Herman

Nimb is in a league of its own in the luxury hotel league. Refer to the hotel section of our site for a discussion of the superb bedrooms and the delightful building itself – but should you stay there a visit to Restaurant Herman is a must.

Whilst the decor is clean and minimal and possibly a little dull – the food and the service more than compensate. We were so enchanted by the sommelier who oversaw our meal that we felt like good friends by the end of the evening. While he brought us a selection of mouth watering food and superb wines we chatted about the world and wine and travel and got slightly drunk on the fumes and the food, not to mention his own patented “home brew” brandy which just about left me needing a fireman’s lift to get back to our room.

The reader must forgive me but as a result of the sommelier’s generosity my memory of the food itself is somewhat hazy. I do remember that Thomas Herman was going through a definite scented smoke phase when we visited. Our amuse bouche consisted of a smoke filled bowl of pork crackling. This was theatrically placed on the table and the lid removed so that we were enveloped in a pungent woody smoke. That said whilst presentation was high I felt that the smoked flavour interfered with the actual salty crackling leaving me sadly disappointed with the flavour. Presentation 10/10 – taste 5.

The following course was a take on the traditional aebleskiver round donut that is usually eaten with icing sugar and jam at Christmas time. Herman produced a savoury version of this stuffed with a delicious creamy chicken filling.

We were treated to a delicate truffle infused soup and a superb piece of venison accompanied with some of the native white asparagus. Both these dishes were perfectly cooked and beautifully presented and left us in no doubt that we were eating Michelin level food.

Returning to the smoke theme another of our courses was served with a nest of grass which was set alight to smoke as it was served. I found this all a bit much myself – perhaps it’s time to find another gimmick? Another disappointing course was the Danish cheeses. This may well be a question of personal preference but there was nothing to match a good stinky French cheese in the mix. By all means support local produce and producers but the French are generally acknowledged as kings of cheese for a reason.

If all this sounds a little harsh then please accept that I am being finickity for good reason. Restaurant Herman is Michelin class and the food is certainly creative and tasty. However the star is newly awarded and I think the restaurant needs a little time to become accustomed to the accolades and get back to creating sensational flavours rather than sensational effects. Should you visit Herman do get in touch and let us know what you think. This is one to watch...