After a successful stay last year, we decided to come back to our little paradise, and it is always interesting to see how it compares to such a strong start last time. I am pleased to inform you that the breakfast generally is still at the same standard, for the New Year’s Day brunch I kicked my lazy butt out of the room and for a change took it in the main dining room with the sunlight shining down, the snow capped mountains in the distance, it was just a beautiful start to the new year. I took the poached egg on a mini waffle topped with truffle, the egg was served slightly cold, but the black truffle was coming through, and the waffle was pleasant. The scrambled egg was slightly salty for my liking served with smoked salmon trout which was excellent quality. I also tested a selection of pastries to nibble on. No, I didn’t scoff the whole lot… The juices as like last year were good.
Something different this year was The Garden Restaurant; it had been remodelled which was an intelligent move. To start with we tried the smoked salmon trout from the Thalhof farm, mountain pine vinegar reduction- This was fresh and light, citrus notes coming through nicely here, and I really liked the texture of the salmon. The carpaccio on the top bringing some texture to the rest of the dish, you could certainly taste the forest and the mountains.
Risotto with mountain pine, bacon- Pine is such a wonderful scent and you could smell it before you even had a chance to taste it. Al dente perfect rice as standard with a gorgeous tang of the pickled ‘gems of spruce’ sat on the top. The bacon completed the flavour profile.
To end the savoury, we saw on the menu- Wagyu shoulder from Renon, gremolata with wild herbs, farmhouse bacon. “Why not?” We thought. Let us see how this dish plays out. My cut was tender throughout, but my guest’s was not, it was slightly tough. So, for a start the consistency was missing here. Accompanied by mash potato and speck, but unfortunately the speck was too hard to eat. The pomme puree lacked lustre and wasn’t completely smooth, it needed to be more luxurious. It might have been better to use cheek or oxtail for this dish.
I made a comment last year about the dessert at Forestis, unfortunately I can see that the standard hasn’t reached the same as the cuisine yet so I did not take anything from the menu, however I did try their cake of the day which was a strudel and I am delighted to say that this was on a completely different level. Why doesn’t the restaurant serve more cakes like this instead of their plated desserts? This is much better for them, and it is delicious. It would be perfect served with an ice-cream! Serve this to everybody and they will have nothing bad to say.
The main restaurant this year was again at the same standard as the last, a nightly changing menu, on one side the detox and on the other the Forestis menu. If you want to eat super healthy you do have this possibility- But I can’t say that I went down this road… But for anyone really wanting to detox and watch what they eat, this is a good offering.
We returned for our ‘burger night’ in the bar, and once again it was a particularly good burger and fries. Unfortunately, the kitchen didn’t appear to have their proper gluten free buns, so it was substituted with gluten free bread with the burger inside of this- It was a shame, not a drama though. We sat by the fire, cosy and warm and enjoyed this with a tea afterwards-I know shock horror, it was my day off from alcohol. It is important that the hotel continues to offer some casual food, the main restaurant is great for the tasting menus, but you do not want to eat this every single day, especially if you are staying a while as repeated guests.
And this is where my next point comes in- We asked the kitchen if they could make for us a mountain fondue off menu, and this was one of the best things we ate for several reasons. It could be criminal not to have any kind of fondue when you are in the mountains. Just because it isn’t gastronomy or ‘fine dining’ it doesn’t mean it won’t be suitable or good for a hotel such as Forestis, on the contrary, I thought this should be added to the menu, either as a regular offering or one off ‘fondue nights’. I was surprised to hear that it was the first time they had done one as per our request. It was delicious, and you could taste a good amount of wine in here bringing a pleasant acidity counterbalanced with the cheese. There should have been a sign above it saying: Beware- Dangerously addictive. To dip into the cheese were a lot of different items, but we found what always works the best is bread and potatoes. I appreciated the pickled vegetables to offset though. It was officially a fondue feast.
A special mention to Benjamin, who has a unique quality as a waiter, more akin to the service you would receive from a butler at Downton Abbey. (A younger Carson springs to mind) He stood out amongst the crowd. Thank you, Benjamin. As usual Forestis offers a special experience, it can certainly be on your list for a reoccurring visit.
