Dinner
Visited in April 2022
Bewertung: none yet, Gault Millau Switzerland 18/20 points

After visiting Pont de Brent for the first time last summer, which was run by the same team, I was very surprised to hear that this restaurant had closed short after my visit. One of the menu courses then, and it was the bean salad, made it onto the list of the 10 best courses I had eaten in restaurants in 2021. Madame Decotterd and her husband, Stéphane, opened two restaurants at once at a new location in fall of 2021: Glion above Montreux. These are somewhat easier to reach than Brent. Madame Decotterd came to the table later and, when asked about the change, replied that sometimes there are opportunities in life that you have to seize quickly. This was apparently the case here. In July 2021, it was not yet clear that they would be in a different place in September. There was a bit of nostalgia, she said, as her husband had cooked for 10 years under the previous chef at Brent and then run Pont de Brent as owner for another 10 years.

The restaurant is not yet rated by the Guide Michelin, because it was opened only in fall of 2021 and the publication date of 2022 edition was postponed to fall.

Tip: If, like me, you have the idea to walk to the restaurant from Montreux, it would be good to allow enough time. 1.3 kilometers and 15 minutes announced by navigation app could become very long…. I’ll just write: 1000 steps.

The location is a very nice place high above Lac Leman with a view on Montreux, the Rhone delta and the French shore of Lake Geneva. If you have a window seat in the gourmet restaurant, which is equipped with large windows, you can enjoy this view for a long time.

Dining choices include a 5-course or 7-course menu and à la carte offerings. I opted for the shorter menu without cheese and (unfortunately) without morels. At this new location, the menu is now available in English.

A wine pairing is offered. I opted for this, but expressed the strong wish to avoid orange wines.

This was a very good start and the most unspectacular looking and sounding was the best. Indeed, the cheese sticks were very crispy and filled with an extremely tasty cheese cream. The grated Vaccherin cheese on top did the rest. I was glad to have been served two of them.

The surf and turf themed pillow also tasted very interesting. The pike perch biscuit, which came along like a mini pie tranche, was rather unspectacular.

Arrived cold and therfore hard at the table.

The bread selection contained three different kinds.

Now the first course came, whose tartelette reminded me of the bean salad last year. In addition to the marinated and briefly flamed arctic char which shone through excellent fish quality, this small arranged tartlet was particularly convincing. It consisted of several layers of thin pastry and was filled with bent radish slices containing small cubes of the main ingredient fish. The tartlet also contained beans, trout caviar, sliced radish and the whole was held together by a light cream. Flowers and herbs completed the composition – a work of art. There was no need for the dabs of mayonnaise on the plate. The fish quality spoke for itself. The mayonnaise also lacked salt and a characteristic flavor that could be associated with the green color. Still, a very good course!
The wine went well with it, but for my taste is not suitable to be drunk alone.

My highlight of the evening was served here. For me, this was clearly a dish at Michelin three Macaron level. Rolled gently cooked fish strips were in a lake of Chawanmushi, in which peas of very good quality could be found. An herb oil rounded it all up. The dish was very subtly flavored with verbena. This was topped with a wafer that had neat ossietra caviar on it. A perfect plate!

I really liked the Sauvignon Blanc and it went well with it too.

The next course was vegetarian. Top quality green asparagus tips were the main component. In the middle of the warm plate, under the verjus sabayon, was an al dente raviolo filled with black garlic cream. This was framed by thin slices of white asparagus and finally with the asparagus tips. Young nettle leaves and dabs of black garlic completed the composition. One can be skeptical about combining asparagus with garlic, but as one would expect, it was perfectly balanced here as well. The addition of caramelized shallots and a bit of honey to the fermented garlic took away the dominance of the garlic in the flavor and it was a perfect match. The flavor reminded me a bit of mild plum jam with acidity and fruit.

The main course was a piece of lamb loin wrapped in chard. Provided the meat is of good quality, you can’t really go far wrong with its preparation – as was the case here. More interesting were the other two larger preparations. One was a cabbage leaf stuffed with lamb confit like a large raviolo. A jus with brunoise of smoked paprika was added at the table. On a wild garlic leaf (which was not thought to be eaten) à part was served a cornmeal taco filled with roasted strips of lamb shoulder, corn, bell peppers, fried onion rings and a light crème. Light cilantro flavors I could also detect. Monsieur Decotterd apologized and stated that they were not able to remove the cilantro completely. OK for me.

The wait for desserts was shortened by these three mignardises.

Rhubarb, vermouth and almond – that’s all it takes to create the perfect dessert. This was the best rhubarb dessert I have ever tasted. Almond custard in the center, pink rhubarb and vermouth sorbet next to it, marinated rhubarb and then three turrets, each on sablé platforms and with rhubarb walls. One filled with almond cream, one with vermouth gel and one with rhubarb-brunoise compote, plus dabs of almond cream and vermouth gel. I can’t remember the taste of the yellow sauce.

The main actor in the second dessert was the Baba, that is, the pastry in the middle nicely soaked with rhum, but without alcohol flavor. That was intended so. The rhum was previously reduced to an almost syrupy liquid and then used. Saffron gel and saffron sponge were also present. The saffron was grown in Switzerland. Between the pastry slices, on top with honeycomb pattern, was a mountain honey vanilla ice cream, finally almond crumble and rhum and honey flavored cream. Nice varied dessert, which couldn’t quite keep up with the rhubarb composition before. The better is the enemy of the good!

Conclusion

This was, all in all, a compelling dinner that I really enjoyed. It was better in almost all respects than the lunch I had at Pont de Brent. I wonder if the fantastic surroundings are inspiring. I am convinced that this is where the two macarons will shine again in the fall. I’d like to come here again.

Website of the restaurant: Restaurant Stéphane Décotterd

Review of my visit at Pont de Brent.