Ministry of Foodies Review
Cuisine: Creative
Average price per person: 450€
Environment: 10/10
Food: 8.5/10
Service: 8/10
Other: Extensive wine list
Website:https://en.restaurant-amador.com
Amador is the first restaurant in Austria to receive 3 Michelin stars. The restaurant offers a dining experience that not only celebrates the rich flavors of Austrian cuisine but also seamlessly blends them with innovative global techniques and ingredients, creating contemporary dishes.
I visited Amador on a Friday evening for dinner during a short trip to Vienna.
Location/Environment
The restaurant is located on the outskirts of Vienna. The first thing you will come across once you enter the restaurant is the cold pass where the appetizers and desserts are being prepared. On the right through a glass window, you can see the main part of the kitchen.
The dining room is particularly impressive, with its imposing red brick archways.
Amador – Menu
Amador has a set tasting menu with 5 tapas/appetizers, 4 main courses and 2 desserts. On top of that, there are also some bonbons served at the end of the meal.
There is also the option to do a wine pairing which I found had some interesting options.
Amador – Service
I will start with the positives. The service staff was for the most part exceptional. Very polite, always aware at the stage of your meal, and looking for your feedback in terms of the dishes. They also maintained great coordination between them while serving each dish. Particularly the sommelier, Adam, who had some great wine recommendations and was very pleasant and engaging.
On the negative side, during the main courses, there were some time gaps between serving each dish. While these were not substantial, they were not what you would expect from a 3 Michelin-starred restaurant.
In addition and more importantly in the first dessert course, I found a hair. It was incorporated in one of the dish elements which means it was a kitchen error but still a big issue for this kind of establishment. The service staff apologized twice and offered me a complimentary digestive drink. While I did not make an issue out of it, I felt their response could have been a little more heartfelt.
My point is that hair in the food is a big issue but in a Michelin-star restaurant is a major misstep. I would have expected that the staff would have made a better effort to ensure that this fact did not mess up my meal.
Amador – Food
The first 4 courses were small tapas. Those included:
- Their interpretation of the traditional Austrian Tafelspitz
- Walk in the forest, a stunning mushroom appetizer
- Mackerel with chimichurri salsa in a tomato shell
- Artichoke leaf with fois gras, anchovy and green apple, which was my favorite
The last appetizer was king crab with Joselito jamon and peas. The combination of the crab and jam was great and the foam was very aromatic.
Next a beautiful selection of their bread, one with fermented apple which was delicious. Butter from North France, a spread with buffalo milk and Amalfi lemon zest, and olive oil from Andalusia, Spain. Simple and yet perfect.
One of the optional dishes that I went for was the beurre blanc ice cream with oysters and caviar. This was accompanied by almond milk and tamarind oil foam. A signature dish at Amador.
The first main course was Norwegian lobster with pomelo and jalapeno foam. The star of the dish for me was the vinaigrette with tomato which was the best thing I tried during this meal. A combination of acidic, sweet and umami.
Next, the Patagonian toothfish is served with a layer of leek at the bottom, a sake beurre blanc foam and caviar. This was also a nicely balanced dish with good combinations.
Following that an interesting combination of scallops and sweetbreads. On top, there was sliced truffle and gelatin made from beef azu. I was not expecting this to work, but the rich sweetbreads were balanced well with the lighter scallops.
The last main dish was a play on turbot a la meuniere. The turbot was served with a lemon-infused stock and crispy skin on top. The lemon was cutting the richness of the stock nicely.
The Kir Royal which was meant to be the passing step between the mains to desserts was the one that I found the hair in. On top of that, as a dish it was kind of average. Not much more to say about that.
The main dessert was another interpretation, this time of gato mallorquin, or almond cake. This version included crema catalana at the bottom, pineapple, and almond cake with ice cream on top. On the side an almond souffle. Everything was very well executed and the souffle had properly risen when it was served.
Finally, a few bonbons were served at the end, one also in the form of lolipop/ice cream, for the sweet ending of the meal.
Conclusion
I have mixed feelings about my visit to Amador. I loved the space and the attention from the service staff. Almost all of the dishes were very good or great, had interesting techniques and moreover some had delicious combinations.
Nevertheless, it’s hard to overlook the issue with the dessert. I am also not fully confident that I could consider this a value-for-money experience compared to similar restaurants (which I can say for Diverxo which has a similar price point). Still, they have great quality ingredients that they bring to Vienna from around the world. I would probably have to attempt another visit in the future to resolve the dilemma.
Visit: February 2025