20. March 2011: Restaurant Sauvage in the Hotel Zum Wilden Mann
The amuse bouche from the kitchen as a starter was a “Cottage cheese terrine with a filet from the red mullet” – the cottage cheese terrine was pretty interesting in taste and also pretty tasty. The filet was tender and rich in flavour. What made the plate appealing and gave it – look-wise – the extra edge was the little “card” which was laying on the plate saying “Mit den besten Wünschen aus der Küche! Simon Oehen und sein Team” (Best wishes from the kitchen! Simon Oehen (the chef) and his team”. Somehow, a really nice gesture.
As a starter, a “Winter Salad with Quail Egg dried meat and mandarin filets on exotic grapefruit vinaigrette” was served. The salad was nothing special but the mandarin filet gave it a little special hint and fit well with the quail egg. To me, the grapefruit vinaigrette was too smooth so you could barely taste the grapefruit.
The soup was a “Consommé of lightly smoked duck with quailkonfit”. The soup itself was good but personally it was too lightly smoked duck flavour – meaning, it could have tasted a bit more like duck actually when announced a soup with a duck taste (even though it was decleard “lightly smoked”). The quailkonfit was really good and also surprising in taste.
The main course was “Bread-crumbed veal escalope; asparagus with sauce hollandaise accompanied by chive potatoes”. Unfortunately, I forgot to take a picture but let me say that much: The escalope was really tasty, the chive potatoes and the sauce hollandaise were great too. That would – in my opinion – already have been enough. The asparagus wasn’t necessary and wasn’t really adding any value – it was too hard and also not so rich in taste. The main dish was great – but the asparagus totally superflous.
My desert was “Raw milk cheese served on a platter with home-made fruit bread”. The selection of cheeses was nice and good in taste and the variety provided was also pretty nice (personally, I prefer several different cheeses and not too many of the same in different stages). The fruit-bread was good – all in all a sound platter of cheese.
When I asked for the bill, we got also some freshly made – it seemed – pralines and – as I’m not so much into sweets – I only tried the “White chocolate” but that one was great! Definitely a nice gesture from the restaurant.
What has to be said is that the four courses – or rather 6 if you count the amuse bouche and the chocolates at the end – for a price of CHF 69.00 per person only, what you get is amazing. The dishes are really good and the main course was really tasty (besides the asparagus), so charging CHF 69.00 for a Sunday Menu with 4 courses is more than fair! Also the other prices are pretty decent being CHF 9.60 for a glass of white wine (1 dl; Grüner Veltliner), CHF 7.20 for a glass of Johannisberg, respectively, or CHF 6.50 for 0,5L water or CHF 5.60 for a double espresso.
The restaurant has a really comfortable atmosphere in which you start feeling cozy as soon as you’ve entered the dining room. The whole decoration fits the hotel and is somewhat old-fashioned but the match is close to perfect. The decoration at the wall consists of old paintings and the like – but although it’s old, it doesn’t seem old. The only downturn, in my opinion, is the carpet. If the floor was parquet, the place would be perfect – but that’s my opinion and of course a matter of personal preferences.
The waitress is friendly, helpful and always there when you need her without being intrusive. Our glasses never got completely empty but we were never bothered by her – as she was always there when she needed to and never when she didn’t need to. Although it should be a matter of course, it isn’t nowadays anymore, therefore, this was highly appreciated.
Overall, I can definitely recommend the Restaurant Sauvage in the Hotel Zum Wilden Mann. The atmosphere is nice, cozy, and comfortable (even more so if you’re not bothered by carpet), the dishes are above average and mostly pretty tasty, the service is really good and polite and the prices are more than fair for what you get!
Close to the Restaurant Sauvage in the Hotel zum Wilden Mann are the Restaurant Mardi Gras, the Restaurant Opus, the Café Bar Meridiani, the Lounge @Hotel des Balances, or the Restaurant Schiff.
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Contact Details:
Restaurant Sauvage @Hotel zum Wilden Mann
Bahnhofstrasse 30
6000 Lucerne 7 (CH)
Tel.: +41 41 210 16 66
Fax: +41 41 210 16 29
E-Mail: mail@wilden-mann.ch
Homepage: http://www.wilden-mann.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. 
