Saturday, 19 October 2024
Milan isn't the birth place of Italian pizza, but an easy place to find the world's arguably most sought-after fast food the way it should be: with long leavening of the dough, made with organic ingredients. Pizza is not only served by dedicated no-frills pizza restaurants – it is also an ubiquitous item on the menu of organic restaurants serving the classical sequence of Italian food, with starters, first and second courses.
At all places reviewed here the service staff is approaching international guests in English, and the younger the waiters the less patient they seem when approached in broken Italian.
The best food we had in Milano was served at Bioesseri restaurant in Brera which seems to get most of its ingredients and wines from Sicily. Not only the food was delicious, also the casual ambiente – the restaurant is more or less a wide slope from one side of the building to the other, with serveral zones, all decorated differently but consistent as a whole. This place was also the only one with trained, professional service, but there's of course a price tag to it. As in any better restaurant, the menu is restricted to four/five items per course, both vegetarian, fish and meat. In addition there's a slightly longer pizza menu. The pizza oven is visible from the guest room in the back, the pizza itself was of the softer, less crisp type, with carefully selected toppings making it to more than just a filling meal. If you want to try the Milan signature dish, risotto Milanese with Ossobucco, I'd fullheartedly recommend this place. The pasta we had was nicely amalgamated, and the antipasti of very different styles, but all nicely done. Starters and first course were sufficiently filling, so we left out the second course and enjoyed all desserts – sufficiently refined for a casual restaurant, except for the (very palatable) tiramisu all came with a little surprising note on top.
This place is also a nice option for an aperitivo, cocktail in the evening or simply a very good wine, with more quiet outdoor tables at the Via Fiori Oscusi. There's a second restaurant in Palermo.
Bioesseri isn't the only fully organic restaurant in town: At the hotel restaurant Bio Riso in Affori you have another chance to try risotto milanese – even without meat. The place in the basement of Eco Hotel Milano is located a short walk from the M3 metro station Affori Centro, but that's off any of the usual tourist tracks. So better call to book a table in advance. The place also offers gluten-free dinner, as the name suggests they consider rice a key ingredient.
If you are more into beer, and less into food, Organic may be a place of your fancy.
This is a stylish pub without trained staff, all the food – pizza, fries (with different cores, not only potatoes), pasta, avocado toast and bowls – goes perfectly with beer. The kitchen uses a selection of organic ingredients but is careless towards the taste. There's no printed menu, but unlike the menu cum ordering app suggests you may order from the waiter and pay in person.
Given the fact that their former website on organicpizzaandfood.com was defaced I'd strongly advise to do so.
The marketing on the paper table clothes suggests that the place belongs together with the pizzeria Pizzeria naturale near Porta Garibaldi, but since I did not come here I cannot say to which extend they use organic ingredients. If you don't want to find out yourself (I'm appreciating first-hand accounts), here are two other organic pizza restaurants:
The multinationality of the service staff at Pizza Bio near the Duomo reminds of the fact that pizza may have its origin in Italy but truly is a world heritage: When you book a table or order your food here, don't try to use your handful of Italian vocabulary: Most of the service staff barely speaks Italian themselves, so you may switch to English at once.
There's a huge assortment of pizze – alongside classic ones you'll find those celebrating special Italian ingredients like the burata or the provola cheeses, and there are interesting modernised combinations, but everything with the Italian heritage in mind. Unfortunately there's only one red wine by the glass (a montepulciano) and it remains unclear whether the wines are organic as are most of the pizza ingredients.
If you want to book a table, call in. The place is much bigger than you may think as there is a second guest room in the basement. Despite this size and although the place tries to put eco-friendly measures into action they do not have a printed (or handwritten on a chalk board) menu. Instead you must access the menu on on-line – which given the sheer number of guests is likely to produce more climate emissions than a re-usable rarely changing printed menu.
The pizze were palatable, especially as this was the first restaurant after arrival from abroad. While we were eating a bunch of local policemen on duty stepped by to order food which I'd take for a sign of quality. However, the pizzaiolo killed the sophisticated taste of his high quality ingredients by drowning everything in oil.
Most confusingly there is another pizzeria dubbed
Bio Pizza not too far away, on Corso Italia.
All places mentioned above offer vegan options, but if you are looking for a dedicated vegan organic restaurant, try Radice Tonda in the beautiful Jugend neighbourhood around Porta Venezia which has been here for more than 12 years. There is a second restaurant of the same name near Porta Romana which wasn't open for dinner most of the week when I was there. However, as the restaurant owners warn about regular changes of opening hours it may be advisable to call in in advance.
More to try
I found the following places in the course of my research upfront. But since I haven't come nearby I can neither confirm their existance nor how committed they actually are to organic ingredients.
Closed
2024-10-19 22:45:00
[Milan, Milano, Mailand, Palermo, biologico, organic, vegetarian, vegan, eatery, restaurant, breakfast, lunch, dinner, coffee, pizza, Italian]
[direct link · table of contents]
Wednesday, 18 September 2024
If you are on the outlook for a cafe serving at least a limited selection of organic drinks and have no idea where to go, modern and art museums usually are a good bet. This algorithm also works in Kassel: The cafe cum restaurant of the Grimmwelt, a museum dedicated to the lifes, works and influence of the Brothers Grimm, dubbed
Falada (like the horse in the fairytaleThe Goose Girl) serves coffee drinks with
organic milk, organic burger from the local Biometzgerei Armbröster, and organic eggs. Their
home-made cakes are also made with organic eggs and milk. You can have
an organic white or red wine, tea, organic gin (by The Duke) and fruit juices with sparkling water ("Schorle"). The place is
organically certified;
breakfast is being served until noon.
Come hungry if you want to have a burger as a big helping of fries is included. The fries actually are chips (half-slices of potatoes) and very nice. The chicken burger was made with organic chicken, but unfortunately the juicy meat had a dry and hard (instead of light and crispy) cornflakes coating.
During the warm season and when the weather is nice the museum sports a beautiful beergarden,
Grimms Garten, run by the same caterer. Unfortunately the 2024 season is already over.
If you want to eat outdoors on nice weather days in autumn, the fully organic pizzeria
Solo has garden tables on the footpath in front of it. Traditional Italian pizze or carefully selected modern topping combinations like salmon, zucchini and pine nuts on extremely nice (that is: both, soft and crispy) pizza bases make up for about half of the menu, and the pizza arrive in minutes after I placed my order. The other half of the menu consists of Italian
starters (soups, salads or antipasti) and pasta. The menu also offers one traditional Italian second course, served in the German tradition with fixed add-ons.
Even if you aren't hungry simply step by for a relaxed coffee or aperitivo.
On the other side of the street you'll find the city's organic butcher
Armbröster. I haven't been there during the shop's opening hours, but I suspect that you can get a sandwich or even lunch there: Most artisanal butchers server sausages or grilled meat with bread or potato salads. Whether you'll find something suitable for vegetarians or vegans, I however don't know.
Most organic supermarkets of the
Denns Biomarkt chain offer freshly made sandwiches and coffee drinks from their bakery tills in the entrance area. But the Biomarkt at Königsplatz is something special: The supermarket is located on the premises of the former Kaskade-Filmpalast cinema, a protected historial monument from the 1950ies, famous for its illuminated fountains in front of the screen. The cinema was revived for a short time during the documenta (13) contemporary art exhibition in 2021. Now you can have a view at both, the cinema's gallery, and the fountain pipes protected by a glass floor, in the rear of the supermarket. You may also take your coffee, sandwich and (in the summer) pre-packaged Cortina ice-cream upstairs to a cafe area with a view at the cinema's chairs and ceiling. The stairs are located opposite the bakery till, to the right from the entrance.
Travellers arriving at or leaving from the long-distance train station Kassel-Wilhelmshöhe will find a small farmshop cum delicatessen only a few steps from the station: The
Urgeschmack-Hofladen Jausenstation
offers organic cheeses and other dairy products, but first of all cured meat and sausages from a farm run according to the principles of organic agriculture but not certified organic. Unfortunately the shop was closed when I found it, but it seems to provide you with picnic food and travel provisions as long as you are an omnivore.
More to try
When I tried to get myself a coffee from the Danish cafe
Frokost hos Line (Norwegian/Danish for "breakfast at Line's") I found the place busy but closed for the general public. So I cannot say how much organic ingredients they use in their Danish sandwiches ("smørrebrød") and cakes. They used to have organic coffee and milk, and I hope that Line is going to continue with a strong organic focus after re-opening.
In the course of my upfront research I found the following place
which I did not had time to visit. Let me know if you can confirm or deny its existance.
2024-09-18 16:30:00
[Kassel, organic, coffee, tea, breakfast, lunch, dinner, cafe, restaurant, pizza, butcher, eatery]
[direct link · table of contents]
Saturday, 27 July 2024
The good news: As long as your organic supermarket is equipped with a freezer (which applies to all exceeding the size of a corner shop) you will be able to find some frozen pizza, and even if you feel the urge while most shops are closed, don't dispair! But come on, who really wants to feast on frozen pizza?
Italian pizza
If a bar stool will do, head for Bartu in Schwabing, a short walk from Münchner Freiheit. It's actually an ice-cream parlour with a hole in the wall to a pizza kitchen. Gorgeous, 100% organic pizza, and if you are lucky enough to live no more than three kilometers away they also will deliver home.
Those living in the Neuhausen neighbourhood may do the same with Pizza Verde delivering by e-bike within a radius of two kilometers. The pizza of course tastes much better when eaten directly from the (Italian) pizza oven, either on a bar table or in the guest room cum wine shop next door which has a table for twelve. Book this table in advance if you plan to come in company, it's a pleasant place to chat away an evening. The impressive menu offers all the classics, in addition to seasonally changing specials and creations of the house. Among the latter is a delicate combination of gorgonzola cheese, pears and walnuts, a white pizza with lardo fat and olive oil and a delightingly hot pizza diavolo. Since all ingredients (and all drinks) are of high, purely organic quality, and the pizze made with great skill
(The pizza base is pleasantly thin and crispy made of dough that was allowed to rest for a minimum of 24 hours.)
it's hard to be seriously disappointed. Even the "Nutella" pizza for dessert (of course made with superior organic hazelnut spread) is palatable for those who are beyond thirty.
You may also have a classical tiramisu or panna cotta, or simply
step by for an Italian coffee shot.
If you prefer a livelier, more crowded place
there's a second, bigger restaurant in Schwabing, with an organic wine shop next door and pleasant outdoor seating. Also this place features an open kitchen, so you can watch the pizzaiolo at work.
Early in 2020 the neighbourhood of Sendling got a fully organic pizza restaurant: La Trattoria.
Bavarian Pretzel Pizza
Bavarian pretzels or "Bretzn", lye treated twisted crumpets, are arguably the favourite food in town, just watch out for prams, and you'll discover toddlers feastings on it everywhere! Every bakery will sell you a Bretzn smeared with butter (or margarine) for lunch, and as Munich citizens are mockingly considering their city the most Northern city of Italy, why not using this wonderfully salty dough as a pizza base and accompany it with the only organic beer brewed in town?
The
Haderner Bräu is a small, owner-run brewery. Wednesday through Saturday Marta, Thomas and their team open their pub where you along with the finest beer can feast on Bavarian antipasti, vegan "Brizza" ("Bretzn" + "pizza") and a sweet finish. As the place is located off tourist tracks and may be fully booked call in upfront.
Shut down or no longer organic
The following places can still be find on the web but forget about them: They do not exist any more or stopped serving organic food.
- Blizzeria, Berg-am-Laim-Str. 82a (Berg am Laim)
- Bozo & Loui, Pariser Str. 17 (Haidhausen, Alsatian Flammkuchen)
- Lo studente, Schellingstr. 30, daily 11–24 (does no longer offer pizza dough made with organic emmer wheat)
- Manouche, Valleystr. 19
- NineOfive, Herzogstr. 29 (Schwabing)
- Pasta e Basta Bio, Amalienstr. 87 (Maxvorstadt)
- Sicilia Naturkost, Altmühleck 1 (Altstadt)
- Sweekies, Wendl-Dietrich-Str. 4 (Neuhausen)
- Pizza Zodiac, Schulstr. 42 (Neuhausen)
2024-07-27 17:00:00
[Munich, Schwabing, Maxvorstadt, organic, fastfood, lunch, delivery, coffee, pizza, wine, Italian, Lebanese, covid, corona]
[direct link · table of contents]
Monday, 27 November 2023
To find a place offering at least partially organic meals, snacks or coffee isn't a big deal in Salzburg, and places like the Bio-Burgermeister are frequent tourist destinations. But there's more than just healthy organic fast food –
from pleasantly modernized Austrian bars over cultured beer spots to slightly esoteric day cafes there's a broad range of places to choose from. What you shouldn't expect are authentic restaurants offering elaborated international cuisines, but that's probably not what you are here for anyway.
Burgers
When you're hungry and don't know where to go head for the Bio-Burgermeister in the middle of busy Linzergasse pedestrian street. With its liberal opening hours (no closing day, open until 10 pm) and central location this no-frills burger grill is serving both, meat, vegetarian, and vegan versions, purely made with organic ingredients. The service is swift, the burgers and side-dishes fresh, crisp and tasty, and most of the soft drinks and the beer are organic, too (though you have to check the bottles for organic labelling). The hot varieties I would describe as spicy rather than hot, and they come up with interesting seasonal versions like the pumpkin burger with a pumpkin patty. For meat patties you can choose between medium-done and medium-rare. The place serves neither desserts nor coffee.
Unfortunately it has implemented bad habits of conventional fast-food places, too: It produces a lot of waste since the meals are served on cardboard one-way plates, and the staff is neither busy cleaning the tables nor refilling paper towels.
If the burgermeister is too crowded or you prefer to produce less waste a burger restaurant is just a few steps away: The Ludwig doesn't promise fully organic burgers, but organic patties made from organic beef, turkey or mushrooms, organic pulled pork and bacon.
In addition to burgers the place also serves salad bowls, desserts and breakfast (including organic eggs in a number of varieties). Among the drinks fruit juices and teas are organic.
Located in a pleasant backyard with a small fountain this cafe cum restaurant is also a much nicer place to spend time with friends or family – during the warm season on the spacious terrace, on rainy or cold days in the large urban-rustic dining room.
Austrian
The Urbankeller is not just a perfect address for a rustic meal accompanied by local organic beer, wine, juice or lemonade in the restaurant or a civilised drink at the adjacent bar. It also houses a stage for live acts – predominantly rock, jazz or experimental theatre, and the occasional crime play reading. Although the place is certified by Bio Austria not everything is organic. Fully organic dishes however are clearly marked with a green logo on the menu, and a good deal of the un-marked meat-based dishes (including nose-to-tail ones using offal) are served with organic meat (check for the "bio" keyword). Vegan and vegetarian options are also available. If you consider one of the typical Austrian flour-based desserts ("Mehlspeisen") make sure to come with sufficient appetite.
Schallmooser Hauptstraße where the Urbankeller is located changes its name to Linzergasse (or Linzer Gasse, the naming is not consistent) when it runs over into a pedestrian area towards the river Salzach. Amid its touristic jumble you'll find the Stadtkrug, a family-owned hotel and restaurant of old, with roots in the 14th century. The family runs an organic highland cattle farm north of Salzburg and serves the beef at the restaurant specialising in typical Austrian dishes. The farm has its own slaughterhouse on premise which allows the cattle to die as stress-free as possible within their known habitat. The chicken served in the Stadtkrug is also organic as are some hard cheeses and the ice-cream and other products made from sheep's milk. The breakfast at the hotel unfortunately is not organic.
Directly located on Linzergasse, almost down by the river, but nevertheless not a place that tourists will recognise at a first glance, the Innergebirg restaurant serves traditional Austrian mountain cuisine with local ingredients from the Pongau, the Pinzgau and the Salzburger Land areas. All the meat comes from the Rostatt organic farm (which also is a farm stay).
Note that the restaurant is closed on Sundays.
Another beergarden down in the old town is associated with the local brewery Die Weisse
specializing in weiss beer. They also brew one alcoholic and one non-alcoholic organic variety (watch out for the bio label) which nicely go together with a hearty Austrian meal – the beef here is
organic and you may ask the waiter for likely other organic ingredients. Of course there's indoor seating, too.
On the other side of the Salzach river September 2018 saw the opening of a new fully organic, predominantly biodynamic restaurant and bar opposite the museum of modern art inside the Mönchsberg cliff, the Humboldt, a pleasantly modernized version of an Austrian "Gaststube", with geometric dark-wooden interior, a light-and-steam installation serving as a fire place surrogate, green cushions, table-clothes made from felt, and a green-lighted bar. For lunch on weekdays you can choose between two set menus consisting of a soup or salad (your choice), and a vegetarian or omnivore main dish which come at 9 or 11 euros, respectively. In the evening the kitchen emphasizes on Austrian signature dishes like the Viennese Schnitzel (a delicate, crisp, yet melting dream), boiled filet ("Tafelspitz"), and pancakes ("Palatschinken") as dessert (which were quite unexceptional).
The menu clearly marks organic, biodynamic, vegan and vegetarian items and also lists the sources of all ingredients which usually are Austrian farms and producers, often located in the vicinity. In all drink classes organic options are available, and often you have no choice but to drink organic. The bar keeps open until late each day, making it the perfect place for an evening out, and there's outdoor seating, too.
Indian
Back in town, just a few steps from the Stadtkrug vegetarian fusion food with roots in the Indian cuisines has been served for almost 20 years at Spicy Spices. This pleasant eatery may not be the place for the romantic dinner but is a nice location for a chat with friends, accompanied by a healthy lunch, a coffee, chai and/or cake, all organic. You can also shop for their home-made spice mixtures, chutneys and pickles which make tasty gifts.
International
The second surviving organic restaurant of old also draws its inspiration from the subcontinent and East-Western fusion. The Heart of Joy is a vegetarian (vegan friendly), predominantly organic cafe cum eatery run by followers of Sri Shinmoy. The latter is openly presented which may not be your idea of the perfect surroundings for a recreational sip of coffee or an Italian, Austrian, oriental or Indian inspired lunch in this otherwise pleasant location. Students are entitled a ten percent discount, and breakfast on weekends is being served all day.
For a simple lunch or a piece of home-made organic cake you may also try the A* bar in nearby Auerspergstraße.
If you are near the main train station on a weekday during daytime the bistro Leichtsinn ("carelessness") is worth a try. You'll find it if you leave the train station in western direction via Südtiroler Platz and walk in southern direction along Rainerstraße parallel to the tracks until you reach Elisabethstraße.
Tea, beer, and cheese are always organic here, and
the owners promise to prefer organic and regional ingredients, but admit that some ingredients such as avocados definitely won't be organic. Unfortunately I did not get an answer to whether the meat and other products of animalic origin are organic, so better ask about them.
The menu changes daily, and you always have the choice between
a soup, one vegan, one vegetarian and one meat- or fish-based dish in addition to salads (mix your own from the salad bar), home-made foccachia sandwiches, wraps, quiches, and empanadas (the owner-chief originates from Ecuador). The place is great for
breakfast, there are home-made cakes (also vegan), shortbreads and fair-trade coffee, and if you need provisions for your travel, simply order to take away.
Fine dining restaurants in the 2020ies can be reasonably expected to work together with small-scale organic gardeners, bakers and/or butchers, but they often do this in the closet. So I found the
Genussprojekt at Ursulinenplatz, with a view on the river Salzach, but I am disappointed to report
that the only classified organic ingredients on their menu are fruit juices and beef.
Beef-lovers may give it a try and ask about the veges, the flour, and whether there are
natural wines, too. So far no first-hand review from me yet.
Italian
Arguably the city's best pizza can be had when entering a non-descript entrance on Franz-Josef-Straße south of Paris-Lodron-Straße: Here you find a place boringly dubbed Organic Pizza Salzburg, and this is exactly what it is: A totally unpretentious venue serving glorious 100% organic pizza in vegetarian, vegan and omnivore varieties, all well worth their 9.80 to 16.80 EUR. Instead of the standard base made from wheat you may order one made with spelt. Choose your drinks from the fridge (most, but not all organic), and have a home-made organic and vegan cake with fairly traded ingredients and/or a locally produced ice-cream to end your meal. No frills, just love, and in contrast to other fast food places covered here you will be served on real plates instead of paper waste. Unfortunately the place is closed on Mondays and Sundays.
Vegan
For Italian and decidedly vegan food (including pizza) you have to wait for the re-opening of
Vegitalian. This no-frills restaurant stepped in as the hotel restaurant of The Keep near Salzburg Hauptbahnhof train station between spring and autumn 2022 and is planning a re-opening in Nonntal. It's not 100% organic, but most ingredients come from regional and/or organic producers. No further review here (yet) since I haven't had the chance to visit.
Just a few steps from Organic Pizza Salzburg you'll find a novelty in the city: a crowd-founded vegan cafe. The
Gustav serves
breakfast, sandwiches, soups and salads as well as smoothies and cakes, everything predominantly organic. Unfortunately it is closed most days of the week, so check below to avoid a bad surprise.
For a vegan or vegetarian, partially organic lunch, dinner or weekend brunch the neighbourhood of Gneis was a pleasant destination before the Covid-19 pandemics. Then chef Julia and her happily carnivore dog announced a refurbishment of the The Green Garden, and I am still waiting to see a re-opening. The place consisted of two locations, a daily (except Mondays) open restaurant, and a cafe cum wine bar annex. There was no general commitment to organic certification, but Julia promised to use predominantly fresh seasonal Austrian ingredients as far as possible produced without chemically synthesized fertilizers and preservatives. The tea (including iced tea), most wines, some beers, eggs and goat cheese were certified organic. On the menu you were to find bowls, soups, salads, vegan burgers as well as pasta and vegetable versions of Austrian signature dishes like the schnitzel, but the place was great for breakfast and healthy snacks, too. During the nice season The Green Garden sold vegan organic ice-cream to both, guests and passers-by.
Coffee and cakes
For the real coffee thing head for Röstzimmer 15 a few meters from "Spicy Spices". A cosy living room serving artisanal (though not necessarily organically certified) chocolates and pastries with Ethiopian organic coffee roasted in the room next door where you also can have a small lunch.
An Italian-style coffee drink prepared with organic milk can also be had at Fabis Frozen Bioyogurt.
Fancy an organic coffee drink on the go, made with organic milk or plant-based drink, on your way from the old town before crossing the Mozartsteg pedestrian bridge over the river Salzach? Take your coffee mug and stop by what's arguably the city's tiniest coffee house,
We love coffee.
Unfortunately they do not have any eathenware and will serve their Italian-style coffee or flat whites in a paper cup. What a waste – since I did not have a cup at hand I cannot say anything about the quality.
When you take a stroll or bicycle tour along the river Salzach in southern direction (towards castle and zoo Hellbrunn) stop by the farm cafe of the Bienenlieb beekeepers. You may simply step by for a coffee break or a home-made organic soup with honey bread, but if you are planning to have breakfast on Saturday (from March through December) make sure to call upfront for reservation.
Temporarily closed
Closed or no longer organic
- Ährlich, Wolf-Dietrich-Str. 7
- Enoteca Settemila, Bergstr. 9
- Zum Hirschenwirt, St.-Julien-Str. 21-23 (no longer organic)
- Franziskischlössl, Stefan-Zweig-Weg
- klein & fein, Rupertgassei 9 (cafe and delicatessen)
- Kuchenfee, Paris-Lodron-Str. 19 (partially organic cafe)
- Ökohof Feldinger/Rochushof, Rochusgasse 6 (organic
supermarket and self-service restaurant)
- Rosencafé, Steingasse 4 (fully organic cafe cum gastro bar)
- Stadtimbiss, Franz-Josef-Str. 19 (successor is not organic)
- Schützenwirt, Dorf 96, St. Jakob am Thurn
2023-11-27 17:00:00
[Salzburg, organic, lunch, dinner, takeaway, restaurant, cafe, eatery, coffee, ice-cream, fastfood, vegetarian, vegan, Austrian, Indian, burgers, pizza, supermarkets, grocery, wine, beergarden]
[direct link · table of contents]
Sunday, 26 November 2023
Bremen offers plenty opportunities for an organic lunch ranging from a cheap and simple meal at a refectory to the posh organic business lunch.
For dinner there's significantly less choice – you may opt for fast food or a friendly place to meet friends, but to have an organic candle light dinner will be difficult. Don't expect highly sophisticated international cuisine – Bremen restaurants are best when it comes to local dishes based on regional ingredients (which are totally different from e.g. the meat-centric Bavarian cuisine) and rather adapt international influences than aim at an – whatever the definition may be – authentic experience of a foreign cuisine.
Indian
The food served in "Indian" restaurants in Germany usually does not have much in common with the food served in India – and the Punjabi food served at the – to my knowledge – oldest organic restaurant in Bremen, the
Krishna a short walk from the Southern end of either Wilhelm Kaisen or Bürgermeister Smidt bridge is also adapted to this idea of how Europeans are likely to like Indian food.
This is probably not a surprise since the restaurant generates its main business from its delivery and take-away service. The good news about it – there's always a spare table in the restaurant which now after more than ten years looks a little worn, resembling restaurants in India.
Since the main ingredients of the pakoras, curries and tandoori dishes – meat, dairy products and vegetables – are organic the food is much more palatable than in conventional "Indian" restaurants. You can choose between rice and naan bread as a side dish, and each curry comes with a salad (dressed with a balsamico-based dressing) in advance.
The menu hasn't changed much in all these years – lamb, chicken, fish, cheese (paneer) and/or vegetables in a gravy, and as a recent addition gravy with tofu as a vegan alternative.
You may wish to start your meal with an (organic) yogurt drink (lassi) and finish with a cup of chai or hot saffron milk.
There's also a selection of cold organic drinks. If you have the chance have a chat with the friendly Punjabi owner, but do not expect much flexibility from his staff which often even cannot remember the dishes and will ask you for the number on the menu when ordering.
Note that the restaurant is open evenings only.
Italian
For an organic pizza slice, a chili stew, sometimes pasta and
fairly traded organic coffee sailed from Honduras to Europe and transported by bicycle
pay a visit to the Biten food truck at the farmer's market at the Domshof in front of Markthalle 8.
Mind you that the truck leaves early in the afternoon and some days simply won't be there.
Clean and raw
Formerly located inside the Markthalle 8 food court Noras Deli took over the location of the Lei in the Viertel neighbourhood and now is simply dubbed Noras.
The place was refurbished in lounge style, and although the menu starts with two savoury dishes – a very palatable Buddha Bowl and a properly spiced chickpeas curry – it's more of a cafe during daytime turning into an American bar in the evening. It
offers coffee drinks, breakfast, pancakes, smoothie bowls, freshly made juices and shots as well as healthy sweets without refined sugar (don't miss the filled dates by the piece), both to eat here and to take away. There's a small range of carefully choosen wines and fully organic cocktails.
You can sit outside and indoors.
Regional – International
For a coffee or lunch break you have another opportunity in the vicinity: the
Bio-Biss im Alten Fundamt, a recreational place which has been offering organic food for many years, formerly under the name "Mundart im Alten Fundamt" and now in the second generation of tenants, as "Bio-Biss". In summer it's a pleasure to eat outside in the large backyard, with a kindergarden and a home for the elderly as neighbours. The menu changes daily and offers tasty seasonal food using predominantly local ingredients from their own farm or other organic farms nearby. The dishes are based on local food traditions or derived from Italian or Oriental cuisines, and always served both, as a regular and a small portion.
You may also have an organic ice-cream from the Kaemena farm.
A less sophisticated yet filling organic lunch for a cheap price can be had at the
Leckerbiss refectories run by the Bio-Biss caterers on the Radio Bremen campus in Vahr
and
within the refectory of the Bremen Senator for Children and Education in the city center.
On weekdays you can choose from two wholefood dishes, one of them vegetarian, and a soup. In addition there is coffee and some snacks. Not all ingredients and drinks however are organic. The
Bio-Biss refectory on the University campus opposite Universum unfortunately was closed in 2020.
The Neustadt neighbourhood with its virtually endless Buntentorsteinweg is the home of a very Bremen place: the (sub-)cultural center
Kukoon with its
predominantly organic, vegetarian (vegan-friendly) and socially responsible restaurant. Hearty and healthy, yet filling one-pot dishes and pasta dominate the menu. Needless to say that the place is a popular coffee (and cake) spot and a good meeting point for an organic wine or beer. The majority of drinks are organic, notably all warm preparations. On Sunday evenings the kitchen closes at 6 pm, but you still can come here on a soup or potato or pasta salad – except during the warm season when the team can be found at various pop-up venues.
For a romantic evening out or whenever you are in the mood for fine (but not pretentious) Northern dining visit the
Canova restaurant behind Kunsthalle. Many of their supplies come from organic farms in the greater Bremen area, among others from a gardener cultivating ancient and forgotten local herbs and vegetables. There are a few vegan/vegetarian and meat-based courses, but the focus is on responsibly sourced fish and seafood. The four-course menu was absolutely perfect after a leisurely day in the countryside; for the six-course menu you should probably come hungry. Of course, you may freely choose from the menu, too. During the warm season don't miss the
pleasure to sit on their serene terrace.
The team also runs the Cafe Sylvette inside the art museum.
Speaking of fine local cuisine: After a visit to the Universum Science museum near the university, the restaurant
Wels ("catfish") inside the hotel "Munte" serves fish from North-German shores and game from nearby forests, with organic vegetables. The vegetarian and vegan options also contain organic ingredients, but are usually inspired by international cuisines. The place, however, opens on Friday and Saturday evenings only.
Directly located at the Contrescape park, at the edge of the picturesque Fedelhören neighbourhood with its small owner-run shops
Café Heinrich is a popular day cafe serving classic German dishes like potatoes in their jacket and internationally inspired ones like Flammkuchen, the Alsatian pizza, predominantly made with ingredients from the region. The menu lists organic soft drinks and promises organic cheeses, bread and salami, but you should probably take these promises with a grain of salt and ask beforehand: When I was there the milk from the free-ranging cows of
a farm from the region turned out to be conventional supermarket-fare of the "Frischli" brand.
The place used to be open until 6 or even 8 pm, but staff shortness lead to early closing times in summer 2022.
Fastfood
If you rather opt for fast food aim for the city's central shopping area.
Opposite the back entrance to the Kaufhof department store you can find 1885 Burger, a self-serving American-type diner using
organic beef and bacon in their burgers. Start queuing at the left side and choose the type of patty and home-made bun you prefer. While the patty is being grilled before your eyes move to the right and specify the sauces, vegetables and condiments as well as your drinks (I'd suggest the organic Störtebeker beer). Some of the veges are organic, too, and most of them as well as the cheeses are sourced locally. Vegetarian cheese and vegan lentils patties are available, but you have to enquire whether they are organic. Pay at the till in the middle of the restaurant when you're ready to leave. Although the place is popular among supporters of the local football club Werder Bremen, it should be noted that there's no TV screen.
Another source of burgers with organic meat patties are the
Simpleburger foodtrucks. The meat comes from Welsh Black cattle raised at an organic farm in Ahausen/Lower Saxony. They also serve coffee drinks, and the milk used here is organic, too. While it is generally nice that they serve vegan and vegetarian burgers, you may not like them as these patties are highly processed, long-travelled BeyondMeat ones – not exactly what one expects from a company emphasising the regional origin of their food.
Eateries attached to public swimming pools usually are a contradiction in itself: Why do they serve such tasteless, unhealthy and often evil smelling fast food at places dedicated to healthy physical exercises? The restaurant Novazena at the Hallenbad Süd is a notable exception: Their burger is made from organic meat, and there are
organic soft drinks – a few more organic ingredients may be hidden in other
dishes, some of them Ethiopian-style (but no injeera). Honest, filling canteen food, and if the weather is nice you may sit on a spacious terrace.
More to try
Here's a list of (partially) organic restaurants and eateries I found during my research but did not have time to visit. Your impressions are appreciated!
Closed
- Alma,
Alte Hafenstr. 30,
(predominantly organic vegetarian restaurant and cafe, international cuisine)
- Bio-Biss im Lichthaus, Hermann-Prüser-Str. 4 (organic restaurant)
- Lei, Sielwall 55/57 (succeeded by Noras)
- Leckerbiss-Kantine Senatorin für Kinder und Bildung, Rembertiring 8–12
- Bio-Biss,
Universitätsallee inside GW 1 (university refectory)
- Diverso, Münchener Str. 46 (since the covid-19 pandemics catering only)
- Kuss Rosa, Buntentorsteinweg 143 (resto bar, predominantly organic greens)
- Plantenköök, Am Wall 201 (vegan)
- Scharfrichter,
Martinistr. 70 (hot dogs)
- Scharfrichter,
Obernstr. 5-33, basement
- Veganissimi, Horner Straße 1a (vegan day cafe)
2023-11-26 17:00:00
[Bremen, organic, coffee, lunch, dinner, snacks, restaurant, burgers, pizza, fastfood, takeaway, Indian, Italian, vegan, vegetarian, raw]
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