Restaurant Schwarzwaldstube offers one of the best culinary experiences in Germany. Head chef Torsten Michel presents his guests with a rich cuisine that combines the best regional products with luxurious ingredients such as caviar and truffles. Both the wine list and the wine pairings, led by Stéphane Gass, are exceptional. The location in the iconic Traube Tonbach and the fascinating view of the Tonbach Valley round off the experience.

Location

Restaurant Schwarzwaldstube is the three Michelin-starred fine dining restaurant of the famous Hotel Traube Tonbach in Germany’s Black Forest. This property is much more than just a hotel. It is an oasis of peace and tranquillity where haute cuisine, art, wine, wellness and nature merge to create a unique experience. The hotel is located in the town of Tonbach, nestled in the lush Black Forest in Germany.

The history of Traube Tonbach dates back to 1789, when it was opened as an inn for thirsty forest workers. Since then, the property has been owned by the Finkbeiner family. Today, Heiner Finkbeiner and his wife Renate run Traube Tonbach together with their sons Sebastian and Matthias. It is impressive how the family manages to constantly improve the offer for guests. For more information about Hotel Traube Tonbach, please see our hotel article.

During your stay at Traube Tonbach, you can expect some of the best cuisine in the world. No less than 4 restaurants offer a variety of cuisines, from Swabian cuisine to Michelin star cuisine. The gourmet experiences at Schwarzwaldstube restaurant have made Traube Tonbach one of the best places in Europe when it comes to fine dining. In 2020, part of the hotel was tragically ravaged by fire. The building, which housed most of the restaurants, burned down completely. However, the family immediately began to rebuild and the new restaurant area opened in 2022.

Today, Schwarzwaldstube is housed in an elegant, spacious and modern dining room. The room offers space for up to 36 guests and the huge floor-to-ceiling windows let your gaze wander into the surrounding Black Forest nature. We dined here during a small snowstorm, which was truly spectacular. The brown and white colours and the high ceiling enhance the connection with the natural surroundings. It is a wonderful and tranquil setting to enjoy the culinary creations of the kitchen team.

The chef & The team

Head chef Torsten Michel took over the kitchen from Harald Wohlfahrt in 2017 and continued the remarkable culinary development of Schwarzwaldstube restaurant. Michel was born in Dresden and already has more than 15 years of experience at Traube Tonbach. Before his time in the Black Forest, he also completed internships at the Fat Duck restaurant, Noma and L’Arnsbourg. Torsten Michel is a master of flavours; his compositions create an incredibly tasty and perfect cuisine – delicate, intense, full-bodied and delicious at the same time.

The service at Schwarzwaldstube is professional, punctual and attentive and is led by Maître Nina Mihilli. Head sommelier Stéphane Gass selects the best wines from the Traube Tonbach wine cellars for the guests. These cellars are known worldwide for their excellent selection and good value for money. More than 30,000 bottles are matured here with care and dedication. With each tasting menu, Stéphane also serves a delicious and carefully selected wine pairing. This is highly recommended and was one of the best pairings we have had in recent years.

Gastronomy

Torsten Michel’s cuisine is known for rich yet delicate dishes with luxurious products. A good example and a typical dish is the starter of briefly poached Gillardeau oysters no. 2 with generous quenelles of Imperial caviar, and a light champagne nage with green apple and cider vinegar.

Seafood is always present in Torsten’s menus. On our last visit, the grilled scallops, Gamba Carabinero and plucked edible crab salad was finished with head lettuce, cream and crunch of corail, lime vinaigrette and celery.

Only the best ingredients are selected to prepare the high-quality dishes. To guarantee this level of quality, the chef selects both regional and European products, like in the grilled Alsatian pigeon breast with liquorice and lemon thyme, crispy leg of the pigeon, small Kefta, turnip and pigeon jus with Arabica coffee and black lime.

A rich and very surprising main course combined braised suckling goat from Brittany marinated with gin and juniper with carrots with Kampot pepper and macadamia nuts, and a jus with confit oranges.

The most recent menu we tried at Schwarzwaldstube:

Why go?

Together with a stay in one of the beautiful rooms at Traube Tonbach, a visit to the Schwarzwaldstube restaurant is an unforgettable Black Forest gourmet experience. Head chef Torsten Michel presents a rich cuisine that highlights the individual flavours of each ingredient on the plate. Pure, elegant and always full of flavour.

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