Karls Cafe & Weine - Hamburg

Karls is a restaurant where I felt welcome before the first visit. After I recently made a table reserved for twelve, the very friendly operator alemayehu karl contacted me several times to discuss a series of meals that would guarantee everyone a relaxed and pleasant evening. the positive first impression continued during the arrival. karls is a small place with the gnade of a large kitchen in which I immediately felt comfortable. she was slightly inflated because it only roasted fragrant coffee on the back. alemayehu had suggested us to start a mini-appetizer mix (for slap 3,50 euro): three discs with delicious dips as well as a kind of spicy lens salad. we continued with typical Ethiopian-eritrean finger food. I have to confess: actually I am not too big a fan of eating with the hands, since this is all too often involved in dressing in this country, which I usually do not even tear with mess and fork. I am thinking, for example, of minced meat pats, which are served between two halves of rolls, so that they can eat them in the go, and/or so the gastronomy does not have to be sweet. the Ethiopian-eritrean variants have delighted me for decades. basic is injera, a softly acidified fladenbrot. a large fladen is on the main plate and is covered with all kinds of vegan sauces on carls. smaller injera rolls are obtained, from which the sauces are torn off. on request are also served hard boiled eggs and chicken prey, which are also eaten with injera. at the end follows the reward: one feeds the main load which has now completely absorbed with all the different sauces. in the vegan variants costs 9,50 euro, with meat 12,50 euro. as dessert, almayehu and his friendly staff served us a dreamlike (sealy rich) homemade chocolate cake (3,50 euro) as followed by the crowning of the Ethiopian coffee ceremony (2,40) with the just living roasted coffee. for the last name part of the karls caffe

The menu is very clear: the Ethiopian menu is with meat, vegetarian (i.e. with cheese and also vegan.) we had with four people the vegan option and it has cost us all very well. Moreover, the drinks (except the excellent coffee are typical for land, but good (aperol, cabernet sauvignon., . very friendly staff. a visit is highly recommended.

Karls is a charming smallish place which brings an autentic ethiopian breeze to Hamburt/Ottensen. The menu is very manageable, but what you're given tastes very nice. Our starter was a well done german/ethiopian fusion. Very yummy lentils. They'll come around with warm water since clean...hands are needed to eat the typical flat cake and all little goodies on top of it. To round things up we had coffee, which was tasty too. Overall we had a very good time at Karls!

Ethiopian/Eritrean cuisine isn't the most common type of food you can get in this part of Hamburg. Luckily there are restaurants like Karls around which make for a very nice change. Granted, it might take some convincing to get your less adventurous friends to join...but they'll hardly be disappointed. The restaurants is quite small with only around four or five tables. This makes for a very intimate setting and the staff (especially the chef) take a lot of time to explain the dishes. The place is decorated with a lot of love and the dishes are prepared the same way. Since most people are likely not very familiar with the dishes, the menu makes choosing easy with basically just a vegetarian and non-vegetarian option. Including starters, drinks and dessert, we paid around per person and had a great evening! Highly recommended.

I visited Karl's Cafe Weine during a recent Hamburg stay and I must say that seldom have I been so impressed with exceptional service, even kindness, from the host Karl. The cafe is well located, a short and interesting walk from Bahnhof Altona through...the quirky suburb of Ottensen. Tt offers fine cakes and great healthy breads. Also, I love my coffee extra hot and Karl was happy to oblige. I understand the cafe has expanded into ethiopean food and I can't wait for my next stay in Hamburg soon to sample the dishes.