Benz at Kazerne

Samuel S. • 1 review

August 5, 2022

6.5/10

Benz should be an excellent restaurant, but is underperforming. The food is creative, the wines are smartly chosen, and the decor is tasteful. But both the kitchen and the service team do not meet the standards they set for themselves (and according to which they price their tasting menu). Food: 1) The chef generous and creatively substituted tomatoes for tuna in the first course tartare to accommodate a vegetarian. They looked perfect and were clearly a technical feat. But these tomatoes, being significantly milder in flavor than the intended salmon, were entirely overpowered by the (impressive) wasabi sorbet. 2) The second dish was served as a red pepper sorbet on top of which a fennel/leek/potato soup was poured from the saucepan by the chef himself. He instructed that the sorbet should not be stirred into the soup, but eaten together, separately on the spoon. This was the correct advise; the contrast in flavors, textures, and especially temperature was awesome. But after about 1.5 spoonfuls, the sorbet simply melted into the soup, rendering the soup lukewarm and the sorbet cool not cold--the worst of both worlds. Why not just serve them separately and ask diners to combine them on the spoon? 3) The tastiest dish of the night was a (roasted?) cauliflower heart, served with a green sauce, hazelnuts, mushrooms, and a brown butter foam (or the foam was something else and there was brown butter somewhere else). Altogether, it was delicious. But the ratios were off--way too much cauliflower and too little accountrement--and soon I had run out of the sauce and garnishes, leaving only a dense, oily block of cauliflower. Service: The one server on the floor was very personable and polite, and clearly well-rehearsed. But despite only half the dining room being full, a second server was sorely needed. The pace was slow. Ready dishes sat waiting on the chef's counter. Empty dishes sat waiting on tables next to empty water carafes. It was a pleasure to be able to draw the server into conversation, but it came at the expense of other diners' service. One back waiter on the floor would solve this issue. An enjoyable and interesting meal, to be sure, but it was neither flawless nor a value.

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Luigi Z. • 25 reviews

May 21, 2022

10/10

Amazing chef menu, good choice of wine, elegant and sober location. Best service ever

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Bob V. • 1 review

April 8, 2022

9.5/10

Great food, service

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Brian C. • 1 review

April 2, 2022

10/10

7 course taster menu was excellent, wine selection was first class. Service was impeccable. Really liked the decor and the location as well. Will definitely be back.

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Fam. T. • 9 reviews

November 5, 2021

10/10

The food was great, fantastic service, lovely atmosphere. The only drawback is the price, same as you pay at Michelin star restaurant, you do know what you pay in advance (fixed menu + wine arrangements).

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Tim S. • 6 reviews

August 29, 2020

10/10

Everything was perfectly balanced. The food, but also the service. As food goes: great use of local produce, classics with a nice twist. They all say that, but Benz really delivers. Restraint yet delicately amazing. Great experience, worth a very large detour!

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Benz at Kazerne • Owner

Dear Tim, Thank you for your kind words. We hope to welcome you again.

Laurent L. • 7 reviews

June 21, 2019

9/10

Very nice location, the "Maitre d'hote" and the other personal were very helpful. The location is great, not too packed and noisy, real nice place to enjoy a good diner. The name of the restaurant was not indicated at the entrance, so we ended up first by the Kazern. The 7 dishes , and wine menu was good, but there is some difference in level between the dishes. The dish with Talbot was not so tasty, due to the lack of flavour from the fish, the red beet starter was very nice, the yellow salmon was well prepared, same can be said of the lamb. The Almond cream served as desert was quite rich and thick structure, the best dish was the neetle soup, fanstastic dish. The bill is high, level of a one star restaurant, overall a good diner, and a place with potential.

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