My husband Bill and I were in the mood for some Greek food last night. Ordinarily, that might mean a trip to Agais, which is a Greek restaurant in Entringen we used to visit a lot when we lived in the Stuttgart area last time (2007-09). But since we don’t live as close to Agais as we used to and we’re trying to get to know the restaurants in our new area, we decided to try a more local place. That’s how we ended up eating at Taverne beim Griechen in Unterjettingen, Germany.
A sign by the door…
The menu
Taverne beim Griechen is not a place you’d easily find while driving around. It’s located in a sports club very close to the local Aldi store. There’s a huge parking lot next to the restaurant and when we arrived, there was a football game going on. By the time we left, our car was the only one still in the lot, yet the restaurant was doing a booming business. That must mean it’s popular with the locals who can easily walk there. If the truth be told, Bill and I could have walked there ourselves. It’s maybe two miles from our house.
The entrance to the restaurant is around the front of the building and you have to climb a flight of stairs to get to it. Taverne beim Griechen has a good sized bar area and a couple of big flat screen TVs are mounted on the walls. There are a lot of tables available, making it less intimate or charming. Still, the restaurant’s interior is pleasant. I can see how it would be popular with the sports bar crowd. Smoking is allowed at the bar and I was reeking of it last night.
Bill waits for the waitress…
Pretty napkin fold. Hadn’t seen one done like this before.
The woman who waited on us was very pleasant. I don’t know if she spoke English, since Bill and I both used our elementary German skills when we ordered. I did notice she said a couple of words in English to us, but they were as basic as our German is. We’ll have to go back to determine if she’s bi or trilingual. I won’t mind doing that, because the food was fabulous!
We started with an obligatory shot of ouzo…
Bill had the Korfu Teller, which at 11 euros was gyros and suflaki with vegetable (tomato and pepper) rice and t’zaziki.
I had the dorade royale, which was 16 euros and came with vegetable rice and garlic sauce…
Both of these dishes were excellent. The dorade in particular was beautifully done, grilled to perfection with moist flesh. Bill was raving about it as he helped himself to some of my fish, which was more than I could eat! I love dorade. I discovered it during our first stay in Germany when we first tried Greek food because I wasn’t sure I’d like t’zaziki and wasn’t feeling brave. Of course, now I love a good plate of gyros or suflaki, but in 2007, I was new to Greek food. And now, when I see dorade on a menu, it really tempts me.
We enjoyed a couple of glasses of red wine and some mineral water. At the meal’s end, our waitress brought us a couple of more shots of ouzo. She brought me a “cowardly” shot, which is basically a less alcoholic fruity liqueur typically presented to women. It was kind of brownish and tasted like passionfruit last night, though I’ve had some that were blue or green. I gave it to Bill and took his ouzo, since he was doing the driving. The bill was about 45 euros.
I noticed a couple of people staring at us, probably because we obviously aren’t regulars. I have a feeling that Taverne beim Griechen mostly serves a very local clientele who both know how to find it and are close enough to walk to it.
Taverne beim Griechen offers delicious food at a fair price, though Agais remains a favorite because I love visiting the people who own it. Taverne beim Griechen is less intimate and charming than Agais is, though I think it might make a great venue for groups. I can see why it’s popular with the locals in the Jettingen area. I have a feeling we’ll be back.