La Fonda

The dishes are expertly prepared; fresh ingredients combined with a good recipe result in excellent quality. However: having to ask for the dessert menu three times! and the far too long wait to order clearly demonstrates areas for improvement in the service concept. The waiter's affected manner and a certain arrogance unfortunately overshadow his evident professionalism. It was a great evening overall, but the service was poor.

This was our first time at La Fonda, but certainly not our last! The summery atmosphere on the terrace overlooking Gereonshof, the very friendly service, and the excellent food made for a truly magical experience. The menu offered a relatively small selection of exciting and expertly prepared dishes. For our starter, we chose the veal tartare: it had the perfect consistency, as it was cut into a perfectly 1 mm brunoise – a real art! The octopus on pearl barley-like, incredibly fine Portuguese noodles with Parmesan foam was also delicious. The octopus tentacles were perfectly cooked, slightly crispy, and not at all rubbery. For those who prefer something more classic: steak frites was also on the menu and looked very tempting. The crème brûlée also looked fantastic, but we simply couldn't manage it.

The food was mediocre. It used to be different, unfortunately. We waited two and a half hours for the main course. That used to be different, too. The service was only moderately friendly. It was overpriced without adequate value. The ambiance was actually very nice, but everything else (as I said, it all used to be different) is, in my opinion, simply mediocre. That pretty much sums it up. There were five of us, and no one disagreed. It's best not to get upset. The aperitif was okay. It's really disappointing, considering the cool location. They could do so much more. The wait times were probably due to the kitchen. The servers, at least, were always on the go.

The ambiance in the courtyard is absolutely beautiful and very special. Unfortunately, the food is very mediocre, and the meat is of rather poor quality.

Had a wonderful evening with friends!

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