The Germans are here. But what do I know about German food? My professor who went there said they only eat potatoes. My favourite blogger was impressed and listed her most favourite Bavarian food. So, let’s trust a German ambassador – Lufthansa. Their latest ad slyly acknowledges the stereotype – the people are serious and the food is bland.
Interestingly, all this actually made me look forward to the food at Zu Tisch. The restaurant has quite a relaxed setting with a prominent and well designed bar across the entrance. One of the walls is a sketched German map with names of cities and the rest is pleasantly minimal. I took a seat at the far end, near the door to the narrow balcony that overlooked the GK M block market.
There is more than enough light in the restaurant to eat, but not enough to photograph. So, pardon the photos. As per the food, I had a monstrous meal, but came very unsatisfied. Why? For every dish you order, there are two more that you want to. I wanted to try the beer soup, the Tilapia or the aubergine and zucchini schnitzel.
But what kind a review starts with a wishlist! Let me try and focus on what I did have. The first item was the Cordon Bleu. One of the tastiest dishes from the meal, the pan fried schnitzel was stuffed with ham and cheese. The crust was crispy and the minced meat inside was gooey and oozing.
Next came the BBQ spare ribs. I usually don’t enjoy pork all that much, but this rib was soft as cream, as if it had been braised than barbecued. The home made sauce was slightly sweet, sticky and made the dish what it was – delicious.
Next up was Chicken Kefta. Grilled chicken kebabs with Arabic spices and the Arabic charmoulah sauce, the dish served in glasses on satay sticks was good enough but not exactly German. That goes for the menu too, there are pizzas and burgers for those interested.
For meat eaters, I highly recommend the pork ribs and if you are not into pork, then order the Eisbein. It’s a massive lamb shank braised and slow roasted to perfect tenderness. The last word may sound repetitive by now, but the chef seems to have an expertise in it and it all the meats served fell apart at the touch of the fork. Served on mashed potatoes, this one is complete meat by itself.
I guess the item that didn’t work for me was the Tilapia. The dish was not explained in the menu and the servers failed to mention that the fish will come with a slightly sour sauce. The fish itself was good but the sauce was a surprise and it was too novel a combo for my palette. But given the number of things that worked and the number of dishes that I still want to try, a repeat visit is on the cards and will happen soon.
P.S. – The long island ice tea is really long. Order it, totally worth it.
