Falco occupies the 27th floor of the Westin Leipzig — the city's tallest hotel — and offers a 360-degree panorama of the Saxon plain, the historic Innenstadt, and on a clear day the silhouette of the Völkerschlachtdenkmal monument to the south. The restaurant has held two Michelin stars under chef Peter Maria Schnurr for over a decade, and is the most ambitious cooking happening anywhere in eastern Germany.
Schnurr's style — described in the kitchen's own language as 'passion légère' — is contemporary European with strong French underpinnings and a careful use of Asian and Mediterranean accents. A tasting menu typically runs to seven or eight courses and demonstrates the kitchen's full range: a starter of langoustine with smoked vanilla and lemon-grass jus, a course of Saxon turbot with pomelo and Riesling beurre blanc, a saddle of venison with miso-glazed beetroot and juniper, a famously precise pre-dessert of Granny Smith apple with calvados and milk skin, and a chocolate composition that is among the most photographed dessert plates in Germany.
The dining room is a serious modern fine-dining stage: a curved bank of floor-to-ceiling glass on the city side, low-key contemporary lighting, white linen and silver service. The wine list runs to nearly a thousand bins with particular depth in Saxon and Rheingau Riesling, the Mosel, Burgundy and a remarkable selection of older Bordeaux. The cigar selection — kept in a walk-in humidor visible from the dining room — is among the most serious in Germany, and the after-dinner area on the same floor is a properly grown-up cocktail destination.
For a marquee business dinner in eastern Germany — an international client, a milestone celebration, or any meal where the cooking and the room need to operate at the same elevated level — Falco is the obvious choice.
