zur Hirschen: Truth in advertising

Restaurant Hirschen has had several changes in chefs and management scheme, something like four times since we moved here about eight years ago. We really liked the first version in 2005, but didn't care much for the intermediate ones. Now, we like it again. A young local woman, Nadja Schuler, who trained as a chef has taken over with her sister and a couple of her friends and they do a good job. They've also made a lovely outdoor seating arrangement in front, unforunately they can't do much about the annoying motorcyclists without decent mufflers who zoom along Hauptstrasse.

I find the dishes a tad on the heavy side, so it's not a place we go to more than a couple of times a year. Not that we're not warned: check out the bugged-out eyes on the guy with the beer belly weighing himself. 

Hirschen's website can be accessed by clicking here. They still also have the couple of rooms for rent should you need a place to stay. 

Ms. Schuler has had some coverage in the gastronomy magazines (in German): 
Hotel und Gastro Union 2008
On when they ran "Utenberg" in Luzern
Best of Swiss Gastro 2013 (combination of an expert jury and regular diners)
Newspaper coverage of the Best of Swiss Gastro 2013 win
Saison 2013.  

View from the bus

A view of Besserstein from the bus that goes to Villigen from Brugg. From the location where I shot this, the bus first stops in Stilli and then in Villigen Post before heading off to the PSI and beyond.

If you're going to zum Hirschen (as has been the case for several visitors I've noticed on the bus), then get off at the Villigen Post stop. You'll be standing on Hauptstrasse. Walk in the direction in which the bus drives off. The hotel/restaurant Hirschen is a couple of minutes on foot (after Gasthof Schlossberg) on the right.

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Through the window at Hirschen

Looking out through one of the windows at Restaurant Hirschen. Of course they, too, have red geraniums in their window boxes.

We usually make a point of ordering their seasonal dessert sampler, but this time we simply had no more room! A photo of our appetizer can be seen at the other site:
A Hirschen appetizer from Summer 2007

Other Hirschen posts:
Restaurant zum Hirschen (with a poor quality photo of the dessert we had)
zum Hirschen

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Fountain, and gate with wisteria

In the early days of this blog, I wrote that Villigen has many fountains (20070124). Let's step back from Hirschen (the building in the shadows to the right) to look at one of them. The gate with the wisteria growing over it looks very nice to me.

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Restaurant zum Hirschen

Back in January I wrote about how much I like this restaurant and my opinion hasn't changed since then. Their food is still great, and their Dessertteller wonderful. Occasionally we go just for the dessert. One can do such things here in Switzerland, go to a restaurant and have something small to eat or drink, or just dessert and coffee. Of course, we ask the host/hostess when we enter as to whether that's okay. Many places are happy to oblige. (Addendum: the original photo I posted this morning was a bit crooked so I straighted it as best as I could and reposted).

Hirschen is not just a restaurant, it's an inn with rooms that can be rented by the month as well as on a daily basis. I think a good deal of their business comes from people who come to Villigen to do experiments or maybe even have proton therapy for eye tumors and such (things like macular degeneration) at the Paul Scherrer Institut (PSI) nearby.

Previous post about Hirschen: zum Hirschen (20070126)
Posts related to the PSI: The SLS building (20070128)
The Aare from the PSI bridge (20070203)
SINQ (20070204)
These boots were made for ... (20070205)

And if you've read this far, I think you should get a sample of what their Dessertteller, winter-version, looked like. Unfortunately, not the best photo, but the best one I have at this time.


20070425

zum Hirschen

Update: The restaurant has changed hands a few times since I wrote this entry and it is a different place now. We don't go there anymore. 27 Feb 2011.


Continuing on with the food theme. There are certain names that are extremely popular for restaurants and hotels in these parts. The particular names vary by region to some extent. Around us, Bären (bear), Hirschen (deer), Löwen (lion) and Sternen (star) are used a lot. Villigen has a Hirschen (restaurant and hotel) and a Schlossberg. Hirschen is an excellent place and I must say that I'm very pleasantly surprised to find it here. They have seasonal menus with creative dishes combining local produce with influences from all over the world. Their dessert sampler (Der Dessertteller) is usually wonderful. The best part is that they have very nice vegetarian entrees, a welcome change from those places that can think up only spaghetti with tomato sauce for vegetarians.


Das Restaurant zum Hirschen in Villigen finden wir besonders gut. Mit kreativen Saisonmenü und ausgezeignete Nachspeisen ist es wirklich speziell. Das Beste ist die Auswahl der wohlüberlegten vegetarischen Hauptgericht: man muss nicht nur Salatblätter kauen!

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