Wow, this is place is definitely living on the edge and pushing on some interesting boundaries. I felt like this was like an early Achatz dinner - brimming with unbelievable ideas and vision, but needing just a little more time to develop. When the dishes worked they were huge and really exciting. When they missed they were meh (but still interesting). I am looking forward to my next trip here to see how things continue to develop - this guy is going to be great.
The restaurant itself is stylishly casual, with a country style hipster thing going on. Uneven, old farm house style tables, white painted wood paneling, and a huge wall of artisan gin bottles. It's definitely in character with the style of food.
The chef has some really interesting ideas on flavor and texture. Lot's if freeze dried crumbles adorn dishes with soft or unctuous proteins, adding very interesting depth and complexity.
We had the full tasting menu - the day we visited the menu was titled "Joy. Division" (menu changes daily) and each of the 6 tasting menus was named after a Joy Division song - we choose the 8 course "she's. lost. Control." option, though one member of our party went for the other menu which was vegetarian. The first three items were unbelievable and truly unique.
oyster. sauerkraut. beer. Was a gently cooked oyster on a bed of jellied beer with sauerkraut foam. That foam should become standard issue for oyster eating, it was an amazing accompaniment, the sour exactly perfect with the salty sweetness of the oyster and the dense chewiness of the jelly worked great with the softness of the oyster. Great dish
duck. pistachio. mustard. Thus dish was a triumph and one of the best of the evening. A thin slice of duck meat pate (not the right word, but I'm not sure how to describe it) adorned with mustard leaves. The duck was flavorful and moist and the complexity and interplay of flavors was fantastic. I really loved this dish.
63 degree egg, pine, monks beard, broccolini. Also in the running for the best dish of the night I can honestly say I have never eaten anything like this, and that is a good thing. This dish was mind blowing and will expand your perception of the universe without the use of hallucinogens. An egg poached (or I suppose suveed to 63 degrees Celsius is cooked enough to hold it shape but perfectly runny enough to be like thick sauce (not like a regular runny yolk). It was surrounded by an even thicker sauce of subtle flavor (the pine?) and the vegetables. So many flavors and layers of soft, unctuousness. Really amazing
mushrooms. nori. blueberry. Was also a favorite of mine, but some of my dining companions thought it was only ok. I loved it. Rich flavorful mushroom both with marinated blueberrys and nori sponge which rehydrated into a nori cloud when added to the soup. A mushroom filled pasta floated in the soup as well. Deep, rich, comforting. An awesome dish.
After such a strong start the rest of the menu was good, but it fell short of the greatness of the initial dishes.
pata. negra. jack. fruit. tamarind. Slow cooked pork with tamarind was ok. The flavors were good but the pork was too chewy and there was a let down after the unique textural interplay of the earlier dishes.
Skel. Almond, chuno, camu. Camu. My least favorite dish as I found the skel (baby cod?) to be to gelatinous, and the accompaniments did not do enough to contrast with that. Flavor was a bit subdued.
Little. Sweet. Nothing. This was lemon grass foam with rhubarb sorbet. Back to bold flavors and interesting textures. Really refreshing and perfect at this point in the meal
banana. hops. whiskey. Passion. fruit. This was nice and interesting. With the combination of whiskey and passion fruit I had been expecting a big explosion, but instead it was muted goodness.
So even though the dishes were a bit uneven I am going 5 stars to reward the brilliance of some of the dishes and the overall inventiveness of the chef. He is definitely breaking new ground - it was a fascinating meal and one which I continue to replay in my head. I can't wait to return on my next trip to Zurich. read more