schanz. restaurant.

Rating: 19
Author: Gault&Millau

Bahnhofstraße 8A, 54498 Piesport, Germany

19/20
Exceptional Restaurant

1 PHOTOS

Chef: Thomas Schanz
Cooking: French | Gastronomic
Services: Access for people with disabilities | Accommodation | Private Parking | Terrace
Style: Elegant | Romantic | With friends

Gault&Millau's review 2025

Remarkable! Thomas Schanz is constantly tinkering with his very own vision of a carefully modernized classic, which is now bursting with sovereignty without appearing bold or even ostentatious. Quiet and fine chords are framed by an always interesting sweet-acid game and perfect craftsmanship with the best products, as it could not be more typical of the personality of the quite reserved chef, carried by an irrepressible passion for the guest and "hosting". After a small facelift in the now 14th year, the restaurant also reflects this openness and cordiality - here you dine in a feel-good ambience that, just like the kitchen, radiates a "New Luxury" feeling without being excited or elitist. It's also a good thing that Schanz's cuisine does not require liturgical recitation of products, preparations and dosage forms and that the service is pleasantly unobtrusive. Schanz gets by without opulent plate structures or nerd plates and reduces them to the bare essentials – and that is precisely the great art. Much has already been written about the ingenious truffle egg as part of the Amuse, but it shows wonderfully how constantly Thomas Schanz fine-tunes the proportions – it seemed like an old acquaintance that came across as a shade lighter and more pointed. This was followed by a composition of veal tartare in a tomato mousse hemisphere with wafer-thin olive slices, white tomato sorbet with anchovies and a tomato broth – an ode to the tomato and Mediterranean aromas that could not be better, surprising and finely accentuated by the well-integrated and well-dosed anchovy note. This reveals Schanz's passion for Mediterranean and slightly oriental notes, which makes his cuisine so independent. We also know the rosace of foie gras with sheep's cheese, roasted beechnuts and pepper ice cream, but why constantly reinvent yourself when there are dishes that are simply perfect? New, on the other hand, is a ravishingly juicy hake, which "Caribbean-inspired" with papaya nage, lemongrass oil, roasted rice, sea lettuce and mint unfolds an elegantly strong taste that is rarely found in this country. The acidity is a bit reminiscent of Sergio Herman's absolute heyday in the Oud Sluis, which must be compliment enough. Shifting up a gear, the kitchen with the grilled Portuguese carabinero with melted ox marrow, parsley and a bergamot nail, which connects seamlessly and perfectly to hake, shows a similar but accelerated play of aromas, which spans an additional spatial plasticity, especially from the interplay of carabinero and ox marrow, and thus becomes even more complex. Structurally, Schanz crowns this with a kind of "skeleton" based on the crustacean carcasses, which succeeds wonderfully. The roasted pigeon breast shines with perfect cooking, which brings out the inherent aromatics to the fullest and is congenially accompanied by pickled sweet potato, vineyard lamb's lettuce, a croustillant filled with offal and pigeon ragout as well as a wonderful rooibos jus. Finally, the patisserie serves a liaison of kiwi, Pattaya mango and parsley and closes the circle of an excellent menu with a star cast, but also immensely well thought-out dramaturgy - in the end, all this is so lightly composed that we can enjoy the petit fours really carefree. Chapeau Thomas Schanz and family! Chapeau Aleks Petrovic, who accompanied us through the evening in a sovereign vinophile! We are already counting the days until we come back, just like with good friends!