Next best thing: restaurant Ají

Rotterdam has gained another culinary hotspot. Mario Ridder, patron-cuisinier and head chef of Michelin-starred restaurant Joelia in the Hilton, opened restaurant Ají together with his business partner and chef Pelle Swinkels. Here, in a relaxed setting, you can enjoy creative dishes with pronounced South American and Asian flavours. 

The atmosphere in the restaurant is sophisticated, yet relaxed. The restaurant’s interior is a nod to the Amazon region, which inspires the chef’s dishes. You can choose a table or a seat at the bar overlooking the kitchen. There is a small menu with suggestions for cocktails and bites to start with, such as pata negra, soybeans and smoked almonds, as well as fresh oysters with mojo picón – a spicy sauce from the Canary Islands – and parsley. The dishes on the main menu range from €11 to €19 and are divided into the categories fish, meat or vegetarian. All dishes are light and refined, and there is no distinction between starter and main course. So you can mix and match as you please.

Bold combinations

The hostess recommends ordering three or four dishes per person for a full dinner. All dishes are beautifully presented and demonstrate not only the chef’s technical skills, but also his love of bold combinations and pronounced flavours. Our favourite is the corvina ceviche (meagre) with sweet potato, coriander and corn, but the salmon loin with bacon and yakitori sauce is also a hit. Other popular dishes include the corn tortillas with short ribs, guacamole and black beans, and the Iberian pork with potato, huancaina sauce (Peruvian cheese sauce), quail egg and chorizo.

A joke that got out of hand

Chef Pelle Swinkels is the creative mind behind Ají (pronounced Agie, it means pepper in Spanish). For years, he cooked under Mario Ridder’s guidance in the kitchen at Joelia. Because of his love of travel and South American and Asian cuisine, he regularly surprised the classically trained Mario with unusual flavours. After tasting Pelle’s interpretation of ceviche, Mario enthusiastically joked: ‘Shall we start our own place together?’ Within a week, they found the premises on Pannekoekstraat, formerly home to Tabera Dushi, and what began as a joke took serious shape in the form of a new restaurant.

Restaurant Ají
Pannekoekstraat 40A
3011 LH Rotterdam

Image: Restaurant Ají