Christof's Blog: Review: Bullerei, Hamburg, Germany

For the ones among you, who like to grab a nice bite to eat while travelling, here is a restaurant for your next trip to Hamburg. The "Bullerei" can be found close to the Sternschanze-Station along the U3 in the so called "Schanzenviertel" - a trendy place with great bars and restaurants for the ones who want it less touristic than the well-known "Kiez". The place is run by Star cook Tim Mälzer, who not only learned his craft alongside Jamie Oliver, but is also a famous German TV cook himself.

The atmosphere: There is a main restaurant with rather steep, yet fair prices in the back area and a deli in the front. The deli does not take reservations, so dine early or you might have to wait on busy days. It is very laid back and has an open kitchen and a homely atmosphere. Mind you that even though the owner is famous, this is not a pretentious and costly over-hyped place - so no need to dress up - just come as you are.

The noms: You might be surprised by the fact that the menu is relatively small. They have around five or six starters and the same amount of mains with changing daily specials. This is on purpose as they rather do few things, but these very well.

We had the Parmesankäsesuppe (parmesan cheese soup; 6.90 €) as a starter. The soup itself was surprisingly light, almost like a cheesy foam and it is served with grapes and a nice walnut bread. All in all an excellent combination at a fair price.

I opted for the Rinderfilet (filet steak; 21.50€) as a main, which was an excellent piece of meat that came with homemade herb butter and medium-rare as I had ordered it. You also get a nice salad and some new potatoes on the side. These were good, but tasted a little boring.

My friend had the Ofen-Kräuter-Huhn (Baked chicken with herbs; 16.50€), which was nice and tender. I especially liked the distinct taste of herbs. You also get potato salad on the side - for which I probably should have swapped my potatoes.

As an added benefit, the "Bullerei" serves Maisel's Waisse wheat beer from my home town Bayreuth in different varieties and they have nice background music from the likes of Maximo Park and local Indie rock band kettcar.

The verdict: The "Bullerei" is affordable ( especially being used to Dublin prices) honest food with a touch of glamour thanks to it's celebrity owner. If you are out and about in Hamburg, you should definitely feast on the meaty specialties from the so called Küchenbulle (Kitchen Bull).

Ambience: 9 out of 10
Food: 9 out of 10
Value: 10 out of 10