Tuesday, August 4, 2015

Innsbruck - Chez Nico

My brother-in-law travels extensively around the world giving lectures and teaching in the field of Management Information Science. My sister Clare often goes with him and in the past few years, they have gone to Innsbruck several times. One of their favourite restaurants is called Chez Nico and they have raved about the food. We decided to push the boat out and try it.

Clare told us that it was popular so we booked six months in advance. We turned up at the opening time of 6:30 along with some other guests.

The waitress welcomed us and soon served is a slice of crusty bread along with a dish of Norwegian butter that was quite salty. The butter was covered in black pepper and the combination was delicious. Try it sometime.


Beetroot, rasberries and something like creme fraiche.

The food is all vegetarian. We ordered the meal where you are served about seven courses, all with small portions of simple ingredients arranged on your plate. Rather than repeat myself, all of the courses were absolutely delicious.

As my sister puts it:

 It’s a meal where you think about every bite you eat and talk about it.


They served appropriate Austrian wines for the food.  


Peas, blueberries sauteed with wedges of onion. I suspect when we get home we will be trying to make something like this. Marianne really liked this.


Artichoke leaves layered with mushrooms with a dollop of mayonnaise.


Cucumber rolls, carrot, other raw vegetables in a lime orange dressing. The blue flowers were edible with a bit of a kick and the thin slice of red pepper at the top had a definite kick.


A couple from France who lived near Geneva sat down next to us with their dog. We started talking and had a very enjoyable conversation with them. The dog made no noise and later in the evening, the waitress brought out a big bowl of water.

Of course, I gave Bruno a good head massage and I had a friend for life.


Warm mushrooms in a vinegar sauce with mustard. This was my favourite course.


A cherry puree with delicious rosemary leaves and a cold sorbet.


Poached apricot, mint sorbet and caramel. The icewein was served with this dessert. I reckoned that a Aussie Liquer Muscat or Tokay would have been an even better match.

Here is the list of Austrian wines.


A reisling that we did not get the name of



Because we live about 11 miles from the nearest restaurant, we rarely go out to eat so we did not mind the bill of 173 euros. It all averages out in the end. We were at the restaurant for almost four hours and the time just flew. Most restaurant meals you forget after a while, but this one we will remember.

Lastly, I must mention the waitress who managed to serve all the tables. I have never seen a waitress work so hard for the entire time and maintain her composure. As we said goodbye, I complimented her on her efforts and told her that I reckoned she would sleep very well. She nodded and smiled.



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