Kaminstube, Baiersbronn Review

Our first impression of the Kaminstube restaurant was of a delightfully cheerful room with a distinct feel of Provence.

Comfortable padded chairs with arms were drawn up to generously sized tables, brightly adorned with crisp yellow napery, fresh flowers and candles. There is no doubt about it, this restaurant critic for one likes to have a comfortable seat and plenty of elbow room when he dines. A room like this fills me with optimism, an optimism which was entirely supported by the excellent Mediterranean influenced food which we enjoyed that night.

"Fine food served in an elegant room, with a nod to Provence"

I started with a Carpaccio of organic Norwegian salmon with crème fraiche, lemon jelly, and marinated purple potatoes. The salmon was sweet and generously portioned, perfectly set off by the tangy lemon jelly and slight sourness of the crème fraiche, and the marinated potatoes, in which I detected a hint of dill, formed an excellent base note to the dish.

My partner chose parmesan ravioli on zucchini ragout, accompanied by vine tomatoes with basil foam. The ravioli was a glossy, hand-made pillow, set off to perfection by the vegetable accompaniments, in particular an intense basil foam, which was much more than just a fancy distraction.

My partner opted for a glass of Merlot with her first course, and I chose an uncontroversial Pinot Blanc - both excellent.

For her main course, my partner selected saddle of red deer calf with a black pepper glaze, fried cauliflower, cauliflower cream and handmade noodles. My choice was veal fillet medallions with olive sauce, tomato jam, aubergine ragout and thyme Polenta (Polenta is a big love of mine).

We decide on an Australian Shiraz, as we’d both selected challenging and intense flavours, and the wine waiter’s recommendation was perfect.

The food arrived piping hot, so score one from the start - I detest cold food. As we swapped and tasted from each other’s plates, it was hard to decide on who had chosen the best. As is often the case with food, it was the accompaniments which turned out to feature show stoppers, in this case, the thyme polenta and tomato jam, and the fried cauliflower and cauliflower cream - something I must try at home.

We decided to give the deserts a miss, although we were severely tempted. We had dined amply, in attractive surroundings, and blessedly, without the annoyance of mobile phones, which are not allowed to be used in the room. Civilisation!