We covered the hiking and the origins of Hotel Traube Tonbach in our previous post. This last post about our German trip goes over the great bar and the Köhlerstube restaurant that helped make us willing captives at the Hotel Traube Tonbach in Baiersbronn.

The bar itself, with its fixed seats around a double-U shaped bar, served as our evening entertainment for the three nights we stayed there:

The bar program is run by Head Bartender Bernhard Stöhr; however, Silvia Schumacher also knows how to make a mean drink. They meticulously measure all ingredients, and all fresh produce are handled with tweezers and never make contact with human hands:

On one of our evenings we ordered a Negroni and a house-special Bombay Crashed (Bombay Saphire, muddle kumquats, lime juice, brown sugar). Kumquats here are so much sweeter than they are in the US that we ended up eating the muddled fruit. Notice how they even have their own tiki-style swizzle stick:

Bar snacks are served with all drinks, and in the evenings they even come around with small plates of complimentary savory snacks such as Curry Wurst. Bernhard Stöhr shook up his signature drink, a Black Forest Martini made with Monkey 47 Dry Gin, which is distilled in Schwarzwald (the 47 denotes the number of botanicals used to make the very smooth tasting gin). To make it completely local, a little bit of Kirschwasser, a Black Forest Cherry Brandy, was added in addition to vermouth:

After a couple of pre-dinner cocktails, we decided to dine at their gourmet restaurant Köhlerstube, run by Head Chef Florian Stolte, offering truly gorgeous views of Tonbach Valley and the Black Forest:

The kitchen sent out thin sliced veal with a small salad as an amuse bouche:

We decided to split an order of Mousse of Wild Garlic with Herbal Pleurotus (wild mushroom). It was served with goat cheese, marinated beans, spring herbs and a cherry tomato glossed with oil. The mousse was delicate and silky, and the earthy mushrooms were delicious:

As an update of the Schawabian Maultaschen, they offered Ravioli filled with Goat Cheese and Basil. The three large pasta pillows were served with an arugula salad and were set on creamy Mediterranean vegetables in saffron nage (poaching liquid). The ravioli were very rich and filling:

Since it was our last evening in Germany, we had to order one last order of Spargel (white asparagus). The spears were served with hollandaise sauce poured table side and buttery new potatoes:

We opted for the Baked “Schnitzel” of Veal to pair with the white asparagus:

They do offer some very high end desserts which looked really good, but would have been too much for us after the great meal. Not sure if it was what he meant or was a product of translation, but our server asked, “If there anything more that we wished for?” We had been lamenting that we had not tried a Black Forest Cake while we were in the heart of the Black Forest, so we told him that was what we wanted and he was able to grant our wish with this delicious slice:

We later read that the Black Forest Cake is not originally from the Black Forest, but is called that because it is made with Kirschwasser (Cherry Brandy) distilled in the Black Forest. In either case, the cake was not on their menu; but this is a great example of how excellent the service that the Hotel Traube Tonbach provides. Like our experience at the Restaurant Bareiss, we were left in want of nothing. So now we understand why the tiny town of Baiersbronn has earned so many Michelin stars: service and food really is that great.

http://www.traube-tonbach.de/en/koehlerstube-restaurant
http://www.traube-tonbach.de/en/bar

Related Posts
Bauernstube and Blockhuette in Baiersbronn (May 24, 2013)
3-Star Perfection at Restaurant Bareiss (May 21, 2013