Tantris is a large restaurant with 2 Michelin stars.  The interior and exterior feature dragons and plays on their logo.  The dominant color is orange with waitstaff even wearing coordinating floral prints.  The large tables are well spaced on a gray carpet with a reddish orange carpet-like covering on the ceiling.  Along with the well padded chairs noise level is not a problem even though there is music in the background.  Each cloth covered table is equipped with a service table and set with a dragon and really narrow flatware.  It is a striking place and one you’ll remember, especially the large gold light fixture that hangs near the entrance, between the bar and dining areas, and the large lighted replica of their logo on one wall.  Don’t miss a trip to the bathroom, both are  impactful in their design.   Service was excellent, friendly and insightful.  Pacing and portion control were terrific.

The wonderful server we had thought of things we’d like before we even mentioned.  Chef Hans Haas was in the house, as he has been for more than 26 years.   He was very personable and even sent some lovely apricot preserves with us as a personal present.  They serve great food here in a fun surrounding so put this place on your list.  The menu offered two tasting options of 5 or 8 courses with optional wine pairings.  You could also just order individual dishes from the 8 course tasting but go for the entire menu, you won’t want to miss a bite.

 

Bread service offered 2 kinds, white and spelt with a nice butter.  Both types had a good crisp crust and a nice doughy interior.

 

An amuse bouche of fried pike dumpling on Chinese cabbage was wonderful.  The great crisp on the warm fish was well complimented by the cool marinated cabbage.  A delicious way to start the meal, with great contrasts and large flavors.

 

Poached duck liver terrine was plated with fig, radicchio purée and pink duck breast.  The liver had been poached in red wine and some frozen confit liver was shaved on top of one option.  The duck breast was paired with the radicchio  and curry and a slice of housemade brioche was also served.  It was a plate of wonderful tastes and texures – one you wanted to lick clean.  The figs added a sweet fruit to pair with the liver and the various sauces offered more options for taste pairings.  It all was great.

 

Lukewarm char was served with fregola sarda, peas and smoked eel fond.  The Sardinian pasta (pasta fregola) was paired with a purée of peas, that exuded ultimately fresh pea taste and went great with the fish.  Strips of smoked eel had wonderful flavor and did not overpower the other ingredients, as they easily could have. Instead they blended great with the pasta and peas and perfectly prepared char.  Everything was terrific on its own but also when mixed together.  This dish really sang and burst with tremendous flavor.

 

Roasted lobster was served with lobster tartar, broad beans, parsnip purée and curry.   It arrived with a terrific aroma and sauce was poured and then left at the table.  The tartar was cool and and added a fun temperature contrast and was really tasty. The perfectly cooked lobster was wonderful and the sauce incredible.  A chip decorating the dish almost seemed lobster flavored and added a nice textural component as did the dark pieces in the middle.  This was perfection in my book and lick the plate great.

 

Hokkaido pumpkin soup was accented with curry flavor and topped with roasted pumpkin seeds.  The seeds were ever so tasty and added a fun crunch to the lovely soup.  Some pumpkin oil from Austria was in this very good soup.

 

Lamb chops au gratin was plated with beans, pak choi, tomato polenta and eggplant sauce.  The chop was coated with a thick layer of herbs and the piece of lamb fillet (cut more like loin) was topped with the eggplant sauce.  Both pieces were nicely medium rare, very tender and moist.  The tomato polenta was good but strange in that I kept thinking it was something else and then tasted like polenta.  They again left the extra meat sauce which was thoughtful and you bet I helped myself.

 

Cîteaux from Burgundy, France was the cheese course served with cauliflower, raisins, almond and verjus.  The raisins were soaked in grappa, the cauliflower marinated and the celery root in a purée.  Some buttermilk, lime, sour cream and pepper made up the other sauce.  It was presented with some potato bread.  This course was not over the top but still very fine.

 

Marble soufflé was served on roasted plums, blackberries and raspberries with sour cream.  The fruit was good and the soufflé very nice.  It was a good combination of tastes where everything goes together well.  I loved that the plate had no smears or dots.

 

The second dessert was semolina, almonds and Austrian apricots.  The semolina was in a panna cotta  and the almonds were a crunch on a chocolate mousse alongside an Austrian apricot sorbet.  Lastly was an almond cookie.  A great combination of textures and tastes and a perfect sweet fix.    It was fruity and some parts tart so it was best when all the parts were mixed together.  An excellent end.

 

Final sweets came on a tiered tray and included a chocolate banana pie (tasted mostly chocolate), vanilla cream with caramelized almonds (creamy and nice cake), a nougat crisp with chocolate (very light), a cocoa coffee cream (nice strong coffee flavors) and  a white chocolate with mango cream (nice filling).  They were all really good.