Back to purity | Maison Manesse
In the "Maison Manesse", which has been awarded a Michelin star, things are - contrary to many expectations - unconventional and relaxed. Everything revolves around comfort and the purity of the dishes. Far away from conventional fine dining and closer to creative freedom.
The easy-going manner already reflects in the interior, where homey white wooden panelling clashes on a colourful and artsy bar counter. The dishes created by chef Fabian Spiquel change frequently and feature experimental cuisine and other unusual cooking styles. You can either choose à la carte or opt for the surprise menu, which is served in 4 or 6 courses, also available as vegetarian or even vegan version.
We went for the maison experience in 6 courses, which is a surprise menu including favorite dishes inspired by relationships with local farms and distributors. For the second menu, we had the fish dishes replaced by a vegetarian variant.
It started with a smoked onion soup with lamb tongue in the form of a shot - a salty and smoky start to stimulate our taste buds.
The first course consisted of a poached lobster tail with pumpkin and Cedro lemons as well as Jerusalem artichokes with frisée salad and Perigord truffle as the vegetarian option. Both dishes captivated with their interplay of different textures from fluffy soft to crispy and crunchy. This was a proper kick-off.
The second course was an interpretation of a sandwich. One with LUMA Pork, salmon roe and Perigord truffle and the veggie one with beetroot, tomato chutney, smoked eggplant and Belper tuber. We were asked to fold it and eat it with our hands, what boosted our dining experience but did not make up for the somewhat missing taste experience - we kind of expected more flavour from this innovative dish.
As a third course, we were served grilled wild broccoli with Yuzu hollandaise sauce, kale and furikake. A plain and simple dish with a clean and balanced taste.
The fourth course turned out to be the dish of the evening. Albula mountain potato with spinach puree, lovage mayo, pickled celery and potato consommé. A whole bunch of umami followed by a bit of acidity and subtle earthy notes made this dish an unforgettable culinary delight.
The fifth course was dedicated to meat, which enjoys a rather rare existence at Maison Manesse but when it is prepared, then with technical excellence and lots of taste. We had Pushlaver mountain lamb with tortellini stuffed with lamb belly, sugar beet puree and cucumber salad. The lamb was cooked to perfection and very tender. The cucumber salad added the right freshness to the dish and harmonized perfectly with the powerful gravy.
As a last course, we had a coupe Maison to share. It was made with vanilla cream, pistachio pine crumble, blood orange and pine cone ice cream. It was a perfect aggregation of aromas and textures, which made this dessert a perfect finish.
Maison Manesse pulls good food out of its trepidation and creates simply pleasure in all culinary facets. They serve true taste bombshells and and see creativity and taste purism as their top priority.
Prices:
The maison experience:
6-course menu: CHF 160.00
A la carte:
Starters: from CHF 10.00 to CHF 12.00
Main dishes: from CHF 24.00 to CHF 65.00
Desserts: from CHF 8.00 to CHF 24.00
Address:
Maison Manesse
Hopfenstrasse 2
8045 Zürich-Wiedikon
Phone: +41 44 462 01 01
E-Mail: info@maisonmanesse.ch
Website: www.maisonmanesse.ch
