Awada Japanese Restaurant, Clausen, Luxembourg

August 10, 2017 ~ Corie Bratter ~ Leave a comment

On Tuesday night I decided, together with Sunny, to tick off another restaurant out of the list of “new one” to try in the City and, in a certain Asian mood, we headed to Awada, a new Japanese traditional restaurant that opened recently in Clausen area – or at least, I spotted it just recently 🙂

The location is really nice, just off Rives de Clausen, and the interior design is cute: a small entrance floor with a typical counter and a (bit cheesy) fountain plus some tables. On the upstairs floor a bigger and calmer room, where we were accommodated. It was Tuesday evening and we got there at 7.30 pm, so it was not definitely crowded – even if we reserved just to be sure.

I got there a bit earlier, so I started to study the menu card and ordered a Japanese green tea. Together I was offered some (commercial) shrimps chips.

Once Sunny arrived, we were ready for our order: I had a Soup in a Tea Pot as starter (Dobin Mushi) while she had Veggie Gyoza. To continue I had Japanese Beef Curry while she went for Bibimbap, a Korean rice dish with veggie.

I concluded with a hot sake. Total bill for 2 persons read 69 Eur, including two bottles of water.

Enjoy the lovely shots from Sunny of our dinner and find my impressions about the restaurant after.

What I loved about Awada:

For me Awada was a super pleasant discovery and I honestly look forward to come back again. While the menu includes also a pretty wide selection of sushi, that I might try during next visits, the most interesting part for me is the traditional Japanese menu. Most of the “Japanese” restaurants in Luxembourg offers together with sushi only a selection of Chinese / Asian / Fusion dishes while I was really missing the real Japanese style food you have in Asia – one of the only nice thing I had memories of in Singapore – that to date I have found only at Kamakura – for a different price.
Indeed the price for the dinner was very fair as well as the one for the drinks (3,8 Euro for a big pot of lovely green tea I drank from the start to the end of the dinner, 8 Eur for the small hot sake that was around 6 shots, 18 Eur for the Japanese curry main dish with beef).
Bonus point: the service was one of the best I have ever had in Luxembourg (for real). The waiters were speaking perfectly English and French, they were checking on us from time to time to see if we were missing anything or if everything was going well, we had hot tissues at the end of the dinner and I really felt pampered. Well done, we need more places with such great service!

What I liked a bit less about Awada:

Honestly, for me the dinner was just great. I cannot find anything bad, not in the place neither in the food. If you want to be picky, hopefully the “coming soon” items on the menu will be available at my next visit and what about having edamame instead of those nice but cheap shrimps chips as welcome?

In conclusion: I loved Awada: the location is cozy, the service is amazing and the traditional Japanese food was a refreshing surprise. I look forward to come back and try other items on the menu, including sushi. Perfect for whatever occasion, from a romantic date to a girls’ night out.

An easy night out: Brooklyn Bar, Luxembourg City

May 22, 2017 ~ Corie Bratter ~ Leave a comment

Last week we had finally the opportunity to visit Brooklyn Bar, a cozy new American bar that opened last year in avenue de La Gare. The occasion was a live show of my friends’ duo, On Two Feet, who were playing there on a Friday night.
Together with F. we decided then to book for dinner ahead the event: the restaurant has a very simple system of reservation online, valid as well for the same day, and we got a very quick confirmation via email.

We got to Brooklyn around 8 pm – watch out, the parking situation is quite tragic at the moment in the area and you might want to get there via public transportation – bus n.3 stops just on the corner.

The atmosphere were very warm and friendly: we were reserved a nice table on the windows, and started our evening with soft drinks and beers. We ordered a starter to share (“Partners in crime”), composed by chicken wings, nachos, mozzarella stick and much more. The dish was pretty big and even if some products were clearly frozen, the quality was good. We continued with two burgers, prepared with ciabatta bun and with gorgonzola cheese and Parma ham topping. We concluded with coffee and moved then to drinks while listening to the music show and being joined by other friends.

Pictures of our dinners and couple of the live show – from Brooklyn fan page on FB – followed by my impressions.

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What I liked about Brooklyn bar:

I loved the easy going atmosphere and the variegate client targets. This is definitely the place you come straight from work in your suit or when you don’t want to dress up with trainers and t-shirt.
There is a very good selections of drinks – if you come in just for a drink – and the food menu is also interesting – starters, burgers, meat and veggie dishes, anything sophisticated but the care about the food was impressive and my burger was OMG!
The bill comes very fair compared to other lookalike places in the city – being there from 8 pm to closing at 1 am, had friend joining for drinks and spent around 100 euro for all the table (food for 2 and drinks for 4).

What I liked a bit less about Brooklyn bar:

As said, the mood of the place is really cool but accessible hence the service is pretty much relaxed. Might not be the right place if you are in a hurry.

In conclusion: Brooklyn bar is the perfect place for an easy night with friends – they have live music shows, great drinks selection and their burgers are definitely worth a try. Highly recommended and will come back soon!

Lunch time at La P’tite Maison

October 10, 2016 ~ Corie Bratter ~ 1 Comment

When I arrived in Luxembourg, 10 years ago, the Theatre de l’Opera used to be one of my favorite restaurant and I link to it some of the most memorable moments of my first period in the Gran Duchy. After several years, and several different management’and names’ change, I came back to this stylish and cozy house in the Rollingerground that now takes inspiration by its location and it is called La P’tite Maison.

I heard already great things about it and wanted to try it since long time. We took the occasion for a lunch in town with Patricia. I got there around 12.30 pm and was taken to my table in the small side room. The décor is still sophisticated but classic. I love the unrefined parquet and the wooden ceiling. Tables are not wide, but still you don’t feel suffocated.

I waited for Patricia in front of a glass of cremant and, when she arrived, we went for a pissaladière Nicoise, a tasty tiny focaccia with onions and olives, as starter, followed by a cod with cherry tomato and olives for me and a beef filet with pepper for her. I paired my meal with a Chardonnay that was one of the best wine at the glass I honestly had recently.

What I liked about La P’tit Maison:

Place is very cozy, still one of my favorite in town for location and ambiance, either to meet your friends, either for a romantic break. I can definitely say this corner is very different from whatever restaurant in the city and decors are cared in details.
Food was still classic but not boring. Finally a place where the available choices for a business lunch are taken aside from the “standards” and the quality and taste of food came first – before the odd ingredients and the alternative presentation. Well done.
Service was definitely on point. Present but not stressful, I was offered a refill of my glass when Patricia joined – some other places would have asked: do you want another glass, Miss? And then we were given our time to lunch and chat, no rush.

Things I liked a bit less about La P’tit Maison:

I love strong tastes, but my fish dish was definitely too much on the garlic side, really. Happy I did not have any meeting or date in the afternoon 🙂
Our room, in a grey day, was very much dark. When we moved back to the entrance it seemed I just waked up. At lunch time and going toward the cold season, I appreciate a brighter atmosphere. It should be definitely better in the evening.
This is not a cheap place. While I did not feel we overpaid for what we had – aperitif, glass of wine, starter and main on the daily menu and coffee for a bit more than 50 euro each, I would include a visit for dinner under the high-end category.

In conclusion: The location of La P’tite Maison is one of my favorite in town, preserve the intimate aura of the original “small house”, evolving on a culinary journey through strong but classic tastes. I would definitely recommend it for a special occasion as a lovely and delicious alternative to the classic gastronomic places in the city.

Young and Cool: Café des Capucins

October 29, 2015 ~ Corie Bratter ~ 5 Comments

Finding out a place you passed in front hundreds of time but you never tried is a very cool one is the best feeling ever for me. It is like they open a new trendy restaurant just next door. And this was the feeling I had when I went out from Café des Capucins on Tuesday night.

You know, I visited the bar some times ago for the Red Cross event. It was a pleasant evening and I enjoyed it, but I didn’t know Café des Capucins is also a very fancy place to dine.
I discovered it randomly on the new Explorator guide and I booked it for my Tuesday night date with hubby.
The place was full but not packed and customers were divided between those enjoying their after-works and those dining.

We started with a Ginger Martini from their amazing cocktails lists (forget about Campari soda, they have real cocktails here!) and we accompanied it with some tapas: shrimps sautéed in limoncello sauce and canard with peppers and ginger.
The small pots were full of taste: the shrimps were more delicate, mildly sweet but intense, while the canard a bit spicy with this nostalgic taste of peppers like those my Granny prepares.
We moved then to the starter, a very kind and competent waitress suggested us to share a pastry with apples, goat cheese and figs. A bit skeptical we accepted and were pleasantly surprised. The dish took both myself and hubby out of our comfort zones: hubby, you know, it is a very traditional eater and I am not that much into veggie plats. This dish was surprisingly good – talking about WOW factor, here it is – and more surprisingly the pastry was clearly home-made.
We moved then to the main course, which we accompanied respectively with a glass of Primitivo and one of Chardonnay from Veneto, Italy. I went indeed for tuna tataki with peppers and potatoes while hubby chose lamb loin with seasonal vegetables.
Both dishes were outstanding: on my tuna dish, the sweet taste was prevailing, but the single elements were all well-coordinated, starting from the potatoes cooked with the skin to the small herbs “decorating” the plat.
The lamb, I tried it, was very tasty and intense, the thyme pesto was giving a strong imprint to the dish, vegetables were cooked al dente and everything was splashed with meat sauce.
We were really full but we decided to share anyway a delicious Tarte Tatin – actually hubby had the cake, home-made and well cooked, soft to the spoon and not too sweet, while I enjoyed the vanilla ice cream on the top.

After the pictures of our dinner, you can find my final considerations about Café des Capucins.

Things I loved about Café des Capucins:
– Outstanding cuisine – traditional dishes are given a fusion oriented direction, tastes are very defined and there is a great attention to the presentation.
– Amazing service, really – the waitress who served us was able to explain perfectly everything both in English and French. Before taking the order we were asked if we had any allergies and during the dinner we were recommended great dishes – but never felt forced to go in one sense or another. We took our time without being bothered and everything was served with a bright smile. Well done.
– Young and cool environment – music was there, but not too loud, amiable terrace for a ciggie break in a very classy location (Place du Theatre), professional customers, attention to details.
– Extremely fair prices – wine glasses around 6/7 euros for great quality wines, fish main around 25 euro.

Things I liked a bit less:
– Everything was perfect, but if I have to find something, I would say portions were a bit too big for my appetite, but it was indeed our fault to order both the tapas and the starter. Strongly recommended to got between one of the two if you are heading to the main course.

To sum up, we had a fabulous evening at Café des Capucins and we will indeed come back soon. This is the perfect place if you are looking for a restaurant after couple of drinks in town and you don’t want to go for something too traditional or expensive. Outstanding food, young ambience and great service are already making it one of my top place for friend’s evenings.

Barefoot in Luxembourg

My Social Adventures Out & About in Luxembourg

restaurant review

Awada Japanese Restaurant, Clausen, Luxembourg

An easy night out: Brooklyn Bar, Luxembourg City

Lunch time at La P’tite Maison

Young and Cool: Café des Capucins