Nate Breznau
Google
I've always wanted to try this place, but the price felt high from an outsider's perspective.
It is also not a star or even a mention by Michelin. Not that this subjective and sometimes questionable rating company is the best reason to choose a restaurant (try Eater or just Google reviews!). But nonetheless, the restaurant has been around for a while. My expectations were not too high, but also not too low given the price.
In the end it was six courses plus a welcome, Grüß aus der Küche and an extra sweet treat before the bill, so 9 total, for just under 140 Euro. This is actually pretty fair in the world of foodie.
All said and done, I am a fan. The service was exceptional. Friendly, attentive, just the right amount of conversation. The wine list requires an adjective that doesn't exist. It is hand picked, and esoteric, but not really eccentric. It also has drinks without alcohol. I had a grape juice made from Muscat from South Africa from a small Berlin importer. All these little subtle, well thought out surprises.
If I had to choose one word for the food it would be 'balance'. The dishes and ingredients are Northern/Western European in general, with a tendency toward Northern Germany, but only slight. Some meat and cheeses from France.
No dish really lacked anything or had too much of anything. My favorites were a starter which was a goat cheese kind of souflee in flaky pastry with Chanterelles (Pfeferlinge), a spring chicken with peas and rhubarb different ways and the main course of pork as a cutlet and as a fatty cut with truffles, a foam jus, and celery in various ways including the root, stem and leaves (I love celery leaves bitterness contrasted with the sweet, fatty pork). But all dishes were great. And a cheese plate is something that wins my heart, if the cheeses and accompaniments are well selected like the fir sure we're here.
So why not a Michelin star or mention? Actually, Bremen is the only Bundesland without a Michelin star. The first to get one probably has to be something really groundbreaking. Also, one might expect a focus on regional cuisine, history and ingredients. It is also not on any kind of tourist route. But let's reconsider the key things: excellent food, beautiful if not unique presentation, great pairing of drinks and food, something that gives it a special kick. This restaurant, for me has all those things except maybe that extra kick. But after thinking about it, it is really Bremen. It is, like many Bremen Restaurants, tucked in a residential street that looks very 'Bremen'. It is in the Viertel, a few blocks from the Bermuda Triangle where people go and party all night. While eating there a local person walking her dogs chatted at length with one of the servers. It can be posh, laid back, smoking outside, whatever. It's Bremen. And it was really good.
