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4. March 2014: Restaurant Maison Manesse

| March 8, 2014 | 0 Comments

I usually do not return to a restaurant that quickly but I was really taken by my first visit to the Restaurant Maison Manesse and, therefore, decided to give it yet another try. Obviously, again, the atmosphere was beautiful, the welcoming was very warm and immediately made you feel like you are in a perfect environment. Again, I was surprised by Miguel Ledesma, owner and waiter, with a great white wine to start: Emrich-Schönleber, Manzinger Hallenberg, Riesling trocken, 2009 (CHF 11.00 for 1 DL). As I just had the menu last time I was here, I decided to “compose” my own selection so I get to try other dishes.

The amuse bouche from the kitchen was a “tartare of wild French oysters with oyster water spuma” which was a fine start but did not entirely match my expectations as it was somehow lacking a bit the surprising element and the overwhelming combination of different flavours.

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My first course though, the “Fresh Goat Cheese” (fresh goat cheese. kaki purree. kaki filets. apple balsam aged 8 years in oak. de-hydrated salted capers from pantelleria italy. peppermint leaf fried in crystallined polyol which is a sugar extracted from seaweed. foraged wild thyme. chia seed cracker. goat cheese by koni schuppli. girenbad zurich.) (CHF 16.00) reminded me immediately why I had come here again. The combination of the rather taste-intense but still subtle goat cheese in combination with the kaki purree, the apple balsam and the saltiness of the capers was again an explosion of aromas.

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Unfortunately, the next course was a slight disappointment again (admitting, that I am complaining on a high level). The “Foie Gras Terrine” (label rouge french duck liver marinated with marsala and barely cooked sous vide. 99% valrhona chocolate. valrhona cocoa nibs. walnuts. purree of bananas fermented 28 days in their own skin. sauternes jelly. hempseed mini brioche.) (CHF 23.00) started with a great first bite. The foie gras itself coated in chocolate was delicious although a bit too solid for my personal gusto. The purree of bananas was as delicious and fit perfectly. Only when I had my first bite of the mini brioche I figured it was way too dry. So I tried to balance it out by trying the Sauternes jelly and I must admit that while interesting by itself it was just too much. So I was left with mixed feelings.

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Luckily, I had ordered the “Scallops” (atlantic scallops. black pudding purree. forest mushrooms and morel consommé. compressed green star apple. confit morels. 12 hour slow poached pickled kombu. smoked dried shaved scallops and pork crackling.) (CHF 29.00) which are already fun to see when served as they are …

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… actually two of them. One on top of the plate, one in the bowl. I preferred the one on the top which was combined with absolutely tasty black pudding purree. The one in the bowl was aromatic too – personally, I’d recommend eating the one inside first and then changing to the one on top.

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The ‘main course’, if you can call it like that, was a “Smoked Pigeon Breast” (pigeon breast from challan spice brined and cold smoked with pine needles. cooked sous vide and finished in the pan. salsify poached in soy milk and finished in the big green egg. whiskey veal jus. basil and pear purree. pine needles. pistachios. camu camu.) (CHF 29.00). The dish was sound, the meat very aromatic, flavourful, and of very intense taste. The whiskey jus with which it was served provided it with a special taste which fit great.

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Again, the “little sweet nothing”, the carrot cake with carrot sorbet from the kitchen was served and again, it was tasty.

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This time, I decided to have the dessert my company had last time, so I went for the “Manuka honey and almond cake” (grade 10+ manuka honey and almond cake. sicilian nocellare orange purree made from the entire fruit and finished with chardonnay vinegar aged 3 years in oak. yogurt sorbet. olive oil puree. almond. apple blossum.) (CHF 15.00) and I loved it.

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As a final greeting from the kitchen, lemon macaroons were served (and I preferred them to the chocolate ones but to be fair, I’m not a big chocolate lover). In any case, I must say, that overall the Maison Manesse remains my favourite restaurant at the moment but this time the dishes did not match entirely up to the level they reached last time I had been here. To be fair though, expectations were really high this time.

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The wine recommended this time, a “Artadi, Pagos Viejos Rioja” (CHF 18.00 per 1DL) was again totally to my liking, Miguel did a great job and luckily, he was not alone this time so they individually, Miguel and Jochen, both had enough time to dedicate to each table. And as last time I must admit that the price performance ratio is definitely outstanding – and the same applies to the beverages. A double espresso accounts for CHF 5.50, a bottle of mineral water for CHF 8.00 (0,77L). So, to sum it up – lovely place, lovely people, lovely service, lovely food, lovely price performance ratio – just lovely, or to be more precise: go and try it!

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Contact Details:

Restaurant Maison Manesse

Hopfenstrasse 2

8045 Zurich (CH)

Tel.: +41 44 462 01 01

E-Mail: info@maisonmanesse.ch

Homepage: http://www.maisonmanesse.ch

About the Author:

I started the blog in October 2009, while living in Milan which I definitely consider to be one of the food capitals of the world. I was in touch with food since my early childhood (as my father is a former chef). Whenever I can, I travel the world to discover new places, to meet people but mostly to try local dishes and to find hidden gems! If you know a place worth going, please drop a line to: info@thediningexperience.org. Currently, I am a member of the following food-related associations: Chevalier @Chaîne des Rôtisseurs Zurich-Ville; Membre Gourmet Dégustateur @Ordre Mondial des Gourmets Dégustateurs [OMGD]; Gesellschafter @Goldener Fisch and Member @Slowfood Convivium Zurich City.
CHF 300.00 (incl. tip) Filed in: Restaurants, Zürich (CH)
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