The Bergson Kunstkraftwerk in Aubing opens its luxury restaurant – Munich

Let The Games Begin! The Bergson art powerhouse is starting its opening ceremonies, which will last several weeks, with its own fanfare, as befits its status. The Bergson Artists of the Jazz Rush Big Band then get started straight away, with a drummer below, above from the bridge that runs across the hall. You start to suspect that this fanfare will be a little longer than the one that always plays as the opening credits before the roaring lion in the old Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films. And in fact: it doesn’t quite reach the length of the overture to the “Ring of the Nibelung”, but every now and then you think of Richard Wagner, also because of a certain drama in the musical design. But at least the Bergson Artists do without a drum solo.

Maximilian Maier, program director of the new Bergson Kunstkraftwerk, has previously kindly revealed where the “sweet spot” is in the 30 meter high hall of the Kunstkraftwerk – the place from which you can hear best: “to the left of the bar”. In fact, the acoustics there are perfect, but a little further away they’re not bad, which you wouldn’t expect when you’re standing in this huge hall, in which a large, black cube has also been built. The day bar called Anima (Latin for “spirit”, “soul”) is actually open on this Wednesday evening and serves, among other things, the house’s “signature drink”, a cocktail that is sweet but obviously very high in alcohol.

This then leads to the restaurant at the Kunstkraftwerk. It’s called “Zeitlang”, which is an amazing name for a restaurant. This Bavarian word stands for longing and desire, it says on the menu. Which isn’t wrong, but not entirely right either. Because: “I took a while” can also mean that you’re feeling tired or a bit boring. And the new restaurant is certainly not that. Chef Christopher Engel, previously kitchen director at the Four Seasons Hotel on Maximilianstrasse, has put together a menu that predominantly uses regional ingredients, but also plays with Mediterranean flavors and exotic spices. According to managing director Matthias Altmann, the restaurant in particular is intended to attract visitors to the somewhat remote Bergson. It’s still a short walk from Langwied S-Bahn station to the art power plant. They also want to cook sustainably and in a climate-friendly way: “We want to offer 50 percent vegetarian dishes.”

By the way, they were particularly successful. In the four-course opening menu, the fried corn-fed chicken breast with polenta, pumpkin puree and vanilla jus isn’t that surprising, but the vegetarian alternative – kohlrabi cannelloni is. The starter of pickled Chinese cabbage with elderberry, almond shavings and flamed rhubarb results in a nice interplay of sweetness and acidity. And the asparagus cream soup with wild garlic and tiny croutons is seasoned just right – strong, but not so much that you can’t taste anything else. And the dessert – Greek yogurt with maple syrup, oat crumble and sorbet – is simple, but nicely balanced in flavors.

That’s definitely enough of an evening. Roman Sladek, founder and bandleader of the Bergson house band, was there Jazz Rush Big Band as well as one of the three managing directors of the house, asked at the beginning of the meal: “Just mix in with the normal people out there at the housewarming party afterwards.” However, it’s not that easy – after the last course there wasn’t that much going on with the normal people anymore. The Bergson is just a bit remote.

Open detailed view

So that’s how they started, the games at the Bergson Art Power Plant. “Our opening cascade continues on May 7th,” says Maximilian Maier, “then the silos will be opened.” That would actually be a nice name for a contemporary art gallery with 200 square meters of space. But they decided on the title “Bergson Gallery”.