Mangold Restaurant - Lochau

Another entry into the list of Things that are Awesome about Austria, in a small town (a suburb of Bregenz, essentially that is part of the eastern Bodensee resort scene. We showed up without a reservation, and were seated in the pleasant garden, the tables far apart to ensure privacy in conversation and discreet movement by the staff, always a good sign in a better restaurant. We were offered a refreshing shot of watermelon juice at the start good, although more usual between dishes in a longer menu. We started with seafood: a superb combination of tuna, greens, and veal (unexpectedly good, and the preparation of the tuna put to shame many establishments supposedly specialising in seafood ; and an octopus based dish, which did not enthral Mr A, who objected to the combination with mussels. (Is this a central European thing? The closer you go to the Mediterranean, the simpler the serving of octopus: it has a delicate flavour, and does not require much done to it. If it had been served as in the other starter, it would be better, he said. For our mains we went for rib eye steaks with chimi churry (sic which we both found excellent: cooked to a perfect medium rare, with just the right amount of bite in the centre too often restaurants do a medium rare with the core of the meat nearly raw, which misses the point: a good medium rare locks the flavour in; if you slice it and too much seeps out, it's not done properly. Mr A declared the accompanying skin on potatoes were very good. I should have asked why the beef was imported from the US; Austria has amazing local beef (the Vorarlberg pastures are just round the corner! . We finished off with a delicate combination of chocolat,e pistachio, and cherries (for myself and an caloric explosion of ice cream and hot chocolate for Mr A. The Merlot recommended was just right for the meat, the espresso was decent, and the service was excellent. The prices are on the expensive side: our three course meal with only two glasses of wine and a soft drink cost as much as I'd expect the same meal with a whole bottle of good wine to cost. But, hey: you get what you pay for, and this was worth it. We'd go again, happily.

According my friend who grew up in the area, Mangold (translates to Chard) is a restaurant that has been around for a long time and is timelessly classic. Having lived around the world for most of his life he's moved back to his home country to run the hotel that's been there 8 generations in his family. So on my last night in town he took me over the Alps to get to where his family has been eating for a while. You never know what to expect when towns and villages change constantly going over various terrain and then coming towards Lake Constance. After sitting down to what is a fairly elegant dining room, I noticed people were dressed fairly casually, so I didnt feel too out of place. Of course I let my friend order everything as my Austrian is pretty non existent. The menu went as follows: -colorful spring salad with fried sweetbreads, radish and green asparagus -Appetizer of tuna with radish and goat cheese -Soup with semolina stuffed dumplings -Char with potatoes, onions and asparagus -Tuna steak with tortellini and spinach -Fried brioche with rhubarb and vanilla When you speak of regionality in cooking, it doesn't get much more unique than here. Being by the lake and having all the resource of the Bregenz forest and Alps is outstanding. I've not had food like it and maybe won't again until I return to the area. Not even in other parts of Austria will the food be like this. It's always great to have locals with great food knowledge. We came on the late side for a weeknight and basically closed the place down. Our server was really nice even with my dirty Northern American presence. It is always a wonder to see the food of new cultures and my friend's favorite was favorite for a reason. If it's always been this good, my friends family ate well.

This is an exquisite place. We dined at Mangold in a group of seven and had the finest food we could imagine in the Lake Constance Bodensee area. This is creative, high end food, people! The chef focuses especially on local ingredients including fish from the lake and everything just shined. Soups, salads, amuse bouches, noodles and rosti, fish and meat main courses...everything was full of flavor and prepared just perfectly. Elegant presentation, too. Be sure to leave room for dessert. Service was amazing too. So, so friendly. We loved Mangold so much that my husband and I returned the next night!

Mahlzeit: Abendessen Preis pro Person: 60–70 € Essen: 5 Service: 5 Atmosphäre: 5

Der Empfang war sehr freundlich und man fühlt sich sofort wohl. Auch Hunde sind willkommen. Unsere Bedienung war äußerst zuvorkommend, aufmerksam und bemüht. Die Speisen waren, bis auf das Hähnchen, das nicht knusprig war, vorzüglich. Wir werden gerne erneut dort speisen. Service: Zum Essen im Restaurant.