RESTAURANT SCHWANEN
BIZAU
The restaurant is in the middle of the Schwanen. It is where you eat, socialise and breakfast. We work here, invite and are the hosts.
We have come out of the “organic-corner” and have arrived in the centre of a real and vibrant life.
Emanuel Moosbrugger
IN THE DINING ROOM AS AT HOME
We call our restaurant a dining room. Quite simply because that is how I want to welcome my guests into my home. It doesn’t need any more. The dining room is light and fresh. Oak flooring, seating, walls and ceiling are made from natural white fir, chairs from maple wood. I think we have designed a room with a good vibe. I am always looking for new ideas to improve the atmosphere, after all it is also our dining room.
Corey Lee, who I ran the restaurant “Benu” with in San Francisco, describes our joint philosophy perfectly.
Food, guest service and hotellerie is identity – it’s the most revealing thing about you, about your culture, where you come from, how you live, what’s important to you.
Corey Lee of Benu, San Francisco
TIME TRAVEL
INTO THE WÄLDERSTUBE
It is not always advisable to follow the experts. Sometimes it pays much more to trust your own intuition. Just like my Säle (grandmother) Katharina Moosbrugger, who, in addition to other virtues, taught me exactly that. Fortunately, she recognized the value of the centuries-old Bregenzerwald parlor and the wine cellar below. During the conversion in the 1960s, she saved this showpiece with determined resistance, despite the desire for renewal and the advice of advisory boards and architects.
To walk over the creaking oak and nut floorboards is an experience in itself. The tables are made from Bizauer cherry wood, pear and Maplewood. Generations have dined and worked here, and now it’s up to us to let this room retain its historic charm and at the same time serve dishes that move with the times.
Restaurant Schwanen opening times
Thursday to Monday
11:30 – 13:30 Uhr & 17:30 – 20:30 Uhr
In-between, homemade strudel, cake and ice are available.
Tuesday and Wednesday
closed
Reservations preferred
WILD WOMAN MENU
The WILDE WEIBER menu owes its name to a guest who said to my mother: "Oh, yes
wilde Wibor, to cook 4 different menus for 4 people." The idea came up during my parents' visit to New York
and was a hit right from the start in Bizau. Now there is
the WILDE WEIBER menu in 5 courses, on request also with wine accompaniment from me!
5 Gänge 95,00 + Weinbegleitung 52,00
Daily, apart from Tuesday, Wednesday and Sunday lunchtime. Reservation required. We are happy to take into consideration
allergies or vegetarian lifestyles.
GOOD VIBRATIONS IN THE GENTLEMANS ROOM
... former study.
With so many women in the business it requires a gent’s room. No, the name actually comes from the fact that we don’t only have good cooks in the family, but also successful entrepreneurs. The so-called Bregenzerwald Cheese Counts exported their cheese to the entire Austro-Hungarian monarchy. One of them was my great-great-great-grandfather Gallus, who produced the Schwanen for his son Jakob, an ancestor of my mother. As you can see, we are simply THE SWANS, no matter from which perspective you look at it.
In the gentleman’s room, I was able to give my signature to an entire room for the first time. We have 1950’s vintage armchairs by Italian designers from the Milan area with casual colours and fabrics. It has become a place for dialogue and inspiration.
HERBS AND CHESTNUTS IN THE GUESTS GARDEN
Am I a city person, or do I fit in, in the Bregenzerwald countryside?
The restructuring of the herb garden on the eastern side of the SCHWANEN was my first garden project.
From the dry-stone-walls, the raspberry bushes and numerous Hildegard-spices for the kitchen to the rubbing-down of the wooden tables I did everything myself by hand. I enjoyed the work and the results. Somehow it felt close to nature
and suited the SWAN. I was sure that our guests
had been lost but it was well worth it.
The garden was a success, and we try to improve something every year. The now large
hestnut tree has spread its branches over the tables and provides shade. While
sitting in the garden one can enjoy the food and also experience village life
, whether watching church goers or Xaver, who you see cycling past everyday
at the same time.
In the meantime I have been able to indulge in my passion for gardening even more. But I will tell you more about it here.
FROM THE SOUND AT THE TABLE – CERAMICS MADE BY MASTER CRAFTSMEN
On my first visit to Benu, the restaurant in San Francisco that was to become my workplace, I was
impressed with the crockery. For new culinary creations and signature dishes, Cory Lee also designed new
plates. These were not hidden away in cupboards, but presented as stylish elements in the room.