I’ve lost my heart in Heidelberg, as a famous German song goes – and rightly so, this pearl on the Neckar offers not only a picturesque old town, hordes of tourists and a world-class university, but also a culinary highlight: the restaurant oben im Kohlhof, high up on the Königstuhl in the Kohlhof, opened in 2017 with Robert Rädel as head chef. 11 seats in the historic manor house, a unique ambience for culinary regional storytelling. And it succeeds more than impressively, to say the least. The restaurant is constantly fully booked and there are even WhatsApp groups to “wrestle” for places to move up. More than an enrichment for the region…

… you might think. The city saw the opening of a “high-end restaurant” as a violation of a condition that required a restaurant with low-fare food for tourists. As a result, Heidelberg sued the Kohlhof operator to buy it back, because there would still have to be schnitzel & co for the day-trippers – in 2024, it was agreed that a food truck would provide a corresponding snack offer on at least 12 days for 2 years. Also a footnote and perhaps a reflection of the importance of outstanding gastronomy here.

Impressions

As soon as you enter the restaurant, the world seems to stand still for a moment. It breathes the patina of the past, you feel like you’re in a time machine that has transported you to a 19th century inn. The room smells of wood, hay flowers and citrus. In the air is the promise of a culinary adventure, a journey through flavors, textures and memories that will last.

The team

Head chef Robert Rädel is by no means an unknown quantity: after stints in Europe and Asia, he joined Manfred Schwarz in Heidelberg, cooked up a star at Simplizissimus, opened oben 1.0 at Landgut Lingenthal in Leimen and bridged the gap until the opening of the current oben with a pop-up in Mannheim. He is reserved, a little introverted, but when you start talking to him, you realize how he draws strength from deep calm and conviction to create an unusual, refreshingly undogmatic and at the same time intelligent regional cuisine that enchants. Philipp Kloos as sous-chef and Leis Büttner as maitre and sommelier provide support with humility and like-wise mindset.

The menu

A menu – a statement: seasonality, close collaboration with regional producers and a deep understanding of the products. Moderately priced at €175 (now €180), optionally with wine (7-course €90) or non-alcoholic accompaniment (7-course €60)…

… or you can go down to the wine cellar with Leis to choose your own bottle(s). A small, yet intelligently selected selection with a focus on Germany, especially the Palatinate.

Carrot
The first encounter is like a whisper. A velvety carrot soup, infused with the warm scent of chamomile and the salty depth of a stock boiled down with barley miso, prepares the palate. Perfect as a stage for a pickled carrot with lemon-ginger gel, wonderfully accentuated with slight spiciness and freshness, whereby camomile blossoms and deadnettle blossom dock back onto the soup and conjure up a lasting taste experience. It is as if a summer meadow has been captured. Wonderful.

TACO
A taco becomes a stage: on it hummus, deep and nutty, sweet and sour salsa, salad and then – duck, lacquered, shiny, as if coated in amber. A single bite that prepares the heart and palate perfectly for the following courses.

MUSTARD EGG
A play of textures. Earthy potato ragout with a light mustard flavour meets silky egg yolk, cooked at 62 degrees – just liquid enough to seduce. The 7-herb sauce gives the dish a green, slightly bitter flavor, while small pearls of herbs dance over the ragout like dewdrops at dawn. Another more than successful appetizer!

PIKEPERCH
Macaron? Bacon jelly? The first glance makes you wonder – then your eyes light up. The Rhine pikeperch tartare (directly from fishermen from Karlsruhe, who fish for tthe oben) is as fresh as if it had just come out of the Rhine. Then iodized freshness meets salty, air-dried bacon and bacon jelly, flanked by citrusy acidity and light bitter notes and the feel of radishes. A masterpiece of finely staged dimensioning!

CORNED HERRING
The fish matures for three days in an enzyme bath – the depth, the mouthfeel that this creates can hardly be put into words. Apple, red onion, pickled cucumber slices and cucumber ice cream are then added as a matter of course, while a buttermilk and dill sauce bridges the gap like a fresh spring breeze. Alongside boiled potatoes with coarse salt, nutmeg and rapeseed oil – a declaration of love to the north.

BROCCOLI
The roasted broccoli smells like the first barbecue in the garden. At first glance, it seems simple, but the flavor space is extremely exciting: a salad of broccoli and magnolia blossoms adds bittersweet, floral (top) notes, while citrus mayonnaise, roasted buckwheat and lime zest form a crisp, acidic and fresh foundation. Sunshine on a plate!

PIG’S TAIL
Yes, pork tail – cooked sous-vide at first, then tenderly braised, almost caramelized. Topped with apple ragout with mustard seeds and chive oil, served with freshly grated horseradish – spicy, clear, uncompromising. Far too few chefs in Germany cook with this radical clarity. The pork tail almost melts in the mouth, but has just the right bite not to be dominated by its topping – it remains a new and at the same time familiar chord that makes us rejoice. A dish with backbone and rightly a classic of the oben…

ASPARAGUS
We continue our feast in the kitchen – the smell of barbecue is in the air. Philipp prepares the pre-cooked asparagus on a binchotan grill and then places it on a beautifully presented plate. A tribute to nature, the season and the Kohlhof meadow, from which the team selects the asparagus garnishes: in clockwise direction, yarrow, Japanese knotweed, deadnettle, ground ivy, goutweed, spruce shoots, air onions and elder buds cavort on this canvas. The asparagus itself is still crunchy and is wonderfully framed and individually accentuated by the heralds of spring and hay ash, while an asparagus and kefir foam nestles airily over everything. A plate to discover, marvel at and enjoy – the essence of spring.

SALMON TROUT
It continues in the kitchen – the team serves up a masterpiece of maturity and respect. The salmon trout from the Lenz trout farm in the Odenwald is slaughtered Ikejime-style, dry-aged for seven days and served perfectly glazed. In the mouth, the fish initially seems as delicate as silk, but still more than scores with its mouthfeel and its preserved, distinctive taste. It is accompanied by marinated kohlrabi filled with kohlrabi puree (flattering and intense) and trout caviar (as a salty counterpoint), while a kohlrabi leaf and woodruff stock gently embraces the whole. It doesn’t get any better than this!

LAMB
Saddle of lamb, lamb fillet – roasted with aromatics that make it smell almost like a meadow. Accompanied by green vegetables, a pea puree as liquid spring, a dark, deep lamb jus and a portion of braised leg, polenta and gremolata – a course like a spring Sunday in the south of France, fantastic!

ACE
A transition, a breath of fresh air: a pomegranate tea made from carrot, ginger, sea buckthorn and sherbet. Topped with a warm almond foam – like a comforting embrace, simply perfect.

REICHER RITTER
How could it be otherwise in spring: rhubarb sprouts and offers all kinds of dessert options. Robert Rädel and Philipp Kloos serve us rhubarb raw, as a gel, as ice cream and as a decoction, fanning out its full potential between sour, sweet and fresh. Served with fresh goat’s cheese marinated with honey and tarragon and a meringue made from tarragon vinegar. The “Reiche Ritter” is sumptuous, buttery, almost sinful. And yet never too much. A spring dance on the tongue.

CONE
The last chord is quiet, but full of feeling. A delicate cone, accompanied by strawberry ragout, filled with milk ice cream. Memories of childhood, of summer, of the happiness of simple things.

Oben – what remains? 

This was the essence of spring in thirteen courses. Performed with virtuosity, perfectly integrated into a unique ambience, celebrated with naturalness and nonchalance, but also with humility before the guest and the products. Robert Rädel and his team succeed in storytelling without dogma or pointing fingers, a wonderful reflection of Rädel and his character. You can cook great food when you put your ego behind the character of the products.

The menu flows and sweeps you away, so that at the end you are left with the mere desire to return there very soon, for the next season, to this unique restaurant of the seasons.

THANK YOU!