Sweet excess

A lunchtime favourite of besuited bankers, by night Le Grand Quai is a surprisingly subdued affair. Of the 20 or so tables, only about five were occupied when we visited on a weekday evening, either by cosy couples dining out for a special occasion or by the Métropole’s guests.

Quiet it may be, but this makes for better service and a hushed environment for savouring the superior food.

Never one to resist the lure of a duck’s liver, Monsieur Gourmand had foie gras to start with Liguria olives and peanuts, while my rare-cooked fillet and leg of young Racan pigeon was delicate and tender indeed, perked up by the stronger flavours of horseradish, wasabi peas and trendy beetroot. I could have easily chosen the monkfish with mango and pecan but, in anticipation of a seafood main course, decided to avoid an all-out fish fest.

Unfamiliar with wild Pandora – I now know it to be a type of sea bream – it was the fiendish accompaniments of cuttlefish ink, mussels, seaweed crust and baby squid that seduced me, hearty flavours that were more than a match for our Pinot noir. Meanwhile, Monsieur Gourmand seemed to enjoy his Burgundy guinea fowl, which beat off stiff competition from other free-range fare including milk-fed Pyrenees lamb and home-grown veal from Swiss mountain pastures.

For some reason – it certainly wasn’t hunger – we then ordered two outrageously excessive desserts before sampling the petits fours, which arrived without us even having ordered coffee (take note, Hotel Olden).

As I stood up to leave I rather regretted wearing such an eye-catching belt, but was grateful that there was only a handful of customers to witness my newly non-existent waist.

Le Grand Quai, Swissôtel Métropole, Quai Général-Guisan 34, 1204 Genève
+41 (0)22 318 3463; www.grandquai.ch