I'm chuffed that I went all the way to Bern to eat at Werner Rothen's restaurant. This is now one…read moreof my favourite restaurants.
Werner Rothen is a well-travelled, creative and exceptionally passionate chef de cuisine. The restaurant's fish cuisine is particularly exceptional. The lobster (poached with vanilla and served with verjus, apple and coconut milk) was truly inspired, beautifully presented on Hering Berlin plates, Chef Rothen's signature dish. The restaurant's amuse bouches are also quite spectacular.
Head pastry chef Gerald Guerin is canton Bern's best pastry chef, one of Switzerland's best. Chef Rothen allows him a lot of freedom. He constantly surprises guests with a first class bread selection, wonderful pre-desserts, daring and delicious desserts and perhaps the most varied, dainty friandises that I've seen so far. His desserts are also very emotional, often use rather ordinary ingredients (like Bounty, Snickers and Ovomaltine) and take gourmets back to their childhood sheer genius!
The restaurant offers great value for money, which can't be said of every restaurant with a Michelin star and 17 Gault Millau points.
My insider's tip: Put your trust in Gerald Guerin and let him play for you. I let him freely serve me whatever he wanted for CHF 50.- and boy, was I surprised! I enjoyed an amazing chocolate Variation, made with luxurious Valrhona coverture, including brioche and home-made Nutella.
For a detailed German photo report, including an interview with head chef Werner Rothen and head pastry chef Gerald Guerin, please visit:
http://dessertblog.ch/2011/04/restaurant-schongrun-in-bern/