I visited Zurich’s newest gastronomic stronghold and found my culinary heaven in the Brasserie Bar L’Amant.
I have a new favorite word, and that is “pré-dessert”. I read it on the menu of the Brasserie Bar L’Amant, the new jewel of Zurich’s Sihlcity. I’m sitting in the Blue Room, the quieter part of the restaurant, where I would also invite my parents-in-law – if I had any. Because what leaves me speechless also makes an impression on others. Comfortable chairs in which you can easily get through even hours of discussions with your counterpart, Asian lamps and decorations, just enough to make you feel comfortable and not overloaded. Chic and inviting, the interior designer has done a great job.
France meets Asia
The romantic Frenchman kisses the reserved Asian woman: this is one way to describe the concept of the brasserie bar L’Amant. A liaison that works and is celebrated by the kitchen crew like Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. Fortunately, the Blue Room menu is easier to read than a page-long multiple-choice exam: the fewer dishes, the less fear of missing a treat. Nevertheless, I play it safe and opt for the culinary all-in: the 7-course menu with matching wine. And there it is, in sixth place, the word that makes my heart leap more than a bouquet of red roses on Valentine’s Day: “pré-dessert”. But until then, the kitchen crew will keep you on your toes. Tomato soup with fennel garnish and scallops, smoked duck breast with red cabbage and cranberries or saddle of veal with the fluffiest potato and truffle foam I’ve ever had the pleasure of tasting. Everything is prepared with so much attention to detail that I would love to hang the dishes on my wall at home as decoration.
A few glasses, a few jokes
As if I wasn’t already completely wrapped around the finger with the individual delicacies, I sink even more into the blue armchair as I enjoy each individual wine. And I can say that this is not only due to alcohol. Where wines at best hold hands tentatively with the menus, they dance on the table in the Brasserie Bar L’Amant. The Rosé Shiraz from Thailand makes me doubt every other glass of rosé I’ve sipped so far. Then there are fine wines from France – each one so unique and perfectly selected that at some point I no longer look at the label on the bottle, but simply accept the recommendations like a trained dog accepts its master’s wishes. The sommelier, waiter and kitchen team also have a firm grasp of how to make a visit to their home an experience. It explains what is on the plate or in the glass, but in a way that even a culinary novice can follow. A few jokes are included – one of the reasons why I immediately feel at home here. Bar Brasserie L’Amant proves that upscale gastronomy doesn’t have to be stiff.
Samba and tango
Then finally it’s in front of me, the dessert before the dessert. A dream of cherry and red wine butter that turns the tongue into a dance floor. The samba is followed by the dessert, a tango that leaves no doubt that raspberry and vanilla belong on the same spoon. I sip a Japanese plum wine, which could be a dessert on its own. I’m almost tempted to lean back, satisfied, when out of the corner of my eye I see another tray of delicacies that should satisfy even the last sweet tooth. Truffles, chocolates, cakes, candy floss… all portioned in such a way that you can’t help but continue to feast. One thing is clear after this evening: you don’t need a special occasion to dine at Brasserie Bar L’Amant, but you do need to enjoy really good food.
Brasserie Bar L’Amant
Sihlcity, Kalandergasse 1
8045 Zurich
www.lamant.ch