During our last trip to Dutch Limburg, we had the pleasure of putting our feet under many a gourmet table. One of those tables that will stay with us for a long time was the excellent restaurant De Beejekurf in Venray.
Accessibly, we also had to ‘Google Venray to know where the lovely town of Venray is located. It turns out to be a lovely place next to Venlo, a little hour’s drive from Maastricht. When we arrived, we were struck by the beautiful nature but were immediately drawn to the picturesque restaurant De Beejekurf. The restaurant is run by chef Mathijs Jacobs and his partner Hanneke Verstappen. That afternoon we were happy to be the bee in the duo’s beehive!
outstanding and surprising beer and wine pairing
The stylish and cosy restaurant has room for about 40 guests. This ensures that you get a quality setting here in any case. In this beautiful setting we were treated to a pairing menu with a selection of selected beers from Proeflokaal Goesting. This collaboration promises fireworks, not least because the beer sommelier is very passionate about his chosen beers, but also gives a fitting explanation each time. What is also special is that both the sommelier and the chef constantly challenge each other. So it happens more than once that they adjust their pairing at the eleventh hour. Only for the good, it would seem….
The delicious product kitchen of chef Mathijs Jacobs
It all started very pleasantly: after devouring a few exquisite bites, we were served the first dish with beer pairing: a delicious piece of mackerel with plum and aubergine. This was accompanied by a delicious beer Kanunnik from the Belgian brewery Wilderen. Top pairing!
The following dish is still shimmering. Simply by its delicious simplicity: a tasty piece of brill with a sauce of mussels and carrots were placed next to yet another Belgian beer topper: the Duvel Barrel Aged 2017 which was matured in bourbon barrels. Brilliant!
culinary-autumn-tour
After that, the chef and we were clearly in the autumn season. As an entrée, we got a nice braised calf cheek with morels. We always love those and they are so fitting for the autumn season. We wanted a stronger beer to go with it and so the sommelier chose a descendant from the American microbrewery Goose Island (Chicago): the Goose Island Obadiah Poundage. The spiciness of the beer went perfectly with the veal cheeks!
The next intermediate course was a delicious pigeon from Anjou, France. The pickles were provided by a winter sauerkraut. All this was topped by a wonderful sauce of pigeon gravy, forest mushrooms and truffles. Against these powerful flavours our sommelier paired the strong but at the same time gastronomic Guldendraak brewmaster edition. A top combo!
In the concluding main course, the chef also demonstrated his mastery of and love for seasonal cuisine: a delicious reared fillet with parsnips and chicory. This was combined with the beer Casteel Trignac 2017 by Kasteel brewery Van Honsebroeck from Izegem. This beer was also matured in cognac barrels but still contained enough sourness to give the roe the right fraicheur.
The dinner was closed on a high note with a salty caramel and orange accompanied by a non-alcoholic IPA beer from Van De Streek – Playground.
Conclusion: De Beejekurf in Venray is a top restaurant that unjustly remains under the radar in the culinary guides. The 13.5/20 in Gault Millau is missing at least 2 points as far as we are concerned. We will take this place into our hearts and into our address book and will gladly return to this top address.
Practical:
Adres: Paterslaan 15, 5801 AS Venray, Netherlands
Website:https://www.debeejekurf.nl/
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