Belfre Kitchen in Delafield.
Delafield restaurant located in former church building
I first noticed Belfre Kitchen in Delafield on the way to dinner elsewhere in winter. It looked so inviting, so warmly lighted on that cold night that I was tempted to swerve over right then.
It was as good as it looked; Belfre Kitchen really was warm and inviting when I made my way there for delightful dinners. Lately, flames from the patio’s fire-pit table make it even more appealing, if such a thing is possible.
Named for the belfry atop the former church building, Belfre Kitchen provided something akin to a religious experience, a couple of stumbles aside. It has that magic combination of thoughtful, delicious dishes and desserts, a comfortable, stylish dining room, welcoming service, smart cocktails and a honey of a wine list, with plenty of bottles at moderate prices.
The restaurant recently made some changes — the usual seasonal changes, bringing springy items such as asparagus and fiddleheads to the menu, but also a recent change in chefs. The restaurant’s pastry chef since its fall opening, Elyse Pett now is the executive chef. Though I’d had and enjoyed her desserts all along, I had only one dinner at Belfre with Pett at the helm; not an ideal situation, but the review was in motion for this week. The workings of a restaurant never do stand still.
The menu’s format — a dozen small plates, seven entrées — means a diner can be flexible: Pick a few small plates to share, maybe for a casual weeknight meal, or go with traditional courses.
In any case, dinner starts with notable bread and butter: foccacia that the kitchen bakes with soy sauce, ginger and sunflower seeds. It’s an especially savory start, and a sign of things to come. (Belfre also serves a complimentary bite at the outset and a little sweet after dinner.)
From there, diners can share plates such as flaky empanadas (three for $15) filled with chorizo and potato, arranged with cilantro crema and red salsa, or crisp arancini (four for $12) perched on white wine cream sauce.
A plate of four Wisconsin cheeses ($18) arrives with a wave of other flavors: grainy mustard, changing pickled bits and sweets, and shards of seeded crackers made at the restaurant. The cheeses, featuring the likes of Carr Valley’s vanilla Cardona, change from time to time.
Other plates for sharing go spicy. A trio of sweet scallops ($16), served over red-miso butter sauce with edamame, get a touch of heat from the Japanese chile powder togarashi; a dish called hot brussels ($12, now made with asparagus) got its spice from the restaurant’s Mexican-style hot sauce, cooled with cilantro, lime and cotija cheese.
One new share plate, dates wrapped in crisp chicken skin ($9), was an awfully good idea, crunchy and savory and sweet, though the filling of chicken sausage could be juicier.
Crisp chicken skin is a garnish in an entrée: chicken and waffles ($25), which also played around with the standard by making the waffle from rye and cheddar and incorporating chicken sausage along with fried chicken breast into the dish.
The restaurant takes a modern tack with other entrées as well. Trout ($22) in a pistachio crust is a Wisconsin-meets-India dish, with tomato curry sauce, turmeric rice, cucumber and pickled ramp, great flavors and textures; rosy duck breast ($28) with confit sweet potato draws a luxurious note from foie gras.
Braised short rib ($27) is a comfort dish sleekly presented on parsnip puree with charred young carrots and thin, crisp haystack potatoes over it all. A newer plate, pork loin stuffed with kale and black truffle cheese ($24), arrived not completely warm on a very busy night at the restaurant. Served over Israeli couscous and bell pepper, the dish could have ended happily there; strawberry chutney and pecans over the top were just that.
Belfre’s food is a draw, but cocktails and the wine list alone would be a reason to stop in. Classics and contemporary drinks (including a tequila-passionfruit cocktail with a vegan aquafaba foam instead of egg white) are on the money, and the wine list is a seductive one that includes small producers and less common varietals. Wines are chosen by general manager Joe Kolafa, previously of L’Etoile in Madison; diners who like talking wine or just want to learn more should chat him up.
Desserts at Belfre kitchen are smart and spirited. The sassiest might be one that’s departed the menu; a moment of silence for the Steakhouse, a fabulous Frankenstein’s mashup of flourless chocolate cake, baked Alaska and creme brulee — delicious (and returning someday, I hope).
But diners can console themselves with the Louis Armstrong ($13), a landscape of light cheesecake rounds over vermouth gastrique, adorned with candied hazelnuts, crunchy graham bits, blackberries and a flourish of glasslike sugar ornaments. What a delicious and lovely ending to a night well spent at Belfre Kitchen.