Kanzlei Restaurant in Dresden

This year, on Valentines, Tim and I found ourselves in Dresden, the capital of Saxony. We stayed at the self-proclaimed highlight of baroque architecture, otherwise known as the fancy-schmancy Taschenbergpalais Hotel. And while the husband took care of the accommodations, I was in charge of finding a place to eat. I initially wanted to go to a place called Bean and Beluga, whose website made it look five kinds of awesome, but they were closed due to a creative winter pause (which, come to think about it, also sounds five kinds of awesome). My choice number two was the Kanzlei Restaurant on Pohlandstrasse 18. Located in a somewhat residential area, about ten minutes from the city center, the restaurant seems like a hidden gem. As soon as we walked in, the service was very nice, although a bit slow and overwhelmed by the wild hordes of diners, which descended on it, on that particular, most romantic Sunday of the year. The food was excellent, as evidenced by the above mentioned hordes and the décor was cozy although unspectacular (which doesn’t really matter when it’s Valentines and you’re gazing lovingly into somebody’s eyes). My starter was a buckwheat crêpe filled with warm goat cheese and spicy ratatouille and Tim had a bruschetta with bacon-wrapped goat cheese and homemade plum mousse. Both dishes were well balanced and so delicious that I will definitely attempt to recreate them at home. My entrée was a honey-mustard crusted leg of lamb with caramelized pearl onions and garlic-rosemary rösti (which is German for potato pancake) and Tim had the entrecôte of young bull with Venus clam sauce and potato risotto. Our entrées were very tasty, although a tiny bit disappointing after the spectacular appetizers. It seemed as if the restaurant was struggling with the continuity of its concept. The appetizers were on the fine dining side regarding their presentation, with a rustic edge coming from the flavor combinations. The entrées, on the other hand, were all rustic and did not have the pretty presentation or finesse of the appetizers. Which is okay, since we ate them pretty quickly anyway, and not everybody is a presentation freak like me. To end the meal, we had the grandmamma of desserts – crème brulée and a delicious homemade mojito-cassis sorbet (served in cute tiny pickling jars, an idea I will be stealing to serve my homemade sorbets in the future… once I acquire an ice cream maker and actually learn how to make them). Overall, this was a great little semi fine-dining restaurant and we were very happy with our meals, so if you ever find yourself in Dresden you should definitely check this place out.