[Transparency: This article contains non-paid advertisements based on my personal experience.]

The first time I went to Citizen Long in Stuttgart on a late Saturday morning with Moritz to have breakfast or brunch. I had seen pictures of the interior on Instagram and read some review so I was very curious to try the new place myself.

The interior of Citizen Long is quite lofty and urban which I like a lot. It was not full at all when we went there but maybe that has changed nowadays.

When we checked the menu I was quite surprised I have to say. I expected “fusion kitchen” to be a mix of Asian and European dishes. However the breakfast menu consisted mainly of European alternatives. I went for avocado bread, Moritz tried the humus bread and we shared a fruit bowl followed by a piece of cake. As I said, not very Asian, right?

The bread was very good, organic and wholegrain and thus very rich and tasty.

The fruit bowl was a bit smaller than I would have expected but it tasted fresh and juicy.

The second time I went to Citizen Long with my friend Rachel to have lunch. They have a small selection of vegetarian dishes. I chose lentils in a curry sauce which came with a piece of crispy bread. I have to say it tasted good but was nothing special. I actually got the impression that Citizen Long specialized in meat and fish dishes and not really in vegetarian options.

What I liked about Citizen Long in Stuttgart

The interior! I am a fan of urban living and the big, open room with the concrete walls definitely met my taste. Moreover the quality of the food is very high.

What I didn’t like

I was actually a bit disappointed by the breakfast choices. Sure, the avocado and humus bread was good, but nothing special. And the price was actually very high. I get that good quality comes with a price but I would expect fusion kitchen to be a bit more creative than a bread I could make myself at home. Plus the vegetarian options for lunch didn’t catch me.

More information

Citizen Long in Stuttgart

For more reviews on restaurants and cafés in Stuttgart click here.

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[This post contains unpaid advertisements as I talk about my personal experiences at Gasthaus Bären and link to their Facebook fanpage]

Gasthaus Bären is located in Stuttgart West, close to Feuersee. It is a one room restaurant with huge glass windows that can be opened entirely and will make a visit in summer quite pleasant. I went there on a Saturday evening with two friends and as I’ve heard that it is always very crowded at Gasthaus Bären in Stuttgart West I’ve made a reservation via email a few days before. However, something went wrong. When we arrived they told us they didn’t get my mail and thus no table is reserved for us. Bummer! However the guy at reception was super friendly and told us to sit at the bar and he will try to find a table for us. So that’s what we did.

I really liked the interior of Gasthaus Bären. Very cozy. But it was also extremely crowded and thus super loud. Having a conversation became quite a challenge after a while.

While sitting at the bar we got the menu and started to select our “Swabian Tapas”. What are Swabian Tapas you might ask now. Well, in the end it is small portions of all your favorite Swabian dishes. The idea behind the Tapas concept is that you don’t have to choose only one dish, you can try many Swabian specialities and share them in your group. I really like that! 🙂

We went for the following: Kässpätzle (Swabian Cheese noodles), Maultaschen (Swabian Ravioli), Knödel in Pilzrahmsoße (Dumplings in creamy Mushroom Sauce) Kartoffelsalat (Swabian Potato Salad), Linsen mit Spätzle (Swabian Noodles with Lentils) and Rote Bete Salat (Beet Root Salad). One thing that we saw on the menu that made us laugh: You can order bread with Nutella for desert! I’ve never seen that in any restaurant before. Nice idea 🙂

Luckily we were able to move over to a table before the food was served. Our also super friendly waitress told us that we can stay here for about an hour before the next guest have made a reservation for this table. That was fine with us.

Then the food arrived and we started sharing and eating. I really liked the dumplings in creamy mushroom sauce. But I have to admit I wasn’t the biggest fan of the other dishes. They were not bad, not at all. But also nothing special. I’ve definitely had better.

After one hour we moved over to the bar again. My friends had some more wine, I had to stick with the lemonade due to my pregnancy. One word about the wine: Check prices before you order. Some wines come by 5 Euro per glass, others by around 20!

So here comes my conclusion about our visit to Gasthaus Bären in Stuttgart West:

What I liked:

• the cozy and creative interior
• the super friendly staff
• the idea of serving Swabian Tapas so that you can try many traditional dishes and share them
• the dumplings in creamy mushroom sauce

What I didn’t like that much:

• that they have messed up our reservation (I got an email from Gasthaus Bären a few days later where they apologized for it so that was at least very friendly)
• that is was very noisy inside
• that the taste of most of the dishes couldn’t keep up to the hype that exists around this restaurant

I think Gasthaus Bären could be a nice place to bring visitors that want to try a variety of Swabian food. However if you want to introduce them to the real taste of the Swabian cuisine – or if you want to have a conversation that does not include yelling at each other – you might want to go somewhere else.

More information

Gasthaus Bären on Facebook

The post What I think about Gasthaus Bären in Stuttgart West appeared first on Living in Stuttgart.

Oh Julia, is a small restaurant chain with locations in Mannheim, Munich and now: Stuttgart. According to the founder, its goal is to provide authentic and fresh Italian food and to spead the Mediterranian lifestyle.

The decor of the restaurant at DOQU is modern and industrial. You have the choice between self service and beeing served (if you want to be served, look for the sign that indicates the area where you want to sit down). When I was there, I chose self service and thus lined up at the bar.

They have a good selection of antipasti (that will even satisfy vegetarians like me :-)) and of course pizza and pasta. But meat and fish lovers will also find a dish to their liking as Oh Julia, also serves burgers, fish, chicken, sausage and more.

Oh, and don’t forget to check out their desserts! I can recommend the lemon tart! 🙂

When you order at the bar, you get a pager. You will have to put the pager on the designated spots on your table so that the waiter can find you and serve you your food.

For drinks, you have to line up at the second bar. That’s a bit confusing at the beginning and actually time consuming but that’s how it is.

I like the open atmosphere at Oh Julia, so it became a place where I go for lunch every now and then. Their prices are standard for locations in the city center I think and the quality of the food is decent. It’s definitely nothing for a fancy night out but a good choice for a casual lunch or dinner.

More information about:

Oh Julia,

DOQU

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