Every time I walk through the center of Weimar I have the pleasure of watching tourists pose in front of the Goethe and Schiller statue. They pose, snap some pictures, and then move on to many of the other exciting treasures of my UNESCO World Heritage Home.
For those that stay through dinner, I’d like to humbly suggest my two favorite Weimar restaurants for your consideration: Divan and Osteria Bertagnolli. Both are located in the center, yet tucked away and not quite on the tourist beaten path.
Divan is a Turkish restaurant located just off of Schillerstraße, near Schiller’s house and near Goethe’s house. I’ve dined there several times, each time with larger groups of people. Although they have an extensive menu, I’ve never made it past the appetizers—they have an appetizer that is large and designed for groups—and we’ve always ordered it and never had space for a main course. I had dinner there before Eurovision on Saturday night with a few friends and we had a great time.
Osteria Bertagnolli is Weimar’s best Italian restaurant, and while it is close to Goethe’s House, tourists are unlikely to venture down the streets to find the restaurant unless they know it is there. I’ve had some very nice meals there with friends—it’s civilized. There’s no pizza on the menu, but the wine list is long, the pastas excellent, and the atmosphere grown-up.
There are a lot of other joints in Weimar, but most of the ones that are easy to find are pretty much tourist-oriented: overpriced dishes with poor service.
A Turkish restaurant. THAT is what we should do when you get here. I’ll have to do a bit of research and see if anyone I know has a recommendation. Maybe they would even like to join us.
not to point out anything mundane, but I’m going to Turkey right after the next time I see you…
Osteria Bertagnolli rocks! The food there is good and the atmosphere pleasant…
For cheap but good food I’d also suggest ACC (near Cafe Resi). They had some tasty pasta with asparagus and truffle sauce last week…[http://www.acc-weimar.de]
A place that has been getting good ratings is Dorotheenhof a bit outside of Weimar… Food was good – bit pricey. Didn’t like the interior design though. Not a very comfortable atmosphere. [http://www.dorotheenhof.com]
For good sandwiches, salads and pasta to take away, I highly recommend Lalaba. The owners are really cool and food is of a high quality… [http://www.lalaba.de/]
One of my favourite places to stock up on supplies is the delicatessen shop ‘Feinkost Hauffe’. Great selection of wine , champagne, etc. Also, they have fresh bread (sells out quickly), all sorts of cheeses, olives, preserves, snacks.
[http://www.feinkost-hauffe.de]
The place also has a small bistro, which is open at lunchtime. They offer a limited menu in a small self-service canteen. Cheap and good (don’t go too late, as towards closing time they don’t have much of anything left).
@Dre: Sometime when you and I are both in Weimar, I’d love to meet you!
I wasn’t to keen on the turkish bread in the Osteria.
The white wine came out of a bag in a box and was than poured into an Iittala caraf to make it look more expensive.The fish I ate there was bland and boring. The potatoes were overcooked and old and even a complete noob can put 3 complete grilled tomatoes on a plate and serve them. I ate tv dinners that were better.
The staff was very nice though! And the place looked nice. Overall i was dissapointed with this place.