrival. On Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, you can visit here to immerse yourself for an evening in high-caliber gastronomy. François combines the roles of maître d', sommelier, and chef, assisted by a black-and-white brigade, which in practice translates to a rather lengthy dining session. We are dizzy with the array of choices subsequently presented to us. There is the menu, the extras, the wine bible spanning four chapters, three butters, and a salt-and-pepper box with twelve varieties each. Notably, the eight-course tasting menu shows considerable overlap with last year's. We once again sample flattened raw langoustine on fresh green apple brunoise, Keta salmon cheeks, a slightly too rich coconut wafer, and a creamy bisque. And a vegan dish of roasted celeriac that is then slowly finished cooking, served with a curry beurre blanc and a vinaigrette containing 43 different herbs and spices. One of the most delicious dishes on the menu is the lasagna of fermented banana and roasted avocado, poured over with a beurre blanc loaded with Beluga caviar. The only pity is that the roasted buckwheat in the sauce disrupts the mouthfeel. We are also not particularly charmed by the dessert of orange and dark chocolate ice cream. Nothing wrong with it per se, even delicious, but why cover it with a thick, opaque crispy layer made of Napoleon sour candies? At François Geurds, many of the materials and ingredients are of the absolute best and highest quality. But we certainly pay top dollar for that. For that, we would gladly expect a bit more creativity in return. That Geurds can cook is beyond doubt. Unfortunately, it drops to place 30 this year.

It remains a fascinating space housing François Geurds Restaurant. Spread across two elongated vaulted arches beneath the railway viaduct of the former Hofplein station. For six years now, SVH Masterchef François Geurds has achieved a high level of gastronomic perfection here. It is a great pity, therefore, that the chef chooses to keep his culinary paradise mostly closed – the doors are only open on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays. We sink into deep moss-green swivel chairs, study the encyclopedic wine list, and admire the postmodern design interior. It features abundant wood and black tones, hanging light beams, a light herringbone floor, a cocktail bar, and an open kitchen. After a few spectacular amuse-bouches, we taste raw langoustine on apple, coconut cake, Keta salmon, and shellfish foam. Followed by paper-thin slices of slow-cooked celery root in curry jus with croutons and a '50' herb vinaigrette. What artistry it takes to construct such a refined ensemble from such complex flavors. Another beautiful composition: raw tuna with seaweed, served with aioli, kombu jelly, bisque sauce, and lime ice with horseradish. And a delightful lasagna of roasted avocado and banana in beurre blanc with caviar and quinoa. The excellent maître, Simone Beerkens, pours a beautiful Costières-de-Nîmes alongside it: O'thentique, Dìmìnoît – rich, round, and spicy. The wagyu then arrives in three variations: grilled, atop artichoke with chanterelles and asparagus; as a shoulder stew with bundle mushrooms and peas; and as steak tartare alongside cassava chips. Once again, everything is flawless: flavor, presentation, structure, and timing. The dessert of yuzu, peach, basil, beurre noisette, and pink pepper ultimately meets all expectations. Simply unmatched.

Having to choose your own cutlery (picking out a specific knife), salt, pepper, and butter (selecting from dozens of varieties) is rather theatrical, but there is no doubt that FG is a top-tier restaurant. You are immediately struck by François Geurds’ cuisine, which draws on the French-Mediterranean style of mentors like Cees Helder, the Hindustani appetizers of his Aruban mother, and the laboratory techniques of Heston Blumenthal in London, where he once worked as a junior sous-chef. Paired with elegant pours of Savennières (Clos du Papillon, 2017), we are treated to an indulgent experience at Geurds’ award-winning dining room beneath Rotterdam’s Hofbogen. The meal opens with his famous piccalilly cornetto, alongside a small tart with goat cheese cream and pomegranate, and a foie gras and garden pea cream. Delicious amuse-bouches. Maître Simone Beerkens then serves sea bass with Italian caviar and truffle in a light broth of oils, acids, and herbs. Accompanied by bread fingers with salty anchovies. Unforgettable! Followed by a combination of sea urchin, oyster, duck liver, and tartare, presented in the shell of an urchin. A beauty of pure sea flavors, briny, iodine-like, and stunning. Next, a divine quartet of langoustine, watermelon, and langoustine tartare, finished tableside by the chef himself with a crustacean bisque poured over a mix of finely chopped sea creatures. And once more, the sea: turbot this time, perfectly cooked, on a bed of finely sliced leeks and “swimming” in a gorgeous beurre rouge. Fantastic, what refined flavors! The chef crowns the meal with bolo pretu (“black cake” or “wedding cake”), just as his mother made it. Made from bread soaked in rum and baked with plenty of fruits and nuts. Served with chocolate shards and sorbet, plus red fruit. World-class!

Chef François Geurds, holder of the SVH Master Chef title, owes his love of cooking to his Aruban mother, Ivy Geurds. François, now owner of FG Restaurant along with FG Food Labs and its namesake flavor laboratory (located in Rotterdam’s Hofbogen), is the very embodiment of perfectionism, coupled with unbridled energy. This is combined with an insatiable drive for knowledge and science related to food and drink. All of this results in a world-class kitchen: explosive, featuring top-quality ingredients, bursting with flavor, visually stunning, full of excitement, offering a broad palette of choices, and a delightful menu that practically invites you to savor it from start to finish and back again. Geurds calls this “fanatical enjoyment.” He is now reaping the fruits of years of performing at the highest level, having worked as a chef under Cees Helder and at The Fat Duck under renowned chef Heston Blumenthal in Bray, UK. And he continues to experiment from within his own lab to present his guests with the most daring discoveries and palate-pleasing combinations. The wine list is equally impressive, and it’s a pleasure to have sommelier Marko Mägi guide you through it with expert knowledge. All of this set within a cozy atmosphere and inviting surroundings. Bravo!

One thing is beyond question: the cooking in Francois Geurds’ starred restaurant is fantastic. From the first amuse-bouche to the final sweet treat: everything is top-class. Flavor, presentation, top-quality ingredients, surprising applications. And the kitchen is generous. Just like the complementary wines. But man, drinking an aperitif (an Agusti Torelló Mata Brut Nature 2015 cava) while the wine for the first course is already being poured—choices you’re forced to make. More than ten varieties are presented, just as many types of peppercorns that we have to crush ourselves. Then it’s bread’s turn, and just when we think we’ve seen it all, a large tray of knives appears because it’s the “chef’s hobby.” Whether we’d like to choose one to use later for slicing a single meat dish. It disrupts the calm, there’s a frantic pace, and barely two hours and fifteen minutes after arriving, we’re back outside. Absolutely exhausted. This is no longer entertainment; this is a race against the clock. And that’s a shame, because the beautiful dishes being served deserve, just like the perfectly paired wines, the guest’s full attention. Moreover, we are served by no fewer than six different staff members. Paired with a Delamotte champagne, we taste barbecued celeriac with herring roe, tableside dressed with a razor clam-based beurre blanc and a spicy vinaigrette made with no fewer than 43 spices. We almost eat the bowl itself—it’s so delicious. An aromatic, silky Alsatian wine from Marcel Deiss 2017 accompanies a beautifully presented dish of razor clams, escargots, and creuse oysters in a cress cream and shellfish jus. The main course consists of two parts. A classic tartare of Spanish Rubia beef, dry-aged for 21 days, presented on a Fred Flintstone-style bone alongside juicy slices of the same. Accompanied by sides of purée, lamb kidneys, carrot structures, and mini root vegetables. Paired with a full-bodied red wine from Telmo Rodríguez Gazur Ribera del Duero, fragrant with herbs and tasting of red fruits. At farewell, we are treated to a bag of sweets and meringues, along with the usual discount vouchers. Which we enjoy at our leisure back at home. FG Restaurants slips one place down to ninth.

What flavors, what combinations, and what textures. The standout of the evening is a dish of savoy cabbage, portobello, and truffle. A stunning earthy beauty. 'Black Beauty' is also memorable: celeriac barbecued on coconut wood, infused with forty different herbs and spices. Eel with foie gras and razor clams, served afterwards, is once again a flavor bomb and is flawlessly paired with a glass of 2007 Savennières Clos du Papillon. Ripe Chenin Blanc from the Loire alongside smoked eel, what complementary tones: kudos to the intelligence of sommelier Alain Rosier. The menu began with the irreplaceable piccalilly ice cream from owner-chef and SVH Master Chef François Geurds, who has continued to evolve in his new home under the railway arches of the old Hofplein line and radiates a great sense of calm and joy in cooking. We taste variations of foie gras (with oyster and kombu, and with brioche), an intermezzo of grilled bread with butter-soft poultry liver, and a portion of Wagyu A5, the exclusive, pricey, and extremely marbled Japanese super-meat. Prepared in various ways, juicy, savory, soft, firm, shredded, and presented on a mini tabletop grill with a large fish bone placed over it. Paired with it in the glass: a spicy, robust, dark red Rioja from Marqués de Murrieta. Finally, nougat with Granny Smith sorbet, Taggiasca olive crumb, and a little Napoleon bonbon biscuit. We also hear criticism: 'too much happens at the table, too quickly, with too many staff'. But the interior with its sea-green ceiling featuring a molecular print; the swivel chairs with 'ears' that provide privacy remain spectacular to everyone. FG Restaurant drops to eighth place due to shifts within the Top 10.

The gifted SVH Master Chef François Geurds has finally found his true rhythm. His former restaurant on the Maas, once called Ivy, is now FG Bistro, and alongside his FG Labs under the railway arches of the former Hofplein Line, he has opened his new FG Restaurant. Beautifully designed, with a spacious open kitchen, a sea-green ceiling, swivel armchairs, and competent service. Geurds feels right at home there and creates sensational dishes. Flavors, unexpected sensations, daring discoveries, mouth-watering combinations—we’ve said it before: Geurds’ creations are culinary poetry. So what did we eat? Delicious amuse-bouches, certainly, but we especially remember the langoustine cream with watercress, kohlrabi brunoise, and quail jelly infused with mint and tarragon. And an apparently simple white asparagus velouté, featuring white and green asparagus, peas, and seaweed. Also, celeriac barbecued on coconut wood with beurre blanc, caviar vinaigrette, coriander, and Masia el Altet olive oil. And grilled beef tongue with anchovy, artichoke barigoule, and artichoke cream. Simply magnificent! The absolute highlight: razor clams and Oosterschelde eel with razor clam jus, dried Taggiasca olives, and zucchini cream with chervil and chopped black truffle. Rarely have we tasted anything so delicious. On another visit, there was soft roasted celeriac with nuts, black sesame in a yuzu dressing, and beurre blanc. And the main course, wagyu, served pan-seared, à la shabu shabu, as braised beef, and as steak tartare, left us speechless. The only downside is the restlessness, partly due to the large number of staff. Having to make quick decisions: selecting a knife from a tray with dozens of options, choosing salt and pepper varieties, deciding on the menu. Whew! Despite this, dining at FG is a feast, orchestrated by a gifted conductor with a breathtaking kitchen. FG rises to 5th place.