Mansion Zemono, inn Pri Lojzetu, chef Tomaž Kavčič

After a year, it was time to meet again. The crew and I decided to go this time to the Zemono mansion, the Pri Lojzetu inn, where chef Tomaž Kavčič was in charge. I had ten days of last year’s vacation and went to Barbariga at oursapartment. I had to drive up and down just for this dinner. On the 30th National Day, I set off, on the road, there was no crowd, at the border only 2 cars in front of me. The crowd was already gathering in the other direction. I drove to Gorenje near Divača. I parked there and head to the Simon’s. We sat in the garden and chat a bit. Matjaž repaired the old TOMOS bike with history. Gregor had a fashion show and it was time to leave. We arrived at Zemon in a bit more than half an hour. The rest of the team is already there. There were eight of us.

Menu

They sat us down on the south side, where only our table was. We took started at the garden table with a rose and an amuse-bouche, which was a combination of cherries, asparagus (cream and asparagus), a reduction of red carrots, and hazelnut crumbs.

We move to the main table. Here we got a mild creamy horseradish spread and homemade bread.

Then we were served with tomatoes covered with young homemade cheese and a sprinkle of basil and olives, with croutons in between.

The next plate is a meadow motif (pea puree) with a stone (fish burger)

We continued with the fish. This time the sea bass fillet on salt grill salt and chard with potatoes cooked in a broth

We moved to ‘street food’, where the suckling pig is served on steamed bread, red cabbage crumbs, caramelized onions, mayonnaise based on olive oil and cracklings.

Followed by beef with beef reduction and smoked (on the vine) potato soup

We finished with beef broth with broth vegetables (reduction) and roasted beef

The first dessert is lemon ice cream with gin and tonic gelatin. The atmosphere they created with juniper mist

The last is a sweet and sour dessert with ice cream, cherries, honey, biscuit, and vinegar

There was a wine accompanying food during the entire dinner. We started with rosé, then some white (green, Sutor malvasia / rebula, rebula,…), we ended with a red one (blue pinot) and sweet dessert vine (picolit). In addition to the menu above, there were three more customized menus, but I was more concerned with my own. Someone is not eating fish, someone is a vegetarian and someone is a vegan. But it was taken care of for all visitors. There is still time for coffee and a digestive. I took espresso and wormwood schnaps.

I slept back at Gorenje with the Gregor family. We sat down for a good hour before bed and have a pleasant conversation. I didn’t fall asleep right away and the next morning, after not getting enough sleep, I went to the coast at 9 o’clock. This time there were at least 50 cars in front of me at the border, I lost half an hour there. Of course, according to Murphy, I chose the wrong queue and it takes the last vehicle in front of me for the longest time, which is eventually sent to the side.

Summary

It was actually a very nice evening. Of course, the primary thing is that I shared it with people who are close to me. But if we talk about the experience of the inn itself, everything was as it should be. They use homemade ingredients, based on Slovenian tradition, and the presentation was pleasant. I was most impressed by the location itself and the fact that we were alone on one side of the building and a beautiful view of the Vipava Valley (Simona was disturbed by the road 1 kilometer away). When it came to food, my enthusiasm grew with each dish and I was most satisfied with the last, beef dishes. For wines, Zelen remained with me as truly aromatic one. The atmosphere was relaxed, the chef himself visited our table a couple of times to present the dish or just to chat with us a bit.

The cost per person was approx. € 150, about € 100 for food and € 50 for drinks.

If I compare it with inns of a higher rank in Slovenia, I would say this. The Monstera from Volčič was behind. Casa Franko, however, is a much better experience, with lots of little things.