La Difference - Menú

"General The first gourmet dinner for our small gourmet club (only two members in 2020) was held. We usually meet in Cologne. There are a lot of places that still want to be discovered. However, a lunch date is often a hurdle because there is often only a limited card or a small simple day menu. But the “La Difference” was warmly recommended to us by an acquaintance in exchange for good Cologne restaurants. A cooking style is promised on the homepage “French-Mediterranean cuisine with magical accents”. That was quite interesting. Almost ten years ago, the Cologne city scorer published a very positive review. But that's been a long time. The assessment portals mainly show good and some negative reports. So a table was reserved. Ambiente The corner house is so simply decorated from the outside that we have been passing by for years without recognizing it as a restaurant. However, the interior is also simple and objective. Blank small tables with ordinary chairs or Benches are relatively narrowly distributed in space: Eben ein Bistro. Paper napkin and simple cutlery – but equipped with different knife types depending on the gear. On the walls are some pictures or Art works as exhibition and also to purchase them commercially. Cleanliness Everything seemed tidy. The toilets can be reached in a flat way. However, when the tables are full, you have to “throw” past other guests. The rooms are small and economical and relatively cold. Service The young man convinced us with kindness. He was happy to provide information. But didn't know the ingredients of the food very well. But he liked to ask in the kitchen and then gave precise answers. The map(s) There is a wine and a menu. Simple din-A-4 sheets are each attached to clamping boards. There is a lunch table of soup and main course changing daily, which has also been ordered by almost all guests and can already be seen at the counter on a note. But – Gottseidank – there were other dishes listed on two leaves – and in the end a surprise menu was also offered. It serves about six courses and can determine the main course itself. Incompatibility or wishes are taken into consideration. The surprise menu (45,00 €) we chose twice and searched for different main courses. My buddy put on safety and chose the beef fillet. I wanted fish and took the daily offer: a tuna steak. On the way, I have to say that you really have to be tired after these courses. Bread is also on the table. The dishes were also all clearly and clearly arranged and looked visually good. The ingredients were also fresh. Unfortunately, however, we did not like all components equally well at each gear. This may be high-level stools, but I will not mention the strengths. Especially if the relatively favourable prices are related to this. It can also be in the understanding of the cook and owner (Baber Eltahan comes from Egypt: after all, the food should have North African elements – in any case it seems to be cooked longer there. At first there was a soup cream soup. It contained sour wort, potatoes, pumpkin seed oil, parsley and chives (the waiter said on demand. I mainly tasted the pumpkin seed oil and the chives. She was fine. Then gratinated goat cheese followed on figs. The cheese was baked, well warm and had strong aromas of goat. The figs were cooked or cooked, but cold. They show the typical taste. The syrupy sauce was relatively spicy and spicy. Some pomegranate seeds complete the image and taste. In almost all corridors the cores also appeared. The gang was also tasty. A lobster sauce formed the basis on the plate. She had been transformed into a golden yellow paste with some saffron or with turmeric. There was a piece of the terrine of fish and vegetables. Light lobster tones and even more powerful fish notes could be seen. There was another dough cover. A small shrimp was formed at the top. She was soft because the lobster sauce was additionally poured over the whole dish. It was too pale in my mouth. But the taste itself was not bad. As the next gear, duck came on fruit salad The cut breast pieces were certainly well cooked, because they had still light pink tones to the middle. But the skin was rather stubborn. Overall, the meat was more tough than soft. Some juicy pieces were still. The salad consisted of fine pieces of pineapple, melon and herbs. As decoration were again pomegranate cores in the game. In dressing there was no sweetness, but it was rather sweet and sour. A very aromatic dark sauce had been partly applied to the duck and also formed a small lake on the plate before it. She told me very much. Now the main courses came. The ordinary large piece of beef was also fried as desired: inside still slightly pink to medium. It was juicy and tender. The sauce was again very well advised and delicious in aroma. This time the vegetables were very good at bite and not too soft. Möhre, Broccoli, Kohlrabi and Rosenkohl were still quite natural. So by then everything is very good. But the potato gratin was then dismissed in my eyes. The potato slices were soaked and the crust was also not cherry, but stubborn. The pomegranate cores could no longer save anything. The tuna had been cooked for a longer time on small heat; for the outer surface was not cherry and the interior was rather gray than pink (the waiter had responded to my question, how the fish prepared, that the boss likes to burn through – but he wants to forward my wish for a short cooking time. I like tuna and therefore I felt the taste and gentle seasoning as neat. The bright sauce was good for steak. But the sugar-chods were once again cooked to me. And I also found the sweet potato strudel too soft in the filling and dough for too thick and rubbery. Pomegranate cores were also applied. The beef fillet was therefore successful, the sauces were tasty and the vegetables were properly cooked except for the sugar chops. As a supplement, I'd rather want to have salt potatoes, pommes or also a puree than the grape or the strudel. The best thing comes to the end today. Three bowls were served to us: mint pudding, crème brûlée and chocolate mousse. The mint speise was creamy and loose. The cream was strong in the pudding part and had a crusty caramel layer. The best thing for me was the mousse: she was fluffy and had herb cocoa notes. In addition to the Brûlée, fresh fruits and a kind of grütze were also present in the pots. I would have left the two mint leaves. In the end, a grappa was placed on the house. Beverages We have asked the waiter to select matching wines in 0.1 l (on the map stood 0.2 l . Since he filled the glasses at the counter and we had not studied the wine map, I only noticed the grape varieties or the area. In any case, we were calculated for the six glasses together only €16.20. At first there was a Grauburgunder, which had round and harmonious notes. The red Bordeaux was relatively young likely because he showed a lot of tannin and seemed somewhat unharmonic. The Merlot, on the other hand, was very pleasing. The second white wine for Thun was strong and suitable; but the Grauburgunder told me more. For the bottle of Apollinaris there were probably €5.30 (the expression on the invoice was not good to read everywhere as there were “print strips” on the note. The Grappa was clear and had strong good aromas. Price/quality ratio We found the complete invoice quite cheap. Conclusion We were all very tired at the end of the menu. Many elements have promised us. Others were not entirely our taste. 3 – if it results – I would then simply choose three courses from the overall map. (1 – certainly not again, 2 – hardly again, 3 – if it arises again, 4 – happy again, 5 – absolutely again – after “Kuechenreise” Date of the visit: 15.01.2020 – midday – two people My pleasure experiences are also at [here link]"