Great Ambience, Fantastic Food, Excellent Wines!
I went here on a Yelp recommendation. We did not stop exclaiming all evening, "wow, what a great meal!" The ambience gets a 9/10. It is a cellar (a wine cellar), complete with brick walls and wooden tables (a la picnic tables), but thank God, there's no musty/moldy ancient basement smell. It seems newly constructed with an old or classic feel--but not Disney. Location is great: it's a short walk up an alley just off the main pedestrian street of the Hauptwache.
My dining partner and I shared 2 apps: the Liver Pate with Green Peppercorns and the (regional delicacy) Sour Milk Cheese. Neither of these are for the timid of palate, but boy did they offer great, unique, local flavors all dancing in the mouth. Very good choice.
We ordered a mid-to-high-priced bottle of Riesling to share (relative to their menu, but quite inexpensive for a New York wine list) that paired well with the meal. My friend's entree was a seasonal special (October): venison goulash with red cabbage. I ordered one of the two house-made bratwursts they have on the regular menu; they were out of the one I asked for (it was somewhat late on a Tuesday night, and since they're house-made I don't blame them), so I agreed to the other one. I could absolutely tell the sausage was homemade and not bought from their supplier. Delicious! As you would expect in Germany, the sauerkraut was way more subtle than we get in the States (not stinky).
We were in the mood for "classic" German, but the menu has a decent variety of more contemporary dishes as well. The entree salads (at other tables) seemed quite hefty, but I don't fly 8 hours to eat a salad.
A quick caveat: for those needing somewhere handicapped-accessible, this place is not! You have to descend 2 flights of stairs to get in, and then climb them on a full stomach at the end of the meal to reach street level. No big deal, but my friend who needs a knee operation when we get home was taking it kinda slow.
Definitely recommend!
Addendum: I went back alone on my last night in Frankfurt. Again: fantastic. My goal was to eat light but sample a couple of nice German wines. Second goal, achieved! Not sure how light I ate.
First, let me say that at 8:45 pm on a Monday night in mid-October, the Hauptwache looked like a ghost town: many places closed because it was Monday, others getting ready to close. Vinum was hopping.
I had the warm goat cheese appetizer, paired with some seasonal white German wines-- they always have a seasonal wine menu to augment the standard one. Perfect meal! They served 2 large slices of goat cheese that had been broiled (the dish was hot) in a honey sauce with black olives and--of all things--peppercinis. Great combo of flavors: sweet & savoy & spicy. I had 2 different wines from their seasonal menu which were exquisite. Ask your server, they know the wines. read more