Jae

Rating: 16
Author: Gault&Millau

Keplerstraße 13, 40215 Dusseldorf, Germany

16/20
Remarkable Restaurant

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Location: Düsseldorf
Chef: Jörg Wissmann
Cooking: Asian | Gastronomic | International | Vegetarian
Style: Casual, Elegant, With friends

Gault&Millau's review 2025

16/20

Remarkable Restaurant

A quiet, calm river is the evening at the Jae. The guests at the counter (there is room for small groups at the back of the room) witness a dynamic, elegant ballet with Jörg Wissmann and his small team as prima ballerinas and -nos. Only the hearty laugh of sommelier Emiko Fukuzawa (whose sophisticated, non-alcoholic accompaniment deserves special praise) breaks the calm. This is not to say that things are stiff. But in a remarkable manner, it succeeds in turning the open kitchen into a show effect, without constantly encountering the guests with clattering, noise and shouts of "Oui, Chef!" that they can follow the creation of their courses. The ambience is also quiet elegance – and of course the plates that the ballet dances together. Neo-Korean is probably the correct title, because Wissmann pairs what he learned from his Korean mother with the French school. The result is courses that play meticulously with flavours and are characterised by great harmony. For example, a mandu dumpling filled with mussels with lovage, miso foam and crispy rice, which gets a spicy-sweet kick from ssamjang sauce and a sour kick from pickled carrots. Rather on the French side is a dry-aged sturgeon, to which mushrooms as cream, cubes and crunch give a woody and an excellent beurre blanc, seasoned with the Japanese rice marinade Shio Koji, a sour note – a dish that is a reflection of Wissmann's career, as he learned in the classic Vendôme and with the Düsseldorf Japanese grandmaster Nagaya, among others. The desserts are somewhat less elaborate. Wissmann likes to work with ice cream, including his version with distilled rice, which you would like to take home in a liter pack. Nevertheless, the Jae could still improve here. In the end, the guest glides out in a pleasant cloud of Asian serenity and is certain: Jörg Wissmann is far from having reached the end of his possibilities.