Restaurant Vendôme is a 2 star Michelin restaurant under the direction of Joachim Wissler in the Althoff Grandhotel Schloss Bensberg since 2000.  This grand castle hotel is very close to the city of Cologne.  Chef Wissler received his first star one year after opening and the second one in 2002.  It had a 3 stars a year later but recently went back to a 2-star rating.  The hotel is huge and it actually took us a bit to locate how to get to the restaurant.  It turned out that the easiest way was to walk outside and use the entrance used by those not staying in the hotel. Still, it is a short pleasant walk depending on where your room is located.  The large dining room had some dividers between some of the tables, lowered lighting, music in the background, stone walls and floors, acoustic tile on the ceiling and the longest rolled-up napkin at your place.  They offered a 6 or 8 course tasting with a couple possible supplements, a vegetarian option and wine pairings.  We chose the 8-course tasting and added one supplement to share along with our own bottle of wine. Continue reading →