Great dishes with good service and surprising wines: Restaurant netts (3. April 2017)

It is years ago since I’ve paid the Restaurant netts in St. Gallen a visit – and while my past two experiences couldn’t have diverged any more, I was positively surprised this time. I went for the “four course menu” (CHF 86.00) with “wine pairing” (CHF 32.00). We were welcomed in a very friendly manner and brought to our table right away – as an aperitivo I was suggested a glass of “Solaris” (CHF 9.00) which is a white wine from Lucerne and which was astonishingly good. And I was all the more surprised given, I had not expected that there were any wines produced in Lucerne.

The dinner started with a “Thai curry soup with a scallop” – the soup was of intense curry taste, yet in a pleasant way. The scallop did not add too much to the soup besides some ‘biting consistency’ but the flavour of the scallop was completely lost in the soup.

As a starter, a “tuna tartar with avocado and a king prawn” followed (usually, CHF 28.00) and a glass of “If you see kay” white which fit the dish very well, was served. The tuna tartar was okay but the combination of the avocado cream which had a note of lime fit perfectly together. Therefore, I liked the dish quite a lot.

Next in line was a “pike from Lake Constance served with tomato mozzarella ravioli, asparagus, and rocket salad pesto” (usually, CHF 45.00) served with a glass of “Netto, Pinot Noir”. The wine was too flat for me – it didn’t have any body, any volume, but I guess it is still that you’d combine light wines with fish which was, therefore, fitting. The fish was fine, the asparagus a bit too hard to bite but the ravioli were tasty but definitely not cooked al dente. The rocket salad pesto gave the course the right intensity.

The main course was “beef filet and beef cheek with spaetzle and mushrooms beans” (usually, CHF 45.00) which was served with a glass of “Palmeri” which was way more to my liking. The meat was tender and went well with the sauce but it somehow lacked a bit in own taste. I would have loved to have a bit more of a grill flavour to it or the like. However, the cheeks were absolutely great.

Given, I am not a big fan of sweets, I went for the “cheese selection” for dessert. And I was served “Jersey Blue from Toggenburg”, “goat cheese from Dallenwil” and some “hard cheese” (couldn’t take notes of the name) which came with freshly prepared pear bread, truffle honey, and chutneys. I liked the Jersey Blue quite a lot and the pear bread was delicious as well – the other two cheese were rather standard though.

When you are starting the dinner, you get a small selection of breads with olive oil and salt. Now, I personally like that a lot but I was a bit surprised that the salt is put into the oil by the waitress and you don’t get to pick yourself if you consider this ‘appropriate’ or not. Other than that, the service was incredibly friendly and caring and you would never have to wait long until your plate was taken and the new course brought to your table.

Besides that, they also made sure to ask if they shall already order the next course or if they shall wait – a trait I like a lot, especially when you’re either still busy with your glass of wine or want to take a small break between courses. One little thing could be improved – in a restaurant of this quality I would expect that they regularly refill your water glass. However, not crucial but as a slight measure of improvement, one could focus on that.

If I look back in time and compare it to my previous experiences at netts then I have to admit that the service quality definitely has improved (as it was horrible when I was there in 2007) but when I’m looking at the dishes, I consider the development slightly negative. Of course, complaining on a very high level but still, I have more positive memories with regards to ‘taste experience’ than this evening was. To be fair, after more than 2’000 restaurants I have tried the last 7 years, I can imagine that my palate got a tiny bit spoiled and, therefore, the dishes don’t seem so impressive anymore.

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Contact Details:

Restaurant netts

St. Jakobstr. 35

9004 St. Gallen (CH)

Tel.: +41 71 242 66 77

Fax: +41 71 242 66 78

E-Mail: info@netts.ch

Homepage: http://www.netts.ch

About the Author: Sven

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.