Ondrej Kovar
"You can buy anything with money, but not knowledge."
Ondrej Kovar has been the service manager in charge of the welfare of Hangar-7 guests since February 2009. The demands on his team are great, whether in the Carpe Diem Lounge-Café, Mayday Bar or Restaurant Ikarus.
This native Czech trained in Germany, where he worked at leading establishments for more than 18 years, in posts including head sommelier at the Hotel Adlon in Berlin, at Landhaus Scherrer in Hamburg and at Hotel Colombi in Freiburg. In the process he made an impression as a "human wine list" and maître d‘hôtel on guests and colleagues alike. He then moved to the southern-most part of Austria, to Carinthia. He assumed the positions of head sommelier and maître d‘hôtel at the A Capella Hotel Schloss Velden and was part of the business from the first day.
In 2009 he exchanged a castle for a hangar and followed the call of what he deems to be the most innovative gastronomic concept ever – the guest chef. "The team's enormous professionalism was the first thing that made a lasting impression on me", says Kovar. "At the same time I was surprised too. The pressure to be profitable is everywhere in top-level catering. Quality comes before profit at Restaurant Ikarus, and this pressure is incomparably greater."
Ondrej doesn't limit the absolute commitment to quality to the kitchen alone, on the contrary, "The service is the face of the restaurant that the guest sees, which is why my people have to know all about the guest chef's menu, the ingredients and the way they are prepared." The same applies to the wines. "I try to pass on one thing to every employee – nowadays you can buy anything if you have the money. The only thing you can't buy is knowledge. You must be prepared to constantly learn so that you can keep pace at this level." There's certainly no lack of educational material, as the next change of guest chef will come as surely as night follows day.
Restaurant Ikarus Team
Opening Hours Restaurant Ikarus
Daily, lunch 12:00 to 02:00 pm,
dinner 07:00 pm to 10:00 pm
In order to better facilitate the Ikarus kitchen's transition from one guest chef to the next, the restaurant will be closed for lunch the first day of every month.
However, evening opening hours on these days will remain the same: the restaurant will open at 07:00 pm.
