Swabian tapas at Gasthaus Bären

After having been rather silent for a few weeks I’m back for ya with the latest Stuttgart foodie world news- Swabian tapas!

Yes, you’ve heard this right – Gasthaus Bären has opened its doors at the old Zwölfzehn location and is serving small tapas portions of Swabian (as in local Stuttgart) food.

The concept

The concept is a great idea, since Käsespätzle, Bratkartoffeln, Maultaschen and so on is really heavy food. And this way you don’t have to choose between the dishes anymore, but rather have everything at once, which is always great, right?

We went there with our visitor from Hungary (wink, wink, you know who you are) and thought it was a great opportunity to show him the local cuisine (wich is, by the way, a bit similar to the Hungarian one). And we were not disapointed… But first things first: Thankfully we’ve booked a table, since the place is always packed! Actually it was so packed, we had to sit at the bar, but that was really nice, too. Second: You’ll have a hard time to decide what to order, I can promise you that.

The food

The Käsespätzle were so yummy, we even ordered seconds. We’ve also had Bratkartoffeln (fried potatoes), a local version of meatballs that actually look like Spanish Abondigas, Linsen mit Spätzle (local pasta with lentils), Schnitzel (no translation needed here) and Maultaschen (also a local specialty like a huge ravioli, filled with meat and spinach). Since I don’t eat meat, I haven’t tried everything, but the two meat-lovers I was there with, were satisfied and that means something :-).

The atmosphere

Overall, it was a really great evening, good food, very nice atmosphere and attentive service as well as a friendly owner, who makes sure you feel comfortable and welcome.  Oh and the intérieur is really cool – rustic, laid back and a stylish at the same time. If I had to, there is only one little downside  to mention- be prepared for a real Spanish dose of background noise, haha.