Vendôme

Joachim Wissler is truly one of the best German chefs. His creations are so surreal and surprise you over and over again. For example the tomatobaguette with bacon in the opening. What looks like a hearty snack, melts in your mouth in seconds because it is not made with dough but with dried tomato espuma. And this is just one of over a dozen ingenious dishes you will be served (not counting the outstanding and award winning petit fours from Larissa Metz). Is 300€ for a degustation menu cheap? Hell no. But it’s worth it!

This place blew my mind from start to finish. I was a little intimidated as this was my first two star Michelin restaurant. It was worth it and the staff made us feel warm and welcomed. The menu was nothing short of an interpersonal journey. Each dish held its own distinct and unique texture and flavor, making it a true culinary adventure. The pairing options were also outstanding, complementing the food perfectly. The setting of the restaurant is also stunning and I can't wait to return and explore more of their culinary creations in the German countryside.

Really great food and presentation paired with great wines and nice atmosphere. However the dinner was way too long with long wait times of 30-50 minutes between courses. Over 4 hours for a meal and even after we asked them to speed things up it still took almost a hour to get the some of the courses. Other tables that arrived hour or more after us finished before us which is not how a highly rated restaurant should be run.

We had a wonderful time at restaurant vendome. The food was tasty, the wine was excellent, and the atmosphere enjoyable. Unfortunately, I awoke with food poisoning several hours after the dinner which persisted for several days. Due to this I cannot give more than 2 stars.

My visit to Vendome felt very much like a cozy evening at a good friend’s house combined with fairly conservative but exceptionally tasteful food and incredible quality of ingredients. I especially enjoyed the home-made vermouth and other drink components.

We have dined at the Vendome recently. It was a venue we were very curious to visit. We have visited quite a few michelin restaurants. The surroundings are truly beautiful and the seating was comfortable. We were a bit surprised because after the first amuses it took a stunning 45 minutes before the first course was served. For a restaurant of this caliber quite strange and simply way too long. The pace was picked up, but it seemed the kitchen was struggling to get the plates out in the beginning. The food was truly spectacular and among the most refined we have tasted before. Plate presentation was excuisite, and some dishes were truly memorable. We also had a non alcoholic pairing which was very interesting and well done. We arrived at 19.00 and left at around 23.30 . The bill was quite hefty, around 1000 euros for 2 persons which is more en par with a 3 star restaurant, but the culinary experience was memorable.

This is an amazing 3star Michelin restaurant worth driving too. The food is amazing, everything looks like a pice of art. Each bite is a culinary orgasm. And the staff is super friendly and funny. I highly recommend it and it's worth every Euro.

Truly a very good restaurant, worth its current three Michelin stars for sure and therefor also the trip, especially for those who enjoy an experimental cuisine. Only the dessert was less satisfying: the coconut sorbet, in disguise of a baby banana (visually stunning as most of the platters here!) , lacked smoothness and the side dish was rather bland and contained no sugar at all. Same small issue with the ice-cream lollypops: too many ice-crystals instead of silkiness. Star of the menu: grilled Farör Island langoustine and the veal brain piccata with utterly fragrant white strawberry's (how original to integrate such an unusual dish as offal into a set menu, I was pleasantly surprised!) Wine arrangement top notch. Service very good but lacks elegance. Nice experience overall nevertheless, although the style of the top chef is a bit too inventive for my personal taste. My personal ratings of this specific menu: escargots on cracker 20/20, Spanish Tuna sashimi 16/20, Tofi-Vees 20/20; langoustine and Tom Yam soup (19.5/20), Sole Colbert with pigs snout (genius!) (dish served too cold, 18.5/20) Red Mullet (18.5/20), Veal brain, black truffle and strawberries 19/20, Guinea Fowl breaded dim sum 15/20, the bird's breast with Madras curry, 17/20, coconut sorbet 16/20, mignardises 17/20, wine assortment: 19.5/20. Overall experience: 18.5/20.

Just ignore the fact that after years of having 3 Michelin Stars that Vendome was just demoted to 2 Stars. We went there with friends who have collectively eaten there over a dozen times and the conclusion after the meal was that nothing has changed, it's just the fickle Michelin Man creating drama. Also, Vendôme closes for a month or so a year, I think it's in August, so check ahead. If you have the time and budget, I recommend to get a room at the Schloss Bensberg so you can just roll your fat self to your room and pass out rather than have to schlep back home or to your hotel after what could end up as a 4-5 hour meal! ATMOSPHERE: Minimalist, no music (until later in the evening when some hallway jazz could be heard remotely), it's just you, your food and your company. We were lucky to have a center table overlooking the the Schloss Bensberg property during sunset, which I really recommend if you can! The bathroom is on another floor and very far away, so just be warned! SERVICE: Flawless and with ease, like they have been doing this forever, which they kind of have been. FOOD: Choose between 6 and 8 course tastings and wine pairings, not everyone has to choose the same. We had several dietary restrictions and they accommodated them, except the modifications were not as great as the original and for the sweets at the end, I was a bit disappointed that instead of having subs for the sweet treats, those with restrictions just got fewer treats :( Overall though, almost everything was delicious. The only dud of the night was their bread! The opening bites and their main desserts were the highlights so the meal, so it started and ended with a bang, which is so nice to have since a lot of tastings we've had elsewhere lately just peeter out with weak pastry, but not here! I think the the food is more traditional and familiar than a lot of newer 2-3 stars, which tend toward more molecular and crazy flavors, which often yield less yummy results. Why mess with it if it just works as is?? Those they had wine pairings thought everything paired well, though there was only one red wine much to hubby's chagrin. Despite this, he though it all worked well with the food. DAMAGE: With adding gratuity, expect 450-650 Euros per person depending on if you opt for the smaller tastings, wine pairings, and if you opt for aperitifs before and after the meal. OVERALL: Vendôme is definitely still a 3 Star experience, that seems to be punished for not innovating enough to keep up with newer trends, even though their food is still absolutely delicious. I do agree that there wasn't a "wow this is new and my brain is on overload" moment but I think it should be enough to walk away with happy taste buds and warm fuzzies about the whole experience. Call me old school, but sometimes old school just works.

Toqued by Joachim Wissler since 2000, and holding three Michelin stars since 2004, Restaurant Vendôme is located approximately thirty minutes east of Cologne inside Grand Hotel Schloss Bensberg, the surrounding environs beautifully manicured and clientele largely well-heeled Europeans. One of over fifty starred-Chefs trained on the grounds of Traube Tonbach, a career that began in 1980 jumping indirectly from Schwarzwaldstube to Schloss Bensberg where a style marked by whimsy quickly caught the eye of critics, it is now nearly two decades later that Wissler continues to cook inside the small kitchen, a team at his side crafting edible works of art offered via one of several tasting menus. Light and airy in ambiance, just twelve tables and less than forty diners seated Wednesday through Sunday including weekend lunch, it is from underground parking that guests pass through gardens en route to refinements, staff proper but not at all stiff and happy to answer questions or grant requests. Priced €165 to €295 exclusive of Wine, each menu presenting choices along the way, it is even before decisions are made that diners are greeted with Aperitifs and small bites, a quartet of flavors immediately showing Chef Wissler's fondness for modernity and highlighted by Goose Liver "Peanut Butter Cups" as well as an airy Cookie sandwiching hand-cut Wagyu topped in Osetra Caviar. Opting for Chef's largest "symphony," a nearly four-hour opus consisting of ten-courses that followed opening bites with warm Bread and Butter from Bernard Antony, it was while indulging in a Roll dotted by Olives that locally produced Riesling was poured, the minerality and complex acidity playing well of a first plate of thinly sliced liver "Mi Cuit" topped by Bivalves and no less interesting as a partner to Octopus lacquered by Beets next to Tabouli with a sidecar of Cephalopod Sausage atop Tuna Tartare. Lucky to visit during Spring, the region's bounty and Joachim's obsession with coaxing the most out of superior Ingredients both on full display, it would be difficult to deem either course three or four the meal's best as both were magnificent, first a poached Egg tanned by Miso beneath Parmesan "Snow," and then snappy Lobster served in two compositions with one brightened by Peppers and Tomatoes while the other found added sweetness from Melon perfumed by Vanilla. Saucing almost every dish tableside, aromas drifting upward as compositions were described at length, it was by roasting the remains that Char from Lech Valley took on depth to match roasted Leeks and balled Apples, Bones again coming into play as service piece for domestic Wagyu nearly raw with a bit of salt and condiments including Salted Plum and Creamed Corn molded to look like the real thing. Taking the Maître D's advice to finish with Lamb instead of Guinea Fowl, three cuts including Offal wrapped by a Crepe dazzling in part due to bold spicing covering a wide swath of Asia, it was transitioning from savory to sweet that fun again was on display via a composed Cheese dish featuring molten Fourme d'Ambert at the center of a Doughnut and Williams Christ Pear Sorbet atop Blue Crumbles on the side. Taking Cheese even sweeter for the first of two Desserts, Quark and a mellow Cow's Milk variety forming both Cake and Crème Brulee accompanied by Raspberries, it was admittedly Vendôme's most unexpected triumph that saw Asparagus used not once but thrice in an elegant finale, the bowl of Ganache particularly memorable before finishing up with traditional German Cookies, Marshmallows, a housemade Magnum and Snickers Bar.

I heard about this place in 2013, as it had made it to the top 10 of the Worlds 50 Best Restaurants and, since then I have wanted to try it. In 2014 it moved down to number 12. Although the name is very French there is no french food served here. This is modern German cuisine that has a reasonable amount of international ingredients but using cooking techniques that are traditionally German. It's a big restaurant that seats no more than 30-40 people and a meal here at night is a 4-6 hour affair. Don't come expecting anything less :-) we arrived at 7 and finished at about 11:30 and, we left before the finishing course of house made pralines :-) The ambience here is really good and unlike many of the top end Michelin star restaurants I have been to, this place was vibrant and lively. As it was Christmas Day they had two menus, 5 or 6 courses. I am assuming normally they have a similar setup. I had the six course menu and, as my wife is vegetarian they prepared a special 6 course menu for her as well. This was a very nice gesture considering, they were short of staff and so on. We had a slightly delayed start for this reason, which was totally fine. The wine list here has a lot of good German wine and, we had a lovely German red wine which was also very reasonably priced. All in all we had just under 12 courses as, there was at least 3 different appetizers and three different sweet courses, after dessert :-))) Yes the chef is generous and I loved it :-) The food is amazing and the service is faultless. We had a wonderful waiter who happened to be from Munich and he was very engaging and friendly. The Canadian lobster dish I had was the best lobster I have ever eaten and the lobster emulsion that came on the side was just mind blowingly good :-)) It lived up to my expectation and, modern German cuisine has earned a new fan in me. This is one of those places that is hard to describe but to experience. It's not cheap but once in a while you do deserve to reward yourself with such a treat ;-))) I would absolutely come back here again and look forward to my next trip. They do gourmet events here throughout the year and some of them would be well worth coming back for.

I am dedicating my 1900th review to Chef Joachim Wissler's 3 Michelin starred temple of fine dining, Vendome, where I was lucky enough to dine over Easter The restaurant is set in the stunning Althoff Grandhotel Schloss Bensberg, a hilltop venue which literally took my breath away when I walked through the gates. Chef Wissler has been cooking here since 2000 & the hotel is lucky to have a top notch restaurant befitting its grand surroundings I've been lucky to have now dined at eight 3 Michelin starred restaurants & Vendome is what I would class a benchmark restaurant. Besides the stunning tasting and beautifully & precisely presented food (I spotted forceps during my kitchen visit!), the service was unfussy & friendly but classily seamless 3 Michelin standard - your chair was always pulled out for you and plates & cutlery arrived as if by magic My main servers Talisa & Julia were impressively multi lingual, knowledgable about all aspects of the menu ^ nothing was too much trouble. When I asked about visiting the kitchen, she said to follow her immediately & Chef Wissler didn't seem to mind a bit having me invade his kitchen with no prior warning. In fact, he seemed to be happy to indulge my inner food geek & spend time discussing the merits of sous vide cooking over more traditional methods & to divulge his favourite restaurants. Like the truly great chefs I've the privilege to meet, he was a wonderfully modest & friendly person The whole experience is one of being cosseted & pampered in the dining room but for them to be so well trained and used to delivering that exceptional experience that they can afford to be relaxed because they know they're that good I started with a nice apperitif of quince purée topped up with tonic water The stunning canapes told me immediately I was in for an extraodinary evening. The care and attention lavished on this free course made my mouth water for the medium tasting menu I went for. Lychee on 'rice' cracker. Oreo cookie made with parmesan and black olive. Goose liver topped with apricot. Snail on a cracker The main menu reflects 'new German cuisine' where you'll find traditional ingredients like WeissWurst (white sausage), unusual cuts like tongue & some new ingredients like house-made tofu cooked with confidence to allow robust flavours to come through & plated like works of art. There were stunning new flavour combinations to my palate throughout the meal 1. Silence. A walk through the forest A very inventive panoply of sights, smells & tastes of the autumn forest. A fragrant base layer of truffle soil with a scattering of other components topped with delicate leaves made from essence of mushroom and juniper berry and coloured with beetroot 2. Crayfish Like a lot of dishes, this was finished at the table with an artful pour of sauce over the plate. Sweet crayfish was paired with candy beet & a sauce of white beet lemon coriander cream. A cup of powerful crayfish velouté was served on the side 3. Raviolo A filling of calf's head meat was enveloped by WeissWurst topped with mustard & decadent gold leaf. To accompany this was a crispy sweetbread cracker & fried tongue cracker. A great dish to show off German cookery 4.Sweet water The river pike came with mashed potato delicately flavoured with eel & snail caviar. The first of a combination of double sauces arrived, mushoom & eel juice in this case 5. Sea urchin A genius dish where the powerful sea urchin came as a mousse also containing red pepper & tomato - the sweet pepper comes first but elongates the urchin flavour which is now deep without being overwhelming. The pudding was topped with fried red mullet skin ^ served with quinoa & lobster sauce. 6. Salted water Perfectly cooked cod came with Insanely good arroz bomba, traditional rice from southern Spain, asparagus & bitter veggies. An exemplary lemon butter sauce brought those disparate elements together 7. Tofu The natural blandness of the house-made tofu was brought to life with black truffle. The dish was finished with soya beans & artichoke rolls 8.Scallops These came with bone marrow, grilled celery & caviar, a new combinations to me but it worked 9. Lamb neck This flavourful & tender cut was seved with a subtle BBQ sauce made with whisky. I also loved the lamb's kidney & the strip of sweetcorn 10 Venison Served in 3 forms - saddle, knuckle and liver. It was a good way to experience & contrast 3 cuts of this powerful meat. The plate was finished with German noodle, morels, celery, salsify & parsley sauce 11. Apple This a study of apple and quince. The quince terrine was topped with tarragon olive oil ice cream & sprinkled with goat yoghurt snow. These were subtle, light & palate cleansing flavours 12. Schokolade A layer of chocolate cream cream was topped with textures of cranberry. Tis was accompanied by amazing William pear ice cream, aerated chocolate & edible sweet leaf Some truffles completed this magical meal Thank you, Vendome!

The food is Michelin food, its beautifully presented, see my photos. But its really not that exciting in the mouth. The textures are just ok, there are no surprises, no delights. The dinning room is elegant, mostly cream in colour, very subdued, lots of space between the tables. But it makes the atmosphere quite sterile. Not very much fun at all. I had lunch alone - my husband was watching my baby - because I am such a die hard foodie I couldn't resist the temptation of sampling this 3 star place. But, in hind sight, I could have done without the experience. I remember the maitr'd being an absolute tit, as in idiot - not the body part. He just hovered too much and tended to ask me a question he wouldn't then listen to the answer to, when my mouth was full. Nice view into the glass kitchen on the way in though.

There's a few times in life where you experience art through food, and this restaurant accurately portrays the nature through food. Upon sitting down, the hosts for the evening ensured I was comfortable and started me off with a drink of my choosing. Eventually, they took lead with the degustation menu and made my night something to remember. I highly recommend stopping by Hotel Vendome and this amazing restaurant in your ever passing through Cologne.

Whaaouw what a trip. This is a tree star restaurant that let you travel through a incredible journey. If you are very hungry you can take the very long menu ( 4 hours) but stay reasonable and take the normal early summer menu wines included it is worth the trip. People are very kind looking at all your wishes.

World-class food served by a friendly and professional service brigade. Expensive (within Germany, even by 3 star standards) but worth the money as Joachim Wissler is a chef at the top of his game. The Maitre d' is a star - fluent in English - he looks after all his guests equally well.