7. September 2010: Restaurant Opus

The restaurant Opus is situated right next to the river Reuss in Lucerne and is in walking distance from the city center as well as from the main station of Lucerne. In summer, the restaurant profits from its location next to the river where you can sit outside and enjoy a glass of wine in the sun or something alike. On the other hand, it really looks cozy once you’ve entered the place. It’s actually two-folded: On one side you can find the restaurant itself which has kind of a wooden interior design and on the other side you can find the wine bar/cellar with stone walls and lots of different wines located in it.

The occasion for us to go to Opus was an event which is offered by the Remimag (the company of which the Opus is part of) in some of their restaurants on a monthly basis: The Wine Palaver (it takes place every first Tuesday in the month and is on a different wine region every time – it’s recommendable to reserve a table at least 3 months in advance).

The topic of the night was “Spain”, so we were offered eight different wines with the dishes.

As an Amuse Bouche we got something like spring rolls with an Asian hot sauce which tasted quite okay. As a starting wine with the amuse bouche, we had a white wine: Rioja Don Sebastian Blanco (Union Viti-Vinicola, 2009). The wine was a bit flat in taste but fit with the spring rolls.

As a starter we had a Spanish potato tortilla with spicy salami. The salami was quite tasty but the tortilla wasn’t really my piece of cake. Although it was prepared in a nice way it just wasn’t really too good. The white wines who accompanied the starter were good. The first wine “Verdejo (Bodegas Alvarez y Diez, 2009)” was more sparkly and therefore fresh and fruity but didn’t have too much bouquet. The second one – although tasting not too great unaccompanied – tasted great with the dish on the side.

The main dish was Spanish Paella – although the attempt was nice but it must be said that seafood containing dishes should just in general only be prepared in places close to the sea. It wasn’t bad but just nothing like the original Paella. The main dish was accompanied by four different red wines which we degustated blindly: “50-50 Pago del Vicario (Pago del Vicario, 2005)”, “Tempranillo Enanzo (Bodegas Campos Enanzo, 2007)”, “Negre Finca Son Bordils (Finca Son Bordils, 2004)” and “Bru de Verdu DO (Celler Cercavins, 2006)”. My personal favorite was the “Tempranillo Enanzo” which is rich in taste and has a great price-performance ratio.

Finally, the desert was a mixed plate of different cheeses and Mousse au Chocolat. The cheese selection was really good – especially the additionally brought in blue cheese tasted great. The wine which came with the desert “Finca Sobreno Reserva DO (Finca Sobreno, 2005)” was really good too.

Gunther’s Monthly Winepalaver is a great event which one being interested in wine and food, should definitely visit once. This time, the winepalaver wasn’t really according to my personal taste. Still, in general, it is usually a great event.

The atmosphere in the little “side cavern” is great as usual, the service was really good too. Although a little incident has happened in the beginning of the evening with one at our table, the waitress immediately told us that we should get the jacket cleaned and that the restaurant will pay for the bill. Incidents can happen – but if they’re treated like they were, then they’re not such a huge deal. Although the dishes are usually really good, this time they didn’t quite match the standard the Opus usually has. The price performance ratio on the other hand, was great as usual – CHF 65.00 for 4 courses with 8 different glasses of wine including coffee. Absolutely nothing to complain about here.

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Contact Details:

Restaurant Opus

Bahnhofstrasse 16

6003 Lucerne (CH)

Tel.: +41 41 226 41 41

Fax: +41 41 226 41 42

E-Mail: opus@remimag.ch

Homepage: http://www.restaurant-opus.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.