Am Kraeltgen

To be quite frank, Luxembourgian cuisine is not the most refined nor the most delicate cuisine in the world, but people here hold it dear to their hearts. However, there are not many places where you can actually get good Luxembourgian food. But, there is hope for those who would like to give it a try and venture into dishes such as "Ierbsebulli" or "Feiersténgszalot", which roughly translate into "pea-mud" and "fire stone salad".

"Am Kraeltgen" is located in Aspelt, in the south-east of Luxembourg. The restaurant is housed in an old farm building and has lots of charm, due to the exposed brick walls and ceiling beams. The restaurant also very conveniently has a large parking lot in the back of the building.

Their service is friendly and quick on their feet. You can call them up to book a table or use their online-booking tool, you usually get a reply within a day. This restaurant is great for an evening out with your friends or Sunday Lunch with your family. Reservations are recommended, especially on weekends. When the restaurant is full, it can be a bit noisy, but you can't actually hold that against anybody.

They have a large menu with many Luxembourgian specialties, some vegetarian dishes and even a vegan option. The whole menu is straightforward, down to earth home cooking and the restaurant has a very cordial atmosphere. We have tried and tasted a selection of menu items and have been quite impressed, especially by the Luxembourgian specialties:

One of their starters is an "ardoise traditionnelle", a small plate of meats and cheeses.

This is very popular in Luxembourg and there are many kinds of delicatessen meats and cheeses to choose from. The cured ham and salami we got were great but the cheese was a bit disappointing. I would have expected one of the popular local cheeses, such as Berdorfer, but we got a more generic Swiss cheese, which did not go very well with the meat. Using a Luxembourgian cheese would fit much better into the concept of the restaurant and furthermore help to highlight and support local products and manufacturers.

Pastéitchen is a sort of poultry fricassee with mushrooms, served over a bowl of puff pastry and a side dish of your choice.

Chris has crowned this Pastéitchen to be the best he has ever had in a restaurant; only his grandma makes a better one, so I consider this to be one of the biggest compliments he can make. Sometimes restaurants try to make the dish too fancy, cutting up the chicken into same-sized, small square pieces, instead of just shredding it or let the chicken cook too long, so the fricassee turns into mush. This is not the easiest thing to cook, it takes time and patience and therefore is a "must have" dish at this restaurant!

This is their signature burger, served with a side of fries, mayo and ketchup. The patty is a mix of beef and pork and the toppings include salad, tomato, their house sauce, a bunch of bacon and raclette cheese.

The patty was a bit smaller than the store-bought bun and quite compact and thin. This is also due to the use of a mix of pork and beef meat, though that is the traditional Luxembourgian way. The cheese to meat ratio was off for me, just too much raclette cheese, which made the burger a bit too greasy for my liking. Chris however, enjoyed the burger. I for my part, prefer to stick to 100% beef burgers. Overall, there are places in Luxembourg where you can better and cheaper burgers.

"Kniddelen" are egg-and-flour dumplings and a favorite with many people. This version is served with a creamy sauce and fatty bacon pieces.

Kniddelen were somewhat considered to be a "poor people's food", as they are cheap and very filling. They are also really easy to make when you know the right recipe; so check out our Kniddel recipe! Am Kraeltgen definitely knows how to do them right. It is my favorite "Kraeltgen" dish, simple but hearty, such great comfort food. They have different variations on the menu, but traditionally, Kniddelen are simply served with bacon and a side of apple sauce for dipping.

Spaghetti bolognaise is a good test to see what a cook can really do. If they took the care to make a great bolognaise sauce, then the rest of the menu should be good too. These actually tasted just like I imagined them to. A Luxembourgian-style bolognaise sauce is different from your traditional Italian sauce. The Luxembourgian sauce is more meaty and has less tomato-y. The noodles could have been cooked just a hint less, but overall, those were some good spaghetti. You could really taste that the sauce was home-cooked. Maybe not necessarily your first choice in a Luxembourgian restaurant, but they will not disappoint.

These sausages are infused with wine and served with a grainy mustard sauce, a side of mashed potatoes and some veggies.

The sausages were of great quality and evenly browned in the pan. As they are infused with wine they have a unique taste, and we recommend this dish to any meat lover who would like to try traditional Luxembourgian cuisine. The use of grainy mustard gave the sauce a very rustic feel and the mashed potatoes were the real deal, with lots of butter of course. Only point of criticism, the veggies were under cooked, plain and unseasoned, but they only play a very minor role in this great dish.

An upside-down apple tart, originally from France, which is usually served warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top.

The tarte tatin we were served, was unfortunately cold and besides the scoop of vanilla ice cream also included a custard sauce, which I did not like. So the night ended on a somewhat disappointing note because the pie was impeccable craftsmanship but the dish could have been so much better without the sauce and if it had been warm.

Here you can still get a lot of bang for your buck, there are not many places left in Luxembourg where you can get a great plate of food for under 15 Euros; though I personally found the burger to be overpriced. I did send an e-mail to the restaurant with some feedback (cheese selection and cold tarte tatin) and I received a very professional reply, apologizing for the tarte tatin, as it should have been served warm indeed. I was really happy to get such a kind reply and it proves that the staff really are professionals, who take their job seriously. The owners actually have another restaurant, the Conterstuff in Contern, with a similar concept.

To conclude, great Luxembourgian cuisine, cooked with great care, in a relaxed, down-to-earth atmosphere. Whether you are new to Luxembourgian cuisine and would like to experience new things or a seasoned connoisseur, we can't recommend this restaurant enough!