IKIGAI

Rating: 19
Author: Gault&Millau

In Elmau 2, 82493 Krün, Germany

19/20
Exceptional Restaurant

BOOK

1 PHOTOS

Chef: Christoph Rainer
Cooking: French | Gastronomic | Japanese | Seafood | Vegan | Vegetarian
Services: Accommodation | Electric charging station | Private Parking
Style: Bar | Casual | Elegant | Romantic | With friends

Gault&Millau's review 2025

The first aha moment comes when you turn into the last bend of the hilly, wooded toll road from the village of Klais. Then you can see over hummock meadows to a high plateau on which Elmau Castle is enthroned, behind which the rugged Wettersteinwand towers. To the left of the road, a few sheep graze. Couldn't be painted more picturesquely. There are few places where Bavaria is more magnificent than here between Garmisch-Partenkirchen and Mittenwald. Schloss Elmau probably doesn't need to be introduced to anyone. The G7 summit has taken place here twice in the past ten years. In the luxury resort, there is not only every conceivable amenity, but also readings and concerts by world-famous artists. Christoph Rainer, who has been providing culinary evening entertainment here since 2017, ensures that it is a place where the food is also outstandingly good. Unnecessarily well hidden in the basement is his gourmet restaurant, which used to be called Luce d'Oro and now Ikigai, which loosely translates from Japanese as "what it's worth living for". In terms of content, nothing has changed as a result of the renaming. Japan is a great inspiration for Rainer, a French imprint the basis of his work. The Zensai, Japanese for appetizers, are in a class of their own, i.e. the little things that come served individually in quick succession. In terms of originality, cost of goods and accuracy in preparation, they are at the top in this country. They are also beautiful. For example, the golden trout tartare with a cream of freshly shaved (!) wasabi root and a dollop of caviar, which is packed in a crispy sphere. The melty-iodine, delicately spicy marvel towards the end is served on a traditional grater made of shark skin. The menu also provides plenty of aha moments. Rainer manages to provide surprises without squinting too much at the punchline. Wonderfully fresh and not at all Hugo-like, for example, is the elderberry and frozen yoghurt with pickled golden trout with kombucha vinaigrette. In the case of the lacquered and grilled Heligoland lobster, a papaya mousse caresses the sweetness of the noble crustacean, and an acid-hot kimchi gives the stock from the shells a touch of excitement. The monkfish arrosed with oyster butter is accompanied by a cream and a gel from the adzuki bean, which is usually used for desserts, in an original way, although the massive carcass stock mounted with a smoky fish sauce stole the show from the N25 caviar a little. There is a sauce banger with the saddle of lamb (once fried, once marinated raw with koji). Namely, a free dashi variation, made with lamb bone broth instead of katsobushi (smoked and dried bonito flakes). Mounted with a herbal oil, it remains lighter than any jus, but impresses with an intensely meaty taste. What to complain about? The service was a bit out of rhythm. The glass in front of the plate was not always on the table, or filled. And the Bollinger champagne was offered to us a bit briskly at the beginning, we would have had to defy the spirited Pet Nat from the Weingut am Stein. As far as the wine accompaniment is concerned, the charismatic hostess Marie-Helen Krebs draws from her immense wine cellar and her profound knowledge, also when it comes to sake, which she incorporates into the pairing in an original way. Oh yes, there is also a vegan menu. The great watermelon tataki, grilled with Binchotan charcoal and with all kinds of preparations around Japanese shiso cress as well as a refreshing watermelon kimchi, made Rainer's team very curious about what Rainer's team comes up with in terms of vegetable cuisine.