When Hermann Bareiss received the news of Restaurant Bareiss’s third Michelin star last autumn, he was caught leaping into the air with joy. ‘Freudensprüngen (jumping for joy) is not really my thing’, admits this tall, distinguished hotelier with a wry smile – ‘but these were special circumstances.’ It was a fabulous moment, a stunning reward for him, for his jovial chef Claus-Peter Lumpp and for all the staff who’d helped to make it happen. (The next morning they were all lined up waiting for the chef at the kitchen door with a guard of honour - presumably of wooden spoons and soup ladles.)

The intimate dining room has huge wraparound windows framed by swagged pelmets and damask curtains. Above there’s a deeply carved wooden ceiling twinkling with starry lights, below is deep pile royal blue carpet. You glide to your seat – a capacious Louis XVI carver chair with matching stool for your reticule (or perhaps for your pug). The table (one of only eight) is draped in pristine linen with bustles and bows for petticoats, adorned by a single candle, a gorgeous but not intrusive bunch of flowers and sundry weaponry and china ready for the feast.

A meal at Bareiss is an assault on all the senses. Expect extraordinary, multi-layered tastes and textures, and depths of flavour to set tongues wagging. Whether you choose one of the set menus (€148 or €170) or put yourself in the chef’s hands, every dish has ‘a story to tell, in several different chapters’.

A sturgeon-based creation has petals of carpaccio-style fish splayed out over a lightly lemony cream, crowned with a teaspoonful of caviar and set about with crisp dice of citron confit. In a separate glass are tiny cubes of lightly smoked sturgeon poised on a sharp lemon jelly; in another, a whisper of foaming sturgeon essence with hints of lemon and ginger.

An orientally inclined monkfish medley features a roasted chunk with squares of watermelon, fresh dates and pistachios in starring role, with bit parts played by a tiny stuffed crêpe with herby vinaigrette and succulent monkfish cheeks in a cool yogurt-based sauce. Milk-fed lamb from the gentle hills of nearby Schwäbische Alb takes a Mediterranean turn: a neat line of roasted aubergine dice is flanked by a small slab of crusty-skinned, pinkly roasted leg and a syrupy, gelatinous mouthful of slow-cooked spare ribs with polenta.

The wine list, too, is worth a special journey. Sommelier Jurgen Fendt, twice a finalist in the Meilleur Sommelier du Monde competition, is a walking encyclopaedia and genial guide to vines, grapes and wines. The huge list has every international name you’ve ever heard of (and a few you may not have), but while in the Black Forest it would be crazy (given the huge strides made in Baden’s vineyards) not to drink local. Standout whites at a recent meal were Karl-Heinz Johner’s mouth-filling Grauburgunder (Pinot Gris) Spätlese and an elegant Viognier from Fritz Wassmer, while Hans-Peter Ziereisen’s pepper-and-spice Syrah, produced in frustratingly tiny quantities in southern Baden and always sold out at the cellar door, rocked a few of the assembled Rhône-lovers back on their feet.

The eight tables are turned over just once at lunch and at dinner - the chef wants people to linger at table for as long as possible, ‘to have a really memorable experience’. The restaurant is run as a separate entity from the eponymous hotel and closes two days a week (Monday and Tuesday) so Claus-Peter’s travels and television appearances are fitted into his days off. ‘When people book a table at Bareiss, they know the chef will be in his kitchen’ explains Herman Bareiss.

Guests who can choose their dining hour and linger as long as they like, and a home-grown, three-star chef who stays home and does the cooking? Now there’s an idea.

Restaurant Bareiss,
Hotel Bareiss,

Gärtenbühlweg 14,
Baiersbronn-Mitteltal,
Germany
+49 744 2470

www.bareiss.com

Menus at €148 and €170