Ammolite - Rust
Our table for the evening
Rating: 16/20
Where: Rust, Germany
When: Dinner for 2 on 17 July 2024
Cost per Person: Tasting menu 220 Euro, Wine pairing 129 Euro
Accolades: 2 Michelin Stars
Why: A quiet dinner with some good dishes away from the crowds at an amusement park
In the summer of 2024, we spent a week traveling through southern Germany with two four-year-olds in tow. As one might imagine, our itinerary was dictated mostly by our children: we stopped at one amusement park after another - Legoland, Ravensburger Spieleland, Europapark, the list went on. Sadly, the idea of “food” in these theme parks usually fit the stereotype: long lines for over-priced, mediocre grub. French fries and pizza were generally the height of culinary excitement. And it made sense: after all, you have a captive audience, often with hangry children in tow…
Given all of this, it might come as a bit of surprise that some amusement parks actually have Michelin-starred restaurants. The most prominent example is probably Disneyworld in Orlando, which currently has not just one, but two one-starred restaurants on their premises. But as luck would have it, the (to my knowledge) only two-starred restaurant at a theme park was right on our travel route. The restaurant's name is “Ammolite”, and it is part of Europapark. Located in south-western Germany near the French border, this amusement park opened almost fifty years ago, and has grown to be the second largest in Europe, right after Disneyland Paris.
The restaurant’s building matched the theme of one of Europapark’s hotels: it looked like a lighthouse. Sadly, the dining room was on the ground floor, so that there were no views to be had. In any case, the windows were covered with curtains, with more curtains hanging inside the dining room separating the tables into groups of one or two, which gave guests a modicum of privacy. The interior decor looked a bit like a theme park designer’s idea of a “fancy” restaurant: white table cloths, heavy chairs, carpeted floor, a dark color scheme with silver curtains and some purple accents. Recalling the name of the restaurant, spiral themes came up several times, from the layout of the room and the shape of the napkins to several of the food presentations.
Shortly after we sat down, we were offered aperitifs and a choice of two tasting menus. Both had eight courses and cost 220 Euro, and one of them was vegetarian. Dietary restrictions were mostly addressed by replacing courses by the corresponding dishes from the vegetarian menu. A wine pairing was also available, with generally decent, though not amazing, wines.
We had barely decided on our menus when the first bites began to appear. In general, the service was very efficient, but also a bit faster than I would have preferred. And while not exactly unfriendly, the staff were somewhat impersonal - this was not a restaurant where a server was liable to engage in casual banter. I wonder how much of this was due to being run as part of an (efficiency-maximizing) amusement park, rather than as a stand-alone restaurant. (I also wonder who the expected target audience was - surely not hardcore foodies?)
Our dinner started with a presentation of five bites. First, a waffle cup filled with beef tartare that was quite flavorful, juicy and a bit acidic. Nice 17. The pescatarian alternative was filled with fermented mushrooms, mushroom cream and pickled mushrooms. Mushroomy, but with more muted flavors than the meat version 15. Next, a little red dome that was filled with goose liver. Creamy, with a hint of nuttiness, but unfortunately with not too many other flavors 15. Here, the pescatarian alternative was actually much better, combining beet roots and raspberries. It was more flavorful, fruity and almost meaty tasting 17. Third, a calamari bruschetta had a crunchy bread and tender calamari that had a light seafood flavor 16. Served on a separate pedestal was a taco filled with radish kimchi. Sounded simple, but was actually pretty good. The radish was nicely acidic, I only wish that the soft taco shell had been a bit crunchier 16. Finally, a cigar-shaped crunchy roll that was filled with a bell pepper and olive tapenade. A nice conclusion to this quintet; its filling reminded me a bit of ajvar 17.
Before we came to the main courses of the evening, we received a serving of bread. Unfortunately, the bread’s flavor was fairly nondescript, but it had a nice light-to-medium crunch. I suppose its lack of character made it a better fit for sopping up the following sauces. The provided herb butter was not too exciting but the plain butter in combination with live cress (to be cut with the supplied scissors) added a good amount of flavor 15.
Course number one consisted of trout and marinated kohlrabi that had been arranged into a spiral. The dish came with an elderberry sauce, three dollops of cucumber sauce and some trout roe. The trout was cooked (personally, I would have preferred it a bit rarer), and had a slightly fishy flavor, which seemed unusual (but to be fair, my wife couldn't detect it). The acidity of the kohlrabi was a good balance for the creaminess of the sauce 16.
Next, a langoustine that was served two ways. First, it was lightly poached and was served with a curry espuma and papaya. Second, it came inside a crunchy baked shell that had the shape of a boat. The poached langoustine was quite sweet thanks to its sauce, and there was a lot going on flavorwise in this dish, almost to the point of pulling into too many directions at the same time. The boat was fine as well, with the langoustine’s meat juicy inside the (slightly oily) shell. The dish had a light herbal seasoning, giving it a vaguely Asian touch 15. My wife would have rated the boat by itself a 17.
The third seafood course featured a filet of loup de mer stuffed with chorizo that had melted during the cooking process. It sat in a chorizo foam that was bordered by green beans cut into the shape of spaghetti. On the far side of the bean spaghetti were some beans and a bean vinaigrette. The fish itself was cooked perfectly, permeated with a strong chorizo flavor and a nicely creamy sauce. Also good: the creamy beans that were full of flavor, and the green bean spaghetti that were quite tasty besides being a neat idea. The best dish on the non-vegetarian tasting menu 17. The pescatarian alternative replaced the chorizo foam with a thyme-flavored white wine sauce, which was also quite good 17.
The first of two meat dishes featured a veal filet that, together with goose liver, was wrapped inside cabbage. On its side was a tartlet filled with chanterelles and peas. The filet was fine, but the liver made this a very heavy dish - even the tartlet felt meaty. Lighter might have been better 15. And that's exactly what we got with the pescatarian (really vegetarian) alternative. Gnocchi were served with chanterelles and peas in a chanterelle foam. The gnocchi were lovely and very light, the foam very flavorful and the peas and mushrooms also quite nice. The best dish of the night by some margin 18.
The star of our final savory course was wagyu beef. It came in two cuts (ribeye and entrecote) that had been prepared two different ways (braised and almost raw) and then stacked on top of each other. The meat came with a potato cream and an onion cream. As beef courses go, this one wasn't too bad. The braised beef was nice enough, and so was the sliced beef although it was a bit chewy 16. The vegetarian main course was a tad less successful: a Treviso risotto made with cheese and a walnut foam. The risotto was decent, but oddly also lightly sweet 16.
A cheese course featured a 18-month-aged comté cheese, a savarin, a petit fuxéen and a goat cheese. There were three mustards - seasoned with apricot, apple and fig, respectively - as well as some fruit bread. A nice enough spread with some surprisingly spicy mustards, but a far cry from the cheese courses one might get in France.
Green tea mousse, fried rice paper, finger limes and a “soup” made of white chocolate were the palate cleanser. This dish was a bit of a mixed bag - the green tea and the sauce were pleasant, but the rice cracker was not very exciting 14.
The two tasting menus featured two different main desserts, so we asked to try one of each. The “regular” main dessert was a panna cotta served with a sauce made from strawberries, rhubarb and basil. In a separate cup was a strawberry foam and a cassis ice cream. A pleasantly light dessert, fruity and acidic 15.
The vegetarian menu featured a dark chocolate bar that was flavored with cherries and pistachios, as well as a “black forest cake in a glass” on the side. The dark chocolate was fine, but the cake in the glass was much better with tasty cherries, some crunchiness, a good cherry sorbet and a nice chocolate cream 15.
Five petit fours concluded our dinner. An apple strudel “sandwich” was very nice: sweet, with a pronounced apple flavor and a crunchy cracker 16. A pate de fruits roll made from raspberries was good, but oddly indistinctive - tastewise, this could also have been strawberry 16. A chocolate praline was filled with cassis, but tasted primarily of chocolate 15. A lemon macaroon was nicely lemony 16. Finally, a caramel malt praline was milky and caramelly 15.
Overall: The world's highest rated restaurant associated with an amusement park provided a competent dinner of French cuisine with some Italian touches. One dish was outstanding, and a few quite good, so if one is visiting Europapark, this is certainly a good place to have a quiet dinner away from the crowds. But compared to other two-stars that we recently visited in Germany, the service was a bit less engaging and the food not quite as impressive 16.
