As I’ve mentioned a few times so far, Waiblingen has several good restaurants. We didn’t get to try them all, but if we ever manage to go back there, we’ll have to make a point of visiting a couple of the others. One place I wish we’d had a chance to visit is Brunnenstuben. It gets high marks, and looks like it offers great Swabian cuisine.
As it was, though, we did manage a visit to Michelin Guide mentioned Untere Apotheke (Lower Pharmacy), which is located just behind Bachofer. Because Bill didn’t take any classes on Saturday, we made a reservation for 7:00 PM. It’s a good thing we did that, because the restaurant is rather small, and it filled up completely while we were there.
From their Web site:
From Monday to Thursday, we serve our full à la carte selection and all set menus in the evenings as usual – flexibly and entirely according to your taste.
On Friday and Saturday evenings, we kindly ask our guests to choose a set menu of three or more courses. You can customize your menu from our selection – even spontaneously on-site.
We were warmly welcomed when we arrived for our reservation. A couple of young guys offered to take our coats, although there was a little bit of bumbling as they determined what to do with them. I got the sense that they were a bit inexperienced and new to the job, which is fine. We all have to start somewhere.
Bill and I sat at a two top in a corner, on a long banquette that ran along the back wall. As we were looking at the menu, the proprietor came over to say hello and get a drink order. He said he’d seen us at Mamma Roma, the Italian place next door. He was the guy who was sitting at the table behind Bill, talking on the phone, while were having lunch there. I don’t know for certain, but I wonder if the restaurants are owned by the same people. Both offered really good food.
I was surprised that the proprietor had noticed us at Mamma Roma’s, let alone remembered us! Maybe it’s my hair… and the fact that we’re obviously Americans in a town that probably doesn’t get many American visitors. He apologized that they didn’t have a menu in English, but we said it was fine, since we live in Germany and understand “restaurant German” pretty well.
The proprietor suggested a Negroni, which delighted Bill, because it’s one of his favorite cocktails. I thought I might have a conventional aperitif, like sparkling wine, but ended up having a Negroni, too. That was mainly because I’d never had one before. The proprietor did say he could make a cocktail that was like a Negroni, but “lighter”, but I decided to go for the real thing. Now that I’ve had a Negroni, I think I’d opt for the lighter cocktail at a future visit.
The kitchen sent out a lovely “amuse bouche”, which turned out to be a very comforting cauliflower based soup. I don’t usually like cauliflower much, because it tastes like farts to me. I would make an exception for this soup, which didn’t have that flavor at all. It had a slight essence of vanilla.
There were several options available for dinner. We decided to go for the five course tasting menu with wine pairing. It was mostly a good choice, although the wait staff did not seem to know much about serving or drinking wines.
At one point, a waiter brought a wine to us that he couldn’t even identify. He said he was new on the job. I can understand that. I used to wait tables myself, and wasn’t a wine drinker at that time. But, for a Michelin mentioned restaurant, it did seem odd that the waiter couldn’t even tell me what kind of wine I was drinking that was chosen to pair with my food. Like, he had to go ask what type of wine it was– not the specific label, but the actual grape. I think it was a Pinot Grigio.
Anyway… below are some photos from our dinner at Untere Apotheke. I enjoyed every course.
We started with a smoked trout with a horseradish sauce. I took the second photo because it looked like the sauce had turned into a work of art after I had enjoyed the fish!
Next was a “hirsch” (venison) carpaccio, which was absolutely divine. I haven’t eaten much venison in my lifetime, but this was really good. I did give a couple of extra bites to Bill, though.
The third course was sturgeon with cabbage and potatoes espuma. I’d never had sturgeon before, and only had heard was a very expensive fish. It was pretty dense and mild. The sturgeon tasted good, although I’m not sure I’d go out of my way to have it again.
The sturgeon was followed by a ragout of “Ochsenschwanz” (oxtail) with pears and red cabbage. I don’t think I had ever had oxtail before. I know Bill has had it. I enjoyed it, but again, maybe I wouldn’t go out of my way to order it.
We had a palate cleanser of sorbet, followed by dessert, which was Swabian apple cake with caramelized vanilla ice cream. Naturally, I enjoyed the dessert, especially since it didn’t look like a mushroom! It came with a very nice dessert wine that went well.
I did really enjoy the food and wine at Untere Apotheke. The service was very friendly, although the wait staff was a bit “green”. They mostly appeared to be young guys who are just learning about how to wait tables. Again, I totally sympathize. I have been there, myself. And their friendliness definitely made up for slightly bumbling service. I have no doubt they’ll get the hang of things soon, especially given how many people were dining on Saturday night.
The tables in Untere Apotheke are a bit close together. We sat next to a male couple who kept sneaking glances at us, probably wondering why we were in Waiblingen, intruding with our “Americanness”. I may be a bit sensitive, given what’s been going on in our government, lately. But I think they soon figured out that I’m definitely not a follower of the regime. 😉
I would certainly be happy to dine at Untere Apotheke again. It was a fine place to enjoy our last evening in Waiblingen.
One more post to go before this series is finished!
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