Pumphouse Restaurant in Hellevoetsluis

Hellevoetsluis is a small town in the Netherland, near Europoort outside of Rotterdam. Even though I have been to the Netherland many many times, this is a first for me to visit Hellevoetsluis. The name translates as "lock at the foot of the Helle". The Helle was a small local river which disappeared over time.

A Dutch colleague made our dinner reservation one night at the 't Pomphuys, a restored original pumphouse on the terrain of the dry dock Jan Blanken. Between 1798 and 1822, the dry dock and the pump house were built under the direction of Jan Blanken Janz. (1755-1838). The building of the dry dock was part of a grand project for the modernization of the naval base of Hellevoetsluis and was in its time a work of highly advanced technology.

On this typical chilly rainy night, our group of ten (Dutch, American, and Germans) found this welcoming restaurants after crossing quite a few canals and bends. There is no English menu on the premise. Our local host had to translate the entire menu for the few Americans (including me)!!! The food is excellent, the portion is a healthy size (look at the carpaccio appetizer; it is much bigger than my palm). I had trio pâté (deer, duck, wild boar with Cumberland sauce) as starter, Duck Breast with Poached Apples and Calvados Sauce for main and skipped dessert (trying to be good to my weigh). I would definitely come back on my own soon.