L'Apero - Köln

It#s too expensive for my taste and the food I had really was nothing to write home about. Service was ok and the place itself is nice enough, I'd say, but that can be said about many places.

The venue is located in Lindenthal on the Duerener Strasse, a main road in Cologne. Parking is possible on the road but sparse though. The restaurant is decorated with a lot of pictures, cool. The menu is in French and German. We had starters only....We had beef Carpaccio, Tunna Carpaccio and Merguez with lentil. All were delicious. On the side we had Cabernet Sauvignon which was good. The service was nice and kind.

I've come here at leat times in the past. The quality seems to be going down each time. Have they changed ownership? Today was definitely the last time they have me as a customer. The tagliolini were sad, the slices of black truffel looked...ok, but had NO TASTE AT ALL. I give it stars because my wife was happy with her Rumpsteak. (not to mention we had to change our order times because the waitress came back each times telling us that this was finished, that was finished, etc. When my wife ordered Pilz-risotto, she was told it's going to come with vegetables, alright what do you mean? it has mushrooms, right no, we are out, we're putting vegetables or penne Lachs and Spargel? we have no salmon. Is it ok if we use another fish I gave them the benefit of the doubt, thinking that everyone can have a bad day. But the useless truffles completed the picture.

My wife and I stayed near the Stadtwald for several days and spent time exploring the dining options along Dürener Straße on foot. L'Apero seemed a nice diversion from the traditionally German fare that we had been sampling throughout our vacation, and the restaurant layout...and decor were attractive. The waiter was polite and happy to speak English and German with us, and the food quality proved exceptional. I enjoyed a generous portion of salmon filet over vegetables, while my wife chose a dark, stuffed pasta with greens. We sat inside and ate just after the typical lunch crowd might have packed the relatively small restaurant, but the open shopfront (directly onto the sidewalk) and laid-back experience were just what we wanted. Highly recommended.

The decor of the restaurant seems to aim for eclectic' but ends up looking more than a little confused. The menu was sparse, with only four options for a main meal. The food was tasty (I had the chicken schnitzel with salad), but the enjoyment...thereof was tempered by the overabundance of flies buzzing around the table throughout the meal. Overall, not great. There are many better restaurants in the area and I doubt I'll be back soon, if at all.