They say save the best until last and whilst this isn’t my final post about our Baden-Baden experiences, it was certainly my favourite of them all. The Wintergarten Restaurant is located inside Brennders Park Hotel & Spa and is the place to go for utter indulgence and luxury. During the day, light pours into the conservatory’s floor to ceiling windows and during the evening – candlelight illuminates the tables creating a magical and romantic experience. In the Summer the restaurant opens up onto the terrace, overlooking the park and the River Oos – it must be stunning.
As we took our seats and settled in, a glass of Ruinart Rose Champagne arrived and so did the menus. As we read through the enticing sounding dishes, piano music drifted into the dining room from the adjacent Oleander Bar. The menu here changes daily with seasonal ingredients, utilising the availability of local produce from the Black Forest and surrounding areas.
In the kitchen is Swiss born chef Joël Ellenberger who is responsible for the Wintergarten’s kitchen, under the leadership of the hotels long-standing kitchen director, Rudolf Pellkofe. It’s a very decadent menu. While our starters were being prepared, we enjoyed some home-made bread with butters and the most heavenly amuse bouche of beef with foie gras. I really can’t remember the last time I had foie gras this good and it quite literally melted in the mouth.
When dining out at a restaurant, I can usually pick out my favourite dish – but that was virtually impossible here. Course after course, perfection after perfection. Starters here are more like main courses in size, but I had no problem with that. Pork belly three ways was a juicy chunk of loin, braised pork belly and pulled pork covered in a golden crumb. Served with celeriac and pickled pointed cabbage, this is one of the best plates of pork I think I’ve ever eaten. Fact.
My partner enjoyed the starter of hand cut veal tartare which came with a selection of beetroots and dark rye bread. The tartare was exquisite, had such a lovely texture to it and the earthiness of the beetroots married beautifully together. I’m not entirely sure what the sauce was exactly, but it was packed with lots of truffle which smelt like heaven, but only slightly did it come through in taste. At least this way we got to enjoy the veal at its finest.
Main course of seared venison came with a fluffy bread dumpling, soft caramelised chestnuts, red cabbage, parsnip and my favourite ever vegetable – Brussel sprouts. Words can’t even begin to describe just how perfect the piece of venison was. Perfectly pink, but still warm all the way through and the crust added a nice extra depth of flavour. If ever a taste of Winter was to be captured in a single dish – this would be it.
Another surprising dish was the pan-seared red mullet fish. Rarely do I ever eat mullet, but I’ll certainly be seeking it out more often in the future. Cooked in its own juice, the skin side of this fillet was so crisp that it didn’t flake away from the fish and the opposite side much softer and flakier which I loved. Juicy soft artichokes accompanied and were given some nice charred edges along with carrot, saffron and Belper cheese. A very Mediterranean dish which I enjoyed immensely.
Not just one of the greatest things I’ve eaten on my travels in Baden-Baden, but perhaps over the last few years and it came completely unexpected. For more than 145 years, since the hotel opened in 1872 – Brenners Park Hotel & Spa has been serving one of its most famous desserts. The Ice cream soufflé Stephanie. Created for two people, but easily feeding four or more, this is something you’ll experience once and come back for time and time again. Layers of hand-made ice cream, sponge, chocolate and everything else delicious in-between. It’s served in a solid silver serving dish and portioned at your table, before being drizzled in raspberry sauce. Allow 20 minutes, and expect to be taken to heaven and back.
Having eaten so many lovely meals over the years, dining at the Wintergarten felt like such a refreshing and exciting start to our 2019. This is classic fine-dining, celebrating everything local which the Black Forest and surrounding areas have to offer. When it comes to exquisite service and world-class cuisine, this will always be my favourite in Baden-Baden and my first choice when visiting this hotel again in the future.
This looks like a very special meal! The surroundings are beautiful too!
This looks like a delicious food!
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