Iris T.
Yelp
My Airbnb was right down the street and once we got settled, we were starving. It was a bit past 1 pm on a Thursday. There was no line but it was full inside - a grand total of three or four tables. We were about to walk in but there was a sign saying that they didn't take reservations in the summer and to please wait outside until you can be seated.
The good thing was that the weather wasn't bad and we quickly gained company as others joined us in line. After the line increased by 5 parties, the single guy taking care of the tables was alerted he had a line. They close at 3. He quickly went outside to count who was there and took in the sign telling people to wait. By this time, my husband and I decided we had to eat something having had waited for so long. The French certainly have no qualms against taking their time, haha. Not a bad thing! It's just not widely seen in the States.
It was around 30 minutes or so until we were finally seated. We were handed menus and chose our food. It turned out to be quite a lot. We started off with the French (Le français) breakfast that consisted of a tea or coffee, a bread bowl of a brioche, a croissant, and a fig scone with jam and butter (they ran out of brioche so we got two croissants), a green tea and mint yogurt, and a fresh juice of your choice. Then we added a soft boiled egg with bread crusts. Next, we ordered the apple Bavarian cake after reading some reviews. Upon the waiter's suggestion (he knew some English), we also ordered the Burrata with the ratatouille. Our table barely had room for it all.
As a first impression of French (German-inspired?) food, it was delicious. We're vegetarian and we don't eat onion, garlic, leeks, and chives, so I was expecting pastries but was definitely pleasantly surprised.
Juice: I got the vitamin which was a blend of carrot, Apple, and something else. It was a perfect combination with not one favor bring too strong and it was just the right amount of sweetness.
Breads: the croissants were some of the best I've tasted; perfectly crispy on the outside and buttery and flaky on the inside. The scone was perfect as well but I wouldn't say the fig taste was overwhelming. The jam and butter complimented it well - I especially loved the jam.
Yogurt: it's plain and though I remember reading that there was green tea, I really only tasted the mint. I loved it and the freshness helped cut through the carbs.
Apple cake: I was expecting something smaller. As it were, it looked similar to a 8-inch cornbread but topped with thinly sliced apples and slivered almonds. The actual cake itself didn't seem to be sweetened or flavored much and the outside was a bit crispy but the inside was a bit moist but dense, compared to the other breads we had. It would have been good if we hadn't already finished the croissants and scone. As it was, it was a bit too much.
Burrata and ratatouille: the Burrata wasn't as runny as I've had them but the ratatouille was on the cold side so perhaps that attributed to it. The combination between the earthiness of the ratatouille and the creaminess of the cheese was good. I loved how simple and delicious it was. And it had no onion or garlic!
All in all, I wondered if I should give Claus 4 stars for the wait, but in the end, I loved the food too much so 5 stars it is. The guy who helped was nice and helpful and everything went smoothly. The place is tiny and cute... It could probably do with more seats but I guess it helps with the hype? Speaking of the table (we got the window seat), I kicked the leg multiple times. Sorry, neighboring table.
I might visit again, but it ultimately depends on how hungry I am. My stomach was gnawing a hole through itself by the time we got our food and it seems like a line is the norm at Claus. We ate every bit of the food we ordered and didn't take any out... We ended up walking the hour to our next destination to walk it off instead of taking the Metro as originally planned.