Zapata Lounge - we could have been good friends, with your easy-to-get-to location, chic interior,…read moreand tasty desserts. However, your burgers suck, the fries are unpredictable, and the service is inconsistent. Also, due to your inability to put together group tables in a competent fashion, I can only speak for 5 of the people who sat near me.
The Good:
+ FLAMMKUCHEN! It's not hard to make, but the people who ate the decently sized flammkuchen tonight had BIG smiles on their faces. Kudos on the flammkuchen, Zapata!
+ DESSERTS! Everyone who ordered desserts here enjoyed them immensely. My girlfriend and I ordered the apfelstrudel with ice cream. The strudel itself was DELICIOUS and my favourite part of the evening. The ice cream was tasty but just didn't interest me tonight. The whipped cream definitely tasted like it just came right out of a can.
+ LOCATION! It's hard to beat being located right in the Hauptbahnhof. Still, with all the negatives, I don't think I'll happily come here again, except to try their spaghetti from a bucket.
+ DECOR! The interior decoration is chic and modern, and the tables/chairs are comfortable. Or at least would have been if our group's tables weren't so poorly configured.
+ TIMELINESS! Well, by German standards anyway. When they finally came around to take our drink orders, they returned pretty quickly with our drinks (just a little long by American standards) and no mistakes. When our group was finally (mostly) present, they again came around in a timely fashion to take our food orders.
+ THE SPECIALS! Mondays is XXXL Schnitzel, and Tuesdays is Spaghetti auf dem Eimar (Spaghetti in a bucket). I think they have some sort of drink specials on Wednesday too.
We went on a Tuesday. I witnessed the waitstaff literally bring out polished stainless steel buckets of spaghetti and large bowls of sauce to anyone who ordered the special. They place it over a cute little candlewarmer to keep your food warm for you! While "spaghetti in a bucket" might sound crude and beastly, it is actually artfully executed here. I should add, everyone who ordered the pasta enjoyed their meals.
The Bad:
+ BURGERS. As an American in a foreign land, I consider it my duty to find and review burgers. The burgers here are BAD. The bun was cold (think, refrigeration cold), which confused me because it was toasted on one side. The meat was overcooked and dry, and the sauce tasted weird. At the end of my meal, it sat like a cold stone weighing down my insides.
+ GROUP MANAGEMENT. Despite the fact that we had called hours ahead and let them know we would be a group of 25 people, our tables were configured so weirdly that we couldn't see more than 1/5 of each other because we were facing in OPPOSITE DIRECTIONS.
What really peeved me though is that they tried not to advertise their pasta special because they didn't want us to "overwhelm" the kitchen. Really?? How hard is it to cook pasta?! Or to keep batches of sauces warm? If anything, it should be easier than cooking 25 different dishes. And as our dishes seemed to come in three different waves, instead of all at once, I would say they could have benefited from the simplification.
+ BEER MENU. We're in Germany. I expect to have a better selection of beer. The pils I drank wasn't bad, but there are a lot of good beers out there, and I shouldn't be limited to Ureich. Also, I personally believe that any restaurant located in a major transit centre of an international city needs to have Guinness. But that's just me.
The Mixed:
+ FRENCH FRIES. Mine were great, even though they could have used more salt. My girlfriend's fries were cold and limp. It's like they were angry at her, or something.
+ SERVICE. The service was efficient. After that, it's inconsistent. For starters, they forgot my fries but brought them out quickly when I asked. But then, mine were good and my girlfriend's were cold.
One guy was gruff. Another girl was bubbly.
When I tried to pay my check, I waved down Gruffy Guy. He nodded at me and carried on clearing dishes from other tables. I waved him down again, and again he nodded and kept on with clearing dishes from other tables. I waved him down a third time, and finally...he nodded and finished clearing dishes from other tables. I know the damn dishes need clearing but there were plenty of empty tables for new guests to sit at - tend to the guest who's waving you down, Gruffy!
+ PRICES. It's possible to spend 20 Euro on a dish. But if you stick to flammkuchen or pizza (NOT burgers!) you can also spend only 6-10 euro.
Conclusion:
I won't come here again except to try that Tuesday spaghetti in a bucket deal (Spaghetti auf dem Eimar), or maybe the flammkuchen. For schnitzel, I've heard about a place in Bruehl called Coliseum (or something similar) that offers 10Euro all you can eat schnitzel on Mondays. I'll keep y'all updated ;)
