The first English review of Wirtshaus Hasenheide, I'm honoured! And also feeling shameful that I…read moredon't speak German :( So I thought I'd offer a tourist's view of this traditional German eatery. We had a supreme restaurant guide in the form of Svenja of course, who talked us through the menu with total efficiency and recommended what she thought would give us a well-rounded impression of German food. We were a table of one pescetarian, one meat-eater who hates mushrooms and one lady who was happy to have a little of everything, so we opted for three dishes to share.
Simple solution really, Svenja and I could partake the non-meat creamy cheesy pasta with crisped onions and mushroomy cheesy rosti option, she and my SO could share his meat dish as well as the pasta (he's the mushroom-hater, by the way) and that way everyone could have a bit of what they liked. Firstly we ordered drinks which were beers and wine, lovely enough and reasonably priced too, and when it came to ordering food we did get to that point where you feel horrendous for waving a member of staff over... but the wait was getting a little OTT and we were all very hungry little souls by this point.
Anyway, when the food came it did not disappoint. The mushrooms on the rosti had been cooked brilliantly, in that they offered none of that sliminess which indicates they've been sweating in their own juices too long... rather they were tender, had bite to them and really retained the flavour of the dish. Yep, garlic to the max. Piles of melted cheese of course, as is requisite for the foodstyle, and oh, that melt in the mouth grated potato underneath! Heaven. The thick spaghetti noodles with the creamy cheese sauce were divine, and I did sneak a potato from the SO's plate but even they were full of bacon - that was one meaty dish! They even sliced the sausages in a really unusual style whereby they opened like flowers, or squids, much to his horror and my amusement.
The place is atmospheric and full of wood; you kind of feel like you're in a lodge. Overall it was an awesome start to our trip, the food was spot on and while the slow service did let it down somewhat it came with a friendly smile, so there's little to complain about really. A surprise winner, and I do want that rosti again... like right now, please.