Waldhotel Sonnora opened in 1978 under Chef Helmut Thieltges who achieved 3 Michelin stars for the restaurant.   Clemens Rambichler joined the kitchen in 2011 and worked for years with Thieltges as sous chef.   When Thieltges died in 2017 it was a natural progression for Magdalena and Clemens Rambichler to take over and now run the place with she managing the front of the house and he manning the kitchen.    They have retained their 3 Michelin star rating as well as renovated the hotel it is in, to be a delightful place to stay while enjoying a fabulous meal there.   Less than an hour’s drive to Luxembourg it was easily our favorite dining experience, including the breakfast that came with the room.  The classic French restaurant offers a 7-8 course tasting menu or a la carte service.  They offered wine pairings as well as one possible supplement.  We declined supplements and chose our own wine.  The dining room had well spaced large tables with windows overlooking the small town of Dreis.  Music was in the background, lots of flowers graced the various rooms, and art and mirrors decorated the walls.  Service was truly exceptional and pacing and portion control were first rate.  It was a fabulous experience and I hope that all will find a way to get there and try it.  You won’t be sorry.

Set-up

 

Food

We started with a perfectly made Negroni cocktail as we were greeted with the bread trolley.  Some were made in house and others were from a local bakery.  It was a lovely array of choices and they were warm and fresh.  We chose several ones and they were sliced and put into a bowl for the table.  The cart visited again later in the meal to see if we needed additional breads or butter.  We tried a nut bread, baguette, pretzel roll, wheat bread and a seeded loaf.  All were crusty with soft insides and you had to be careful not to fill up before the meal even started.

 

Beginning snacks included pumpkin variations and one with a quail egg.

 

A marinated oyster with cucumber and caviar where the oyster was nicely cut up so you could enjoy it with the other ingredients in several bites.

 

A salad of grapes, horseradish, cream, avocado and crab had lovely texture and taste.

 

Trout was steamed and served with a chawamushi-like custard with seaweed.  The custard was warm and smooth and wonderful with the fish.

 

The menu started with Brittany Scallops from Dieppe with goose liver and Périgord truffles served in 2 courses, chilled and warm.  First were chilled slices of scallops and goose liver with raw marinated plum, lime marinade and hazelnut oil.  The truffles were crisp to add texture as well as strong flavor.  The foie gras was a disk underneath for a lovely blending of flavors.  This one hit it out of the park.

The warm variation was St. Scallop ‘Facon Rossini’ with yuzu from Tokushima.  Here pan fried scallops were plated with grilled foie gras, and celeriac purée in a rich sauce.  Both the scallops and foie gras were perfectly cooked and the little lettuce leaf added just a hint of crunch to the rich amazing dish.

 

A small stew of lobster from Saint Malo with beans, endive and leek oil was just as good.  Several types of beans (fava, sea) and some snap peas were topped with sweet small fried shallot rings.  Oh my, they added a perfect crunch and sweetness to the already luxurious dish.  The lobster was divine as was the sauce, which the excellent bread helped me get most of.  Yummy.

 

Turbot from the Vendée and Belgian crayfish were plated with lamb’s lettuce, lardo, walnuts and grilled leek sauce and Beurre Noisette.  The fish might have been cooked 30 seconds less but otherwise another perfect dish. The crayfish were tender little delicacies of flavor in another exquisite sauce.

 

Crispy Challans duck by Gerard Burgaud, jus from braised duck legs and hollandaise with fresh ginger and Japanese Ume-vinegar made up the main course and the curse of dull main courses was broken.  The crispy edge on the perfectly cooked duck was delicious.  Some celery purée blended nicely with the rich hollandaise for another great plate.

 

A cheese trolley brought a selection of raw milk cheeses from Maître Affineur Waltmann and goat cheese from the Vulkanhof.  You could choose as much or as little as you desired.  I went for mostly hard cheese with one soft that was also quite good.  A very fun selection and the presenter had lots of knowledge and suggestions to share.  The dark bits in the middle are a touch of fruit and jam.

 

Refreshing Monreal clementine was filled with Thai basil, Madagascar pepper and lemon thyme.  Some orange sorbet and a meringue top made this very light and refreshing.

 

Braised apple and crispy puff pastry with almond cream, tonka bean, salty caramel and ice cream with some Calvados was the second plated dessert. A little apple cake had sticks of apple candles on top and the baked apple was on the puff pastry.  Apple ice cream was next to apple-caramel sauce and wow.  Lots of terrific ways to combine the parts and all good.  Sweet, fruity and full of yummy goodness.

 

Last treats included iced coffee and vanilla, beignets stuffed with chocolate cream, coffee and hazelnut, raspberry and chocolate, a cannoli with raspberry ice cream, a tart of lemon (which was really good), a tart of fruit collection (also good).  The tarts were my favorites as they had a wonderful buttery crust, but all were tasty.