Spoon tasting in Bucharest

When we heard about the spoon tasting menu at The Artist restaurant in Bucharest, we knew we had to give it a try.

But wait...what exactly is a spoon tasting menu?

Well, it's perfect for the indecisive diner, because the restaurant takes every one of the dishes on its menu and puts a miniature version of each...onto a spoon.

Starters at The Artist's spoon tasting menu

Sounds like a gimmick? Sure, it kind of does. But that's sort of the fun of it.

And unlike most gimmicks, the food is actually really, really good. And the drinks, too - I had a prosecco with lemongrass and black pepper that unexpectedly incredible.

The spoons come in three waves: starters, main course and dessert. But between all these, there are amuse bouches galore, including soup in a test tube, liquid nitrogen-infused spreads, and small bowls of the remaining dishes on the menu. So trust me, you'll be full.

One of the few dishes not served on spoons

The whole meal was a performance, with the chef himself appearing from the kitchen at dessert time to serve us a stone mortar full of mint leaves and petals, pour liquid nitrogen on it and command us to crush it with a pestle. He then popped a dollop of cucumber ice cream on top, thanked us and left us wondering what had just happened.

Crushing liquid nitrogen-frozen mint leaves served with cucumber ice cream

And, as with most things in Romania, it was fantastic value: we got a molecular gastronomy experience for less than 100 euros for both of us!

Main courses at The Artist