We were last at Restaurant Schwarzwaldstube in Sept 2018 (click to see that write-up), when we visited the Black Forest and stayed at Hotel Traube Tonbach.  After our visit a fire destroyed the restaurant building that is across the street from the hotel in Jan 2020.  The new facility is in the same space and reopened in April 2022.  Torsten Michel has been head chef since 2017 and they retain their 3 Michelin Star rating, which they’ve had since 1993 – the longest streak in Germany.  The dining room felt much more modern as I’m sure the kitchen is too.  The large single drape tables are widely spaced and a modern light fixture hangs from the ceiling, but most of the table light comes from the small spots above.  Large windows are on 3 of the walls and music is softly in the background.  A large floral arrangement is in the center and small matching ones are on each table.  They offer 2 tasting menus, a vegetarian tasting menu and a la carte.  Wine or alcohol-free pairings are available for each of the tastings.  Interestingly, they will do different tastings at the same table rather than the usual only one.  Service and the food are fantastic and the wine list large and reasonable.  Pacing was on the slow side but portioning spot on.  The Chef comes around to visit with guests following the savory service.   I recommend a trip to the Black Forest  where you can eat at 2 very fine restaurants, but I would also recommend staying here rather than Bareiss and letting the Traube Tonbach drive you back and forth.  Put this on your to-go list!

Set-up

Food

A trio of nibbles arrives shortly after you sit down.  Beef tartare was topped with caviar for a great bite.  In the middle was bluefin tuna with ginger, wasabi and vinegar on a chip – another great bite. On the left was marinated prawn with mango and coconut crumble – very tasty and lots of texture here.

 

Cauliflower salad was a base of orange juice and olive oil topped with ice cream, rice crisp and fresh mint.  The rice crisp with the cool ice cream was a lovely combination and the dish packed a lot of flavor into all the ingredients hidden under the crisp.

 

The bread service was a tray of selections including rye and baguette which I chose.  Both were good dense breads with nice crisp crusts.  They also had focaccia and seedy bread.

 

Our tasting started with a salad of piglet’s mask, tongue and cheeks with fried artichokes and rocket tips, egg yolk cream and truffle vinaigrette, crispy ears and sliced black truffle and truffle vinaigrette. Lots of fun combinations to make here with succulent cheek meat and crispy chewy fried ears.

 

Pan-fried Norwegian lobster was with spicy cucumber and prawn salad “Squid”, peanuts, onion leek and caramelized peppers, reduced crustacean sauce with coconut and Kaffir lime.  The barely cooked delicious lobster was enhanced with a bit of spiciness and Asian flavors.  The crunch of the peanuts was a delightful addition to this fabulous dish.

 

Seabass with crispy skin was next to roasted fennel on crunchy pine nut couscous with perch belly, salmon oil and chicken skin, mousseline with date vinegar, salmon caviar and pearl barley.  The mousseline came in an extra bowl and was left at the table if you wanted more.  The perfectly cooked fish was outstanding with this mix.

 

Alsatian pigeon roasted with licorice and lemon thyme was with a small Kofta (meatball with Baharat (traditional Turkish spice blend) and confit leg, pigeon jus with Arabica coffee and orange.  The tender rare breast meat was glazed on the outside with honey and quinoa.  The leg confit was topped with a piece of filet and a paté of the liver, heart and other organs.  The jus was made from pigeon bones.  Some marinated pumpkins were the two orange crescents.  It was an amazing plate.

 

Cheese from the trolley included selections for goat, sheep and cow milk products.  They will assist you in making selections if you need.   Special breads of apricot and pumpkin seed were offered to go with as well as another but I just didn’t write fast enough.

 

Bee sting cake was with browned almond and honey ice cream, almond crunch, yogurt foam and dried fruit compote with apple.  This was a traditional cake of Germany with crunchy caramelized honey and almonds.  It was sort of a deconstructed version with all the elements waiting for you to combine them as you wish.  Not too sweet with some excellent apple, it made a lovely dessert.

 

The second dessert was Pear and juniper sorbet topped with walnuts, tamarillo compote, baba muiscovado and tamarillo brew,  and muscovado crumble.  The brown square was a cake but it didn’t blend into the mix so well.  The pear flavor was excellent.  Again, not too sweet and this one had too many elements for me.

 

Next was the box of bonbons, caneles and Paris brest.  You could have what you want but the Paris brest was a sample and if you order it comes out freshly assembled.  The canele was good and nicely chewy.   A walnut bonbon with chocolate and a chocolate with coffee were okay.

 

The Paris brest was thankfully small and finally gave you that satisfying sweet end.