SAARBRÜCKEN, GERMANY (SOUTHWEST), APRIL 2017

SERVICE: 5.0/10

FOOD: 8.5/10

PRICE PAID: $300PP (INCL. WATER, CHAMPAGNE APERITIF, TAX)

VALUE/MONEY: 6.0/10

FINAL RATING: 7.0/10

Quick sidebar before we get started- Saarbrücken, the small German town where Klaus Erfort bases his restaurant, is completely and totally charming. Worth a few hours’ walk around.

After working in the kitchens of Bareiss under Claus-Peter Lumpp and Schwarzwaldstube under Harald Wohlfahrt in the ‘90s, Klaus Erfort struck out on his own in 2002 with his eponymous restaurant in Saarbrücken and got a star his first year. He got his second in 2004, his third in 2008, and has hung onto them since. As of 2017, he had been a three-star for 11 years.

We entered off the street into what feels like a really nice dentist’s office- complete with magazines and sitting area. One small difference was the sparkling wine sitting in the corner.

One or two opening notes about service- during my visit there was a young and relatively green staff who spent a great deal of time frantically speaking to each other and exchanging loud, vocal commands. Especially because the restaurant was totally silent except for the gentle clink of glassware and their loud voices, it was especially noticeable. As time ground on, it turned out to be a thinly veiled form of courtship, which is perhaps not best suited to enabling guests to focus on the enjoyment of a three star meal.

First, a group of five plates of small bites to get started- starting clockwise from the top right:

• Red beet macaroons with a touch of gold and foie gras in the middle, like a sandwich. The breads are freeze-dried and super crunchy, and foie is rich but small in quantity. 8/10.

• Bright green oysters with apple infusion- good, but a slightly not-fresh, fishy aftertaste. 7/10.

• Fish roe with cream in a tubular, crunchy crisp. Salty, rich, delicious. 9/10.

• Shrimp golden bags... very similar to what you’d find at a decent Thai restaurant, but a ton better than that. 9/10. Odd that the restaurant I had been to that morning (Waldhotel Sonnora) also served a similar dish…

• "Flammeküche" with bloodwurst- an "Alsatian pizza," I am told, and the dish is also known as Tarte Flambée in French. Either because I dawdled eating it or the fundamental design is a little simple, I found them a bit tasteless and plain. None of the richness or decadence I associate with bloodwurst. 6/10.

Next arrived a “second welcome” from the kitchen; two parallel bars of foie gras with hazelnut and pear sorbet, which balances the dish in an absolutely perfect way. The foie itself is somewhat lighter- not as toweringly rich as goose liver that morning, which is my preference. 9/10.

As we get into the actual menu, our first course of langoustine, avocado, and ginger showed up. The notes of ginger are really, really strong, overriding relatively neutral shellfish and vegetables. Unluckily, I got a piece of shell in the dish which was as hard as volcanic rock and brought immediate concerns of locating German dentistry services into the mix. 7/10 overall.

Next, a super fresh and crispy plate of white and green asparagus with morels and mushroom jus. Just a perfectly Spring-y dish with a delicious salty broth. Balanced, clean, and bracingly fresh. 9/10.

A small sidebar: at this point in the meal, the members of the staff took a momentary break from flirting furiously with each other and turned the music on in what had previously been an echoingly silent room.

Next up, a dish of “lobster dim sum.” This dish was yet another Kick in the Face with ginger; I think it’s fair to say that Erfort’s love of the substance is high. Young leeks in the dish are so fresh they exert a squeaky-rubbery-like-rain-boots mouthfeel when you bight down. 7/10 overall.

Next up, a very fresh Sole fillet served in a beurre blanc sauce together with cucumber and dill. The acid from the cucumber and the fat from the beurre blanc are well-balanced and the fish is extremely fresh. The cucumber had been pickled and rolled into the tiny snail shell shapes you see above- a creative touch. 8/10.

And finally, on to the main course of lamb and artichoke with a rich and spicy lamb jus. Another echo of Thai influence; a Spice called som tum gives it a big umami boost, and extremely fresh Lima beans are a nice textural contrast. 8/10.

As a palate cleanser, a rather interesting presentation of bleu cheese ice cream with a black baguette. A surprisingly perfect combination - the coldness of the ice cream seemed to boost the creaminess and paired perfectly with the hearty bread. Extra-tasty chunks of sweet pear lurked within, offsetting the heaviness of the dish. 9/10.

For the first dessert, a “Sweet-Sour Apple” made with matcha green tea powder and yuzu zest. A lot of contrasting elements here added up to a dish that felt way out of balance and not sweet enough to carry the heavy structure of citrus and rich tea powder. An interesting idea that didn’t quite pan out. 6/10.

With a lovely tableside pour of Champagne-based sauce (which gives a nice, sweet grounding to the dish), this final dessert of rhubarb and strawberry arrived next. Rhubarb and strawberry is a classic pairing, and this was executed more or less perfectly. 10/10

Lastly, a large collection of Paris-Bresse, cannelais, “raspberry boat,” passion fruit macaron, pâté de fruit, crème de Cassis, and Passion fruit marshmallow showed up. All sweet and a lovely send-off to a perfectly decent meal.

As a final good-bye, we are offered a short tour of the kitchen on our way out; the team was just about wrapped up with scrubbing as we walked through.