KAI3

Rating: 16
Author: Gault&Millau

Am Kai 3, 25997 Hörnum (Sylt), Germany

16/20
Remarkable Restaurant

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Location: Hörnum (Sylt)
Chef: Felix Gabel
Cooking: Gastronomic | International | Seafood | Vegetarian
Services: Access for people with disabilities, Accommodation, Electric charging station, Private Parking, Private Room, Terrace
Style: Bar, Casual, Elegant, Romantic, With friends

Gault&Millau's review 2025

16/20

Remarkable Restaurant

Felix Gabels and Marcel Sieger's KAI3 is located in the south of Sylt, more precisely at the Hörnum harbour with a view of the Wadden Sea through the floor-to-ceiling windows of the Nordic-simple restaurant in the luxury hotel Budersand. The approach of the five- to seven-course menu is also Nordic, but the cuisine is also open to influences other than Scandinavian - as an alternative to the vegetarian "cabbage and beets" menu otherwise served, there is a five-course truffle menu for the winter season, for example, which is consistently dedicated to the eponymous ingredient, with such nice courses as the sandwich with duck liver, Sylt red fruit jelly and plenty of white Alba truffle for the corresponding change. The "great aroma journey" also relies on creative naming: "Abend(B)rot" is the name of a course of redfish, smoked paprika and chorizo espuma that is indeed as colourful as it is flavourful, "Like Ice in the sunshine" melts away a king crab, and "A bird called Peter" turns out to be a house chick in pecan and pumpkin velouté. That not only sounds fun, it is also a real pleasure on the palate. The amuse round already shows that Felix Gabel has got around well and has added a "fusion" to the "Nordic" attribute for a reason: After stops in New York, the COI in San Francisco and the legendary Gaggan in Bangkok, he cooked in the Swiss Alps before he was drawn to the Wadden Sea. What he has learned in the kitchen craft is shown by the complex plates and finely balanced, also highly technically demanding creations, which above all surprise sensorially and play with the complete range of possible consistencies from frothy to fluffy to creamy, firm and crispy in almost every course. In short: If you only stay at the hotspots in the north and middle of the island on Sylt, you will miss out on one of the most creative cuisines on the island.