Im Schiffchen

Rating: 16
Author: Gault&Millau

Kaiserswerther Markt 9, 40489 Dusseldorf, Germany

16/20
Remarkable Restaurant

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1 PHOTOS

Chef: Jean-Claude Bourgueil
Cooking: French | Gastronomic | Seafood | Vegetarian
Services: Private Parking | Private Room
Style: Exceptional setting | Romantic

Gault&Millau's review 2025

At the end of the evening, the guest takes a few more digestive steps in Kaiserswerth, the village suburb on the northern edge of Düsseldorf. It is 50 meters from the "Im Schiffchen" to the Rhine, which glides along timelessly and only rarely allows itself to overflow the banks here. It's similar with Jean-Claude Bourgueil. He is now 77 and has rarely been distracted by fashions. Instead, he serves a way of cooking in his "Im Schiffchen" that was outdated in the meantime and that many, not only older people, now long for. Here you will find deep sauces, excellent basic products and dishes that have a certain complexity but do not overwhelm them, and the menu still has a real à la carte selection. It is no longer quite as elaborate as in the 30 years of top ratings, everything has become more relaxed, and the service is also welcome. But what is on the plate still testifies to high craftsmanship. For example, variations of Norway lobster: the head of the shellfish is filled with a cloudy cream, next to it a flan sets new flavor variations, and the whole thing is in a crustacean soup that alone would receive a grade 1 with a star. Pure understatement is the "vanilla scent" that is available for loup-de-mer slices of wild-caught fish and asparagus – this is not a fragrance, this is a present sauce that places vanilla away from the otherwise standard dessert use. In general, it seems that le grand maître has recently turned up the aroma scale a little: It is less discreet than a few years ago and that is good for the plates. The ambience concentrates on the maritime, "Im Schiffchen", and is as timeless as Bourgueil's cooking style. Or like Robert, the always cheerful wagon master. He makes sure that guests don't have to worry about finding a parking space in the narrow corners of picturesque Kaiserswerth – more houses should afford a Robert. Later, standing by the Rhine, the guest feels as if he is stepping out of a journey back in time to those decades when enjoyment was more carefree, a little unhealthier and a touch more pleasurable. A nostalgic sigh escapes him, he goes back, asks Robert to give him the key and thanks him with a generous tip.