"I want guests to come back for a dish," the new Executive Chef Stefanos Ioannidis told Falstaff when he started six months ago. With this sentence in mind, we sat down at the table in his restaurant "Cattani" in the five-star hotel "Kempinski Palace Engelberg". A sparkling glass of Besserstein Blanc de Noir from Aargau to start and a very successful snack: two charcoal tuilles in the shape of fish bones with a mixture of smoked trout and sardines in between. Chef Ioannidis grates bottarga from his native Greece on top in front of the guests. Surprising, refreshing, umami. The bisque is poured directly at the table and floods the dried cherry tomato, the sliced lobster and the black truffle. It is a true poem: velvety, incredibly intense. The lobster is perfectly cooked, the tomato adds a great, fruity kick and even the pleasantly dark truffle note is recognizable. Definitely one of the best bisques you can enjoy in Switzerland. Monkfish fricassee in the main course: two thick, glassy fish medallions in a fine herb coating, reminiscent of Ioannidis' grandmother's cooking - wild herbs, onion, dill, preserved lemon. The
Service drizzles a thick dill beurre blanc over the monkfish and fortunately leaves the pan at the table. The fish would certainly have benefited from three or four degrees more - otherwise impeccable. The warm chocolate cake with liquid center for dessert is hearty. It comes with a dollop of whisky and vanilla cream, which adds a peaty, smoky note to the chocolate.
peaty, smoky note to the chocolate. So, would we come back for one dish? Clearly yes: because of the bisque!
Route
