My wife in the back seat. “Fly around the world with me!” That was nice. A bit Disney. Our destination fits perfectly: The STELLAS. Means translated only STELLAS, but sounds like more. Plates, South, Stars. Martina & Rodschel Rachnaev have made two of them shine as successors to their former cult addresses (St. Ellas & Palate Game). At the Rochusmarkt and here. So in.
Immediately the impression that we had found the cause of the so empty city. Every table occupied. Like the living room of a large circle of friends. which applies. Predominantly regular guests present, also because of the boss Martina. No tribe, no guests. No survival without regular guests. And without wanting to live for this job: Forget it. The room is immediately inviting, cosy, Mediterranean red with an English club atmosphere, dark furniture, subdued lighting. As an eye-catcher, like an altar, the bar. I like that.
Our friends wave to us. The newly assigned table right next to the open kitchen is a little improvised, because we are wonderfully more than we thought. Likewise the crispy oyster mushrooms. The dough is not a sloppy idea at all, but rather rich in content. Then baked artichokes, Pimientos de Padron, the plentiful tapas offered here alone make you happy.
Fortunately, the STELLAS logo is only a sketch and not a dish: a rabbit with a hat. Our Thuna Sashimi Pizza with avocado, tomato and wasabi, which we ordered skeptically, is convincing, and when such a perfectly prepared, buttery steak is served to me with a well-founded, crunchy portion of sweet potato fries, I am blissful. Haute cuisine as narcissistic fooling around: no thanks.
At STELLAS, the guest is the star and not an extra. Our proximity to the kitchen makes the evening, despite the all-round experience, as quick as the arrival. Quiet. In front of us a soothing flow. Head chef Matthias Eichblatt with cook Soja Hoyos Gomar. Their work like a dance, a wordless interplay. Careful, aesthetic movements, no rush, not a single act of lovelessness. That calms you down immensely, lets you arrive. And then to the bar. STELLAS. “Fly around the world with me!” That was nice.