Sipping a cappuccino while listening to the soft piano melodies of Chopin and gazing idly at the street activity on the busy Rue du Rhône from a nearby window, I felt completely at ease.
Such is the effect of several relaxing days at Geneva’s grand lakeside Hotel Metropole facing the charming Jardin Anglais (English Garden), home to the giant L'horloge fleurie (floral clock).
I was sitting alone at breakfast in the ground floor ‘Gusto’ restaurant, my companion having left to explore the shopping district. Most guests had departed leaving a soothing silence in their wake. Gazing around me at the simple décor, I could easily have been in a traditional Italian bistro in the bella vita era.
Sparse furnishings loaned a natural air to the ambience: smooth, bare wood tables, tiny pepper plants with round berry-like fruit adorning tables, transparent jars of peeled carrots, beetroot and Brussels sprouts on shelves and wooden shutters on the windows facing the street. An added touch of vivid color was provided by framed wall prints depicting domestic Italian scenes.
The two-floor ‘Gusto’ and outside patio is the place not only for breakfast but also for dinner where later that evening we found ourselves seated on the upper level, reached directly from the reception desk, in a more formal, elegant atmosphere, complete with starched white linens and gleaming cutlery.
While in Italy, or indeed any place replicating same, it is a culinary sin to skip courses so encouraged by the delicious-looking dishes served up to other guests under the watchful eye of chef Alessandro Cannata we decided to go one step further and indulge in a new seven-course tasting menu.
Embarking on what turned out to be a captivating 3-hour dinner involving stimulating conversations with French assistant manager, Jeremy Biemont, Sardinian sommelier, Giacomo Piseola and head chef, Alessandro Cannata we started with a vegan autumnal dish of seasonal mushrooms including porcini and chanterelles, some cooked, some natural, with gluten-free bread crumbs, cacao and black garlic, followed by a tagliatelle, of cuttlefish not doura wheat, with Puttanesca sauce (garlic, anchovies, crushed red pepper, basil, olives and capers).
Two fish dishes followed – brill stuffed with chanterelles and Piemont hazelnuts and pan-seared cod with cima di rappa (similar to broccoli and kale). Returning us landward was delicious, soft-textured venison slowly marinated in yoghurt and seasoned roots.
Cannata’s daring creativity is boundless, amply illustrated in his combining black garlic, ginger and cocoa in the same dish, with superb results. As for desserts, does it get much better than meringue and ice-cream made from gorgonzola and tortino caprese fondant, roasted chocolate ice-cream with caramelized hazelnut?
