ammolite - The Lighthouse Restaurant

Business holidays: 13.07. 26.07.2015 and 01.02. 01.03.2016

My expectations were high. Two stars means it should be pretty d good. However the prices are not as high as in quite a lot other restaurants on this level. The restaurant is excellent and we were not disappointed. The setting is sophisticated. The food is delicious and beautiful. The service is very effective, pleasant and attentive but they need to sharpen up when they present the food. It was no problem to change dessert from one menu to the other. Expect your meal to take at least three hours.

For many moons, whenever we'd visit Europa-Park, we'd use one of the many buffet restaurants, which was fine, with us all being kids. As we grew, however, so did our culinary expectations and, eventually, the buffet just didn't cut it anymore. Luckily, around the same time, Ammolite and the Hotel Bell Rock around it were erected (don't even!). We've dined there many times since then, so a review has been long overdue. Tonight, I rectified this oversight on my part.Meal: It’s almost mid-February, we were there in late December. I can’t possibly recall what the seven courses were, apart from moan-inducingly delicious. You plan your first taste of each dish, carefully arrange a tiny bit of everything on your fork, and while bringing it to your lips, you simultaneously close your eyes. You saw the gorgeous arrangement on the plate, now remove vision and only rely on smell and taste. It’s sensual, really, experiencing the carefully selected and paired flavours complement each other to the fullest extent as they provide your taste buds sensations second to nearly nothing. It is impossible to overstate how brilliant the food is, and it ranges from modern interpretations of classic dishes of the regional cuisine to works that seem to stem from another world.Atmosphere: A lighthouse, planted in the flatlands of southwestern Germany 433 kilometres from the nearest coast, surprisingly the one of the Mediterranean Sea at Genoa, Italy, that’s what you see as you close in on your impending culinary delight. You might expect the interior to be a bit rustic, even basic, but the reality couldn’t be further from this assumption. In keeping with the nautical theme, Ammolite’s interior looks like that of the reason lighthouses were built in the first place: a boat. Rather, a yacht. More specifically, the main salon of MYSKY after removing the white accents. The similarity is stunning. Perfectly polished wood, so deep and dark like the ocean by night. Light curtains were discreetly dividing the dining area to cocoons of privacy, the world just fading away into a distant concept.The hours spent at Ammolite rather cunningly imitate time spent aboard a yacht. Pampered, quiet, private, and, despite the restaurant's multiple Michelin stars and high-end looks, it feels casual, not one bit of the much-dreaded snobbish nose-in-the-sky setting.Service: As you would expect aboard a (faux) yacht, service is to the highest standard. The wait staff serves food perfectly synchronised, their in-house sommelier is always at your disposal to assist with pairing wine with your food, and your drinks never go empty. Should you have to excuse yourself from the table, expect to return to your seat to meet a fresh napkin. Those details genuinely make Ammolite something special, its people give it soul.In retrospect, this is not the world’s most inappropriately placed lighthouse. It just isn’t meant for marine traffic, no, it’s meant to guide you to culinary climax.

We were uncertain when booking this for a birthday celebration whether a restaurant in a theme park could really be worth 2 Michelin stars. Happily it was well worth it. The restaurant decor is very interesting and a luxurious contrast to the hotel in which it is located. Food was excellent and service good. Wine list had some great choices and the sommelier was excellent.

We went there as we've come several times with our kids to Europapark and thought we should try this restaurant once.The service is friendly but you sometimes need to ask several times to get something. My husband's glass was empty, he had to call for the waiter and request for some more wine. Not very much 2 Michelin stars service... where usually they've served you before you even had to ask.Now, what we had in the plates was way overpriced. Although it was good, it has nothing to do with a 2 Michelin stars. As said, it was good but not at the expected level. I would consider this restaurant at the level of a gastro's brasserie (not sure if this is the way you call it in English, but basically the little brother restaurant of a gastronomic restaurant where you usually get very good food for a cheaper price and in a more casual atmosphere - love the concept!).We had the avocado/goat cheese starter, I could easily do it at home, it was just layers of eggplant, goat cheese and avocado, but at 31 EUR or so. Quite expensive for such a simple starter, I was expecting to be a bit more surprised by the texture, but it was just plain. I had the lobster at 50 EUR, again, the product was very good, but there was no search of "working" with the product in a surprising way to make you discover the taste differently. My husband had the lamb and liked it very much but the side was apparently again very plain. We didn't dare taking a dessert as we were both a bit disappointed.So overall, disappointed. I would have rated it more if it hadn't been a 2 stars Michelin but for a 2 Michelin stars, it clearly wasn't at the right level and it didn't keep its promise. We've tried many Michelin stars restaurants in France and other countries, and have never been disappointed like this time .So if you go there, enjoy it but manage your expectations and be prepared for the food experience/ prices ratio.