sunday lunch

A peaceful escape: L’Altra Osteria, Bonnevoie, Luxembourg

~ Corie Bratter ~ 4 Comments

It has been since one month or so my husband promised me to have an Indian meal – I love Indian food, but recently I tended to have it take away at home as I am missing mates who love this spicy cuisine to join me. I was finally happy to have some Indian food on Sunday while taking my bath ritual after breakfast and before going out, hubby came to me with this face telling me some friends just called up and we were invited for lunch in a new place in Bonnevoie – ca va san dire, Italian.
As a good wife, I accepted and said bye to my Indian meal – and only because new places are always exciting me a bit.

So – L’Altra Osteria is located in the premises of Bonnevoie tennis club – you have this impression to be in a remote village, while actually you are just five minutes driving from the station.
The location is very typical – red and white table cloth, ham and Auricchio cheese on display, various yummy products to buy around. A lovely terrace – that cannot be used yesterday because of the weather – and a nice view of the countryside.

While having an aperitif – Italian alert: they have the real Camparisoda – we were served some small bruschetta with cheese. We then had a pizza to share as starter – with cherry tomato, cheese, zucchini and ham – and I ordered some pasta with mushroom and lamb meat.

Find the pictures of our lunch below and, as usual, my impression of the restaurant.


  
  

Things I loved about the L’Altra Osteria:

– Very relaxed environment: tables are very distant (you know I appreciate it!), huge windows overlooking the city, calm area.
– Great authentic food – the pizza was amazing (I will definitely go for pizza next time) and while the menu card is very classic, the weekly suggestions offer a very gourmet journey through real Italian flavors. My pasta dish was seriously to die for.
– Fair prices – with 4 aperitif, two bottle of wines, one starter to share and four pasta dishes we spent 35 euro each. We had coffee and digestives offered.

Things I loved a bit less about L’Altra Osteria:

– Hubby is very picky on the pasta side and found his orecchiette too “al dente” – I had to eat them at the end while he was having the other half of my strozzapreti. His dish was less impressive than mine – in particular, the dried tomato made it quite salty.
– The list of the wines is still under construction – they had only few choices of red wine, no one of them memorable. We ended up taking a Chianti 2012 that was the oldest red they had – nothing special.
– This is not directly due to the restaurant, but when you access the premise you need to enter through the tennis club. The smell on the basement is incredibly disgusting and while going up to the restaurant it disappears completely, it makes the beginning of our experience very unpleasant.

To conclude: L’Altra Osteria is a very cozy Italian restaurant located in a calm area of the city. The food is genuine and various. Some improvements might be due to the new settings, but for sure we will come back and I will highly recommend it for family gatherings and meetings with friends. Amazing pizza.

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.