I like nothing better than spoiling myself when I am on vacation. So while in Gdansk I went for dinner at Metamorfoza and it was an amazing experience. There is a fixed menu with either 5, 9 or 13 courses and wine accompaniment available. I went with the nine course meal. And in case you are wondering, the nine courses were not a problem. I struggled with the nine glasses of wine (“Waste not, want not” clearly didn’t work here).
the dining room @Metamorfoza
This will be a long post, so if you are not so much into food just look at the pictures. But if you enjoy the details, just keep on reading. Also I am trying my best with the wine. I didn’t write down the vineyard, only the barest details. Most of them worked for me, when not you will find a note.
First up was a tomato served on ice which if you take a picture makes the tomato a bit cool. It was peeled with sun-dried tomato on top, dried flakes of fish I think, fennel and some other herb as well as a garnish of argula. This was paired with Pinot Gris from eastern Poland.
tomato @Metamorfoza
The second wine was a Sauvignon Blanc but quite intense and dark in color. It actually felt creamy on the tongue. It was served with ‘root’. A parsley root battered in yogurt and farro and then deep-fried. At the end it was then dipped in some parsley purée and coated with deep-fried parsley. The first two bite were delicious but the root was actually too al dente. Didn’t finish it.
root @Metamorfoza
Next up was an amuse guele. Sourdough bread French style, steeped in duck fat, grilled and served with cheese laced with acacia honey and topped with pollen. Excellent combination!
amuse gueule @Metamorfoza
The third wine was a Grasevina from Croatia which was lighter again and supposedly smelled like dill flowers. It was served with young grilled cabbage, dried bread, and ham chips, which was then seasoned with dill oil, covered with semolina chips and dill flowers. And on top a dash of dried mushroom powder.
cabbage with bread @Metamorfoza
Next up was another white wine, an Albana from Emilia Romagna, another heavy wine with a bit of acidity which was served with buttered broad beans. The beans were served with fried lard, covered in wood sorrel and to my great surprise ants. The ants tasted very sour. I tried one on its own. Really an outstanding combination!
broad bean @Metamorfoza
big juicy ants with the broad beans @Metamorfoza
By now I was already feeling a bit full and maybe a bit drunk. But I was only at course number four. So I decided to only nip from the next couple of glasses.The next one was a Riesling from Maribor, Slovenia. Nice smell, good taste. I was told that the Riesling would go really well with young onions. The young onion was just the white part. Cooked in milk for three minutes, then grilled and brushed with elder flower Sirup. Fermented garlic was the base for the elder flowers and the garlic flower on top. The wine really worked with the onion.
young onion @Metamorfoza
Then came another wine from Slovenia, a Malvazija from Istria. It came with a one-sided torched sturgeon, with lovage oil and pesto and a sorrel leave on top. The sturgeon was still raw which made for difficult eating. The fish was not tender but had a heavy texture. Still the combination worked, also with the wine. The pairings had been excellent so far.
Box From The Fisherman @Metamorfoza
Next up was a Tempranillo from Spain with raw deer filler with chanterelle, rose leaves and wood sorrel again. It was accompanied by a butter sauce on The deer was not raw and the heavy cutlery that they served it with didn’t cut the meat. That was the only dish which had failed so far. Passing the kitchen I noticed that I actually got the endings of the fillets and that’s why it was so well done. Everyone else got their pieces bloody as announced. What a big disappointment and not worth it of the kitchen!
What Did The Huntsman Shoot @Metamorfoza
We left the savoury dishes and had finally arrived in the desert area. I got a pre-desert which was drink of sorrel with acacia honey and homemade buttermilk.
pre-desert @Metamorfoza
The next wine was a Corvina Rondinella from the Veneto. A very dry red wine that should work well with the angel wings. Fried dough with raspberry sauce, freeze-dried raspberry, elderflower jelly and fried elderflower leaves. Lovely combination of flavors, difficult to eat and I was not convinced of the wine pairing. But the wings were excellent.
Angel Wings @Metamorfoza
Last up was a Riesling from the Mosel, Germany which apparently smelt of rhubarb and therefore worked with the rhubarb dessert. The rhubarb dessert turned out to be a woodruff ice cream on a malted piece of cake surrounded by cream anglaise and topped with sugared rhubarb. The ice cream was too frozen though, rather like a sorbet. Or kept too long in the freezer. I am definitely more of a chocolate kind of girl.
Rhubarb @Metamorfoza
The petit four consisted of chocolate with roasted pumpkin (or sunflowers) seed, shortcake with strawberry powder, sugared carrots and roasted, salted farro. The chocolate was heavenly, the shortcake boring. I didn’t taste the strawberry powder. Coffee was good with a slight sour aftertaste though!
petit fours @Metamorfoza
Overall it was a lovely dining experience. I liked that I got asked in the end what I thought about everything. This made me feel very much appreciated. And anyway why shouldn’t I be asked? I know good food. The menu was an adventure that I really enjoyed. I liked the service which was absolutely superb! Everyone was just so friendly. And really attentive.
The food was sometimes outstanding and sometimes just wrong (the meat, what a waste!). The coffee could have been an excellent closure and was not. Too bad really. Still, I enjoyed it all. What a wonderful evening.
Restauracja Metamorfoza
Szeroka 22/23-24/26, 80-835 Gdańsk, Poland
Tel: +48 725 005 006
Thu-Sun: 17:00-22:00
Email: kontakt@restauracjametamorfoza.pl
https://restauracjametamorfoza.pl/en/home-2/
