22. 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 there are quite a few restaurants and bars like the Restaurant Mardi Gras, the Lounge @Hotel des Balances, or the Restaurant Trattorio & Pizzeria da Vittorio.

The Restaurant Opus had a special event in the framework of the “Piemont week” called Wine & Dine in Piemont. The event was led by Gunther (the restaurant responsible) and Bruno Dellatorre (the owner of the vineyard which provided the wines of the evening).

The event took place in the “regular restaurant” part of the Restaurant Opus and was very nicely decorated with white table-cloths. We had a nice little round table in the corner of the far end of the restaurant which was very nice.

The waitresses and waiters were – all in all – very proficient and friendly. Although I have to admit that some of them could definitely improve in friendliness. I can imagine that such an event might be stressful for the waiters but still this is no reason to be “pissy” when you serve your clients! As I said though, most of them were friendly and correct.

As a start we got served a “Spumante Gagliassi Brut” which was a champagne and it tasted quite okay. A bit “dry” but pretty tasty.

After a while – when finally everybody has arrived – we got served the “Amuse Bouche” which was a little creamy tarte made of white truffles. It tasted delicious!

You were able to chose between different starters, main dish, and desert.

As a starter I decided to have the “Carne Cruda” which was veal tatar from the Piemont with fresh white truffle, spiced up with olive oil, lemon juice, pepper and fleur de sel. The veal tatar was extremly tasty – especially in its interplay with the white truffle.

To the tatar we got served two different white wines, the “Zero Bianco Gagliassi DOC, 2009” and the “Chardonnay DOC, 2009”. The Chardonnay was pretty okay to drink as an apero wine with no food. But on the other hand, when you actually take it with the food, it doesn’t taste like much. The Zero on the other hand didn’t taste like anything without the food, but was okay with the food. Both wines though, I must say, weren’t really a revelation. The food outperformed the wines definitely!

As a second starter I chose the “Risotto al Barolo” – this in turn was a real revelation! I think I’ve seldomly eaten such a good risotto. It was delicious!!! Seriously, no exaggeration, the risotto was amazing!

I’ve also tried the second starter which was “Fresh pasta with fresh white truffles”. The truffles were generously given by Bruno Dellatorre (the vineyard owner) who had them imported from Alba. Also, the pasta was pretty good, but not as good as the risotto.

With the second starter we were served another two wines, red wines, this time. The first, the “Zero Rosso DOC, 2008” was really flat. No matter if you drank it with food or without, it didn’t taste like much. The second one, the “Gagliassirosso DOC 2001/03” was a bit better – especially after it had some air, but still, not too good.

As a main dish, I’ve had “Coniglio allo Chardonnay” (which was rabit with a Chardonnay sauce and fried potatoes). It was pretty good but the sauce was a bit too watery for my taste.

I’ve tried a second main dish though too, the “Filetto di maiale in mantello di nocciola” (fillet of pork in a hazel nut coat with fennel, carrots and rosemary fried potatoes). Although I just asked for supplement and only got the meat to try, I must admit, the crust made of hazelnut together with the tender fillet of pork was just amazing – again!

We got another two red wines for the main dishes, a “Langhe Nebbiolo DOC, 2006” and a “Barolo, 2003”. The Barolo was – in my opinion – the best of the evening, but still, it wasn’t anything really special. They were both just way too flat in taste and had no length.

As a desert I’ve had a “Torta Nocciola” (hazelnut tart with Moscato Zabaglione). The Zabaglione was made live in front of everybody by the guest cook.

The desert itself was pretty tasty. The tart was tasty but the Zabaglione was really good. It was a bit disappointing though how the desert was arranged.

What was a bit a pity though is that we got the wrong desert at first and we had to go complain so we would get another one (the one we’ve ordered initially). And here was the moment when the waitress (not the one who served us the whole evening, she was doing great) got really unfriendly.

To the desert we got served a “Moscato d’Asti Dogliotti DOCG, 2009” which was pretty tasty but maybe a bit too sweet.

Part of the event was also a game where one had to determine the four main smells which are in the note of each wine. The winner – which was randomly drawn from all the ones with the correct answer – got a box of 6 different wines from Bruno Dellatorre. The ones which didn’t figure out the smells, had the chance to win a weekend at the vineyard of him.

To describe the evening: It’s definitely an event you should consider going the next time it’s offered. The food was a revelation! Seriously, it was just delicious (especially the risotto). The atmosphere was great, the waitresses and waiters were pretty okay all in all and the price is okay too (CHF 118.00 per person for 5 courses, 8 wines, and as much water and coffee as you wanted). What was – in my opinion – disappointing though was the selection of wines. For me, definitely a disappointment considering the fact what wines you can find in the Piemont. Also, compared for example to the Wine Palavers which take place every month, usually you get a selection from different vineyards. For me, this concept is definitely the better one.

Overall, it was a great experience though, and if it wasn’t for the wines, it’d get 5 stars this time, but as the selection was definitely not the top one possible, it’ll be just 4.

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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.