Oskar Vinothek and Restaurant is just off the pedestrian zone and down the street from the Hotel Ritter in Heidelberg, Germany's old town. Nancy Montgomery/Stars and Stripes ()
Oskar Vinothek and Restaurant is just off the pedestrian zone and down the street from the Hotel Ritter in Heidelberg, Germany's old town. Nancy Montgomery/Stars and Stripes ()
A chalkboard lists the day's wine selections at Oskar Vinothek and Restaurant in Heidelberg, Germany's old town. Nancy Montgomery/Stars and Stripes ()
The restaurant has two rooms with spare, modern furnishings offering an intimate dining experience. Nancy Montgomery/Stars and Stripes ()
Oskar serves an international clientele, and the staff speak excellent English. Nancy Montgomery/Stars and Stripes ()
Can you find the asparagus with my beef filet and potatoes au gratin? Nancy Montgomery/Stars and Stripes ()
“In a cozy atmosphere and an appealing ambience here is a glass of wine to be drunk,” says the Oskar website. On a cold, dark winter’s night, that sounded good to me.
In addition, my hairdresser, a Heidelberg, Germany, native who lived in Houston for two years and has traveled extensively, had recommended the restaurant and Vinothek, or wine bar, as one of his favorite places.
I called ahead. Did I need a reservation? Nein.
“It’s Monday,” the hostess explained. “It’s February.”
I was alone in the restaurant in Heidelberg’s old town when I arrived at about 7 p.m. — although two people were at the bar — and was seated by the friendly staff, who all spoke English. The ambience was appealing, with two rooms of white walls and dark wood floors, modern art, discreet lighting and jazzy blues playing so softly it was almost inaudible.
Would I like an aperitif? My server suggested Sekt with pomegranate, which came with the pretty pink seeds floating on top of the sparkling wine.
The restaurant, which opened 6 ½ years ago, features several three-course menus: fish, a veal offering and beef filet. Each included an appetizer, entree and either panna cotta or chocolate mousse for dessert; each menu costs between 37 and 41 euros. In addition, there was a four-course menu for 49 euros and a number of individual starters, dishes and desserts: roast beef, venison, sea bream, carrot-ginger soup, beef carpaccio and a selection of French cheeses, for example. Single items range in price from about 7 euros for the soup to about 29 euros for the beef filet. Just like wine selections, the menu changes every three months, my server told me.
It took me a while to decide. The fish menu, with seared scallops on a fennel-and-orange salad; tuna steak covered in sesame seeds with sautéed vegetables; and panna cotta with blackberry sorbet and fresh fruit sounded great. But then so did the beef filet menu. That started with a lamb’s lettuce salad, the beef filet was in an herby crust with port wine jus, and the dessert was the chocolate mousse with pears and almonds.
My server, cheerful, attentive and knowledgeable, suggested I mix and match. So I got the scallops to start, ordered the beef filet for the entree and chose the panna cotta for dessert. I had a Grauburgunder from Pfalz with my appetizer and an Australian cabernet-shiraz with my entree.
By the time I’d ordered, a group of eight people, who seemed to be speaking German, English and French, were seated to my left. Shortly afterward, two English-speaking businessmen were seated behind me and several couples were seated a few tables to the front. I wished I had a dining companion. I resorted to playing with my phone.
But then the food and wine began to arrive and I busily began dining and imbibing. It was good — carefully prepared and artfully presented. What with the fantastic bread, the amuse-bouche of tiny tomato and buffalo mozzarella on a toothpick, the scallops, the wonderful wine, I could eat only about half of my filet and none of my panna cotta. My server happily bagged it all up for me to take home.
My favorite thing of the whole meal? The slimmest stalks of asparagus bundled with bacon and sautéed, playfully hidden from initial view beneath green leaves. It tasted like spring.
OSKAR VINOTHEK AND RESTAURANTLocation: Haspelgasse 5 69117 Heidelberg.
Hours: 6-10:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday; closed Sunday.
Prices: Very reasonable wine by the glass. Moderate-to-expensive menu; a variety of three-course menus cost about 40 euros.
English menu: Yes.
Clientele: International.
Dress: Casual or business.
Information: Website: oskar-hd.de; phone: 06221 4319034.
