Lumen in Stuttgart-West is located at the corner of Schwab- and Ludwigsstraße and easily reachable from the S-Bahn-station Schwabstraße (find more information about public transport in Stuttgart here). When you enter the café, you will fall in love with it in an instant. Lumen is a heaven for all fans of vintage decoration and furniture. It’s casual decor makes you feel comfy right away.

If you have meat-lovers, friends of Asian cuisine and vegetarians amongst your friends don’t worry. At Lumen you can all meet for breakfast, brunch, lunch or dinner as the menu offers something for all their tastes. Each day Lumen in Stuttgart-West provides four to five lunch options and from 6 pm onwards you can choose what you want to have for dinner from the menu. And in case you wonder, yes, this place is open nearly around the clock – from 9 am to midnight during the week and until 1 am on Fridays and Saturdays.

I personally loooove their cakes! And you can actually order them all day long. So how about cake for breakfast?! 😀

Seventy people find place inside and in front of Lumen in Stuttgart-West – but quite often more would love to get a table. So make sure you arrive early when you intend to visit this lovely place as they don’t do bookings in advance.

More information about:

Lumen (only in German)

The post Lovely coffee shop Lumen in Stuttgart-West appeared first on Living in Stuttgart.

Thus it is hard to say if Schlesinger in Stuttgart is still a pub or hasn’t turned into a good Swabian restaurant. But definitions aren’t important here anyway because this place likes the change. For the FIFA World Cup and the Euros (UEFA European Championship) Schlesinger turns into a huge living room with fans from different clubs celebrating together. And every year, April 23 is celebrated as the “Day of the Beer” at Schlesinger in Stuttgart as this was the day of the proclamation of the German Beer Purity Law (Reinheitsgebot). On this day, Schlesinger becomes a tasting room and the guests can enjoy more than one hundred different beer brands from all over Germany.

But beer is holy at Schlesinger in Stuttgart anyway. You can choose from a selection of beer brands that is changing on a weekly basis, presented in a fridge next to the entry doors. And as I’ve mentioned before, the food is great, too.

Schnitzel and Rostbraten are amongst the most beloved dishes – and of high quality, too. You won’t find cheap meat on your plate at Schlesinger. But also vegetarians are tought of so I was lucky enough to enjoy a very tasty stuffed sweet potato on my last visit. Oh, and don’t miss the dessert 🙂

More information:

Schlesinger (only in German)

The post Not only a pub but an institution: Schlesinger in Stuttgart appeared first on Living in Stuttgart.

José y Josefina has opened in September and it can be called an homage to the owner’s parents named – you might guess it – José and Josefina: At José y Josefina it should be as cozy as it was in Josefina’s kitchen and the food should be as authentic Spanish as it was when Josefina had cooked for the family. And all the Spanish that was spoken on the tables around us when I was at José y Josefina told me that the team has reached its goal.

The menu offers high quality Spanish cuisine. You can go for Tapas (labeled “Para compartir”), soup or salad as starter (“Seguimos”), meat, fish or paella and other rice dishes (to share!). And of course there’s dessert too (“Postres”).

We were greeted with a plate of olives to share. It was hard to decide what to get because everything sounded promising. In the end my friends and I went for a mix of five different Tapas:

Yummy! And actually very filling. The only downside of José y Josefina: vegetarians won’t find a huge selection. There’s of course salad and soup but only two Tapas are vegetarian for example and even though there is vegetarian paella, it is for two or more people and most non-vegetarians are not too keen on sharing vegetarian paella when they can go for the non-vegetarian version.

We enjoyed our evening at José y Josefina a lot and sat there for ages (so put a tick behind “as cozy as in Josefina’s kitchen” :-)).

At the end we were offered a glass of schnaps (I don’t know what it’s authentic Spanish name was, sorry…) and told good-bye with a handshake like old friends. Lovely. So if you’re looking for authentic Spanish food in Stuttgart and a cozy night out, make sure you check out José y Josefina. But make sure to book a table in advance!

More information:

José y Josefina (only in German but you can book a table online)

The post Authentic Spanish food in Stuttgart – at José y Josefina appeared first on Living in Stuttgart.

Grombier is an old-fashioned Swabian word for potato – and the name of the new restaurant in Stuttgart.

At Grombier you find huge baked potatoes with various, sometimes quite creative, toppings: olives, goat’s cheese, emmentaler cheese, cucumber salad and couscous (Maldini) for example or salmon, dill, cucumber salad, emmentaler cheese, arugula, yoghurt dressing and lentils (Larsson), not to forget the famous Maultaschen potato (Kliensmann)! Yep, that’s a Maultasche (our Swabian version of a ravioli – just bigger and of course much better ;-)) on top of a potato! I had the one with goat’s cheese, red cabbage, apple-pear-chutney and walnuts (Anelka) for lunch recently and it was delicious. And quite filling, the potatoes are really big!

Next to potatoes they also offer an interesting choice of salads at Grombier. Plus vegetarian and even vegan options! And here comes a fun fact: What do the names of the dishes remind you of? Anelka? Klinsmann? Right! Famous soccer players 🙂

Grombier is located at Josef-Hirn-Platz 8 in downtown Stuttgart, right next to Eberhardstraße and well worth a visit!

More information about:

Grombier on facebook (only in German)

The post Let’s eat potatoes in Stuttgart! appeared first on Living in Stuttgart.

Café KönigX has been around for more than thirty years and it is thus an institution here in Stuttgart. It opened in the 8os – when there was no such thing as a sophisticated coffee culture in Stuttgart – and has been around ever since. It moved locations once and you can find it now at Wagnerstraße 26, next to a little playground. My dad used to come here when he was younger and still worked in Stuttgart. And nowadays, I meet my godfather there once a month for lunch. As you can see, our family history is woven into this place. 🙂

Café KönigX: What to order?

At KönigX you find high quality food and drinks. Everything’s organic and the cakes are made by the owner herself. I love their quiches for lunch. They come with a small side salad and are very yummy 🙂 When I don’t feel like coffee I have birch water. Try it! So good! And I always order a piece of cake after lunch. Delicious. Believe me 🙂

Café KönigX: What makes this place special?

When it’s warm outside, I love to sit on one of the small, painted (as you can see in the picture above) bistro tables on the sidewalk right outside the café. Or on the wall on the other side of the street, in front of the playground. They put pillows on it and wooden boards that serve as tables. And as you have the playground right next to you, Café KönigX is a great location for families! 😉

You can feel that this place is operated with a big portion of enthusiasm and the same amount of personal engagement. Everybody is so lovely and the atmosphere is relaxed and friendly. You feel at home right away.

When you visit café KönigX, note the lovely paintings on the wall: They change frequently and are all made by one of the former co-owners who used to work as a decorator and painter of cinema posters. They are all painted directly on cardboard. Quite charming and unique 🙂

Moreover, don’t miss these two ladies:

The one in black was found in the street in front of the entrance one day. The owner took her in and put her on display, hoping that the girl who the Barbie belonged to would come one day and pick her up. That never happend so the doll is living at café KönigX now for good – and she even found a friend! Have a close look when you’re there. Do the two dolls look familiar to you and remind you on someone (behind the counter – wink, wink!)? 😉

So when you feel like visiting a true institution, make your way to Bohnenviertel and check out café KönigX. You will love it, I promise 🙂

The post Where the locals go to have a piece of cake: Café KönigX appeared first on Living in Stuttgart.

At Cassiopeia, they follow their own philosophy: All the ingredients are organic and produced locally. If an ingrediant can’t be produced locally, eg. ginger, they take care that they only buy fair trade products. Their menu changes with the seasons and thus you always find something new to try (plus, it is glued into old magazines – upcycling at its best!!)

The interior is a cozy and relaxed flee market/industrial style. No chair looks the same and at the bar, you can even sit in a hammock chair.

When it comes to the food: Very yummy! I had pancakes stuffed with mushrooms and homemade blueberry lemonade – loved it!

Next to having a nice dinner there, you can book the restaurant for special events like family parties or weddings. Moreover, every friday a DJ takes over.

More information about:

Cassiopeia Bio-Restaurant

The post Cassiopeia: My new favorite organic restaurant in Stuttgart! appeared first on Living in Stuttgart.

The interior is cozy and relaxed – a bit dark maybe but also very stylish.

I checked their menu for vegetarian options and chose the summer roll with fresh vegetables and noodles.

The waiter served me a bowl full of vegetables, a plate with salad, herbs and noodles, a tiny plate with fried onions and a small bowl full of soy sauce. And then there were the plastic plates with the rice paper on them.

Now it was time to roll some summer rolls  

Tatatataaaaaa, I proudly present my first self made summer roll:

Veeeery pretty, right?! ;-P

Even though it doesn’t look like it, the roll tasted fantastic.

Next to yummy and fresh food, Takeshii’s offers a great selection of cocktails, too. Definitely a place to spend a fun night!

More information about:

Takeshii’s (only in German)

The post Vietnamese cuisine at Takeshii’s appeared first on Living in Stuttgart.