Hisa Denk - Hiša Denk — Restaurant in Kungota

After numerous enthusiastic reviews from friends, we finally decided to pay Hisa Denk a visit on a rainy Saturday afternoon. The restaurant is located in an inviting, modern, minimalistic almost Japanese-inspired house not far from the Austrian-Slovenian border. Although the restaurant has several dining rooms, all guests were accommodated in just one room that afternoon, which unfortunately made for terrible acoustics. The service was friendly and rather casual, which on the one hand created a nice rather relaxed atmosphere, but on the other hand felt a bit unprofessional at times. Water and wine were spilled when pouring and knowledge of the dishes served was limited to the information waiters had learned beforehand. We opted for the 7-course and 5-course menus respectively. Timing and presentation of the dishes were flawless. The creative, almost artistic execution of each dish is particularly noteworthy! In terms of taste, however, we were a little disappointed. The various dishes were certainly well prepared and the kitchen used fine ingredients, but each savory dish had a similar salty taste. I lived in Asia for many years and this taste reminded me strikingly of miso paste. This unmistakable umami taste definitely gives dishes a typical and very rich aroma. There is nothing wrong with that in itself, but with a menu that consists of several courses, you expect a certain variety in taste. It's a shame that the talented chef literally drowned each course in an identical sauce and thus did not let the ingredients speak for themselves. All in all, a lovely afternoon with a very good, especially visually appealing, culinary performance, but not a very varied...

Restaurant Hiša Denk's interior is beautifully styled. (Did not stay at the hotel.)

Food: Truly amazing food. Great flavors and combinations. An absolute star worthy dinner, food wise. 7 courses was in reality several more, greetings from the kitchen + amuse-bouche + deserts. Count on 4+ hours.

Wine: Rather odd that there's no wine list (it's a first for a Michelin starred restaurant), despite having wonderful only local wines. (Who needs worldwide sourced wines when one has them locally..) Unfortunately there's no standard wine tasting as wine pairing is possible but strangely charged per glass and seemingly served at random. (Not properly times with the food courses.) Unfortunately the sommelier (her) rushed and did not provide any form of proper wine serving. However the (I assume) other sommelier (him, beard and slightly longer hair) had great suggestions, knowledge and did an outstanding service. He was our favorite of the evening!

Costs of the wine pairing are overpriced compared to the food though the wines itself were great!

Owner: Gregor was dressed as if he was coming straight out of a dirty construction site. Not proper whatsoever.

Pets: Despite having a sign that dogs/cats/birds (except assistant-dogs) are not allowed. Dogs were allowed inside, on the terrace, with the guests.

Smoking: unfortunately is allowed while dining on the terrace.

In general, the service is not what is expected from a Michelin starred restaurant, rather underwhelming.

Would absolutely come back for the delicious wine and food. Major compliments to the kitchen and wine selection for carrying...

Lovely property, dreamy breakfast, and amazing staff.

Drove 2 hours after a 9 hour flight just to try this place. Fantastic property and also my first time trying a Michelin-starred restaurant in an isolated rural area. Decided to stay at the place, and my room was literally 20 seconds walk from my table, which gave the whole experience a strange, almost homey coziness.

Chef-owner Gregor Vračko seemed surprised to see me show up in such a small Slovenian village. He seemed more focused on running the property than micromanaging the kitchen, but given his French Laundry background, I kept expectations high.

Dinner was interesting. It leaned on the idea of one ingredient, multiple forms. Lamb loin paired with a cold lamb salad. Trout fillet served alongside trout pâté. The play between temperatures and textures was interesting, but there were some overlapping flavors since several dishes were capped with the same type of savory foam or emulsion.

My favorite part of the meal was the truffle dessert. Sweet cream wrapped around a truffle-flavored chocolate shell worked far better than expected, earthy and elegant at the same time. I went with the basic five-course menu, which most people seemed to choose, and by the end I was more than full.

And the breakfast. I was actually more excited for the breakfast here. Saw somewhere online claiming that this was the best breakfast they ever had. And it was. A sprawling farmhouse-style spread that lived up to the hype I’d read about. Everything felt fresh off the land, rustic yet abundant. Make sure to ask for the pear juice....