Coburg Restaurants

Being a small city, Coburg hasn't got a great deal of great restaurants, and of that few, four are Italian. New to the fold, or at least new to me, is Dal Passatore. The food is great, both pasta and pizza, and the service is friendly and genuinely Italian, like the other three greats in the city. It's a little more expensive than average, and attracts a well dressed crowd, although you won't need a shirt and tie. It can get a little busy on weekends, so you might want to reserve a seat ahead of time.

I don't rate this Italian restaurant as highly as Macaronis, but it is good, and what is best about it is that it usually has free tables on a Friday and Saturday night. Pretty much every other decent restaurant in town is fully booked by 7pm on these days, so it makes a welcome refuge. The food is pretty good, the service is friendly and some English is spoken. The owners are genuine Italians, and so is the food.

Update: this place has improved dramatically since they stole the pizza chef from Macaronis.

Tucked in a back street near the market place is a small little bistro/cafe with good value food and many daily specials. The food ranges from French, to German to Italian, depending on the mood of the owners, but is generally pretty good. As with the food the popularity changes from week to week, sometimes packed and sometimes empty.

The more I visit this place, the more I like it. It's now one of my favourites for lunch.

Open from 10am until 1am every day.

I thought that Maccaroni was the undisputed best Italian food in town, but there is a rival down Callenberger Straße. It is of a very high quality, but it comes with a price. It's about 50% more expensive than the Maccaroni, and the portions tend to be a lot smaller. That said the pizza is good value, and a good size portions. The service is also extremely good, and all the staff seem to speak English. The seating and environment was very plush, and I felt a little out of place in my casual clothes. They also have a pizza delivery and take away service next door.

Opening times: 11.30-14.00 and 17.00-23.30. Closed Tuesdays.

This is a far more professional and stylish Indian restaurant than the one on Judengasse, but it is one of the strangest Indian restaurants I have ever been too. The food is all authentic sounding, but the spices have almost been completely removed, to cater for the more sensitive German palate. The Sag Aloo I had tasted like potatoes and spinach in a savoury cream sauce, without a hint a pepper, coriander or any spice of any kind. It still tastes good, but be aware that it might not be exactly what you are expecting. The service is also good, and they speak some English.

Open 11.00-14.00, 17.30-0.00 all days except Monday.

The Indian curry house is exactly that: a curry house run by Indians. The food is pretty good for an Indian restauant, and tastes authentic, although the spiciness of the food has been toned down for the German palette. The decor, the music, the food and the service is traditionally Indian, and you can even buy bottles of Indian Cobra beer (brewed in Poland). There was a good selection of dishes on the menu, and as is typical of real Indian restaurants, the vegetarian options were good and plentiful.

In a pretty old building near the Schlossplatz is one of the more unique restaurants in Coburg, offering up traditional Croatian food. In actuality Croatian food (German style) turns out to be very much like Greek food, with lots of grilled meat on skewers and feta cheese. The food is good, though, and the service is friendly; the owner can even speak a little English too. The restaurant is also very cozy and covered from top to toe in wooden panelling.

Open every day except Tuesday: 11.30-14.30, 17.00-24.00.

This is an ok Chinese restaurant in the town, with a wide range of fairly samey dishes. The lunch time buffet and menu is a very good deal, and the service is friendly and quick, but it is very easy to get bored with the food and sometimes they seem to just serve you the warmed-over buffet food when you pay the extra for the menu dishes. The staff speak some English, and there a few vegetarian dishes. Be careful of certain areas to the back of the restaurant, near to the kitchen, as you can come away stinking of fried food.

Open every day: 11.30-15.00 and 17.30-23.30.