Exciting dinner at Michelin 2-star chef Jeroen Achtien at relaxed hideaway: 

Together with friends, my husband and I had chosen Restaurants Sens for a celebration. Here, at the premium Hotel Vitznauerhof on Lake Lucerne, one of Switzerland’s most ingenious chef is at work. It is about Jeroen Achtien who had been making waves with its unusual approach on Switzerland’s culinary scene since his start here three years ago. And his effort even resulted in a Michelin 2-star award! We had already known Jeroen Achtien’s exciting cuisine from an earlier dinner on the occasion of a party. After that we were keen on trying it “in normal operations”.

Before coming to our dinner experience, first a look at the hotel and its amenities.

Staying in style at Hotel Vitznauerhof

Location/History

The beautiful historic Hotel Vitznauerhof is directly located on Lake Lucerne in Vitznau, a village in Switzerland’s core.

And it features the longest sunset on this lake!

You can reach it from the the city of Lucerne in about half an hour by shuttle boat and by foot. In my opinion, it is not only the most favorably situated premium hotel in the area but also the one with the most idyllic location! Hotel Vitznauerhof is amid a lovely park and next to the Vitznau-Rigi Kulm cogwheel railway that brings you to the famous Mount Rigi.

The hotel, built in the Art Nouveau style, was opened in 1901. It looks back on an eventful history with many ups and downs. In its early times, it had many famous guests, too. Hermann Hesse, Richard Strauss or Paul Klee stayed here. In recent years, there were quite many management changes. In 2005, a flood destroyed the building and the park. And this was after an extensive renovation that had taken place in 1997!

Since summer 2018, the Vitznauerhof is under the new management of the young host Raphael Herzog. At the same time, the Dutchman Jeroen Achtien, another youngster, started as new chef at Restaurant Sens. And this was the beginning of a new era bringing not only consistency but seemingly also quite some success.

Ambiance

Hotel Vitznauerhof used to be a five-star hotel. This changed in 2015 when the former hosts changed it in a four-star superior one. Notwithstanding that, the house also caters for a demanding clientele, however the ambiance here is rather relaxed.

Rooms/Pricing

The 53 rooms are not super-luxurious yet also suitable for discerning guests. In any case, I would opt for a Premium Double Room with Lake View. These rooms all have either a terrace, loggia or small balcony with view of lake and mountains. And they are only slightly more expensive than the regular double rooms with the same view, which do not have this amenity. Although they are not spacious (19-26 sqm), they are thoughtfully designed to give you maximum comfort for the size. If you want to have more space, opt for one of the suites. And note that there is no air-condition in the rooms. In summertime, it might become a bit warm at certain times.

On our first stay in October 2020, my husband and I had a corner room, which was quite large with a sizable bathroom.

The only disadvantage was that it featured only a small balcony with a side view of the lake. When we were here in April 2021, we had a smaller room with a not very large bathroom – however the shower was spacious.

The biggest asset of the room was the dreamlike terrace with great views of the beautiful surroundings.

As to the room rates, you get here good value for money. The Premium Double Room with Lake View is available from 319 SFR/US$. On our last stay, we went for a staying and dining package. Precisely, we booked the Sens Experience which cost us 1,112 SFR/US$. The offer included the room and breakfast plus a six-course menu with wine pairing. Also part of the package were a glass of champagne, water, coffee and a Sens give-away.

Restaurants

UPDATE: new restaurant concept as from September 2023 (chef Jeroen Achtien leaves end of August 2023)

Onsite you find quite a selection of culinary spots. The signature restaurant here is the Michelin 2-star Restaurant Sens, where I have already dined twice. More information on that follows below.

Furthermore, there is the Restaurant Inspiration where they serve the breakfast, too.

Here you find contemporary dishes, often with a healthy touch. When the weather allows it, you can have your meal also at the Panorama Terrace.

And there is a new addition for the summer season, Yaku by Canessa. This is some sort of pop-up spot at Restaurant Sens. The young female chef, Claudia Canessa, is a native Peruvian. She works at the premises of Restaurant Sens when chef Jeroen Achtien has his days off. In the winter season, she usually is in St Moritz at the Kulm Hotel (14 points Gault Millau). There she does her inventive crossover creations at the Sunny Bar. Think of typical Peruvian dishes such as ceviche but also such ones with a Japanese twist. Indeed a place where I would like to dine in the months to come!

And in case you want to have a drink, there is a bar, too, located adjoining to the lobby.

Other amenities

At Hotel Vitznauerhof you find a private beach,

and there is also jetty, in case you arrive by private boat. In terms of water sports, you can rent the equipment for stand-up paddling. The same is true for the hotel motorboat.

As to wellness, there are a Finnish sauna, a steam bath and a footbath. A fitness room and an outdoor jacuzzi with lake view

are at your disposal, too. Spa treatments and spa shopping are also an option here.

Dining in style at Restaurant Sens at Hotel Vitznauerhof

Location

The fine dining restaurant Sens is in the former boat house, a bit away from the main building. From the hotel you walk through the park along the lake, cross a small bridge and there you are. Either you go straight inside or you have a look around first. There is the Sens Garden

or the outdoor area by the lake. Go around the building to find the outdoor restaurant, a lounge and a small platform on the lake, which is all really nice!

And if the weather cooperates, you can enjoy the most formidable sunsets from here!

The interiors are lovely, too. The view of Lake Lucerne and the Alps is breathtaking!

The space is small, about 20 to 25 seats with a disused fireplace, which the chef uses for fermentation. There is a half-open kitchen, i.e. a window to the kitchen. If you have your table by this window, you may stand up every now and then and take a look at the happenings in there. But do not worry if you have a seat elsewhere because the chef and his team do not hide in the kitchen. Quite the opposite, they leave it rather often to get in touch with their guests.

About chef Jeroen Achtien, Michelin 2-star chef

The chef is young (33 years old) and adventurous! To my knowledge, there is no other restaurant of this class in Switzerland where you can experience a comparable spectacle! The chef ferments and dehydrates like crazy. And he has a knack for combining ingredients you would never think that they fit – but they do. And he does all this not for the effect only but, first and foremost, to make the composition perfect.

Furthermore, he likes to interact with his clientele. He and his team member leave the kitchen frequently to prepare dishes tableside or to give them the finish onsite.

Before coming to Vitznau three years ago, he had been the right hand of the 3-star Michelin chef Jonnie Boer at Restaurant De Librije in Zwolle, The Netherlands, and this for eight long years! After less than a year here in Switzerland, he already got his first Michelin star. Two years later (February 2021), he even was awarded the second one! And he holds 17 point Gault Millau. When leaving the Netherlands, he also brought along parts of his team. So, you encounter here quite a lot of Dutch people at this Michelin 2-star dining-spot at Vitznauerhof.

What can you expect at Restaurant Sens?/Pricing

As mentioned, chef Jeroen Achtien is part of a generation of enterprising chefs intent on pushing the soul of traditional haute cuisine. And this to its most sophisticated and refined expression. He is a technical wizard, who packs a real punch both in taste and creativity. The young chef weaves some pretty special magic but without sacrificing flavor. In short, it is not your usual fine dining experience but a rather unconventional affair – in any case, worthwhile to do for every open-minded fine dining lover!

The atmosphere in here is – as at the rest of the hotel – laid-back and unpretentious. It is casual fine dining here with bare tables. Staff is young, uncomplicated and energetic. Allow at least three hours for your dinner. But I can assure you that time flies in this restaurant!

As you would expect, there is no fixed menu or an a la carte menu. Instead you can decide on the number of courses. You can choose either five (180 SFR/US$), six (210 SFR/US$) or seven courses (230 SFR/US$). That is of course no bargain meal yet prices are competitive compared to other restaurants of the same class.

And now to what we got on our second visit at Restaurant Sens at Hotel Vitznauerhof.

6-course tasting menu (210 SFR/US$) & wine pairing (115 SFR/US$)

Before the dinner started, each of us had to make a choice of three ingredients out of several ones. The server let us know that they would make part of a surprise course to follow. Suspense was built!

Snacks came one after the other, in quick succession without much time for me to think about them. First was a Caesar salad, which was prepared table side with a sauce of your choice, greens and pickled tomatoes. Egg yolk, smoked & dried, was grated over it.

Next was a broccoli cone and an eatable charcoal along with a lime dip.

A fluffy sandwich with fermented beetroot ketchup followed together with a kimchi taco with grated dried octopus.

And then the bread arrived accompanied by a fantastic brown butter (beurre noisette). I had to restrain myself not to eat too much of it!

The first starter was a triangle on the plate. It consisted of flamed char, white asparagus – tips and sauce – as well as leeks. The whole was topped with char caviar.

The meal was continued with an unusual but tasty combination: duck liver, not fattened and in powder form, smoked eel, oyster and jalapeño. It was a play of tastes, textures and flavors. And to my astonishment, it was a fit!

We proceeded with my favorite course of the evening, dry-aged zander with a creamy miso sauce paired with cauliflower, bacon and fermented grapes. And this came with a glass of fabulous sake. What a delight!

A palate cleanser was next, carrot ice cream in unison with passionfruit and basil, which was refreshing indeed.

The main course featured wagyu beef from Lucerne. First was a tatar on potatoes with Royal Belgian Caviar. Another part of the aged cow was roasted pink and yet another one was braised. The latter was cheek served in ail-mushroom bouillon, which gave the whole an unami kick.

In terms of wine to this course, we got two of them, both Pinot Noirs from Buendner Herrschaft, one red, the other sparkling. Such a duo was a first to me – and you know what, it was a match!

The cheese course was extraordinary, vacherin mont d’or from cheese maker Rolf Beeler merged with green asparagus, morels and chicken skin. And the porto we had with it made the composition complete!

Jeroen Achtien and his team did not disappoint in the dessert department either. Pineapple was paired with goat cheese, chocolate from chocolatier Felchlin and coffee. And the whole came in form of snacks and the actual dessert plate.

And we were stunned with the liquid pairing, rum with pineapple.

Finally, it was time for the surprise course – you remember, we had to choose three ingredients for it at the beginning. A cart was rolled to our table where we saw ice cream on sticks, black and white chocolate sauce as well as containers with unknown content.

As ingredients I had chosen spruce, hazelnut and kafir lime. The patissier recommended to pair those with white chocolate and off it went – with the help of nitrogen. The result was a deliciously flavored ice cream. What a treat to end a culinary fireworks for all senses!

Moreover, we also got a Sens giveaway, pickled onions and chocolates.

On balance, it was one hell of a multi-sensory experience! It was so much fun and excitement. Food wise, it was a big deal, we were blown away by the offered! When it came to the wine pairing, I found it great, too. However, we got three Pinot Noirs from the same region, that was a bit too much. But that was the only point that gave rise to criticism.

Overall

If you are a broad-minded fine food lover looking for a premium hotel with a wonderful location by the water and an easy-going ambiance, then Hotel Vitznauerhof on Lake Lucerne with Michelin 2-star Restaurant Sens is the perfect choice!

I have been here twice and was equally thrilled by the beautiful historic hotel – which is above all reasonably priced – and the exiting cuisine by Jeroen Achtien – which is pricey yet worth the cost.

Last date of stay: April 2021

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