Land Rheinland-Pfalz Restaurant Tips by Trekki Top 5 Page for this destination

Waldhaus Wilhelm: Ultimate culinary Palatinate delights :-)

In the hotel section I have already described our delightful stay at Waldhaus Wilhelm and how much I liked the restaurant. It is time now to describe our culinary experience, which definitely exceeded all my expectations and which will bring me back to this hotel many times in the future.
On our first evening we arrived rather late and decided to eat in Waldhaus Wilhelm’s restaurant. I had a look on their website before we came. The dishes sounded good but from the site I had expected it to be expensive. What a pleasant surprise that this was not the case! On the first evening our decision was very quick: Lucy liked the chantarelles as much as I do and so we had chantarelles in creamy sauce with bread dumplings (14,50 Euro). It was a very much light meal, although this is usually not the case. But later we learned that Waldhaus Wilhelm’s kitchen has found a way to make dishes taste light! On our next evening originally we had planned to have our dinner in one of the many wine taverns on our way back from Dahn Castles and Castle Berwartstein. But it was raining very hard and Lucy suggested that we should go back to the hotel and eat there. Obviously she fell in love with the menu. So did I and we went back. This time we had more time to look through the menu. She liked the chantarelles so much that she decided to have a chantarelle risotto while I wanted to show her how the famous Palatinate dish Saumagen looks like and tastes. So I ordered their Saumagen in creamy sauerkraut and balsamico (10 Euro). Oh my ... what a culinary heaven! The sauerkraut tasted so light in the light creamy sauce, something I would never ever have expected. The same applied for the Saumagen pieces. I can easily say that this was the best Saumagen dish I ever had! We treated ourselves with desert this evening. Lucy had a parfait of rhubarb with minced strawberries in a light sweet-sour dressing (sugar and lime juice) and I had a sorbet of strawberries and lemons with fruit decorations (6 Euro). Oh my, what a perfect finish to an excellent meal. Since I didn’t have to drive, we could sample excellent Riesling wine, 5 Euro for half a litre.

I cannot repeat it enough: the dishes are heavenly! The staff is very nice and sweet too. All in all I am even convinced that Waldhaus Wilhelm’s cuisine is much better than the famous Deidesheimer Hof (the one where our ex chancellor brought all state visitors to).

I will be back! Definitely!

Opening hours:
from 11:30 to 14:30 and from 17:30 to midnight.
Kitchen is open from 12:00 - 14:00 and from 18:00 - 21.00.
Closed on Mondays.

Location of Waldhaus Wilhelm on Google Maps.

© Ingrid D., July 2011 (just in case, RickS or others come along and think they can steal texts).

Address: Kalmithöhenstraße 6, 67487 Maikammer / Pfalz

Comparison: less expensive than average

Directions: In Maikammer, take the road L515 direction Kalmit. The hotel is located a few metres after the forest begins. I think there is no bus up there, so taxi is the best in case you come without car.

Phone: +49 - 6321 - 58044

Price: US$11-20

Rating: 5

Theme: Local

Website: http://www.waldhaus-wilhelm.de/de/pub/restaurant/saisonkarte.php

Vinothek Bingen am Rhein: Excellent wine bar, Bingen Rhein promenade

This wine bar was an excellent recent find in Bingen when I accompanied friends from Australia through Rhein valley. After our boat tour we came back to Bingen where our car was parked and they were hungry. I passed by this wine bar quite often before because this is the only toilet option when you wait to get on the KD boat. But I always had this (ridiculous) prejudice that most of the restaurants along popular tourist spots might be more of an expensive trap without authencity. And only thanks to the hunger of my friends I found out how stupid this thought was!!
The wine bar has an excellent location with prime view to Rhein river and across to Rüdesheim and the vineyards. They offer only snacks but these are very much excellent and very reasonable! Their starters are either soup of the season (4,50 €) or the famous Handkäs’ mit Musik [translates into cheese with music, it is sour milk cheese marinated in vinegar and onions, thus the “music”, the sounds of… oh well, you might get the idea] (4,50 €) or ham with rucola salad and balsamico dressing (6 €). We didn’t select starters but looked at their main dishes, which are snacks, but on my photos you see that they were quite huge in size. They only have three of them, which is Spundekäs, a ricotta type of preparation (actually not real cheese) and very typical to the region for 4,80 € together with a big pretzel, then a Strammer Max, which is another somehow typical German dish with dark bread, ham and a fried egg (7,50 €, photo 4). This was what my friends chose while I opted for the Worschtsalat (or Wurstsalat in proper German, sausage salad, 7,50 €, photo 3). We were all very much satisfied with our choices and the quality of the dishes. They were light, not heavy and definitely freshly made. The typical sign for this was also that they didn’t have much choices on the menu, but make everything fresh on the spot. But because this wine pub is belonging to a winery, Kastell to be precise, they offer a big selection of wine from six other wineries of the region around Bingen: 11 white wines and 8 red wines. We all chose their 2008 Riesling (white wine, for which the region is famous) and I was amazed how excellent it tasted. I am not drinking anything when I drive but this time one of my friends was driving, so I could try wine and it made me want to come back to the region but stay overnight then to be able to sample more of their varieties.

I am placing this restaurant here on my Rheinland-Pfalz page, simply because it is close by to a very popular tourist destination, KD’s boat pier in Bingen, where the tours into Rhein Valley start. And just in case that you also try and avoid restaurants close to touristy places, be aware that this one is serving simply delicious dishes and does not fall into the category of “better not”.

Location of Vinothek Bingen on Google Maps

© Ingrid D., June 2009 (just in case, RS or others come along and think they can steal texts), last update March 2011: link to Google Maps added, website exchanged.

Address: Hindenburganlage, 55411 Bingen am Rhein

Comparison: about average

Directions: Very easy to find: from KD's pier in Bingen, walk east (to your right) and look for the wine pub You cannot miss it, the art statues are guiding you.

Phone: +49 - 6721 - 99 12 03

Price: US$11-20

Rating: 5

Theme: Local

Website: http://www.vinothek-bingen.de/

Zum Alten Engel: Speyer, heavenly "Slow Food" dining

This restaurant is the proof that the best isn’t simply at the main streets :-). I am grateful to Ian and his partner Rosemarie (Iandsmith) who were staying in the Engel Hotel when they were visiting Speyer early 2008. And when I came down to Speyer to spend some days with them, we wanted to have something to eat close by but their restaurant didn’t have space for us. In May 2008 I stayed in Speyer for two days with a young colleague. We’ve booked our rooms in the hotel and made sure that we booked a table at the restaurant early enough. What caught my attention was the Slow Food logo in its window (photo 5), because these days I just came back from Umbria and was completely captured by the Slow Food concept: heavenly dishes with local ingredients.
So I was anticipating heavenly experiences and I wasn’t disappointed. To start with: the restaurant is located in an old vaulted cellar (photo 4), with many little niches for a real cosy atmosphere. It is sparsely decorated and this adds to the atmosphere of a heavenly place.

Favorite Dish: The dishes: oh my… I need to come back soon. I had a season salad with wild herbs, a potato cakelet/fritter and ham as a starter (photo 3), delicious!! I tried to identify the wild herbs, and it was even dandelion inside, something I only knew in my childhood and it was good to see that this finds its way back onto our tables! As main course my colleague had the liver dumplings with wine sauerkraut (photo 2) and she was very much satisfied. I went for the Boef Stroganoff (main photo) with wild herbs and it was indeed heavenly. As we didn’t need to drive somewhere, we could try local red wine – very much delicious!! Their wine list is impressive, 11 pages with local wine of course and also wine from Australia, Chile, Spain, France, US and Italy.
The bill came to 50 € including espresso for both of us and a big bottle of water. That’s not too bad for two persons! The starters are all below 10 €, main dishes below 10 € for the Palatinate specials and 10-20 € for the ones with beef and fish and desserts are around 5 €.

Highly highly recommendable!

Directions:
From Altpörtel (the tower and the cathedral in your back) walk into the little street Mühlturmstrasse right hand side across the main street (Bahnhofstrasse). It is on your left after a couple of metres.

Location of restaurant Alter Engel, Speyer, on Google Maps.

© Ingrid D., June 2009 (just in case, RS or others come along and think they can steal texts), last update March 2011: link to Google Maps added.

Address: Mühlturmstrasse 7, 67346 Speyer

Comparison: about average

Directions: (see above)

Other Contact: eMail: see their website

Phone: + 49 (0) 62 32-7 09 14

Price: US$11-20

Rating: 5

Theme: Local

Website: http://www.zumaltenengel.de/seiten/toptotalset.html

Other typical Palatinate dishes

I thought that it might be helpful to describe other typical dishes, although I don’t have photos at the moment (and some dishes I might not get photos, as I don’t like their taste).

Versoffene Schwestern (translation would be “drunken sisters”) is a very lovely dish but only for the ones who don’t drive or stay somewhere near for the night. It is a clear soup with white wine and sliced pancakes inside. For those who have been in Baden-Württemberg, it is something like the Palatinate version of Flädlesuppe.

Very typical for autumn,when fruits and vegetables have been harvested, is Krumbeeresupp (German = Kartoffelsuppe, potato soup), usually a thick soup, often with herbs or mushrooms or tomatos. If the soup has a suffix “sauer” (sour), then it contains a bit vinegar. This potato soup is often served with Quetschekuche (German: Zwetschgenkuchen, damson cake), see photo of a stall at Speyer’s Bauernmarkt.
Also typical for autumn are Keschde (German = Kastanien, chestnuts) which are served as vegetable and often also as filling for stuffed goose or duck in late autumn.

The proximity to France’s Alsace is showing again in the dish Bäckerofe. For a detailed description of the French version of Bäckerofe, please see Jean-Louis' Baekaoffe at Kintzheim

Traditionally, Dampfnudeln (no real translation, even Wikipedia calls it like this in the English version) are served on Fridays, as they don’t contain meat but are a kind of yeast bread, served hot with vanilla sauce or wine sauce (haha, what else).

As snack in restaurants, Straußwirtschften and the Palatinate Forest hiking huts you can also eat Weißer Käs (German = Weißer Käse, white cheese, although it has nothing to do with typical cheese), a creamy curd (Quark) with onions, bell pepper, pepper and chives, served with thick bread and butter. Oh yummmm…

© Ingrid D., October 2008 (just in case, RS or others come along and think they can steal texts), update April 2009: photo exchange and text revamp.

Comparison: least expensive

Price: less than US$10

Rating: 5

Theme: Local

Worschtsalat and Lewwerknepp, delicious!

These are two additional dishes very much typical for Palatinate (and also made their way throughout the neighbouring states).

Worschtsalat (German = Wurstsalat, sausage salad, photos 1 and 2) is a cold dish of Fleischwurst/Lyoner, a kind of mortadella sausage without lard, cut in thin slices and served with raw onions, cucumbers, sometimes cheese cubes in a vinegar dressing.

Lewwerknepp (German = Leberknödel, liver dumplings, photos 4 and 5) with sauerkraut is also very typical, served hot and often in a dark clear or creamy sauce with onions. The version with meat instead of liver is called Fleeschknepp (German = Fleischknödel, meat dumplings, photo 3). These however are served in a creamy sauce with horseradish and taste quite spicy.

Each of these should cost not more than 7-8 Euro.

© Ingrid D., October 2008 (just in case, RS or others come along and think they can steal texts), update April 2009: photo exchange and text revamp.

Comparison: least expensive

Price: less than US$10

Rating: 5

Theme: Local

Autumn delights: Federweißer & Zwiebelkuchen

Well, I should clarify my former tip a bit. Zwiwwelkuche or Zwiebelkuchen (onion cake) can mean two different dishes, but they are easy to differenciate, as one of them is a pure seasonal dish. The above mentioned Flammkuchen is offered all year round and mostly called Flammkuchen.
Zwiebelkuche, the real Zwiwwelkuche, is only served in autumn and mostly together with “new wine”. Or in other words: it is the one and only dish you should eat together with the new wine. This new wine has nothing to do with (Beaujolais) Primeur, which is real wine. Neuer Wein is more a still fermenting grape must, quite sweet and available as sparkling or non-sparkling, but it contains alcohol.
Depending on the grape, you can have Federweisser (white grapes) or Federroter (red grapes). Haha, now, while writing this, I realise that I use the Palatinate grammar, which is also different from German grammar: No Palatiner would ever order “einen neuen Wein bitte”, but “ein neue Wein bitte” …..(he/she wouldn’t even say “ein”, but “e”…)

The ones in my photos look quite different, but this has to do with the fermenting stage. The ones in the first two photos are higher concentrated and the fermentation has progressed more. We had these at the lovely terrace of Rheinstein Castle, on a beautiful sunny autumn day – highly recommendable to sample these while having such a beautiful view. The other photos were taken in Forst, at one of the typical Straußwirtschaften.

© Ingrid D., October 2008 (just in case, RS or others come along and think they can steal texts), update April 2009: photo exchange and text revamp.

Comparison: least expensive

Price: less than US$10

Rating: 5

Theme: Local

Saumagen – most favourite Palatinate dish

Nothing, definitely nothing can get more Palatinate than the one and only famous Saumagen. Who understands a bit of German might be horrified from the word. I was as well, until I only recently tasted it and … was thrilled ! The name means sow’s stomach, but don’t worry, you won’t need to eat the stomach, it is only used as a kind of bag, which is filled, like for sausages. The filling consists of chopped pork, potatoes, sometimes eggs and carrots and spices such as onions, garlic, thyme, coriander and others. The stomach is sealed on both sides, bioled in hot water for 2 hours, then cut into slices, which are fried in a pan. Then they are served on a bed of sauerkraut or mashed potatoes. It is very much delicious !!
This dish got international popularity during the years of Helmut Kohl’s chancellorship. He was from Ludwigshafen and a true Palatinater (you could even hear it in his langauge) and it is said that he must have made almost every statesman or stateswoman who came to visit to eat Saumagen. Even Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth had to do this.
Most Palatinate restaurants will serve it.

From what I have read, the best home made Saumagen is from a butcher in southern Palatinate, Metzgerei Hambel. Website with explanation is sadly gone. You can get the whole filled stomach there, and it will be enough to feed a family for weeks.

Saumagen is also offered as part of a so-called Pfälzer Dreierlei, Pfälzer Teller or some similar name. Then it has one slice of Saumagen, one liver dumpling and a bratwurst.

© Ingrid D., November 2007 (just in case, RS or others come along and think they can steal texts), last update March 2011: website removed.

Comparison: least expensive

Price: less than US$10

Rating: 5

Theme: Local

Flammkuchen - adopted from France's Alsace

If I would have space for a subtitle, it would go: and “Neue Wein” (new wine). Flammkuchen (the thin crispy pizza-like Tarte Flambée) is sometimes being modified in Palatinate as Zwiwwelkuche. Ha, another typical local name you might come across in this region – it stands for Zwiebelkuchen or onion cake. As you can see on the photos, taken at various restaurants, they have nothing to do with cake, but are considered to be a snack in between.
It tastes delicious and is typical for the more southern parts of Palatinate, the ones which are close to France’s Alsace.

Favorite Dish: In the meantime, Jean-Louis has visited his Alsace and wrote extensively about the villages. For a detailed description of the French version of Flammkuche, called Flammekueche, please see his Flammekueche at Kintzheim

© Ingrid D., November 2007 (just in case, RS or others come along and think they can steal texts), update January 2009: photo exchange and text revamp.

Comparison: least expensive

Price: less than US$10

Rating: 5

Theme: Local

Straußwirtschaft – seasonal wine pubs

This is something very much local to the Palatinate, and I can highly recommend to look for these in summer. There is no real translation for the word Straußwirtschaft, and even Strauß has nothing to do with ostrich (in case one looks up the word parts). It means something like bunch of flowers, and a bunch of flowers was hung out at Palatinate houses and courtyards who were ready to serve their home made wine to anyone who came along. If you have been travelling in Baden Württemberg, you might know the term Besenwirtschaft. That’s the same principle, only here a broom (Besen) is signalling that wine is served. And in Austria, around Vienna, is is called Heurige.
I won’t bore you with German laws that define when rooms can be declared Straußwirtschaft. But it is definitely a seasonal thing, usually during the wine season. They serve wine and usually one non-alcoholic beverage and some simple dishes. Palatinate has countless of these seasonal wine pubs, often in houses courtyards, so in very much picturesque settings.

Watch out for the signs Straußwirtschaft or often also Weinprobierstuben.
You won’t be disappointed !

Favorite Dish: Typical for autumn are Zwiebelkuchen (onion cake) and Neuer Wein (new wine).

© Ingrid D., November 2007 (just in case, RS or others come along and think they can steal texts), update January 2009: photo exchange and text revamp.

Comparison: least expensive

Price: less than US$10

Rating: 5

Theme: Local