Ristorante Davide - Köln — Restaurant in Cologne

Yesterday my wife and I went to celebrate our anniversary at DAVIDE as our friends recommended the place. As per the occasion we were in the mood to treat ourselves to a special night out which includes a bottle of wine and for both a starter plus main course. The waitress that received us initially was polite and took us to our table. As the place is quite small and was already very crowded when we got there, she even offered to change our table to one next to the window as we came with our dog which was very much appreciated! Up to this point we felt very comfortable. A waiter presented the menu shortly after and started with a joke “I’m sure you just listened, so I don’t have to repeat everything, right?” because he had just explained it to the table aside. We are sure it wasn’t meant in a bad way and didn’t take it like that, but it’s a piece to the whole experience we’ve had. In retrospective it gave the impression, that we were less important than the rest of the guests right from the beginning. As starters we ordered two oysters, sea food salad over laminated octopus and salmon tartar as well as a bottle of water and a bottle of wine. (I guess that even though we are a young couple, you could have assumed that we had the intention to consume a bit more) The oysters were served first. The rest of the starters were forgotten and therefore took a while longer. Our waiter fortunately noticed early, so we didn’t have to wait long. Unfortunately though he then forgot to take our order for the main courses, so we asked another waiter. As the menu is only presented on a chalk board right at the beginning we couldn’t remember the right dish. When asking a couple of questions about the dishes he seemed stressed and impatient to explain it to us. Anyway we continued the evening, most of the food was good and well balanced, the decoration was elegant and the portions were appropriate for the price. After finishing the main course the dishes stayed for quite some time in which we also finished the wine and water. The restaurant was very hot (heaters were boiling!), so we were very thirsty. For the rest of the evening we didn’t get any more attention, no waiter offered dessert or maybe another glass of wine or espresso. After more than 30 min we then asked to pay. Even when we got the check the attention was unfriendly. I had to pass the card twice, because I accidentally put the wrong pin to which the waiters reaction was “Puff now I have to cancel the bill and do it again” … We leave a review this long explaining the situation in detail, because it is a place with a lot of potencial, with great food and a generous wine selection. We would absolutely recommend it, if it hadn’t been for the lack of good service which is to be expected in a restaurant with 3 persons in service and a room with less than 30 people. It left us feeling less important than other guests - a guess may be because we look younger than their average guests. I hope this review helps them to develop further and get better.

Food 4/5 Service 2/5 Atmosphere 3/5 Dinner price: 150€ for 2 persons

Hint: You should reserve beforehand - it’s unlikely to get a table as a walk-in. The restaurant is small and cozy, the aisles between the tables are just enough...

War hier an einem Abend kurz vor Karneval mit meinen 3 erwachsenen Kindern zum Essen. Der Besuch hat einen zwiespältigen Eindruck hinterlassen, da es sowohl positive, aber leider auch negative Erfahrungen gab. Positiv: Das Lokal hat von innen wie bereits von außen eine schöne, einladende und lebendige Atmosphäre. Der Service war freundlich und das Speisenangebot (Tageskarte) interessant und originell, etwa die frischen und ungewöhnlichen Teigwaren bzw. Zubereitungen. Wir hatten einen Vorspeisenteller (2 Personen), eine Minestrone (als einziges Gericht für eine leicht magenkranke Begleiterin) und 3 Pastagerichte. Bis auf ein Gericht, das mir etwas zu öl-lastig war, schmeckte auch alles (sehr) gut. Die Portionen sind allerdings nicht besonders üppig.... Damit zum Negativen: Preisgestaltung und undurchsichtige Rechnung! Die Nudelgerichte erscheinen mir mit in etwa 18 - 20 € doch etwas forsch kalkuliert. Okay, das wußten wir ja im Prinzip, das stand ja auf der Tafel. Allerdings tauchten dann auf der Rechnung mehrere Positionen als sog. "Küchen-Spezialität" oder "Getränke-Spezialität" mit m. E. happiger Berechnung auf. Die "Getränke-Spetialität" war vermutlich ein Grappa, der mit 12€ zu Buche schlug! Bei den Speisen handelte es sich dann um den Vorspeisenteller (2 x 22€ =44€!!) und um die Minestrone, die in der (erst auf Nachfrage ausgehändgten) allgemeinen Karte eigentlich mit 9,50 € ausgepreist war, jetzt aber plötzlich mit 13,50 € auf der Rechnung stand. Erklärung auf Nachfrage: Man habe halt (ungefragt) eine größere Portion serviert ( - dann hätte die normale Portion wohl vermutlich die Dimension eines Capuccinos gehabt?). Und übrigens habe man "zum Ausgleich" vergessen, ein kleines Wasser zu berechnen..... Man könnte das alles vielleicht als italienische Wurschtigkeit und Kreativität positiv konotieren und darüber schmunzeln. Es handelt sich aber eben leider nicht um südländische Großzügigkeit zum Wohle des Gastes, sondern wohl mehr zum Wohl des finanziellen Kalküls des Wirtes, was dann erst beim Blick auf die Rechnung klar...

The food here is fabulous. The attention to detail and the quality of each dish is outstanding. Davide is clearly very passionate about the food and his enthusiasm is infectious. All of the staff are very attentive and helpful and the whole evening is an experience rather than just a meal. They want you to enjoy every single moment and mouthful. This isn’t a quick meal, allow about 2 hours as they explain all of the dishes and then prepare to perfection. We have eaten all over the world and this was the best steak we have ever tasted and the pasta was fantastic too. If we’d stayed in Cologne longer we would’ve gone back for another meal....