Luxembourg / La Maison Lefevre: great ideas, execution to be improved

Esch-sur-Alzette is the second largest city in Luxembourg, more and more under the spotlights especially after having won the bid as European Capital of Culture 2022 (title to be shared with the Lithuanian Kaunas).

It’s in Esch-sur-Alzette that you will find la Maison Lefevre, a beautiful manor house with high ceilings, white walls with stucco finishes and modern giant lamps.

The wine list is one of the most interesting in Luxembourg: a wide selection of great French classics, ‘hero’ wines for each and every region, rising stars of the oenology scene and surprising underdogs – such as Jurancon sec that accompanied our meal.

The food menu is quite creative and shows a certain hazard of the chef in looking for ingredients pairing not always supported by a great technique or execution.

We tried some black ink cannelloni filled with bar and served with a tasty white wine cream. Good and fresh but the cannelloni had a weird texture, different from proper pasta, a bit soft and chewy.

The main had the most interesting savory pairing with black chickpeas hummus and black sesame sauce to accompany grilled tuna steak. Not the best chromatic combination but interesting sweet and floury taste. Unfortunately, the tuna was a bit too charcoaled, overcoming other flavors, and the sauces not too creamy and smooth (a ‘miss’ noticed in every dish).

The dessert was instead excellent: a semifreddo (chilled dessert made with ice cream) with yuzu and blood oranges served with a mind-blowing whipped cream with Sichuan pepper. Apart for the fresh, not too citric or sweet semifreddo, the whipped cream was unforgettable.

All in all, an interesting lunch with some very pleasant surprises and a creative chef who can still improve.