Mixed feelings on this. It was for a birthday dinner and my wife was very pleased with it so I can’t complain since they really spoiled her with sweets (she has… simple tastes), but the salty food overall just isn’t on the same tier as somewhere like Atomix or Cesar. We got the pescatarian meal so one of the courses was switched out with the corn pasta (can’t complain, it was delicious). Going through the courses one by one:
Amuse bouche: Decent. Cesar had a very similar cigarette-like thing with pureed smoked salmon (iirc) that tasted even better though.
Oysters and pearls: Delicious. Glad I got the chance to try this out.
Beet salad, cornbread and butter: Honestly the salad itself was like rabbit food; very little of it and it was bland. I’ve had better salads at family restaurants. The bread and butter was delicious but I would have really liked it if they kept it coming throughout the meal like at Le Bernardin!
Scallop sashimi with sweet corn sauce: The corn sauce didn’t really go well with the scallop and it was way too sweet. Not a good flavor match.
Mashed potatoes, halibut and mushrooms: This was delicious. Only complaint was that they didn’t give us enough!
Corn pasta: Maybe the best pasta dish I’ve eaten period. Really blew my mind and made me glad we’re pescatarian since they switched out whatever other dish they had.
Lobster with rice: The lobster was surprisingly tough; it could have been cooked a little less, or at a slightly lower temperature. The rice itself was kind of bland. I get they were going for a red pepper taste but it was mild and didn’t really match the lobster at all. Weird dish. Not a good way to end the salty dishes.
Palate cleanser: My wife was actually disgusted by this one. I liked the cheese a lot but the raw celery with a few things on top of it was super weird. Again made me feel like I was eating rabbit food.
Dessert: They really pamper you with dessert here. Nothing alone is on the level of a proper rich dessert course (like the chocolate tart at Le Bernardin or the ice cream dishes they give you at Atomix) but all together it goes pretty well. The ice cream was decent, though honestly I could make something better at home. Apple crumble cake was a little dry but it goes well if you eat it with the ice cream. Chocolate tart was delicious. The chocolate pudding that looked like cappuccino goes really well with the donuts, which are perfectly cooked. The little chocolate bites they offer you is probably the best bite of chocolate I’ve ever had period (I got calamansi which blew me away).
10 Treats: They give you a whole chocolate bar for your birthday and the bar itself is maybe the best bar of chocolate I’ve ever tasted and I’ve gotten bars from places like Switzerland. The cookies in the tins were delicious too but it doesn’t seem like you can buy them anywhere unfortunately.
I definitely get the complaints where people say it’s behind the times but there’s still a lot of gems here. We will probably be going back next year since they have great service and really spoil you.
by Rixia
7 Comments
Thanks for the review! Sounds like an incredibly mixed bag.
As a side note – switzerland’s reputation for chocolate is mostly PR. Like chocolate? The great stuff is made all over the world: Order a few bars from Mirzam in Dubai, some single origins from Dandelion in SF, some salted tamarind chocolate from kad kokoa in Thailand, etc.
I’ve been there when it’s been transcendent, god-tier food and I’ve been there when it’s been fine but laughable considering its exorbitant cost. Sounds like you were on the latter type of night. Glad your wife liked it and enjoyed her birthday!
The ice cream plating on #11 looks terrible, so does the cappuccino (?). Not really on par with other *** restaurants. But still glad your wife liked it!
Thanks for sharing! I was just there last week – I honestly thought it was a top 3 meal of all time. I agree that corn pasta is one of the best things I’ve ever had. Although I do think my meal was significantly elevated by adding the Foie Gras and Waygu supplements which replaced some of the lesser dishes you may have had. Both of those in the top 3 of those dishes I’ve ever had with those ingredients as the primary as well.
I will say dessert was definitely not as good as I hoped (went to French Laundry earlier this year and it was similar but way better), but the rest of the meal more than made up for it, imo.
I went here in June and had the best of meal of my life. However, aside from some of the classics, my menu was completely different. So maybe that’s why.
So tired of seeing this same plate and same dish.
Damn we got cornet, tartelette, and caviar all in the first four pictures