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The restaurant looks like a work of art. Literally speaking, there are works of art lining the walls, sculptures in opens spaces and the second floor looks like an art gallery. A feature distinctive and unique to Zott’s is a head of an ox which has been taxidermied and mounted in a glass cube in the kitchen. As I learned, this was a former pet of the owner, Mr. Christian Zott, and is a centrepiece, logo and mascot of the restaurant.

 

Our first dish was the vogerlsalat which the server recommended as a light starter. This simple salad of lamb’s lettuce, semi dried tomatoes, dark rye croutons and pumpkin seed oil was delicious. I enjoyed the dressing which was a little sweet and tangy. 
 

 

 

I had the Zott’s beef special while my wife had the seafood special. The beef special is the Tellerfleisch which is a three course meal featuring several cuts of beef boiled in its own juice. The first course was a baked beef oyster blade (Schulterscherzl) served with parsley dip and tartar sauce. The oyster blade was crumbed  and crispy on the outside and braised, moist and tender on the inside. This was something special and it went so well with the tartar sauce. My only complaint is that there was not enough! My second dish was a broth with home-made oxtail ravioli and vegetables. The broth tasted of a well made stock with some butter thrown in. The pasta skin gave way to an explosion of flavour from the braised oxtail and bone marrow. Lucky there were two pieces of ravioli like the oyster blade so that I could share the joy with my wife.

 

 

For the main course, Belinda had the bouillabaisse marseillaise. This is a Provencal fish broth with four types of fishes namely red scorpion, red mullet, turbot and sea bass. It was served with rouille and toasted bread. The fish stock was nicely balanced and the fish was poached to perfection. I still preferred my meat special though and the third course was beef cap and prime rib served with carrots, leeks and freshly grated horseradish. The beef cap is the cap / cover of the rump and it is the more marbled and tender part of the rump. The prime rib was nicely marbled too and it was a hit for me! The meat was sweet and tender and this meal really reminded me that braising and boiling meat can be just as delicious as frying or roasting it.

 

I was so full by the time it came to dessert. Unfortunately the dessert we wanted at the start of the meal when we were hungry takes 20 minutes to prepare so we ordered it at the beginning. Well well, it turned out to be a blessing in disguise. The Kaiserschmarrn, a souffled pancake caramalised and shredded is a true gem. This is something you must order when you are here. The burnt sugary crust contains moist and milky dough. This is complemented with stewed plums and vanilla ice cream but it is so good on its own.

This unique concept is not only visually appealing but it certainly has the substance. I’m sure the well dressed servers who were happy to answer my questions will be happy to be your guide to alpine cuisine.