Cantine Cantona

Address: Schellingstraße 27, 80799 München
Website: cantinecantona.com
Tel: +49 (0) 89 28803795

With a catchy appearance, Cantine Cantona seems to be one of Munich’s attractions, or they have been becoming one. I couldn’t stop myself to have my visit. That first time has turned into second and third. At one point, brunch on Saturday has become my tradition. My face showed up too often those Saturdays and became a regular face to people there in Cantine Cantona.

‘You should come try lunch sometimes too’.

And I did.

Cooking is art

A bowl of Parsley soup with a touch of pesto came to me to wake up my appetite. No pinch of salt needed. One sip, two sips, licking the last drop of it. It melted in my mouth but the fragrant and the intensity of that touch of pesto still lingered around. It hung around tricking my appetite till a good plate of salad presented in front of me. Either I was too hungry or because that perfect poached egg sitting on top of that salad mountain craved my desire for more food. I am no salad lover but Cantine Cantona has proven me that they could turn me into one. The tremendous freshness of all products on that plate was a call to all food lovers, such as me. What I found interesting was the poached egg. In Germany, not many people know about the poached egg or they have never dared to try. It is quite a risk to introduce it to the German kitchen but seemed like it was a great success. To poach an egg requires skills. When you are able to make a perfect poached egg, congratulations that you have just created a piece of art in the kitchen.

Satisfaction

Sparks on people eyes told me that I was not the only one feeling satisfied here. I came into some business men just to have a chat with them about the place. It was great to hear other people’s opinion rather than just my own. And certainly, they were satisfied with their lunch break, especially with some divine dishes, as I had supposed.

I was sitting in the corner and watching the cook showing his skills. That’s something really great about Cantine Cantona – an open kitchen – it is actually very enjoyable to look at and a part of that, I somehow better understand the pressure in the kitchen. In fact, we all should learn not only to appreciate the good food but also how it is made. The fact that Cantine Cantona has an open kitchen, it gives people ideas of how a real kitchen works.

Starting to feel my stomach craving for more, there came the Polenta. It was definitely not the home food as I suppose you might be expecting but a great innovation of home cooking. Each bite was a dive into a new adventure. That adventure did not end just that because there were more to come. However, the moment I tasted the pulled pork’s shoulder, I forgot the world around me.

Food is passion

I always seek for inspiration and here is where I have found such inspiration. A big passion for cooking, for food, for good quality of products… Having a chance to meet the cook of Cantine Cantona, it brightened up my day after the chat. Misha Nesterenko – the man behind the kitchen and the one had just created those wonderful plates of heaven – spent some minutes to share with me his experience. If you first meet him, you wouldn’t think he could have done so much in his cooking career. Having worked for different restaurants, from a café in Sydney to several Michelin stars’ restaurants in Brisbane, Melbourne, London, Miami, and that has not yet been told, for one of Gordon Ramsay’s restaurants, he is currently making a short stay in Munich.

I dropped my hat. I felt like sitting there hours just to listen to him talking about his work. He shared with me some experiences of being in the kitchen, how he loved working with fresh ingredients and how passionate he was creating different menu with his own creativity. I mean, talking about food is already great, talking about food with the person who knows about it so well is fascinating.

My visit at Cantine Cantona has always been a pleasure. With a simple interior but neat and clean, the place brings up a great atmosphere that you always feel at ease. And the food, I think I don’t need to tell more. Cantine Cantona has really brought me into the gastronomy world – one with simplicity but perfection. There you can find the love for food, but we all know, food is lovable.