BACKGROUND: 5 days have passed since my last restaurant review. So what happened, have I not been to any restaurants since then? Well, I must admit I have been to a couple of places, but haven't bothered to write a review. So my new year's resolution is already starting to fall apart. But if I tell you that the places I've been to lately have been McDonalds and Starbucks then perhaps you agree that it would be a waste of time writing a review? Anyway, today I decided to go to a place I've been wanting to go to for a while, namely "Old Commercial House". First time I found out about the place was in September 2008 when I did a "Stadtrundfart", which is a guided bus tour around Hamburg. When the tour bus drove past the St. Michael's church I saw a sign across the street from the church saying something like "the best labskaus in Hamburg" or something. Ever since then I've been wanting to try out this lapskaus. Today I finally got the chance to do so!
FIRST IMPRESSIONS: One of the first things to struck me upon entering the restaurant was the social atmosphere. Customers were talking loudly with each other around the tables and laughter was hanging in the air. The waiters and waitresses were also spending time chatting and joking with the customers. One of the waitresses noted the new arrival and guided me to a nice table by the wall, close to a window with a view to the famous Michael's church. The walls were decorated with old black-and-white photos from Hamburg, many of them taken near the restaurant. Several photos were from the early 1900s. Some were photos of guests that had visited the restaurant before. The majority of the photos and interiour had a maritime theme. I liked the atmosphere of the place right away! 9/10 points for first impression.
WAITING TIME: I didn't have to wait long for anything. I was guided to a table just a few seconds after entering the restaurant. I spent a couple of minutes going through the menu, although I already knew what I wanted (labskaus). When the waitress came by I ordered the labskaus, and something to drink. Just a few minutes later everything was served and I was happily eating. Later, the dessert and coffee was also served promtly. 10/10 points, no issues with waiting time.
STAFF: The staff was very friendly. The waitress and waiters were taking time to talk to the customers, and repeatedly walked by to check if everything
was ok. The waitress who served me appologized for not speaking very good English, but this didn't cause any problems or misunderstandings with the orders. The first waiter who guided me to a table said "I have a beautiful table and a beautiful waitress for a handsome gentleman like yourself". I think the waitress was a bit embarassed by that. And I didn't quite know what to say. In my first restaurant review from Block House I mentioned that the staff there didn't really make me feel special, but here in Old Commercial Room I felt the waitress did a better job at it, and I did feel like I was being treated a bit special! I give 9/10 points to the staff here!
MAIN COURSE: The labskaus was served with two eggs, pickels and some red beets. The labskaus had a pinkish colour, and was very smooth. When I think of labskaus I usually think of my dad's labskaus, and that labskaus is usually quite rough, with whole pieces of meet and potatoes and other stuff in it. The labskaus at the Old Commercial Room was not like that, it was completely smooth, almost like mashed potatoes. But I actually think I would've prefered to have some bigger pieces of meat and stuff in it. The taste was good though! It tasted pretty much like I expect a labskaus to taste. But some spices or something would have been good I think. I had to put some salt and pepper on it simply to give it a bit more taste. All in all I was quite happy with it though. I mean, a labskaus is a labskaus, so it would take something really spectacular to blow me away, but I wasn't disappointed either. It was pretty much like I expected. I have to say, though, that just the fact that they are serving labskaus is great! You can't get that in many other restaurants these days! 8/10
Total verdict: Old Commercial Room was a very intimate and friendly restaurant in a great location, just next to St. Michael's church. I thoroughly enjoyed my stay this evening, and will definitely try to go back again later. Before I had even arrived at the restaurant I already knew that I wanted the labskaus, but when looking at the menu I realized that they also have many other interesting fish and meat dishes, so next time I'll try some other stuff. Old Commercial Room has been visited by several famous guests over the years, some examples are John Denver ("country road", "leaving on a jet plane"), Sean Connery, Jethro Tull, Dennis Hopper, The Beatles, Willy Brand, Jack White (White Stripes), etc. So the restaurant must be doing many things right when they are able to attract these kinds of guests!
9/10 points for a great meal at the restaurant!
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