Disclaimer. I'm not an authority on Greek restaurants and my experience with greek food ends at eating the occasional Gyro at a food truck or county fair (if I can find them). My review is based off of various foods I have tried and various restaurants I have frequented.
I've taken to Yelp lately to help me find great restaurants here in Germany. It's hard to judge a place based off it's looks, as many of the awesome restaurants in Europe are unassuming little store front places. Gaststatte Gruner Trum was no different, and we were in the mood for a little change from Italian or Germany food (looking for Greek)
The restaurant is on a hill where parking is difficult, if not impossible. Your best bet is to park on the main street (Stadtgrabenstrasse) and walk to the restaurant. If you park after 6pm, you'll park for free.
When we walked in, I was struck by how intimate, classy, and fancy the place was, and immediately thought we made a horrible mistake; my boys aren't the most reliable in classy establishments. The restaurant was empty, which was a good sign, and we waited to be seated. The host asked us if we had a reservation, which I thought was slightly amusing, as no one was in the restaurant. However, as I glanced around the tables, I saw everyone of the tables had a "reserved sign". We prepared to be shown the door with a half hearted sorry; HOWEVER, the host said we could take one of the booths, as that table was reserved for 7:40pm (it was 6pm). Awesome!
We were seated and I was impressed at how nice the place was, yet still offered a kid's menu. Our host (now waiter) immediately brought out four aperitifs; 2 apple juice shots for the boys and 2 shots of Ouzo (anise flavored alcohol). Our waiter took our drink order and chatted with my two boys, who are quite chatty at this age. Nothing special with the drinks, just Orange Fanta for my wife and Schwepps Bitter Lemon for me, and 4 waters. Just another wild Tuesday night with the Careys.
Food. I went with the Soutzoukakia (Smyrna meatballs), my wife went with the Gyros, and my boys went with a kid's Gyro plate and grilled chicken. Well, we chose it for them, but they were ok with it. All of our food was immaculate. The grilled chicken looked like it had been slaughtered 10 minutes ago and was grilled just for us. The Gyro and tzatziki sauce was about as rich and fresh as it could be. As I've never had Smyrna meatballs, I didn't know what to expect. But I couldn't not believe how such a simple looking dish had so much flavor.
Throughout the dinner, our waiter teased and played with my boys, who enjoyed getting attention from someone else other than mom and dad. I was impressed at how such a classy place had such a warm family atmosphere.
After dinner, they served us (me and my wife) a digestif (a chilled pink drink) which capped the dinner off right. FYI, the aperitif and digestif were free.
Can't say enough positive things about Gaststatte. The price is right, the food is excellent, and the atmosphere is what really sets this place in the 5 star range. Look forward to our next meal here. read more