‘t Lansink

The escape to good food and amazing hospitality in Twente.

Hengelo

My parents live in Hengelo, a city in the eastern part of the Netherlands. They moved there a few years ago to escape the fast life near Amsterdam and to head towards tranquillity. One thing that they always use to convince me that life in Hengelo is pretty cool is with ’t Lansink, a one Michelin star restaurant that is located in Hengelo. They have been talking about it ever since they moved and now we finally went over for a visit, because we had something to celebrate. It definitely was a celebration!

’t Lansink is located in a beautiful hotel in one of the city’s most beautiful neighbourhoods: Tuindorp. It has beautiful historic houses that have been perfectly maintained over the years, including the hotel. So also for people who do not have their parents or relatives near Hengelo, you can still go there and stay in this beautiful hotel.

Lars’ kitchen

We were very lucky, because there was only one table left for the evening that we wanted to visit and it was the chef’s table, which was located directly next to the kitchen. In this way we could perfectly follow every move of the chefs and especially of Lars van Galen, the chef that leads the kitchen with extensive experience and who has won several international prices.

The evening started with a small introduction by Lars and a very kind waiter, that helped us perfectly throughout the evening, after which we started the culinary experience. The evening was full of amazing wines, delicious combinations of flavors and funny conversations with the staff. One of the things that I really liked about ’t Lansink is the fact that everyone who works there, really enjoys working there. This leads to a great atmosphere full of ambition and fun, both in and outside the kitchen. Besides that, all guests are treated with so much flair. It is clear that ’t Lansink knows people are coming for an experience and they definitely live up to that expectation.

The food

They also meet the expectation that we had regarding the food. We decided to go for a four-course menu, which we extended with a cheese dish before heading to the desert. The evening started with some delicious amuses, before the first dish arrived: salmon with fregula, a vinaigrette of dill, saffron and sambai. A dish with soft flavours and a perfect balance of herbs. The salmon was of great quality with a perfect structure and a sublime taste. Then a variation of the ultimate breakfast eggs: poached hen egg, with spinach, samphire, vinaigrette of eel and hollandaise sauce. This dish had the perfect sweet and salt balance and was accompanied by a glass of 50/50 chardonnay viognier for the delicious fatty flavours of the dish.

As a main course we got a delicious farmer duck with lentils, couscous, madeira gravy and a mousse of peas, accompanied by Senza wine, which is a biologic red wine from Puglia. The wine is relatively young and very pure. You can literally taste the Italian sun in this wine. The cheese course was a dish that existed of brie de meaux with black olives, Jerusalem artichoke and soya. A dish that, in my opinion, is a mix of perfect savoury flavours with the sweetness of the Jerusalem artichoke. And last but not least: a white chocolate mousse, with variations of strawberry and ice cream of buttermilk.

The evening ended with petit fours and a nice chat with Lars and other crewmembers. It definitely was a night and an experience to remember. We had fun with the table next to us, we had amazing food and wine and we got a good insight of how the kitchen of ‘t Lansink operates. If you ever want to visit ‘t Lansink, I would totally recommend it and I would suggest that you pick the chefs table. It is definitely worth the money!

I will be back soon, because I really can’t wait to experience a stay at this beautiful hotel and to have the breakfast they serve. You can probably imagine that after this evening, I would love to have more of ‘t Lansink.

Favourite dish

Both the salmon and the hen egg were amazing and comforting. The balance of the herbs used in the salmon dish was perfect, as was the use of different structures. The hen egg was a very good combination of sweet, salty and a subtle sour.