Cutest spot in all of Germany (that I've seen)
On the last day of my 10 day trip to Germany, I found my favourite food spot. My dad always says, "Whatever it is you're looking for, it will always be in the last place you look". It's one of his favourite jokes... but it's true!
The group had been struggling the whole trip to find places that made everyone happy that weren't run of the mill chain fast food, because after all we're in Germany not the US! Mcdonald's just don't cut it! And finally on the last day we found this little place nestled in Mainz, Germany that was just perfect.
As it turns out, vegan / vegetarian options are RIDICULOUSLY hard to find in Germany... I mean literally everything has meat, gravy and or cheese on it, which is amazing! But you miss the fresh stuff after a while and we had a few vegetarians in tow on the trip. SchreberGarten (which means community garden in German) is a vegan and vegetarian place that serves basically exclusively baked potatoes. They also serve non vegan options for you meat and cheese lovers out there! In any other circumstance I would have assumed such a thing to be bland, but the moment I saw the sign and the shoppe's branding I knew it couldn't possibly be!
Just take a look at that sign and those hand drawn cards strung on the wall! Gah!
Until I came to Schrebergarten I wouldn't have imagined that a baked potato would be such a perfect canvas for literally anything. I ordered the "Veganistan" potato, one of the many adventurous potato option on the menu. It came with shredded carrots, an amazing sweet and savoury mango curry sauce, walnuts and red cabbage all beautiful plated on a massive baked potato. The potatos are baked to order in what seemed to be a retro wood burning oven right behind the service counter.
The drink was just as beautiful and tasty, a homemade limeade with fresh mint, spices and lime slices in an adorable glass bottle.
The system they use to keep their business more sustainable & fashionable (at least in the drink department) is to charge two extra euros when you buy your delicious homemade beverage and give you a little wood-burned token as a deposit to get the glass bottle back for reuse. I really appreciate little details like this. It's those little things that make me remember stores and cafe's and tell other people like you about them!
The overall vibe in Schrebergarten was bright and happy. The staff, although they only spoke German, were welcoming and made an effort to understand our mixture of broken German and English and service was fast and the food was fresh. Also! there's a beautiful wooden patio out front backing onto one of Mainz's many beautiful little parks.
So you can see why this place would make my heart happy, with the flowers, sunlight, small town atmosphere, fresh veggies and home-made sauces and drinks.. I could go on! If you find yourself in Germany and are looking for a little town to visit, Mainz should be on your list and hit up Shrebergarten for lunch.
xo,
Merike