By accident we find ourselves at the chic French Restaurant Rousseau which has a Michelin Bib Gourmand (la de da). We had imagined dining harbourside at Scheveningen however an outdoor concert commandeers the harbour restaurants. Sean had promised a “nice dinner out” when we were settled (or to use the local lingo ‘installed’) in The Hague. And now we have our Ministry of Foreign Affairs identification cards so we are officially ‘installed’. In black dress and wedge heels I trail Sean on my bike. For Plan B he has remembered a recommendation for this French place between our apartment and the beach. The faster I pedal, the more my dress rides up and the more often I have to slow down to rectify it to preserve my modesty. We park our bicycles outside the little Restaurant Rousseau. Its elegant chocolate leather chairs, fresh white walls and white table clothes with provincial white lily posies exude elegance. The rendered white wall cuts away to reveal a forest mural and the dining room extends onto a pleasant terrace. We are accommodated without a booking and without a fuss on a Saturday night.
On the table there are already crunchy baby radish crudités and petite bread rolls and butter. We enjoy champagne as an aperitif, then an amuse-bouche of flavoursome fish soup. The French wait staff are accommodating but leave us undisturbed for the most part. Sean thinks this is no time to practice his French aloud. It’s not until the waitress exits the audible zone that Sean says “I could have said Je voudrais que le boeuf s'il vous plait (I would like the beef please) but I’m too embarrassed”. I understand - I’m still too embarrassed to say anything much in Dutch. Nevertheless, we are not made to feel silly by our ‘monolinguialness’ (NB: made up word).
For our entrees a subtle salmon terrine with mushrooms sits on a green leaf salad and, for Sean a more textured robust duck pate with dates.
My main is delicate catfish on a ratatouille with a spinach coulis. Wedges of aubergine and courgette melt in my mouth. Sean devoured his succulent rare rib eye with new potatoes and tender white and green asparagus
For dessert tart raspberries on sweet clafoutis type base and earthy chocolate and mint ice-cream on a biscuity pastry disc. Coffee was served with a complimentary generous sliver of rich chocolate fudgy cake.
Over the feasting, we discuss Dutch men’s fashion – conservative but with occasional flamboyance or, if you like, ‘fashion irony,’ such as elongated pointy tan brogues clashing with a black pinstriped business suit. For casual wear it’s trendy to pair bright red chinos with a business shirt and V-neck knit, and for those who need their vision corrected or who want to look smarter Buddy Holly or Woody Allen inspired thick black rimmed spectacles. Men’s hair is worn a little longer – the André Rieu style is on trend – Sean will not go for any of this! It’s definitely a unique look. And as for women – dresses and heels are still worn even on the bike.
Carefully we cycle home after a shared bottle of Chablis. “Is my dress OK?” I ask Sean as I pedal. “Where is your dress? I can’t see it, “he replies. A bad sign! Must stop and readjust.
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