Meine Culinarische Reise durch Münster : Trattoria Adria da Leo e Toni

Don't let the fact that "it is a small place situated outside the city center" fool you! Trattoria Adria is a small and cozy Italian restaurant which offers extensive menu featuring soup, salad, appetizer, pizza, pasta, seafood dishes, etc. The restaurant is very nicely decorated with white and red color scheme. There are few paintings hanging on the wall, the most eye-catching painting is the Michelangelo's 'The Creation of Adam'.

Here is the picture of Leo & Toni - the owners of this little place, they have been running the business for almost 20 years..and they are enthusiastic and very entertaining :)

@Goodies from the owner: A bottle of wine and an Italian flag lollipop - Grazie Toni :)

• [food]Upon our arrival, we were greeted by the owner. He served a complimentary plate of bread with creamy garlic dip - the bread was nothing special...I had the pasta nera @ black pasta with decent amount of seafood (shrimps, sea scallops) and cherry tomatoes. The pasta and seafood were perfectly cooked and seasoned!The waiter was very attentive - I requested a half slice of tiramisu which he offered without hesitation. The dessert was delicious - it was fluffy and not too sweet..luv it!!! At the end of our dinner, we received complementary glasses of grappa from the owner...
  
• [service] The service at Trattoria Adria is FIRST CLASS! Both leo and toni are friendly and very entertaining!
• [price] Cola 2x + Pasta + Tiramisu ~ 22.00 EUR.. A fair price - after all, the food portions are quite large and seafood is expensive!
  
• [rating] Pasta nera: 4 1/4 stars ; Tiramisu : 4 1/2 stars

Conclusions : A little, homey restaurant which offers amazingly large menu...Delicious food at decent price and most importantly, the service is top-notch! Reservations are highly recommended. A must visit, if you are a foodie ;)

Meine Culinarische Reise durch Münster : Prütt Cafe

I am not a strict vegetarian nor a truly carnivore. I wanted to try something a bit different, so I decided to visit the Prütt Cafe with my pescetarian friends. The cafe is ideally situated, just being within a short walking distance from the main station. I found the atmosphere is very nice and cozy. The seating area is divided by a short staircase into two sections. There is a notice board near the main entrance which includes local events/concerts announcements. The cafe is equipped with a mix of simple wooden tables, comfy benches, round dining sets, a magazine rack, etc. The menu is not extensive but sufficient. The cafe serves salads, soups, pizzas, desserts, and small plate dishes like baked potato, falafel, etc. Don't forget to check out the daily specials which are offered in addition to the menu items.

• [food] I ordered a Sencha, and it was a bit bitter. The pizzas at Prutt are unique in terms of ingredients. I had a small potato pizza with goat cheese, olives and onions. The idea of a pizza with a wholemeal base was quite 'new' for me. I liked the cheese topping; with some crushed tomatoes, the pizza would have tasted better. We shared a ginger brownie - a good balance of flavors, however it was a bit dry and flaky - missing the chewy texture of a brownie..
• [service]The service was decent. Our reservation was cancelled by mistake and the waitress managed to get a table for us - that was nice ;) It took a while to receive our courses, but the waiting period was tolerable.
  
• [price] A small pizza+ sencha + brownie ~ 10.00 EUR
• [food rating] Potato pizza - 3 1/4 stars ; Brownie - 2 1/2 stars

Remarks : I passed by Prütt Cafe many times and it is always full, so a reservation is a must! I am not so excited with the food, but I am glad that I tried a wholemeal organic pizza - certainly, a new experience for me :) The cafe has nice atmosphere - could be an option just hang around and drink cappuccino!

Meine Culinarische Reise durch Münster : Hafez Restaurant

Today, I had my first experience eating Persian food. Initially, we (J, P and me) wanted to go to Fatamorgana (a Syrian restaurant), but it was closed... Luckily, we found Hafez @ a Persian restaurant located close to Fatamorgana. ..Hafez is a medium-sized restaurant which offers delicious Persian specialties. As you walk into this restaurant, you will smell 'curry' in the air..It might smell a bit musty at the beginning, but it takes just time to get used to it...The ambiance is good, with Persian (maybe?) music playing in the background. The decor is modern with a classic touch; large wooden framed mirrors are arranged horizontally on the wall to make the place looks bigger..

• [food] The waitress served some complementary flat bread with a plate of mixed green leaves and cheese. The bread were kind of dry... For starters, we opted for a plate of Kashk-e Bademjan (Persian eggplant stew) served with mixed salads and creamy yogurt sauce. The combination of eggplant with eggs was mind blowing!!! I truly enjoyed the appetizer!!! I ordered a platter of a grilled baby lamb fillet served with saffron rice, a grilled tomato and mixed salads. I was pleased with the lamb - the meat was juicy and tender. The rice itself was good - don't forget to melt a slice of butter over the rice, it enhances the taste of food :)
• [service] Attentive service...the waitress explained about the menu and food preparation, unfortunately in German!
  
• [price] Appetizer + Main Course + Water + ApfelSchorle ~ 21.00 EUR, a reasonable price as the portions were generous!
• [food rating] Appetizer - 4.5 stars ; Main Course - 4 stars

It is like 'love at first sight' - I fall in love with Persian food right on my first try at Hafez.. We were there for almost 2 hours, and when we left the restaurant, it was still almost empty(Gosh, I wonder why!)... This restaurant offers good food with affordable price & friendly service..so, go for it! A small remark - you might smell a bit like 'curry' after your meal tho... hu-hu

Meine Culinarische Reise durch Münster : Sakanaya

It is about sushi again! But, this time they come with a VERY reasonable price... Sakanaya Sushi Bar & Taxi is a very small sushi restaurant located at HafenStr. The restaurant mainly runs as a delivery service; however it also offers a small seating area with few sushi and tall tables. With their online website, you can browse the restaurant menu and order the sushi of your choice. In general, the atmosphere is simple and clean, but you can't expect a full Japanese dining experience with its decor...

@the sushi lovers (TF, PM, LP) - Thanks for joining ^O^

• [food] I had the 'All You Can Eat Dinner' which includes a miso soup as a starter dish, a plate of Maki and Uramaki, followed by a second plate of Nigiri, and finally a choice of a Temaki roll. The miso soup was ok, a little more tofu would be better. It was a chef's choice sushi combo; I wish they offered tamago, inari nigiri. The sushi rice here requires some effort; it was a bit dry and not sticky! The rolls were small (not really a big issue for me), and some of the nigiri were not fresh...e.g, ebi & maguro nigiri. The Unagi Temaki (grilled eel with avocado) was delightful.
  
• [service] The service was fast; the waiter was friendly.
• [price] Sushi Combo + Green Tea ~ 16 EUR ... You just can't beat the price!!!
• [food rating] Sushi Combo - 3 stars

Conclusions : You can't really expect to get a first-class sushi (like in Tokia Acacia) with the prices of sushi at Sakanaya, but if you are looking for average quality sushi with an amazing price, this sushi bar is a good option. Due to limited number of tables, it might be not a good place to hang out with a large group of people.

Meine Culinarische Reise durch Münster : ScharferZahn

Just back from dinner with TH, KH and BG. Thanks guys... it really turned out well :)
We had our dinner at ScharferZahn - A hidden treasure in a residential area! It is located along the Wolbecker Street - about 1.5km from the main station. The restaurant has been owned since 2009 by Gaby Gausepohl. A simple countryside atmosphere, well stocked bar, wooden furniture, several black and white 'mini' pictures on the wall. Check out the wall and ceiling murals, especially the mural portraying the owner with her big motorcycle - cool!

• [food] House specialities include steaks (beef, pork, turkey or chicken) along with 12 kinds of sauces (mild, hot or sweet& sour) and choices of potato (french fries, potato wedges, mashed potatoes or cajun fries). I began with the compliment 'mini-bread' with garlic sauce and mixed salad - that was a good start! Then, I had the 'ScharferZahn de Pollo' - a grilled chicken served with mashed potatoes with sour cream and ScharferZahn special BBQ hot sauce. The hot sauce went well with the chicken steak. The chicken was relatively tender and flavourful, most importantly, it was NOT dried and burnt! The mashed potatoes were just as good :)
• [service] On arrival, the owner personally greeted us - that was nice :) The service was friendly and fast. Note that there were not many customers when we were there, so it might be a bit slow during busy hours...
• [price] Mini-bread, salad, chicken steak with choices of dipping sauce and potato , water, cola = just 15.50 EUR..... A R2 - A 'Ridiculously Reasonable' price!!!!
• [rating] Food - 4 .5 stars
  

To conclude, ScharferZahn offers all the elements you want - amazing food (freshly prepared steak) with a VERY reasonable price, a good service, a cosy atmosphere. The only drawback is the menu is limited to steaks besides one type of noodle with beef/chicken/turkey and some finger food.

Meine Culinarische Reise durch Münster : Grotemeyer

A famous hang-out place for middle-aged or elderly, Cafe Grotemeyer is a long-standing, much like a traditional Viennese-style coffee house in Muenster. It was opened in 1850 by Albert and Bertha Grotemeyer. It is VERY spacious, uncluttered. The decors consist of deep red & green turquoise furniture with various portraits on the walls, full length classic style drapes, 'mini' coffee sets arranged on the shelves, magazine racks, etc. The floor is carpeted throughout. The windows are full of colourful marzipan fruits..don't forget to check the marzipan potatoes - they look very authentic!!!

• [food] The menu was overwhelming - several options of breakfast meals, ice-cream desserts, mouth watering pastries and tortes, different types of coffee and tea, wines, alcohol-free beverages, etc. The cafe also offers different kinds of cookies and chocolates. I ordered a slice of chocolate hazelnut cake and a cup of macadamia flavored cappuccino. The cake was nutty and perfectly sweetened. I wish it was a little more dense...The cappuccino was one of the well-made cappuccinos I have had outside of Italy.
• [service] The service was very good; the waitresses were friendly and attentive...
• [price] Cake + Cappuccino = 5.60 EUR.. A reasonable price!
• [rating] Chocolate hazelnut cake - 3 1/2 stars ; Cappuccino - 4 stars

Cafe Grotemeyer is worth visiting...You might find yourself surrounded by older age groups, but it is a good place to relax and enjoy a coffee in the city... I will go back again to try more torte and chocolates!