Restaurant Lohninger
Sour Cherry Gazpacho
Housemade Rye Bread, Housemade Herb Focaccia, Salted Butter
Wiener Schnitzel, Cucumber Salad, Kipfler Potato Salad, Pinzgauer Spicy Lingonberries
Neapolitan Chitarra Spaghetti, Oven Dried Tomato, Basil, Parmigiano Reggiano Cheese
Lohninger’s “Kaiserschmarrn,” Styrian Apple Puree, Bourbon Vanilla Ice Cream
Opened in 2010 along the Main River in Frankfurt, Restaurant Lohniger suggests a culinary concept that is both “Home and World,” plates referencing Chef’s childhood set alongside Italian and Austrian staples with proper execution across the board.
The eponymous home of Mario Lohninger, a man born in the Alps and subsequently trained by Chefs including Guy Savoy, Wolfgang Puck and David Bouley, it was during time in New York and California that the Chef took interest in the sort of fusion taking place at Danube and Spago, an influence since brought back to Germany and a setting clad in white linen.
Open daily at Schweizer Strasse 1, an abundance of foot traffic made heavier by weekend street markets poised to create issues for those driving, it is with reservations suggested that diners are invited to enjoy lunch or dinner, each featuring a la carte options from sections titled “Childhood” and “New World” while evenings also suggest a seasonal tasting that can be ordered at one price or in individual courses.
Starting every table with an Amuse, the air upscale but family friendly, it was after sipping chilled Cherry Soup that Lohninger’s housemade Bread arrived, two slices of Focaccia and Rye each warm with the latter particularly sour and nicely highlighted by salted local Butter.
Still sated from an early morning visit to Erzeugermarkt Konstablerwache, and thus focusing on items recommended by staff as well as friends, Appetizers were omitted in favor of two “Childhood” classics, the guitar-cut Pasta cooked to peerless consistency amidst good Sauce while golden Veal Schnitzel benefitted from higher quality Meat aged to tenderize plus warm Potato Salad brightened by Capers.
Further displaying Puck’s influence by including Asian-accented Salads, but retaining classic sensibility with Goulash as well as Cheese Ravioli, it is digging into Austria’s past that most tables finish with a favorite of Franz Joseph I, the “Emperor’s Mess” or Kaiserschmarrn soft and tossed with Powdered Sugar that tastes great on its own, but better with imported Apples and Cinnamon, Vanilla Ice Cream or both.
www.lohninger.de