After a day of hiking in the sea salt air of Ruegen, indulge in the pleasure of tasty northern Germany island delights!
Restaurant Name: Rugana Restaurant
Address: Nonnevitz 25 a-b, 18556 Dranske, Ruegen, Germany
Specialty: Fish and Pasta
Note: This is an independent restaurant review based on my experience.
The island of Ruegen is the perfect place to go when you are looking for quiet, inspirational reflective time for mind and body. Hiking and biking trails offer beautiful vistas and when the day turns to dusk, it is time to relax with good food for the soul!
We tried out the Rugana Restaurant, on the Wittow Peninsula, mostly due to the fact that we stayed in the Feriendorf Rugana resort, the restaurant’s location. Of course, the eatery is dog friendly, so Fritz was able to join us.
The entrance opened into a large, open dining area, with a substantial bar along the back. Candles glowed invitingly on the white table-clothed tables. Instead of the expected cloth napkins, paper napkins accompanied the silverware. Barely audible music hummed in the background. Due to it being off season, customers were sparse; I assume it is packed in high season. In general, a nice atmosphere!
A efficient, but nationality typical reserved server took our order for a northern German beer Lübzer from the Mecklenburg Brewery and a Campari orange.
For the first course, we ordered:
– a bowl of Getrüffelte Sellerieschaumsuppe mit Steckrübergemüse which translates to a Truffle Celeriac (celery root) soup with turnips. The creamy composite was omg delicious. I love truffles – the musky, woodsy flavour makes just about everything taste better! When fused with the vitamin rich celeriac root and turnips, it becomes a rich, dreamy, delicious autumn perfection.
– and a plate of Carpaccio vom Hohenlohe Rind mit Rucola und Parmesan which translates to Carpaccio, raw beef thinly sliced, specifically beef from Hohenlohe in Baden-Württemberg, topped with arugula, parmesan cheese and lemon. Prestigious European chefs seek Hohenlohe Bœuf as it is well known for it’s natural, gmo free prized beef production. The paper thin delicacy with a super meaty flavor, drizzled with a generous squeeze of lemon, literally melted in my mouth.
The second course was:
– Piccata von der Scholle auf getrüffeltem Selleriepüree und Babyspinat > Flounder on top of a truffled puree of celeriac and baby spinach garnished with lemon and a cocoa crisp. The fish, prepared in a delicate, light bread crumb batter topped a bed of a luscious, creamy truffle celery root mash. In theory, a delectable pairing, however, the flavors and consistency were destroyed through sloppy plating. Between the celeriac and flounder was a layer of wet spinach. Where I could fish out (pardon the pun) crispy fish, it was delicious as was the luscious puree. Very unfortunate and hopefully just an error in judgement. It would be recommended to serve the spinach in a side dish to avoid the problem.
– Pizza margarita, does not need translation – to simplify, it is basically a pizza dough topped with a tomato sauce, cheese and a sprig of basil. Now, to be fair, I never recommend ordering pizza in a non-Italian restaurant, however, my husband loves pizza and he had a craving. The resulting outcome was not good. Although they managed to create a good, crispy crust, which is normally the hard part, the cheese was dried out and the basil was missing.
Our total came to €58 for 2 Campari orange, 2 Beer Lübzer, 1 soup, 1 carpaccio, 1 fish dinner, 1 pizza.
Due to the amazing appetizers, ambiance and convenience, we went back a second time.
I could not resist ordering the Getrüffelte Sellerieschaumsuppe once again and it was still the creamy dreamy wonder of the first time!
We also ordered:
– Pizzabrötchen mit Sauerrahm und Knoblauch Mayonnaise which translates to Little Pizza Buns with sour cream and garlic mayonnaise dip. These little bites were incredibly addictive. Super delicious. The dip was a smooth, tangy mouthwatering concoction which accompanied the soft, doughy breads to perfection.
– Bacon BBQ burger mit gebackenen Zwiebelringen barely needs a translation, but those last words, which mean baked onion rings, made all the difference. The burger was huge! It came topped with cheese (I ordered that extra), mayo sauce, lettuce, tomato, and onion rings with sides of bbq sauce, and mayo. A generous portion of hand cut fries completed the over-indulgent meal. I am Canadian, so it is difficult to impress me when it comes to burgers. That being said, the presentation is scrumptiously good and the fries were delicious. The burger was not what I had hoped for, but I am sure for non-americans, probably very satisfactory.
– Original Wiener Schnitzel vom Kalb mit lauwarmem Kartoffel-Gurken Salat and Caesar salat. Traditional cooking is always a good choice! Translated, original veal schnitzel with lukewarm potato cucumber salad and caesar salad. This dish did not disappoint. The classic schnitzel had a crispy outer crust encasing the tender veal. The two pieces of meat were served on top of time-honoured zesty warm potato salad with a generous side of creamy, garlicky Caesar salad.
Our total came to €52 for 1 Campari orange, 2 Beer Lübzer, 1 Red Wine, 1 soup, 1 Pizza bun appetizer, 1 hamburger dinner, and 1 schnitzel dish.
Rugana serves very good, well thought out dishes, beautifully plated and with generously portions. We had great service both nights and I definitely recommend eating here.
Links:
→ Ruegen Island / Rügen
…..⇒ Guide to Kap Arkona – How to Cape Arkona
…..⇒ How to Nationalpark – Jasmund National Park
….⇒ Stay: Feriendorf Rugana
Location: Europe > Western Europe > Germany > Northern Germany > Mecklenburg – Western Pomerania > Baltic Sea > Ruegen > Wittow > Dranske > Feriendorf Rugana
