Obendorfers Restaurant Eisvogel

Rating: 16
Author: Gault&Millau

Hofenstetten 55D, 92431 Neunburg vorm Wald, Germany

16/20
Remarkable Restaurant

BOOK

1 PHOTOS

Chef: Sebastian Obendorfer
Cooking: European | Gastronomic | German | Japanese | Local | Seafood | Vegetarian
Services: Access for people with disabilities | Accommodation | Electric charging station | Private Parking | Private Room
Style: Bar | Elegant | Exceptional setting | With friends

Gault&Millau's review 2025

The wellness hotel Birkenhof looks a bit like a UFO that has landed in the Upper Palatinate countryside. But here still beats the heart of a real family business, which emerged from a village inn and a discotheque and was brought to national fame by the Obendorfer family with the gourmet restaurant "Eisvogel". Under the aegis of restaurant manager Christopher Pech, you feel as comfortable in the tasteful interior with a view of Wackersdorf, the site of the nuclear factory that was closed in 1989, as you would with a scented oil massage. Assisted by the young sommelier Miriam Mette and a motivated team, Pech leads through the programme with down-to-earth charm. The highlight of his appearance is the presentation of the cheese cart, equipped by Monsieur Antony, the legendary Alsatian affineur. Sebastian Obendorfer, son of patron Hubert Obendorfer, who retired from the operational culinary business after a health crisis, works in the kitchen. While his father was enthusiastic about Ferran Adrià's molecular experiments, Filius, like many of his colleagues, is enthusiastic about Far Eastern cuisine and thus skilfully presents teriyaki, togarashi and chawanmushi in the Bavarian outback. The Japanese touch works well with the robust Iberico pig, while the baked sweetbreads succumbed to a (in this case North African) harissa drone without a fight. The ray wing, with its already very restrained taste, was tackled by a dill beurre blanc and sour goat yoghurt during our visit. Here, in the middle of the Upper Palatinate Lake District, we could have imagined one or the other regional product in combination with Asian aromas to be more inspiring – perhaps a suggestion for the next season? The peach dessert perfumed with lemony green shiso and verbena and an iced Japanese tea with creamy espuma and "lemon caviar" as an intermediate course were refreshing all around. For the time being, Sebastian Obendorfer's style seemed to us to be a bit indecisive and too much oriented towards current fashions. A pinch of more Wackersdorf independence would certainly do the suspense of the kitchen good, despite all its sovereign cosmopolitanism: We are looking forward to the next visit!