Travelling from Malaga to go on a mini-break means having to connect at one of the other major airports which is why when we do go away, we always end up having to take a very early morning flight. The weekend started with getting up at 4:00 a.m. to make our flight to Madrid then from there head to Geneva where we arrived before noon. Straight to the Intercontinental Geneva to check-in, drop of our suitcasas, freshen up and rush out to meet my brother in-law for lunch at Brasserie Lipp. We took a taxi and crossed the river and arrived in town a few minutes later than expected (not very Swiss of us).
The restaurant is located on an upper level of a shopping mall at one end of the rue de la Confederation. At the entrance is a large shellfish display and a revolving door to the main part of the restaurant. From there, several rooms branch out to different sitting areas - red leather banquettes and tiny tables and larger tables with wooden cafe chairs. J was already there when we arrived but it took us a while to find him. We settled into our seats after saying hello and catching up quickly on each others' news then had a quick look at the extensive menu. We all decided to have tartare - steak for A and I, salmon for J.
Bread was served while we waited for our main courses. The place started to fill up and by the time the tartares were served, the restaurant was packed and buzzing with waiters rushing around and diners' loud conversation. The food arived quickly - the salmon tartare with brown bread and the steak tartares arrived served on a rectangular plate with the ingredients separated with the hand-chopped steak in the center, slices of pickle on one side, a few caper berries on top, a little container of spicy sauce and a dollop of chopped parsley and capers but no egg. It was a novel presentation for a classic dish to make the diner prepare the tartare to his own taste. The beef was very good but it wasn't easy to recreate a mouthful of perfectly-seasoned tartare at every bite. Crispy fries were placed on a plate in the center for us to share along with a well-seasoned green salad.
The dessert selection was extensive as well and at first, we weren't sure if we were having any then changed our mind and ordered two to share - a classic creme brulee for J and ile flottante for me and A. The ile flottante was delicious - a light egg-white meringue floating in a bowlful of creme anglaise and topped with crispy almond brittle and espressos to finish off and said our goodbyes quickly before J went back to work.
Brasserie Lipp, although not related in any way to its' Parisian namesake, is a typical bustling brasserie in the French mold - decent food, quick service, reasonable prices, buzzing atmosphere and the kind of restaurant where you can always find something you like from the large menu.
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Brasserie Lipp
Confédération Centre
Rue de la Confédération 8
1204 Genève
Tél : +41 (022) 318 80 30
Open daily, Mondays to Saturdays 7h to 2 a.m. and Sundays 9 a.m. to 2 a.m.
(another branch in Zurich)
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