The Gourmet Restaurant has one Michelin star and is in the Hotel Königshof.  The hotel is over 200 years old and was given a new facade in the 70’s.  Unfortunately my understanding is that the restaurant will be closed soon for a couple years while the hotel undergoes a major renovation.  Wines were being moved to a storage area and some of the staff are moving to other places.  The large dining room is on the second level and has a long row of windows that overlook the busy street and buildings around it.  A lowered ceiling and very low lighting set the atmosphere along with double clothed tables, heavily starched napkins and very attentive and friendly staff.  They offered 2 tasting menus and an optional truffle special.  Wine pairings are available for the tasting menus.  We chose the Martin Fauster Menu and ordered our own red and white wines.  The pacing and portion control of the tasting were excellent.

 

Sourdough baguette, pretzel, dark and thin crisp breads arrived and were accompanied by a potato cheesecurd cream.  Standard butter was offered but we did not ask for it.  The breads had a nice crust with dense interiors.  The spread was mild but nice.

 

An amuse bouche of potato foam on a quail egg, shiitake mushrooms and smoked eel started the meal.  It was very good with great flavors in all components and a nice mix of textures.

 

The next amuse was a terrine of vegetables with pine nut pesto, octopus tartar and grilled octopus.  The grilled octopus was quite good and the vegetable terrine and octopus tartar were really tasty.  All were good on their own but also quite complimentary when mixed together.  A good one.

 

The tasting started with a Belon oyster with beetroot, Granny Smith apples and ginger oil.  The apple was a firm foam that was spiked with ginger and it went really well with the tender oysters.  The sommelier insisted we have a glass of riesling to go with this course and is shown below.  The strong beetroot broth was lovely in color and taste and complimentary of rather than over-powering the oyster.  A combination of things I was unsure about turned about to be really good.

 

Breton king prawn was served with quince, almond, quinoa, pear and avocado.  The quince was actually rose fruit which was a bit sour but blended very well with the almonds and other ingredients.  Cooked perfectly prawn made this dish  a winner where the parts/flavors blended well.

 

Sea bass with cauliflower, N25 caviar and chives had the sea bass grilled in a sauce of cauliflower and topped with egg yolk confit.  The perfectly cooked fish was nice but really excelled when coated with the delicious sauce.  The caviar blended nicely with the fish and chives for a really wonderful combination.  The buttery sauce along with the bits of yolk brought a richness to the fish.  Yum!

 

Suckling calf, calf’s head, sweetbreads, tatar and alba truffle was the next course.  The veal head was in a terrine and the tartar was on the side along with sweet sautéed onions and a crepe like thing.  The gelatinous sauce was lip-smacking good and brought everything together perfectly.

 

A venison medallion was with knuckle, wild mushrooms and white cabbage.  The medallion was a nice medium rare and the knuckle braised.  It was amazingly tender and surrounded by a wonderfully reduced sticky sauce.  It was a terrific blending of tasty things.

 

Cheese from the trolley contained cheeses from Maitre Fromager Bernard Antony.  Your selections were accompanied by rye and olive breads and fig mustard, port wine figs and gooseberries and passion foam.  All were really good and the fig mustard has become a new favorite of mine.

 

Mascarpone-yuzu souffle was served with Maracuya, coconut milk, mandarine and frozen lime yogurt.  All parts were nice but not sure this group benefitted from mixing with each other.  The souffle was better mixed with a little cream but overall I’d call this course just good.

 

Autumn apple was served with sorbet, spices, almonds and cider-granitee.  Nice textures and mild flavors were accented with a bit of good pastry.  The apple flavor won out and this was a better mixture. (The pretty, reflective bowl made a photo tough).

 

A box of treats was the last thing and I chose a walnut brownie that was excellent, a nougat that was nice and a marsipan that was okay.   They all looked so pretty and some were quite good.   A nice ending for a really tasty meal.