The dishes of Sebastian Obendorfer at Eisvogel

At restaurant Obendorfers Eisvogel, located at Der Birkenhof Spa & Genuss Resort which overlooks the waters of the Oberpfälzer Seenlandes, near Neunburg vorm Wald, Germany, chef Sebastian Obendorfer is immersed in nature, from which he draws the ingredients to create his unique cuisine at the two-Michelin-star restaurant.

Obendorfer began his culinary journey at the Mandarin Oriental under Mario Corti in Munich, before stints at Michelin star restaurants Falco with Peter Maria Schnurr in Leipzig and ZweiSinn in Berlin. However, for Obendorfer, all roads led to his father's restaurant, chef Hubert Obendorfer's Eisvogel, where he worked alongside him as Head Chef and ultimately as sole Head Chef since 2021. 

Obendorfer describes his culinary philosophy as “modern, accurate in terms of craftsmanship and cosmopolitan – both in the search for the most excellent products possible and in the aromatic design”.

The chef’s experience is in classic French restaurants, where the kitchen style was always product-oriented. “Of course, this has had a great influence on my handwriting,” says the chef. “Nevertheless, we have found our own way to develop and perfect our handwriting.”

See dishes from the menu at Eisvogel with comments from Obendorfer, below.

Eel teriyaki, red cabbage, wasabi

"Unagi is a Japanese word that refers to freshwater eel. We serve our eel with a sweet soy-based sauce. Unagi is known for its rich, greasy texture and distinct flavour, which goes very well with the fermented red cabbage, and the spicy note of the wasabi rounds off the whole dish."

Langoustine, edamame, kimchi, mango

"The combination of the baked, crispy langoustine inspired us to combine the sweetness of the crustacean with the salty and spicy flavours of Asian cuisine."

Oxtail, Périgord truffle, Jerusalem artichoke, egg yolk 

"In this dish, we have combined the earthy notes of truffle and Jerusalem artichoke with creamy egg yolk and braised oxtail. The whole dish lives by its creaminess, which is why we serve this course only with a spoon in our restaurant."

Kagoshima wagyu A5, sushi rice, beef tea, broccoli, onion 

"We wanted to bring the focus to the quality of the meat, that's why we only have light side dishes and a very light beef tea to accompany the meat."

Plum, green shiso, strawberry seed oil, hibiscus 

"The plum, thinly cut and marinated, brings the fruit acid in this dish, which we have combined with the essential strawberry seed oil. To top it all off, we added the green shiso, which gives together with the hibiscus the finish."