Tastelab, Polyterasse, Zurich

One of the more interesting cook books in the last years was written by a former Microsoft CTO and has taken a pretty heady and scientific approach to cooking (http://modernistcuisine.com/). In its wake, interest in the mechanics, physics and chemistry of cooking has grown. In a similar fashion the Tastelab pop-up claims that it brings cooking and science together – uniquely positioned on the Polyterrasse (the lovely terrace overlooking Zurich) of the renowned ETHZ.

I’m sure many restaurateurs would have loved to run a pop-up on the Polyterrasse, but none of them have a direct connection to the academic institutions as the scientists behind the Tastelab. A spacious wood & tent construction has been built, complete with transparent foil to give you a view, wooden rough tables and a fully functional kitchen.

We had a brunch reservation, which means you pay your food ahead of time, queue to be seated at 10 am and order your drinks from a waiter. To pass the time you get a game of memory, a set of cards showing the dishes and a short explanation. A poached egg with some ham and bacon chips, a large étagère with cheeses, assorted breads, pork belly, salmon, some asparagus and hollandaise and to finish off three little cups with desserts are served.

The food was okay, very high marks for the banana bread and the salty-sweet pudding at the end of the meal. Most of the other dishes were average, something you’d get at most brunches.

The biggest disappointment was that the tastelab failed to deliver on taste and on lab. If you’re pitching “a love affair between Cooking & Science”, then the food needs to be spot-on (delivering on taste) and surprising (delivering on lab). At the end of the day techniques take a backseat to taste, if you can’t excite people while eating (eg. banana bread) no one will care about how it was made. A bit of sous-vide and some whipped-cream dispenser trickery are pretty standard kitchen techniques in 2016 and are not indicative for pushing the boundaries of science and cooking. If you go there with the expectation of “just” dining in a location you’ve never eaten before with a great view – you’ll be very pleased. If you’re looking for something pushing the boundaries – the marmite food lab is the best thing we’ve discovered so far. 46 CHF for a brunch in a pop-up is okay, considering that it’s a purpose-built structure for 4 weeks.