Chez Bernard has turned into my Christmas location. Every December 24th (okay since three years to be exact) my friend and I are meet here and enjoy a scrumptious breakfast. To my shame I have to admit that I have never been back during summer and the terrace is still something I aspire to see.
But let’s get back to the issue at hand, which was my breakfast in the restaurant on the 7th floor of the Hotel Motto. I love arriving at the hotel and on the 7th floor. It has such a chic atmosphere and the hostess at the entrance took my coat and the bag with the Christmas cookies. Which left me with only my handbag to make my way to our table.
I was less happy with the closeness of the tables. It’s terrible that you can listen in to conversations two tables over. I get it that Chez Bernard needs a sizeable crowd to turn a profit, but it can be quite annoying to sit so close. In light of the Christmas spirit I was turning a blind eye today, but this would not work for me regularly.
dining room @Chez Bernard
We started our meal with coffee and a basil lime lemonade, which found approval with my friend. I stuck to my coffee as usual and was happy with my Americano. With it I ordered a Croque Madame, because who doesn’t like a fancy grilled cheese for breakfast? I was a little bit disappointed at first when my dish arrived. It looked quite minuscule and flat, compared to my friend’s breakfast. But one has to trust the chef and the kitchen knows what it was doing in regards to the size and portion. It was definitely rich enough and got me through the day until it was time for dinner.
Croque Madame @Chez Bernard
The Croque Madame had a lovely cheesy taste and was rich and buttery. It could have been warmer though. I mean it’s nice that it wasn’t so hot to burn the roof of my mouth, which usually happens with grilled cheese. But on the other hand this toast had been waiting around for a bit as was clearly noticeable from the consistency of the egg yolk. Yeah, I wasn’t completely happy with the Madame.
My friend fared better with the Motto Brioche-Toast. Between thick slices of nicely toasted brioche some ham and a fried egg nestled alongside tomato slices, cucumber slices, and Romanesco salad. Mustard cream held it all together and mayonnaise arrived on the side.
Motto Brioche-Toast @Chez Bernard
The size of this toast was too big to eat with your hands, which my friend bemoaned. There’s something wholesome about eating with your fingers, although it’s mostly fries for me that get appreciated in such a form. And they are unfortunately far from healthy. I am getting off topic here because honestly I can’t remember if he liked it or not. Which must be a good thing, because that means he didn’t complain except about the size.
Service was really friendly, almost American in a way, with its constant questions of how we liked everything. When we wanted to order a sweet second course there was suddenly no one to be found for a while. Eventually we managed to order ‘Haselnuss’ and a almond croissant though. The almond croissant was for me and it tasted fantastic. There’s a reason why a ‘Motto Brot‘ bakery exists.
The croissant was a bit much for me at the time, so I asked for a doggie bag to take most of it home. When I put it in the oven the next day to get it crunchy again, it turned out mediocre at best. It was rather unappealing. This I had definitely better already on a second day. It’s good to know for when you want to stock up at Motto Brot for the weekend.
almond croissant @Chez Bernard
‘Haselnuss‘ is a crêpe with sour cherries, chestnut puree, and chocolate sauce. A lot of my favorite things on one plate. And this turned out to be a real winner. My friend loved it and so did I. The crêpe showed up folded nicely, with a hazelnut filling (hence the name), chocolate sauce and sour cherry compote on top, and chestnut puree on the side. I loved the puree, there must have been some whipped cream mixed in with the chestnuts. It was totally smooth. Overall it was a really great flavor combination and the crêpe was thin enough to soak it up all up in one bite.
Haselnuss @Chez Bernard
It was lovely coming back to Chez Bernard, even though there were some small glitches. Overall though the restaurant has such a cozy and relaxed vibe that you can’t get mad about anything. This year I really need to find time for a visit in summer to check out the terrace, which looks fabulous. An important new year resolution: visit more rooftop restaurants and bars! Yours, Pollybert
Chez Bernard
1060 Wien, Schadekgasse 20 (Hotel Motto 7th floor)
Tel: +43 1 5814600
Email: restaurant@chezbernard.at
Mon-Fri: 07:00-15:00, 17:30-01:00, Sat: 08:00-15:00, 17:30-01:00, Sun: 08:00-15:00, 17:30-24:00
https://www.chezbernard.at/en
