5. October 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.

In its vicinity you can find quite some restaurants and bars like the Restaurant Trattoria & Pizzeria da Vittorio, the Restaurant Mardi Gras, or the Lounge @Hotel des Balances.

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 by Gunther (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 “Tuscany”, so we were offered eight different wines with the dishes.

As a starter we had little tunna-potato-balls which tasted quite good. The fried crust didn’t contain much fat so you could really taste the filling. With the starter a white wine was served (Sauvignon Blanc, Gemella, 2009, Tuscany vineyard of Bindella) which tasted really good. It was fresh, fruity and just about the perfect white wine for an apéro.

As a starter we got served fennel carpaccio with dried tomatoes and mortadella. It was absolutely good, just a bit unusual for me personally, but I liked it very much. Together with it, another two wines were served, a white wine (Terre di Tufi, 2008, Teruzzi & Puthod) which was somewhat flat in my opinion and a rosé (Rosé di Toscana “Cipresseto” Antinori, 2008, Marchese Antinori) which was quite good for a rosé (I’m personally not a big fan of rosé, so here my opinion is probably quite biased).

As a main dish, we had Agnolotti with Ricotta and artichokes, chicken pieces on a tarragon sauce. The Agnolotti were a bit overboiled in my opinion, but the combination with the tarragon sauce made up for it. A great combination and really good in taste. Together with the main dish we were served four different red wines in blind degustation. The first one (Chianti Classico Riserva DOCG Il Grigio San Felice, 2006, Azienda Agricola San Felice) fits perfect for either drinking it before the dish arrives or after coffee and grappa at the end of a dinner when you just want to sit down for another few minutes and talk. To the dish itself though it somehow loses its strength and intensity. The second one (Poggio ai Ginepri Bolgheri, 2007, Tenuta Argentiera) was rather flat – both with and without the main dish. The third (Rosso di Toscana TRE IGT, 2007, La Brancaia Widmer) was really promising and somehow had something which made you think about it twice (at least). I personally liked it, but my favorite was definitely the fourth one (Morellino di Scansano DOC Riserva, 2005, Moris Farms). Just the most complex wine (of the four) which was full in your mouth – absolutely good. What I missed in all of the four though was the persistance of flavour (or more simply put, good lenght).

As a final round we had a desert “Tuscan Caramelized Pumpkin Cream” (somewhat like Crème Brûlée with a very distinct taste). It was really good – the pumpkin creme made the desert not as sweet as a regular Crème Brûlée, which fit quite good with the final desert wine we got served (Vin Santo del Chianti Classico, 2004, Marchese Antinori). It has been in the oak barrel for about three years and therefore had its own wooden note – quite good but maybe a bit “special” to just drink it alone without anything to accompany it. Together with the Tuscan creme it fit perfect though.

As a final round, we were offered coffee or espresso before we then ended the event with applause for Gunther.

Once more, I have to say, the Restaurant Opus, and the Wine Palaver by Gunther is definitely worth going. This time we were lucky and had the possibility to talk to Gunther himself, so we got to know a bit more about the concept and the underlying idea.

You get to know eight (okay, in this case seven, if you’ve already been at the Wine Palaver in May) new wines, you get to eat three courses (plus an amuse bouche), get as much water as you want, coffee included and you can enjoy the event with friends in a great atmosphere and this for only CHF 65.00 per person. As already mentioned in the previous critics, just make sure you reserve early enough. The dates for the Wine Palaver 2011 are already out and there is only a limited number of places available – so book, if you want to go.

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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.