Restaurant de l'Hôtel de Ville de Crissier — Restaurant in Crissier

Or when you try to describe perfection. The restaurant is, as the name itself says it, in Crissier. A small village, near Lausanne, a mere 15 min taxi ride away. A beautiful house and an amazing crew awaits us. I’m, I admit, extremely excited: this was my birthday gift and I was so happy to have the chance to have such a privileged experience. But let’s go back to what matters, food! We started with a glass of champagne and the amouse-bouche, which already delighted our taste buds. First course: a galantine of perches of the leman lake, crunchy fennel and reduction of Cépage d’Or. They just nailed it from the start, the balance among ingredients was simply perfect (and yes, these were ingredients I love). Next I got an alternative to the menu, as I really don’t affectionate frog at all. A refreshing estivale pressed Berne tomato, basil with crunchy zucchini and mozzarella. Followed by one of my favorite dishes of the evening. Fondant of green beans with black pearls with a green jus and vegetable oil. I was blown away from the simplicity, the intense and delicate taste. At once I was reminiscing the summer days I spent in a farm in Forel-Lavaux, when I was 16, preparing the green beans on a wooden bench for the market. We continued with a beautiful petite Arvine girolles tartlet, slices of Maréchal and cured meat from Gruyere. The perfect balance among ingredients was making it one of most enjoyable dishes of the evening. Next was a red mullet filet, accompanied by a silky creamy balti curry with zucchini and leaves of citrus. I particularly appreciate the fish delicate meat and the flavor of the curry never overwhelming the other ingredients. Followed the medallions of langoustines with a tomato broth and cucumber bubbles. What a delightful creation, what gourmand broth. Loved this one. We continued with a lamb filet mignon with his herbs jus and soft eggplants. Meat perfectly cooked. The jus silky. The eggplant mouth melting. Purrrfection. Followed the cheese, an impressive selection, about 40 different kinds, from fresh, blue to hard. Whatever your heart is longing for, you will find true happiness on that cart. First dessert comes. A frosted duo of candied clery strawberries and verbena. Exactly what you need after the cheese. Refreshing, berries are sublimed to the core. An explosion of flavors. Second dessert. Fuseau powdered with red fruit chocolate and refreshing first raspberry sorbet. The perfect end of an incredible evening. Chassagne-Montrachet, Les Embrazées, Thomas Morey, 2015. Service at all times irreproachable. Frank Giovannini came to greet and part from us. A gentle personality, very kind almost shy. Unique...

I wished to create a beautiful memory with my husband on his birthday and I wanted to try for a change a 3 Michelin star experience vs 2, 1 stars. I did not make any special requests, except that I mentioned the birthday and the fact that we only have 2 hours to eat for lunch.

Pros: nice ambience, clean interior & pleasant food: very nice, creative and plenty of taste the team try to accommodate our strict timeframe and were willing to push to get everything in the 2 hour timeframe. They made a nice birthday surprise small chocolate cake as a gift to my husband.

Cons: I was served a glass of rose champagne which I did not like and I sent it back. Wish to mention that I was not given the opportunity to try it but the glass was fully served. I sent it back after one sip and it was fully charged on the bill.

In addition, it took us 5 minutes to chase a team member to bring us more bread. Quite disappointed, having such high expectations from the place.

After the champagne experience, I tried two other wines , by the glass. None of the them were given to test first. I have never encountered this in a restaurant with this kind of level of experience. To mention, we did not take a tasting wine menu with the food (no pairing). Either the sommelier was bothered by my champagne refusal or… no idea. It was quite disappointing. The wine was ok, went ok with the food. However, the experience itself felt uncomfortable, both of us felt like the sommelier thought that he knew better than us what we like and made the decision for us. Isn’t it against policy to give gueste wine without tasting it ??

We were given the chance to go out on the terrace for a smoke. In the back of the terrace, the tables & chairs were not clean. Very strange.

At the end of the meal, we were told that we should go and salute the Chef. Another weird moment, were the Chef was not sure why we were there. In all other places, the Chef takes a moment to say hello, the restaurant staff should not make their guests to go in the kitchen (specifically that we did not ask for this). All in all, my expectations seemed to have been too high vs. the...

This summer, we decided to act a little like Michelin testers. We visited five other 3 star, three 2 star and several 1 star restaurants. In all fairness, your food was good but far behind those of your collegues. Your amuse-bouche together with the champagne was everything but good or exciting. An amuse-bouche should be a teaser of what's to come. We experienced 2 dry doughy balls and some onion flavoured phyllo. With an apero offered in an Italian bar, you get better snacks than what was presented in your 3 star restaurant. Other than that, our main critic is that we missed the Ying Yang between sweet and sour, tart and savory. All dishes were beautifully prepared, but the flavors were all very similar and along the same savory line. Last and least, your menu was by far the most expensive one. CHF 410,00!! Your service was not prepared. At the beginning of the evening, the ice coolers were full with water and a few ice cubes. For my likings I asked for a colder white wine, which took a while before the wine reached the desired temperature. Other than that everything was impecable. All and everything in your restaurant was absolutely wonderful, our critics are on a very high level, at the same level as your restaurant is placed by Michelin and Guide Millau.

Yours sincerely Joerg and...