This is my personal culinary account of three years in Bonn: I hope it is of some help to you. Needless to say, de gustibus non ...
German: The local cuisine
of Bonn is called ``Rheinländische Küche´´, difficult
to define properly, but characterized by a solid basis of seasonal vegetables,
ranging from green cabage ``Grünkohl´´ (mixed with potatoes
and bacon) in winter-time, fava beans ``Dicke Bohnen´´ (cooked
in vinegar) in late spring, asparagus ``Spargel´´ (served with
melted butter and potatoes) in summer, Mushrooms ``Pfifferlinge´´
in autumn ( served with scrambled eggs), to the omnipresent ``Rheinländische
Sauerbraten´´ (a sweet-sour marinated veal stew served with apple sauce), or ``Muscheln´´ (mussels - at least in
season, served with dark rye-bread), and finally the delicate potato-pancakes
``Reibekuchen´´ or ``Kartoffelpuffer´´. The accompaignment best
suited to go with any of these things are several small cylindrical
glasses of ``Kölsch´´, a local traditional brew made by "high temperature fermentation" (contrary to pilsner). Where do you get all of this
in Bonn? Best is probably Zum Gequetschten close to the Friedensplatz
at the corner of Kasernenstraße, where ``Rheinländische Gemütlichkeit´´
is supplemented by other such German classics as diverse ``Schnizzels´´
and sausages. Another option is Im Bären (Acherstraße),
where you can get some large salads (one vegetarian with fried potatoes
and a fried egg), all at decent prices (count 15-20 DM including drinks).
Both have plats du jours at reasonable prices.
For the heavier Bavarian things,
head towards the Bayrische Botschaft on Brüdergasse. The name
being self-explanatory, you will find anything there from ``Weißwurst´´
(Boiled veal sausage with sweet mustard) and Brezn to go with your Hefeweizen,
to increadible heaps of undefined meat concoctions.
I used to put something here about the fact of Bonn being close to the Rheinland-Pfalz
area implies that there are some good wine-bars to be found in town, but
they all seem to change profile (in the negative sense). One of these,
Lamme
Goedzak on the corner of Argelanderstraße and Schloßstraße,
at least remains a nice bar. Then
there is Weinkeller Orpheus on Kaiserstraße, with a nice wine
and beer selection. However, since the new owner took over, the quality of
food has drastically decreased -- no more delicate French 3-course dinners!
Another winy option is Hotel Staufenberg on Brüdergasse, with
varying daily specials (game in season). Or go to old-fashioned Weinhaus
Jacobs on Friedrichstraße, e.g. to try the Baden-Würtenbergische
``Käsespaetzle´´ (a kind of amorphous egg-noodles with
fried onions and melted Emmentaler).
Although all of the above is rather
meaty, Germany is, or should be, famous for its vegetarian and whole-food
cuisine, and this is best enjoyed at the self-service restaurant Casius
Garten on Maximilianstraße (open until 8pm): great salads (head
for carots and leeks in mustard sauce) and your oportunity to try ``Grünkern-
or Buchweizenbratlinge´´ (whole-wheat burgers) and drink ``Sanddornmilch´´
(made of Oleum Hypophaees).
Another typical German thing you
should get used to is eating all kinds of cakes and cookies. Two of the
best cafe´s in Bonn are Fassbender on Sternstraße
(also reasonable for lunch, quiches for 7 DM), and Wagner on Hermannstraße in Beuel
(what about ``Altdeutsche gedeckter Apfelkuchen´´?). Good cakes
and a nice view, but unfortunately horrible coffee is served at the cinema
cafe Metropol on the Market Square. A good spring/summer/autumn
afternoon alternative is the following pelgrimage: buy a ``Minigruppenticket´´
with your friends, take tram 66 to Königswinter/Clemens-August-Straße,
then get on Bus nr. 520 to Margarethenhöhe, and do the 1,5 hours walk
to Milchhäuschen, a cafe amidst forest mountains, to enjoy
the marvelous ``Bienenstich´´-cake or their perfect potato-salad (are these superlatives due to the fact that one always arrives there in
a hungry mood?), then descend to Königswinter
by Nachtigallenweg - return by tram.
In case you are in Cologne (Köln): You can make a tour
of the famous ``Kölsch´´-breweries in town, being served
at high speed by the waiters that are inevitably called ``Köbes´´.
The nicest one for me is Päffgen on Friesenstraße, then
comes Früh am Dom which is where it says it is, and Peters
Brauhaus near the old market place. Beware of Cologne´s habit
of denoting foods by slightly misleading names: ``Halver Hahn´´
and ``Kaviar´´ are a cheese sandwich and a blood-sausage, respectively!
Your visit to Cologne is perhaps best accompagnied by a concert in
the world-famous Philharmonie; hint: the tickets are valid on public
transportation in VRS before and after the concert.
Finally, a very fancy place is Halbedel's Gasthaus (Rheinallee in Bad Godesberg; count on 150 DM per person). While we are at it: French food is said to be great at Tour de France (outside Bonn in Oberdollendorf).
Italian: Top-of-the-bill Italian
restaurant in Bonn is probably Il Punto on Lennestraße, but
beware of dress-code and excessive prices (4-course menu around 75 DM).
A more price-worthy version is Pirandello on Brüdergasse (marvelous
antipasti-buffet for 8 DM and mixed salad for starters, pasta, say, the
nice ``Gnocchi Gorgonzola´´ around 15 DM, great Sicilian Lamb
steak around 30 DM, and in season: my favorite salad
``Rucola e Parmiggiano´´); also notice the great wine selection,
including some more rare bottles (you can order anything from a glass to
a bottle, e.g. a glass of excellent Sardinian ``Cannonneau'' will cost 15 DM).
All other Italian places seem to
have somehow made a compromise to a more German taste, viz., there are
more creamy salad- and pasta-sauces on the menu. Nevertheless, correct
and cheap food at ``MPI Number Theory Lunch´´-spot La Rotonda
hidden in Friedrichstraße (especially appreciated are the cheap large
salads for 5-9 DM, and a rice dish with mushrooms for around 15 DM- falsly
named risotto, but great anyway. Good on the pasta-side: spaghetti tonno, riggatoni arrabiata
and crespelle gorgonzola - they also do a monthly menu for 35 DM) .
Strangly enough, correct salads
and pasta dishes appear on the menu of student cafe Blau (Franziskanerstraße)
at ridiculous prices (between 6-10 DM), so this is a good place for an
Italo-German lunch.
A little more expensive, but also
Italian bistro style cafe´s are Spitz opposite from the Stadthaus,
and Ente in the Kaiserpassage (you typically get the fancier pasta´s, say, lamm-ravioli in sage-cream with parmesan
for 16-25 DM). Both started doing plats du jours around 10-15 DM
If you are prepared to go a bit
further, viz., across the bridge, you will find the Beuel version of price-worthy
Little Italy (Breuerstraße), consisting of old-time MPI-NT-lunch
place
Tivoli (famous for pizza, Zabaglione, and fresh ``Pesto´´
in season, all around 10-15 DM), the Stadtcafe (where you
should go for the weekly specials, especially the salads with fried mushrooms
or salmon), and last but not least, Pane e vino (look for
antipasti around 10 DM, home-made fresh noodles up to 20 DM and the fish
selection from 20-30 DM).
The only place in Bonn where I ate good pizza was Tuscolo on Vorgebirgstrasse. Mention that you would like real Mozarella (instead of what they call ``pizza-cheese'') on your pizza
and count around 15 DM. Skip all the other things on
the menu.
Finally, the live-piano music in
Borsalino
on Heerstraße (Fridays) makes for good ambiente, but don´t
expect fancy food.
There are many more decent Italian
places in Bonn, but so far my list...
Mediteranean: By far, the best Turkish food is served
at Cafe l´Opera on Kapuzinerstraße, though somewhat
expensive (go for the ``mezze´´ buffet, costs around 16 DM,
is filling and mainly vegetarian - you know, humus, tahini, lentils, olives,
the lot - or the daily menu for 19 DM; don´t forget the superb
deserts). A cheaper version is Efendim opposite of Spitz. The most authentic (but very plain) Greek place (viz., not expensive, not
meaty) is hidden at the Viktoriabrücke (was it called Sirtaki?
but try the mixed vegetable ``meze´´ as a main course - fried
eggplants, zuchini´s, warm feta cheese, white beans in tomato sauce).
Worth the travel (certainly for vegetarians) is going to the Lebanese
place
Arabesque in Bad Godesberg (corner Burgstraße/Winterstraße). Here are
again beautiful ``Mezes´´ (from 15 DM on), but also parsley
tabouleh, Kadaif-dough ``Baklava´´, you name it. The quality is
always slightly higher than what you are used to elsewhere.
For good fallafel (6 DM,
and some reasonable plats du jours for 10 DM), you should go to the Jordanian
Take-away on Breuerstraße in Beuel, atypically called ``Beueler Grill´´.
There are several Spanish restaurants, the one on Breite Straße
San Telmo being quite good (gazpacho, grilled vegetables, squid
with aioli). In case of good wheather, however, take tram 61/62 to
Pützstraße, and enjoy uncomplicated tapas and sangria in the
garden of Hotel Rosenberg (a real Spanish restaurant!).
Asian: Plain but good and cheap Indian curries
(12-15 DM): go to Moghul on Dorotheenstraße. The best Far-Eastern
restaurant Saigon (Vietnamese) lies hidden on the Vorgebirgstraße,
but you find a cheap lunch offer (around 12 DM), and in the evening delicate
(vegetarian or not) menus under 25 DM/person (say, aperitif, veggie spring
rolls, tofu-curry, fried soy beans, spicy cucumber salad and fried bananas
with peanuts). Chinese food sucks in Bonn, but go to China-Asia on
Friedrichstraße (side of Weinhaus Jacobs) for the cheapest ( <13
DM) lunch special (e.g. soup, mapu-tofu with rice, (canned) fruit salad),
and some good menus in the evening (Chinese tell me you should go for the
``Happy Family´´ menu). There is a Japanese restaurant Miyako
on
Bornheimer straße, which is incredibly expensive in the evening,
not run by Japanese, but serves decent cheap lunch specials
for 25 DM (miso-soup, marinated mushrooms, sushu or sashimi or tempura). The
fanciest Japanese restaurant around is
Kamijo in Bad Godesberg.
The better Thai restaurant is Krua Siam in the Südstadt
on Königstraße (go for one of the soups and one of the coconut
curries, veggie or not, count on 15-20 DM, somewhat cheaper at lunch-time).
Coffee, newspapers,...: The above-mentioned Cafes Blau, Spitz and Ente, but also Cafe Göttlich on Fürstenstraße (cheap + smokey + full of students, breakfast served), Pawlow (Heerstraße, quite loud, but breakfast served outside), Pathos and Extro on Schubertstraße (trendy places, on Sundays: great breakfasts, food selection), and Casa del Gatto on Kaisersplatz (the outdoor terrace in summer is good for getting a cheap lunch). More good or decent coffee is served at Giacommo (Bottlerplatz), inside Bouvier bookstore (Fürstenstraße), and at art-galery Stil-Art on Friedensplatz.
Self service lunch places exist on the top floor of supermarkets Karstadt and Kaufhof, where the latter also has a sushi bar in the cellar supermarket, and at Cassius Garten mentioned before.
Beers, beers, ...: Most of the above mentioned coffee-places
become smokey bars at night. Most other bars are also located in the Altstadt
north-west of Oxfordstraße, or in the town-center. A special mentioning
of Godot Im Krausfeld (next to the ``Frauenmuseum´´),
with great olives and other tapas, and the two Biergärten on
sunny Beuel side of the Rhine, right across from the Kenedybrücke:
south is trendy Rheinlust, north all-age Bahnhöfchen.
Wenn you´re at it, have a Kölsch first at the Alter Zoll
Biergarten before taking the ferry to Beuel. Finally, chauvinism forces
me to mention that I am missing the great Belgian ales. But since in Bonn, you are only 4 hours by train from
Gent, why not just go there - and take a copy of this?
Gunther Cornelissen (Updated 19/6/2001).