PUMPKIN SOUP!

Edvard is a one-star Michelin restaurant in Vienna. The restaurant was awarded a Michelin star at 2014, a year after they opened their doors at Palais Hansen Kempinski.

Combining fresh and local products, it is one of the best fine-dining restaurants in Vienna.

Ambiance

Dining at Edvard restaurant felt like I was eating in my living room with my guests who came for dinner. It felt both cozy and elegant. However, I didn’t find the restaurant spacious. I felt like I was in a little compartment due to the shape of the room.

I loved the use of pistachio green in the decoration. The choice of color cheered me up and gave a sense of health and freshness to the food.

Throughout the experience, I wanted to take some videos but unfortunately, the lights were flickering in the video. This happens often with fluorescent lighting.

Taste

There were 3 different options for the tasting menu; you could choose 5, 7 or 9 courses. I chose the 7-course menu.

I enjoyed the pumpkin seed butter and sourdough bread. I haven’t eaten pumpkin seed butter before, so it was an original one for me. I wasn’t much impressed by the amuse bouche but they looked nice in terms of presentation. The first course was crayfish with quinoa seeds, celery and passion fruit&celery sauce. The presentation looked fantastic. Quinoa seeds around the crayfish were clever. Passion fruit& celery sauce gave freshness and acidity to the dish. Acidic sauces usually go well with the fish.

Next dish was pasta. It was very light and fresh however I was hardly able to reach the pasta underneath due to all the greenery above. The dish looked more like a salad than a pasta but tasted quite good. Following dish was oyster with lemon, ginger and hot rice; another great looking course. It was presented among many seashells and stones. With lemon and ginger, this was another nice acidic combination.

Chicken oysters with egg yolk and cauliflower cooked in red wine were presented as the signature dish of the tasting menu. It tasted nice, however, I didn’t think it was a real signature dish. For me, a chicken dish definitely needs to have a wow factor to be a signature dish. I just felt like I was having a nice plate of food, nothing special.

Next course was rhubarb with pumpkin and French cow cheese ice cream. French cow cheese had an intense aroma, I found it delicious and creative. Dry-aged rump steak with mushrooms, mushroom tartare and peas was the actual signature dish for me. I loved the taste of different mushrooms which were cooked perfectly. Mushroom tartare was a unique taste as well. Rump steak was also delicious and cooked nicely.

Apricot with vanilla yogurt ice cream and the apricot champaign sauce was satisfactory. I loved the flavor of apricot with the sauce, it was both fresh and sweet. The sweetness was balanced with the vanilla yogurt ice cream.

The final dessert course was incredible. It was the other signature dish of the menu. I think it is very important to make a strong and unforgettable finish, concluding the experience on a high note. Guanaja chocolate (Valrhona chocolate with 70% dark chocolate blend) with strawberry, strawberry mousse and ice cream was a finesse. Strawberry mousse was perfect with its smooth texture. The dish wasn’t heavy, having just the correct amount of chocolate.

I definitely enjoyed how petite fours were served. However, their taste wasn’t as impressive as the presentation.

I think that the tasting menu was balanced really well. For a great experience, the amount of food that the guests eat should be very well adjusted. These tasting menus usually take at least 2.5 hours, so you probably go to bed after you go back to your accommodation. It is important not to have any digestive problems.

Service

I loved the fact that all the service people were presented to me.

The first course was eaten by hand yet nobody brought a hot towel upfront to clean the hands. The other Michelin starred restaurants I have been to always brought hot towels if you are expected to eat something with your hands. I believe it is a simple but important gesture at a fine-dining restaurant.

Creativity

I enjoyed the presentation of the dishes and I was happy to see some creativity. The most creative dish was the oyster course in terms of presentation. Nevertheless, all the other courses were well put together. I was satisfied with the level of creativity.

Not so amazed by the combination of different ingredients, I enjoyed the crawfish covered by quinoa seeds. However, they could have been bolder with the different ingredient combinations.

Value

I think Edvard is worth a visit if you want to go to a fine-dining restaurant in Vienna. In general, I was satisfied with my experience at Edvard restaurant. I found the pricing reasonable for one Michelin star.

Sommelier was helpful with choosing the wines. There were many Austrian wines that I haven’t tried before. I was happy to try some new Austrian varieties.