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Mooslechner's Bürgerhaus
Michael and Tina Mooslechner run three restaurants in Rust, the wine capital of Austria, two of which have rooms as well and of the three, the Bürgerhaus, is the finest and the most ambitious. We ate there on two occasions in May and here are our findings.
On the first night we had one of their "tasting menus". Kicking off with an amuse bouche of a trio (of course) of squid soup, mango and fennel salad and raw fish sashimi - all exquisitely done, we then glided through some warm goose foie gras with fried elderflower - all nicely worked and flavoursome, but the accompanying grilled brioche was a bit superfluous. Next came a very intensely flavoured white tomato soup, all frothy on top as is the modern wont these days.
The next course was a millefeuille of locally caught perch with Parmesan cheese and asparagus, all flavoured with a vanilla beurre blanc. The fish was extremely well cooked - moist on the inside with a crisp skin on the outside. After this, we had two lamb cutlets - cooked nicely pink and served with a polenta soufflé and beans and sauced with a REAL mint sauce - not that sweet and acidic mint sauce you get out of a bottle in England!
We finished off with a strawberry dessert based on dishes featuring strawberries - cakes, tarts, ice cream, etc. All in all, a well thought out and well balanced meal.
The second time around we had another of their tasting menus. This time we were looked after by the hotel manager, Elisabeth Jachs, who chose the wines to accompany our meal.
We started off with the inevitable amuse bouche trio. This time it was an asparagus mousse, a Thai curry soup with coconut and a fennel and mango salad - all exquisitely produced. As an aperitif, we were plied with a Gelbermuskateller Frizzante from Weingut Seiler - crisp and grapey, which continued to be served with the first course - Jakobs-Mussels au gratin, perfectly cooked scallops and mussels and very aromatic.
There followed (again, perfectly cooked) monkfish with a won ton filled with minced blood sausage and the accompanying beetroot sauce worked well. With this, we drank a 2003 Pinot Noir "Cavallo" from Eric Giefing - a local producer from Rust. Good varietal flavours with a great deal of complexity. The main course was quail with black bean potato and a plum sauce, but there was also a great deal of spicy coconut in the sauce. With this we had Giefing's flagship wine, "Cardinale" 2002 - a blend of Blaufrankisch, Zweigelt and Cabernet Sauvignon - a really good upfront fruity wine with bags of complexity once again.
Michael and Tina Mooslechner run three restaurants in Rust, the wine capital of Austria, two of which have rooms as well and of the three, the Bürgerhaus, is the finest and the most ambitious. We ate there on two occasions in May and here are our findings.
On the first night we had one of their "tasting menus". Kicking off with an amuse bouche of a trio (of course) of squid soup, mango and fennel salad and raw fish sashimi - all exquisitely done, we then glided through some warm goose foie gras with fried elderflower - all nicely worked and flavoursome, but the accompanying grilled brioche was a bit superfluous. Next came a very intensely flavoured white tomato soup, all frothy on top as is the modern wont these days.
The next course was a millefeuille of locally caught perch with Parmesan cheese and asparagus, all flavoured with a vanilla beurre blanc. The fish was extremely well cooked - moist on the inside with a crisp skin on the outside. After this, we had two lamb cutlets - cooked nicely pink and served with a polenta soufflé and beans and sauced with a REAL mint sauce - not that sweet and acidic mint sauce you get out of a bottle in England!
We finished off with a strawberry dessert based on dishes featuring strawberries - cakes, tarts, ice cream, etc. All in all, a well thought out and well balanced meal.
The second time around we had another of their tasting menus. This time we were looked after by the hotel manager, Elisabeth Jachs, who chose the wines to accompany our meal.
We started off with the inevitable amuse bouche trio. This time it was an asparagus mousse, a Thai curry soup with coconut and a fennel and mango salad - all exquisitely produced. As an aperitif, we were plied with a Gelbermuskateller Frizzante from Weingut Seiler - crisp and grapey, which continued to be served with the first course - Jakobs-Mussels au gratin, perfectly cooked scallops and mussels and very aromatic.
There followed (again, perfectly cooked) monkfish with a won ton filled with minced blood sausage and the accompanying beetroot sauce worked well. With this, we drank a 2003 Pinot Noir "Cavallo" from Eric Giefing - a local producer from Rust. Good varietal flavours with a great deal of complexity. The main course was quail with black bean potato and a plum sauce, but there was also a great deal of spicy coconut in the sauce. With this we had Giefing's flagship wine, "Cardinale" 2002 - a blend of Blaufrankisch, Zweigelt and Cabernet Sauvignon - a really good upfront fruity wine with bags of complexity once again.
A little alcoholic sorbet preceded the main dessert which was a frozen mango soup, quite delicious and intense. Of course, one of area's great botrytis affected sweet wines had to go with this and here we had a Ruster Ausbruch 2004 - a sweet and intense blend of Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Gris, Welschriesling and Gelber Muskateller.
This is a highly sophisticated restaurant and chef Stefan Schweser has done an excellent job in producing the best food for miles around. The waiting staff are also very well trained and look after you well. There are also eleven bedrooms, decked out to a very high standard but we didn't stay there, so we can't make any further comment, but it is certainly something to consider for next time - and there will be a next time.
Restaurant Ratings...
Food 45
Wine list 15
Service 9
Ambience 5
Value for money 12
Total 86
Mooslechner's Bürgerhaus Rathausplatz 18, 7071 Rust, Austria. Tel: +43 (2685) 60793.
Fax: +43 (2685) 6162-11
www.mooslechners.at
Open lunch and dinner all week.
Credit cards: Visa, Mastercard
Fixed price menus: €45 for 3 courses up to €75 for 6 courses without wine. With matching wines- €70 for 3 courses up to €115 for 6 courses.
A la carte: around €60 for 3 courses without wine.
This is a highly sophisticated restaurant and chef Stefan Schweser has done an excellent job in producing the best food for miles around. The waiting staff are also very well trained and look after you well. There are also eleven bedrooms, decked out to a very high standard but we didn't stay there, so we can't make any further comment, but it is certainly something to consider for next time - and there will be a next time.
Restaurant Ratings...
Food 45
Wine list 15
Service 9
Ambience 5
Value for money 12
Total 86
Mooslechner's Bürgerhaus Rathausplatz 18, 7071 Rust, Austria. Tel: +43 (2685) 60793.
Fax: +43 (2685) 6162-11
www.mooslechners.at
Open lunch and dinner all week.
Credit cards: Visa, Mastercard
Fixed price menus: €45 for 3 courses up to €75 for 6 courses without wine. With matching wines- €70 for 3 courses up to €115 for 6 courses.
A la carte: around €60 for 3 courses without wine.
