lunch

Summer lunch at Beet, Luxembourg city

~ Corie Bratter ~ 1 Comment

Finally, after having postponed the meeting several times, I managed to meet Sunny over lunch in town and to try the (now not so) new vegetarian restaurant Beet. The restaurant is located on the place Guillaume, just next the Tourism Office, has a quite large terrace – that was empty due to the cold weather – and two main rooms inside.

Sunny booked a table for 1.15 pm and we were assigned one in the back room – the restaurant was really packed but the service was on point for a quick lunch.

The menu has several options – only vegan and vegetarian – mainly divided between burgers and falafel, in different combinations. I went for a vegetarian patty with eggplants – accompanied by fries and salad – and a thai infusion – warm water with lemongrass and ginger. Sunny had a crispy burger and an home made apple juice.

After the pictures of our lunch you will find my usual impressions.

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Things I loved about Beet:

  • My burger was very tasty as well as the fries. You can choose an homemade sauce to accompany them and I had the chilli one. OMG – it was to die for! If your idea about vegetarian food is still stuck to bland raw vegetables, here you will definitely change your mind. I have seen also nice dessert going around – a pity I was too full to try one.
  • Drink selection is also good, wide and insolite. My infusion – even if a bit difficult to handle – was perfect for my lunch.
  • The ambience is fresh and minimal, same than the service. I would have loved to be on the terrace, a shame about the weather.

Things I liked a bit less about Beet:

  • As general impression, I found it a bit on the pricey side – 14 euro per the burger and 4 euro for a water infusion. I anyway perfectly see this could be mainly due to the very central area and prices would be different if the location was different.
  • Similarly, for my personal tastes, I find the place perfect for a lunch, but it definitely miss some atmosphere for a dinner.

In conclusion: Beet was a very nice discover. I will definitely come back again to try other burgers on the menu and the falafel dishes. With its minimal style and fast service, I find it perfect for a girly lunch in town.

 

La Maison Lefèvre, Esch-sur-Alzette: great expectations, fine result

~ Corie Bratter ~ 3 Comments

On Sunday, inspired by the good weather and by a quiet – and sick – Saturday night, we travelled to Esch-sur-Alzette for a date lunch at La Maison Lefèvre.

I had great expectations toward La Maison Lefèvre, which made it recently on the Gault&Millau 2016 guide and I wanted to try it since long.

We had a side table facing the street and, after a cremant aperitif accompanied by some focaccia canapé, we received a Saint Jacques amouse-bouche. I went for a poached egg with  potatoes pancake and truffle while hubby had foie gras and then we continued with rack of doe for two. We had half bottle of red wine and two coffees for a total bill of 127 euro (2 cremant, half bottle of wine, two starters, two mains, two espresso, half water)..

How was our lunch at La Maison Lefèvre? Discover it after the pictures.


  
  

Things I liked about La Maison Lefèvre :

– Food was nice and not plain: both my dishes had unusual combinations of tastes for usual recipes and I really like the effort in creating unique propositions and not having the common, boring brasserie meal. This was for me the very good point in favor of this restaurant – everything on the menu was new and appealing – and the main reason for coming back.

– Fair quality – price: we had a lot of food in a nice environment for a reasonable price. They have also a tasting menu for 55 euro that looks very convenient. The wine list is various with several good choices for small prices – and great bottles with honest recharges.

– Amazing bread, wide vegetarian selection and private parking under “other good things”.

Things I liked a bit less about La Maison Lefèvre:

– They should have had a great photographer for the website as the place in reality it is a bit less suggestive. It might be because it was daylight, but I was not impressed by the settings as I was online.

– Attention to details very lacking: our table was just attached to a cupboard that was full of dust (see picture). The cheese trolley was in the middle of the restaurant, in a very busy place, without any coverage. My main course presentation was a disaster (joking I said hubby “my doe should have been killed by a car”). From a place like this and for its potential,  I would expected something different.

– I booked the table one week in advance but apparently I was not on the reservation list. The waitress who welcomed us kept us for a quite long time at the counter asking me if I was sure I booked, who I talked with, when did I do my reservation.. My husband saw I was a bit disappointed and he smiled back to don’t worry. And then the waitress herself looked and me and stated “yes – be calm please” in a very impolite manner. I don’t think it is the right attitude at all. You have a table for us, ok. You don’t have, we leave. Not really fancy keeping me in the middle of the room interviewing me to understand if I just pretend to have a reservation – I have a schedule of the places to visit that covers the next two weeks and I am not at Zuma, so no, I am not pretending.
Then, as hubby and I speak both decent French and fluent English, I don’t see the reason why she had to speak her bad Italian with us and treat us as kids, with very informal attitude, even later at the table. We might be not as old as the average of the restaurant, but I am not your sister. Just to say, other waiters were pretty fine and professional as it is supposed to be.

To sum up: maybe because I had seriously big expectation about La Maison Lefèvre, I was a bit deluded. Food combinations are great and prices very fair, but I think they should put a bit more effort in the care of details and on the service. Indeed, it think it is a lovely place for a family celebration.

L’Osteria di Niederanven, Niederanven

~ Corie Bratter ~ 4 Comments

On Sunday, hubby and I decided to treat ourselves with our usual lunch out and we headed to Osteria di Niederanven, in the village of Niederanven, just ten minutes driving from Luxembourg city center.
The restaurant was full and we were accommodated to a rustic table in the middle of the main room – a six chairs table where we occupied one side and another couple was occupying the other.
The menu has an Italian imprinting and includes several choices between fish, meat, pasta and pizza, with the last two categories being the most extensive.

I went for a Diet coke and some sparkling water and ordered Vitello tonnato (veal with tuna mayonnaise sauce) as starter and Linguini with zucchini and clams as main. Hubby opted for a mixed Italian starter and some filled fresh pasta with scamorza cheese, eggplants and bacon and a small bottle of red wine.

After the pictures of our lunch, you will find my impression.

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What I liked about Osteria di Niederanven:
– The location and the ambience are great, one of the best I have visited in the last months. Tables, cloths, decorations, everything is extremely rustic but made with attention to details. Being just some minutes away from the city center, you have the impression dining at an old aunt’ countryside house. Lovely.
– Service was friendly and positive. We were left our time to decide even if we arrived past 1 pm, wine was always served by the waiter and we were not in a hurry to leave.
– The menu card is extensive and you have several great choices. Looking at the dishes that were passing in from of me for other tables, I was each and every time tempted to take something different as everything looked so good. I think the best dish taken to our table was the mixed starter hubby ordered.

What I liked a bit less:
– The location is very noisy when full, above all, if, like us, you are in the middle of the room. Ask for a table window side, it is more relaxing and quieter.
– My food choice was not impressive. The Vitello tonnato portion was way too big for being a starter (and I had big appetite!) and even if the quality of the meat was very good, it started to be filling after a while. My Linguini were extremely disappointing: zucchini were almost missing and the dish was extremely dry, started to have some taste (of clams) only at the end, when the portion was almost over. It could be that I did the wrong choice, as said, hubby’ starter was good and he told me also his pasta was fine – even if industrial and not homemade.
– I had the feeling that we paid a bit too much for what we had (two starters, two pasta dishes, half bottle wine, Diet Coke, water and one espresso were over 110 euro…), maybe because I was not very satisfied by my dishes.

In conclusion, Osteria di Niederanven is a very lovely location, immerse in a fairy tales atmosphere. My lunch was not extraordinary, but I might give it a second chance to confirm or review my first impression. Portions are huge, so, in case, next time, I will opt only for one dish.