I had every intention of getting out yesterday, but the depressing weather and my natural tendency toward being lazy kept me at home. Bill decided that come hell or high water, today we were going to have lunch or dinner somewhere. He decided he wanted to try the Africa Bar and Restaurant in Tübingen, mainly because he’d seen them at the Afrika Fest in years past and enjoyed their food. Although I tend to be lazy this time of year, I couldn’t resist the promise of good food in a different setting. Africa Bar and Restaurant, which has a focus on Ethiopian and Eritrean food, opened at 2:00pm today, so we decided to pay them a visit.
A familiar scene in the Catholic areas near where we lived. The town we lived in when we lived here the first time was very Catholic and we saw lots of Fasching activities. Where we are now is more Protestant, so there are no banners in our neighborhood.
We are about to hit prime time Fasching season here in Germany, so I took note of the typical decorations. Indeed, in Tübingen today, we saw lots of young people decked out in costumes. It’s their time to have a little fun before Lent starts. Africa Bar and Restaurant is located near the university in Tübingen and it’s obviously a restaurant that is popular with the students. We found street parking near the entrance, along with the charming graffiti noted below…
Yep, it’s a college town.
The outside of Africa Bar and Restaurant.
We were invited to take any free table we wanted, so we picked a four top near the front door. The menu was in German and Ethiopian and included South African wines and African specialties such as ostrich.
Bill checks out the menu.
All of the tables included information on the Injeera bread served with the dishes and how one is to use it while eating. Also, there was information about the cuisine.
Bill and I decided to share a bottle of South African shiraz. They also had a couple of other red varieties, white wines and blushes, as well as the usual beers and non alcoholic beverages.
This shiraz was very drinkable. I would order it again.
I have had ostrich meat before and enjoyed it, but to me it’s the kind of thing that has to be done right. I have had ostrich that I’ve loved and some that has almost made me puke. So I decided to play it safe and have chicken. I went with the Doro Wat, which was a very tender chicken leg and thigh with mildly spicy sauce, vegetables, a peeled, hard boiled egg, and very mild white cheese called Ayibe (cottage cheese that is mild and crumbly, kind of with the texture feta, used to soften the spiciness of the stew).
Doro Wat– basically chicken stew. It was at about the time we got our food that they turned on the African music, which really added to the ambiance.
Injeera bread. You’re supposed to use the bread to pick up the food. It’s kind of moist and tastes a little like sourdough.
Bill went with the ostrich, which was very good. He had a choice of mild, medium spice, or spicy. He had the medium spice and said next time, he’d try the spicy. Bear in mind that Bill is from Texas and likes spicy food. I don’t like it that much and was fine with the mild heat in my chicken dish.
If he hadn’t ordered the ostrich, Bill says he would have tried the vegetarian sampler, which is supposed to be very good. It comes with lentils, spicy potatoes, and African vegetables. There are also lamb and beef dishes available. Most dishes were priced at about 12 euros and were very generously proportioned. I saw some salads going for about six euros or thereabouts.
We were pretty full after we ate, so we decided to end with some Ethiopian coffee. We had ourselves a little ceremony, of which I videoed. See below.
See the steam coming out? When that stops, the coffee is ready.
If you like coffee and don’t mind waiting for it, the Ethiopian coffee ceremony is an experience well worth enjoying. First and foremost is the delightful aroma that comes from the coffee brewing. It smells like chocolate and coffee and is just heavenly. Then there’s the ritual of making the coffee and waiting for it to get to the right strength. There’s popcorn for that.
Waiting… waiting… eating popcorn… and waiting…
There’s enough coffee for two cups each. It’s served black and strong, with optional sugar if you want it. I usually like a little cream in my coffee, but this was a pleasure to taste black with some sugar. It was a great way to cap off a delicious and interesting meal.
All told, our bill came to about 57 euros. Bill tipped generously, which earned a hearty thank you from our server. We will definitely be back to try more of the East African delights at the Africa Bar and Restaurant. In the warmer months, a terrace is available. It’s also near a jazz club, which I know I would enjoy.
If you’re tired of the usual food in Stuttgart and don’t mind a trip to Tübingen, I would highly recommend a visit to the Africa Bar und Restaurant. We found the food and service warm and the prices very agreeable… better yet, they had everything advertised on their menu, which is not always the case in some of the more exotic restaurants we’ve tried. Open for lunch and dinner Tuesday through Saturday (with a pause from 2-5pm) and from 2:00pm until 11:00pm on Sundays. Monday is their Ruhetag. Thumbs up from us!
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