Aphrodite Charitaki
Google
Eating at Josef was a bit of a confusing experience. The place feels stuck between trying to be too many things at once. Entering the restaurant you stand at the bar section, with tall tables that were empty when we arrived at 18:00, and mostly empty when we left at 20:30 (on a Saturday evening), with just one company of older gentlemen drinking draft beer. Further in is the restaurant, where tables are crammed next to each other, with very little space to get in and out of your seat. I think what most sticks with me after our dinner there is the inconsistency. The service was nice, polite but not very engaging -which is fine as the restaurant was quite busy. But, at a place where the waiters will take your coat for you (?), why would you not also offer a fresh glass for a different kind of wine? Like, why have the person taste the pinot noir in the same glass that still has a sip of orange wine? I would much rather hang my own coat and then have the waiter bring a fresh glass to enjoy my wine. Similarly, I ordered a bird negroni which was delightful, so I ordered a second one, which tasted completely different to the first one. It looked like my previous glass may have been reused, as the ice cubes had melted to half the size from the first one, there was no lemon skin and the berries were in the cocktail instead of added as garnish at the top. It had also not been mixed properly and I could see the different colours of the drink components in the glass. No horrible crime, I could stir it myself, but why not keep it consistent? The food was also not consistently imaginative or yummy. We had the set vegi menu (87CHF per person). The bread was 4.50 per person for basically 3 slices of cold bread, which was yummy but not worth the price and should have been brought out warmed up. The roasted beetroot was flavourful, but nothing mind blowing. The potato was delightful, but it’s hard to go wrong with crispy potatoes, cream and truffle. Props however, as the potatoes were crispy to perfection and the truffle was perfectly complementary, not overpowering. I loved the homemade tofu with the mushrooms, that was imaginative and delicious -the broth was to die for. The pumpkin ravioli were mediocre, the homemade pasta were a bit rubbery and you couldn’t really taste the pumpkin, I feel like the dish was lacking some savouriness/acidity. The dessert was a Zimtschnecke, a delicious fluffy little cinnamon roll, with a vanilla ice cream scoop -quite nice, no complaints. I feel like there’s love put into the dishes, and it would be great for Josef to make a choice (draft beer bar? Fancy restaurant with creative cuisine?) and stick to it, making sure it’s done exceptionally. I would get rid of the tall bar tables, expand the restaurant fully and give more breathing room between the tables. Expand the wine selection and the cocktails -the reservation time is pretty long, but the dishes were coming out a bit slowly. A more attentive service would have probably resulted in us drinking a bit more, which should compensate for getting rid of the bar tables. For the two set vegi menus, two glasses of wine, two cocktails, bread and water we paid 270 CHF (including 10% tip). It didn’t feel so much like value for money, had it been a more all round positive experience I think we’d be more likely to return.
