Löwengrube — Restaurant in Bolzano - Bozen

We do travel and work abroad a lot, making at least 40 trips per year, especially since our kids are grown up and independent.

We do believe that life's too short for low budget hotels and not to eat well.

In case of of Bolzano’s Löwengrube we have a pretty mixed emotions.

Entering Löwengrube we have informed our waiter- Aldo- that we were intermittent fasting practitioners for years, that we avoid carbohydrates, that we do not eat any sweet desserts and that we came for an individualized, personalized food degustation combined with an adequate wine testing.

He understood immediately, perfectly what was our goal and adapted his actions perfectly to our requirements.

The service and the food were great, my wife even got to define the food as ,,orgasmic”.

Big kudos to Aldo, who was the true Master of Ceremony and to the amazing, creative chef.

But….

When we were booking the table (the day before) the manager/ barman asked us:

Where are you from?

We have answered that we were the mixed Polish-Spanish marriage, that we were in Bolzano/ Bozen to celebrate the 30th anniversary of our wedding, that we have come as well to (possibly) investigate Ötzi and that we were staying at the neighboring Castel Hörtenberg hotel.

After we left the restaurant I have said to my wife:

Sweetheart it happens again… What do you mean? Being Polish and Spanish we will be both treated as…Untermensch… Are you crazy?! No, I am not. As you know I am medical doctor and (PhD) doctor in psychology and psychotherapy. You have to understand that when people ask you- Where are you from ?- they never do it only because of the pure curiosity. More or less consciously they want to estimate the level of attention and respect they should give you. That guy was not an exception. I could read his eye expression and his body language like an open book. I know how easy it is to be deceived by appearances and be fulled by prejudices. Please do understand that being Spanish and Polish we do not deserve in his opinion any special attention and respect and you will see it tomorrow. But honey… Love, I know that you are the prominent economist, that you hold an MBA title and PhD in public health. You know that I am a medical doctor and I hold also the PhD in psychology and psychotherapy. I know that we owe the private clinic, the clínical research and medical services company and the international holding combining all above. I know that we are both scientists and candidates for Noble Prize in Medicine and Physiology but that guy does not know about it. For him we are simply Polish and Spanish and we will be treated according to that.

And that is exactly how we were treated when it came to pay the bill.

We know that it was a busy Saturday night but the point is that he had the real problems to control his emotions, was impatient, unkind and…disrespectful towards us…while keeping smiling to and brown-nosing the frequent customers.

Obviously I know that we did not leave the fortune at Löwengrube, that we did not get stuffed like a turkey and did not get drunk like a fish ( alike many local customers… ) but that was not our goal.

We live consciously and care about our health.

What is more, some questions have come up:

1/ How it is possible that you can not get an invoice?

2/ How it is possible that you can not give the tips paying with credit card? (Cash only).

Hello, with all due respect, is it a kind of a local folklor?

Finally we would like to remind Mr. Manager/ Barman who seems to be the frontman of Löwengrube that the Article 19 TFEU provides the EU with the legal basis for action to combat discrimination on the basis of racial or ethnic origin.

The good news are that xenophobia as a sort of mental disorder...

Löwengrube is our go to place when we are in town. Again and again the kitchen surprises us with an our standing quality. Our favourite dish is the tortellini al ragu.

Wine In terms of wine there is a whole univser to be discovered. Already for the aperitif you can enjoy light bubbles. Also for non-alcoholic aperitif the menu has more than the regular one to two drinks to offer.

Pricing Yes it is more pricey than - let’s say - a regular restaurant across the street. However, it is very much worth the money. We have been to pricier place yet to us Löwengrube is the best value for money taking into account the quality of food and the overall architectural and interior design.

Atmosphere The staff is very accommodating and knowledgeable about there dishes as well as their wine. The music is atmospheric and just about the right beats per minute and style for such as setting.

Interior design This is just sublime. The chosen materials and textures create a comforting feeling. I particularly like the way how the entrance area is dominated by a lounge like setting while the back room is a more traditionally Alto Adige type of wooden room.

I’d describe the interior design as a blend of modern lines with the cosy intimacy of alpine character of Alto Adige.

If you wish to spend a lovely evening with a glass of wine or a whole 3 dish menu Löwengrube...

Within minutes of stepping into one of the oldest restaurants in Bolzano you feel at home. The host/owner Michael Meister is excellent at guest relationship and took the time to explain a bit of history of this old Douane/tax collection house (the origins go back to 1200.

The walls are full of amazing wine bottles, the Löwengrube has a great selection and the owner and staff are keen to help you choose the right one for your meal.

But the highlight is the food. We both took the degustation menu and apart from the Gazpacho (which stems more from my dislike for cold food), every single dish was amazing. The highlight of the evening was the Tartar of Black Angus Beef, closely followed by the Veal fillet Rossini style with Foie-Gras and the scallops.

To our surprise there was pre-desert before the actual desert, we almost left too early. In between the courses the staff is giving you plenty of time to digest and enjoy the fine wine, which is really extraordinary in today’s world where many restaurants try to rush through the meals to turn tables again.

Even at 9 o’clock in the evening there were still guests coming in, with several being regular guests it seemed.

The degustation menu was a steal in terms of price for value and the excellent team at the Löwengrube might it a wonderful evening for...