Hotalo - Asian food

Hotalo is located inside Goethe-Galerie. It is a cheap Asian fast food restaurant. The place is decorated nice and clean.

The menu gives you an option for different combinations of rice or noodles and chicken, duck or vegetables mainly. They also have the famous vegetable rolls and all the dishes have the option of three different sauces, sweet, curry or spicy. The food is tasty and relatively cheap and the place is a very good option for when you are tired and hungry after work but need to do some shopping.

An extra bonus to this place is that the drinks have free refills.

Our veredict: good taste and fair price!

3.5 Jena Towers out of 5

Gatto Bello

Gatto Bello ist one of Jena's larger restaurants and bars. Situated right at the beginning of infamous Wagnergasse, it has a nice terrace overlooking Johannisplatz. Unlike its Italian name suggests, it basically offers international cuisine.

We had two soups for starters (Mango and Curry) which were reasonably good but not as savoury as you would expect from such exotic varieties. For the main course, we ordered two steaks as well as a local Thuringian dish called "Würzfleisch" (literally: spiced meat). Würzfleisch is a kind of pork stew with cheese on top. It was tasty, filling despite its small size and came at a decent price of about 5 Euro. However, the two steak dishes were disappointing. The waitress failed to asked how we wanted the beef to be prepared. The steaks arrived more than medium rare, almost bloody. To our disappointment, they were quite hard and dry - anything but "Argentinian beef" as announced in the menu. To be fair, the drinks and cocktails (strawberry daiquiri) were good.

Gatto Bello proves that the preparation of steaks is a litmus test for what really makes a good restaurant. Unfortunaly, Gatto Bello did not pass. Another flaw was the fact that you cannot pay with credit/debit card. Although paying in cash is still more common in Germany, larger restaurants should offer card payment.

Our verdict: Get your steaks somewhere else...

2.5 Jena Towers out of 5

El Sombrero - "Happy hours"

El Sombrero is “der Mexikaner“ restaurant in Jena, located at Lobdergraben 9a. It is popular for it’s Mexican cuisine and décor but probably mostly for it’s reasonable cocktail hours. Inside, the restaurant provides tables, sofas and high bar stools which you can choose depending on your eating or drinking requirements. Outside, you can avail from a terrace table in good weather or even order from the Food Taxi which can be seen delivering food throughout Jena. The menu is solid and offers a variety of dishes in the traditional Mexican fare: burritos, chilli etc. Although tasty, the food is lacking any real Mexican flavours and ingredients. There is very little “Mexican” about chicken wings and fried potatoes but nevertheless, the dish is tasty, filling and good value. Having visited El Sombrero on my first night living in Jena I became acquainted with the food early and it hasn’t drawn me back. However, the cocktails and specifically the “Happy Hours” are plenty of reasons to visit El Sombrero again and again. The atmosphere is jovial, the service is slow but constant and the dining areas are clean. All in all, visit El Sombrero for the food and stay for the cocktails.

Our Verdict: We are already planning our next visit.

3.5 Jena Towers out of 5

Fritz Mitte - Imbiss

After a long wait, we are finally back!! And just to make up for the long absence we decided to visit Frittz Mitte, since we know many of you are waiting for it.

So a bit of history: there is some dispute about the invention of currywurst, but it is traditionally atributed to Herta Heuwer in Berlin in 1949. To come up with such tasty meal, she observed the eating habits of American soldiers (steak and ketchup), combined it with the exotic of the British (the curry, which they actually took from India) and finally added the German touch (with pork and potatoes). So we could say currywurst is the best of many worlds united in one dish!!

Frittz Mitte is one of those places where you can start experiencing from the distance. You can smell the dish from 20 meters away already and then get really, really hungry while you are queuing. The guy tending the imbiss is very friendly and speaks english. Together with your currywurst you get a choice of mild or spicy sauce, and for your fries there are many different home-made mayoinnaise dips that you can choose together with ketchup.

We all have been in many different currywurst imbiss including some in Berlin, but we all came to the conclusion that Fritz Mitte Jena is one of the best currywurst and fries we have ever eaten.

I think we are all just wondering, if this place is so popular why don't they get an extra guy to make the food faster?!!! :p

Our veredict: It is definitely worth the waiting!

4.5 Jena Towers out of 5

Tip: If you want to learn more about currywurst you should visit the German Currywurst Museum

Philo-Mensa

On May 26, 1789, the day Friedrich Schiller gave his critically acclaimed inaugural lecture at "alma mater jenensis" (now Friedrich-Schiller-University) , he wrote into his diary: "Alas! Another rainy day. Students didn't listen to my lecture. Wish I could dwell some place warmer. Sole highlight of the day: lunch at Philo Mensa. What a heavenly delight!!! This should make my stay in Jena an agreeable one. P.S.: Need to write a poem about that delicious mushroom dish."

Alright - you got us on that one. The story is total bogus! But nevertheless, we believe, if Friedrich Schiller walked the earth today and came to Jena, he wouldn't find but poetic phrases for Philo Mensa (Philosophenweg 20). Philo-Mensa is one of the two university-run cafeterias in downtown Jena. It has more than 700 indoor seats and a nice terrace and garden with seating. There is also a smaller food counter and a coffee bar upstairs.

Lunch is offered between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. You can choose between four dishes, at least one of which is veggie. There is also a help-yourself pasta counter - always a good alternative. Look out for the Green Happy Face VITAL dish: it is basically a low-fat, good-for-your health meal which is non the less as yummie as the other ones. Prices range from 1,50€ to 2,50€ at student rates, employees and guest have to pay an additional charge of 1,40€ per meal.

As for the taste, Philo-Mensa proves time and time again to be an exception to the rule. The food is tasty and nutricious - all you need to take you through a tough university day. Feel free to ask for a bigger portion ("Männer-Portion") if you are extra hungry. Surprisingly, the menu (check online) hardly ever repeats itself. The Head Chef always comes up with a new treat. This is not usual business - a tip of the hat for that!

Our verdict: Yes, Philo-Mensa can!

5 Jena Towers out of 5

Supplement, July 2011: In this year's "Mensa of the Year" contest, organized annually by the German student magazine UNIKUM, Philo-Mensa was awarded the 3rd prize in the category "choice". Well done!!! See result

Restaurant Ratszeise

Restaurant Ratszeise is perfectly located on the Market Square in central Jena. The building which was previously the town hall has some nice history attached and the dining experience is equally as nice. Ratszeise offers traditional German fare in a cosy atmosphere. We found the “Klein und Kalt” dishes perfectly sized for a 3-4 person starter, while the main dishes were just as satisfying. The food was delicious and portion sizes, plentiful. Between us we ordered some quite meaty dishes and lighter dishes, and we each were happy with the depth of taste and quality of the food. A shared starter, three main meals and three drinks cost us around €35, which we believe to be great value for this dining experience (and let us not forget the Cheers review, and how much that meal cost!). Good food, service, atmosphere and location.

Don’t miss Asparagus season or the Maß on the drinks menu!

Our Verdict: Great dining at a great price!

4.5 Jena Towers out of 5

Cheers - American Sports Bar

Upon our arrival to Cheers American Sports Bar, located at Johanplatz 9, we were refused entry to the “reservation-only” tables inside. We sat at a table outside, which would have been fine had the outdoor heater worked. We ordered drinks and then soon after, food. We were advised there would be a wait for our main meal due to the restaurant being so busy, but this didn’t prepare us for the 80 minutes we waited. Too our disappointment, the tasty but sparsely garnished nachos starter arrived before the drinks, and the margarita ordered was less of a refreshing cocktail and more of a rather large shot of tequila garnished with a large lime wedge. When the food eventually arrived, we had been sitting outside almost 90 minutes, it was getting dark and cold. Consequently, after a few minutes with our meal, the uneaten food was too cold to eat comfortably, and much of it was put into a doggy bag. The “all you can eat Ribs” were a good investment and reasonably tasty but sometimes slow to be replenished. We found the service lacking in friendliness and speed. A night at Cheers with a shared starter, alcoholic drink and main meal costs approximately €45 between three, which by midweek Jena standards, is a little expensive.

Cheers offers typical American cuisine of burgers, ribs and sandwiches in a restaurant cum bar decorated with classic sport memorabilia. The bar is clean and the atmosphere is jovial and generally good. The food is basic to low quality, but if you order the right thing it could be quite tasty… If you are willing to wait a long time in the cold, that is.

Our Verdict: we don’t understand why this place is so popular.

2 Jena towers out of 5