Equitable, Stauffacherstrasse, Zurich

Feb
2015

22. February 2015
  • Equitable, Stauffacherstrasse, Zurich
    Amuse
  • Equitable, Stauffacherstrasse, Zurich
    Bündnergerstensuppe
  • Equitable, Stauffacherstrasse, Zurich
    Saibling
  • Equitable, Stauffacherstrasse, Zurich
    Kalbsmilken
  • Equitable, Stauffacherstrasse, Zurich
    Rindsentrecote
  • Equitable, Stauffacherstrasse, Zurich
    Käse
  • Equitable, Stauffacherstrasse, Zurich
    IMG_2595
  • Equitable, Stauffacherstrasse, Zurich
    Karamell
  • Equitable, Stauffacherstrasse, Zurich
    Petit Fours
  • Equitable, Stauffacherstrasse, Zurich
    Rechnung

Unlike the Best of Swiss Gastro award where Loft Five and Mövenpick Marché came in ahead of the Equitable, the Michelin star they were awarded is a prestigious sign of quality. I mean really an award that rates the buffet style Marché often found in train stations and highway gas stations before a fine dining restaurant ? Simply worthless from a culinary perspective…

I’ve visited the Equitable (no article) before and it was time for seeing how they’ve developed. Cutting right to the chase my view still stands – the Michelin star seems premature and banking more on the potential and less on the actual performance. There is tons of raw talent in this chef, but also too many ideas on a single plate and an underlying urge to do too much. Sometimes less is more and added focus helps elevate a dish further.

The menu carries about ten dishes, in bold font the main ingredient followed with some other elements. There was one notable exception the Bündnergerstensuppe which actually wasn’t a single ingredient but a dish. Since this was the odd one sticking out it naturally caught our attention. One of the key things is managing customer expectations and if you call it a “Bündnergerstensuppe” it should be one. It had a lovely variety of vegetables covered in a flavorful broth topped with a roasted barley and a nice piece of pork belly. Especially the pork belly which had been cooked until it was almost on the verge of becoming liquid was a nice touch to the dish. Strong good dish which would make many people happy. The only thing was that it was too far away from a Bündnergerstensuppe, a different name would have managed expectations better.

The char (Saibling) dish was a good example of too many ideas on the same plate. Belper Knolle, char, char caviar, egg yolk, potato puree, leeks and radish slices where all used in the same dish, slighlty meddling the composition. The leek was simply spectacular, an amalgam of crunchy and creamy goodness. But as an example potato puree and poached egg yolk is a very similar texture on the same plate and you still had to dig through undistinct radishes and mushrooms until you hit the fish. Why not just go simpler ?

Some other highlights of the meal was the beet soup in a test tube with a powerful earthiness to it and the polenta cubes accompanied with different onion preparations on the main course. All these components showed a skillful hand and as mentioend tons of talent. On the other hand the sweetbreads and the entrecote were both announced as being served with a “strong jus” (one of them had overreduced) and the chef seems to like “crumbles”. Multiple plates where served and introduced with one or the other “crumble”. At this level, repetition is the root of all evil, even if you need to send similar elements, at least create a narrative which elegantly hides the fact.

The Equi Table plays in Zurich’s finest dining arean and does so mostly well, but the Michelin star seems premature and there’s still room for improvement. Especially consiering that a dinner for two will set you back approx 500 CHF which is certainly right up there. The last detail which one should consider, if you approach a table and ask if the meal was good – don’t get offended at constructive criticism and tell the diners “Well, maybe I wanted it like that”. Feedback is a chance to interact with your customers.

7 Comments

  1. With all due respect, Sir… I find your report not quite fair. You seem to be looking for very streamlined dining from start to finish without taking any risks. Or you might feel adventurous when you enter a place but are then overwhelmed by the twists and turns of it, without admitting to the fact that you’d be happier with a simple “Züri-Gschnätzlets”.
    I’ve been to Equi Table a number of times and was blown away every single time by the taste-explosions of the various dishes… There is only one other place comparable to it in Zurich (Maison Manesse) – obviously besides the odd pop-up dinner night – and the Michelin Star is truly well deserved. What you do not seem to (want to) understand, is that the cuisine-concept there is not about simplicity but more like a complex math-formula with a very exciting end-result… When it’s simplicity I’m after, I go to one of the many good restaurants in Zurich that offer the classics but when I want to be dazzled with a culinary experience and have fun dining, with dishes that are new, fireworks to my palate, I go and see what one of the 2 Fabians (Fuchs at EquiTable or Spiquel at MM) has in store for me…
    Maybe “Marché” is more up your alley?!

    • Thank you for the feedback. Risks are great, but it’s in the nature of risks that sometimes you end up with nothing. On simplicity – it’s not about Zürich Geschnetzeltes versus “Saibling. Ei. Radiesli…..” – it’s about reducing something if there are too many elements which confuse the dish or menu. Focus your energy and make a dish better. To pick up your math formula example – the more variables you have the higher chance that the result is incorrect hence the more difficult it becomes. I’d agree to the Maison Manesse being on Michelin level.

  2. Marché Mövenpick is a different, new concept (grill cuisine and full service) than the ones at the rest stops. I suggest you visit it!

    • The main point is that it’s fundamentally flawed to hand out an award to a chain restaurant in the Trend department if one is looking for culinary value. More to the point it’s downright stupid to introduce a new concept under a name that’s heavily associated with Autobahn restaurants… 20/20 was the better idea.

  3. Hmmm… maybe he did want it like that?? Sounds like you are offended he didn’t respect your opinion. I assume he has more experience and training in cooking than you do.

    • Certainly an interesting hypothesis – and he has more training & experience in cooking than I do. I doubt he has more in eating.

  4. HELLO, AND AGAIN ABOUT MARCHE – DIFFERENT OCMPANY NOW – THE AUTOBAHN RESTOS IN SWITZERLAND ARE OWNED AND OPERATED BY COOP, SINCE 2 YEARS. MARCHE SWITZERLAND HAS ONLY 4 (SIT-DOWN) RESTOS IN THE COUNTRY NOW, ONE IS PALAVRION ON BEETHOVENSTRASSE. NOTHING TO DO WITH THE REST-STOP CHAIN, AND DEFINITELY ITS OWN GREAT CONCEPT. REALLY GOOD GRILL, CHANGING LUNCH SPECIALS AND FOR ZURICH UNBEATABLE VALUE ESPECIALLY ON WINES

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