Die Gute Botschaft. Translated to English, the name of the restaurant is “The Good News”. Real Japanese fusion in Hamburg. We were there to experience a unique dinner. Sure it was unique – in fact, this was a different experience for us, literary in several different ways.
Table of Contents
Die Gute Botschaft – The Good News
Owned by the famous German tv-chef, Tim Mälzer, this is his second restaurant in Hamburg – the first one being “Bullerei”. Now, let’s be clear that Mr. Mälzer was not in the restaurant during our visit but we got to meet his friendly staff and were well taken care of. And this was one of our first times visiting a modern restaurant with a Japanese fusion.
This place is high-end and you can feel it at its core. Yet, it’s a welcoming place and the door is opened for everyone that want’s a great meal. Sure, it’s on the pricy side but visiting this place is more than a place to get your stomach full. No, this place is a place where you build memories and have a nice evening!
Warming details inside the restaurant
Some people find high-end restaurants intimidating and avoid them. But, inside this place, there’s no way you will feel uncomfortable. We get a smile on our faces as soon as we enter. Above the open kitchen (another thing we love) are five tv-monitors. Four of them are showing pictures of food = no biggie. But the one in the middle makes us laugh.
On the monitor in the middle, there’s a GIF showing a cat filing his claws. It’s the same thing that’s played over and over again but it’s awesome! And the desk where you’re greeted is also a part of the bar – how awesome is that?! So for being on such a high scale, this place still feels welcoming and warm.
Choosing the table wisely
Now, this might sound like we are deciding where we will sit down during our dinner at the restaurant. That’s not the case. However, since it’s only the two of us, we get to sit by a copper table with a view straight into the kitchen. And pretty quick, we are sure that this is the place to be seated. Don’t get me wrong – the whole restaurant is awesome and you will enjoy the food wherever you might be seated.
But, if you want the full experience, ask for the table closest to the kitchen to get the most out of your visit. We are 100 percent sure that getting this table during a first date will make the date a success. If you don’t have anything to talk about, you can always discuss what the chefs are doing and watch as your food is getting prepared!
Tip: When making reservation to The Gute Butschaft – ask for the table closest to the kitchen. This will give you an even better experience and more value for your money.
Knowing what to order
It’s up to you how much money you will spend at this restaurant. There is a wide price range for different dishes and appetizers. At first glance, this place doesn’t seem expensive at all (and it can stay that way). However, we recommend you trust the chefs and order the 5-course menu for 63 euros. See this as an experience and make sure to take it all in by letting the chefs decide what you should eat.
We go for that option but since we are here to check the restaurant out, we decide to share. So keep in mind that what we are getting might not be the same. And the fact is that we also get a lot more than the “five dishes”. We get to sample the best from the kitchen and it is an amazing experience! I’m not sure how the policy is for the restaurant about sharing a meal but we recommend you to ask (unless you are really hungry).
Tip: We recommend you to order the 5-coarse meal and just trust the chefs! We can promise you that this will not “just” be a meal – it will be an adventure!
Getting our Japanese drinks
Ok, so we are seated at the copper table. We are looking straight into the kitchen and we are super excited about trying their food. But first, we are served drinks. Mini gets a drink made out of Roku Gin and cherry blossom and Yuzu. He is very happy with that – he likes it a lot.
My drink is something that I have never had before. Actually, I didn’t even know that it was something you can make a drink out of. My drink is made out of birch sap. It’s birch sap with dry cherry and lemonade, served in a wineglass. It’s super good and super fresh!
The food at Die Gute Botschaft
Like I mentioned before, we get to try a lot of different dishes and meals. All the time we are here, we are watching the chefs prepare the meals and just admiring how seriously they take their work. They have heat lamps to warm the fish to the perfect temperature. You can see that each and everyone working here is taking their job seriously and giving it all their best.
It’s fun to see how they use tweezers for placing food and how well they all work together. Sometimes it feels like we are in the middle of a tv-show about a kitchen. And another detail that we really like is, that each time a dish is ready, they hit a gong!
Our food at Die Gute Botschaft part 1
- Tsukemono – Tsukemono means “fermented things” and we got fermented radish with carrots.
- Radish Gari – Radishes, sushi ginger, elderberry syrup, and sesame seeds. We both loved the kick that was in this dish!
- Fennel Yuzu – Fermented fennel root. We both could feel a hint of licorice. But this must be the taste of the fennel we believe.
- Smoked eel and Oyster with Frankfurter grune sauce – This dish is served with fresh edible flowers. The oyster tasted like an oyster (and unfortunately, we don’t like oysters). The smoked eel was to perfection! We could have continued eating that for days. The sauce tasted almost like freshly cut grass and it went perfectly with the eel.
- “German Classic” – Prawn pumpernickel with egg yolk cream, miso butter, imperial caviar and, cured egg yolk. This was a huge favorite of mine. The meal looked like a piece of art and it tasted just as great as it looked. The pumpernickel is crumbled and this dish was just perfect.
Our food at Die Gute Botschaft part 2
- Black cod with lardo – This dish completely melted in our mouths and what’s so impressive is that the sauce that the fish was served in was made out of the fat from the bacon. And the plates are just superb. I would love to get plates like this to our home. The sauce (broth) has a nice kick to it.
- Duck in salad leaf – This is a dish that you eat like a taco. Oh, how great this meal is. And it feels really healthy to eat this.
- Duck with cardamom sauce – A surprise when head chef Alex Högner comes out to the table to prepare the duck. The duck has been in salt water and herbs for an hour. This is by far the best duck we ever had.
- Fermented apricot – The dessert is served with edible flowers, rice pudding with coconut ice cream and crumbled cake. The perfect ending to the perfect meal!
Invited and stuck with the bill
Ok, so we had a great time at the restaurant and then it was time to leave. Kind of a blooper that we want to share with you. We got stuck with the bill! Yes, first they invited us to the restaurant and then when it was time to leave, we got a bill of 90 euros. Kjell told us that it was for the ingredients and we didn’t feel like arguing so we paid the bill. Sure, it was way lower than it would have been if we had to pay for it all. But at the same time – if you invite someone to a restaurant, should they pay for their meal?!
This is the first time it’s ever happened but now we just laugh about it. The point of us trying out restaurants is so that we can review them and recommend them to our readers. We always say at the restaurants that we will share a meal. The point is not for us to get a free meal out of our visit, it’s for us to try out something from the menu and then spread the word! But at Die Gute Botschaft they had other plans. Oh well, we still recommend that restaurant while you are visiting Hamburg.
Information about Die Gute Botschaft
Address: Alsterufer 3, Hamburg.
Opening hours: Lunch Monday to Friday: 11:30 – 15:00. Dinner Wednesday to Saturday: 18:00 – 23:00.
Die Gute Botschaft Website.
Activities in Hamburg
- Maritime Museum Hamburg – Ships and a rich history
- Cirque Du Soleil Paramour – The one and only Musical
- Dialoghaus Hamburg – Everyone needs to experience this
- Elbphilharmonie – the worlds most special building?
- Miniatur Wunderland – Where you can see the world in XXS
- Hop on hop off in Hamburg – Stadrundfahrt
- Boat ride on the Elbe river with Barkassen – Meyer
Where to stay with a motorhome in Hamburg
0 Comments