Koln - Ludwig Museum Restaurant and Cafe - Great lunch deal!

Just around the corner from the central station, this restaurant café of the Ludwig Museum offers a surprising lunch deal. For under 10 euros, we enjoyed roast pork with lashings of sweet savoury sauce served with delicious roast potatoes. The meal even included one non-alcoholic beverage. On a sunny summer day, diners can sit out on the terrace which is tucked away in the back of the museum. Despite the proximity to the station and the heavy traffic, the restaurant provides an oasis of tranquillity. You don’t need to pay museum entrance fees to lunch here.

http://www.ludwig-im-museum.de/

Koln - Brauhaus Fruh - German brewery classics

This is a great place to hunker down for down-to-earth traditional German cooking. My favourite is the formidable eisbein, boiled pork shank served with sauerkraut and mashed potatoes. They also have specialities such as herring (seasonal dish) or raw tartar steak served with fried onions, cream cheese and herbs, And of course they have a number of dishes featuring sausages. A good warm meal costs between 10 to 15 euros. Since I’m not a beer drinker, I can’t say much about their main product. Yet judging from the litres being consumed by other guests, I think their beer is also excellent. On a personal note, I forgot to photograph my eisbein. By the time I remembered, all that was a left on my plate was the bone. I did take photos of the salad with herring and the steak tartar with fried onions...but the photos don't quite convey how good these two dishes were. If you're in the area of Koln and the cathedral, just give this place a try. 

http://www.frueh-am-dom.de/brauhaus.html

Den Tol, Velp, Netherlands

Forget regular pancakes with melted butter and maple syrup. This restaurant redefines pancakes as fine dining in a beautifully styled setting. Den Tol serves savoury and sweet pancakes in candlelit ambiance.

The pancake I was served had a delicious crispy crust and was filled with pork loin chunks in pepper cream sauce. All their speciality pancakes like the one shown here are served with a side salad.

Prices were also reasonable with simple sweet or savoury pancakes in the 10 euro range and speciality pancakes in the 15 euro range. They are also located in Beuningen and Plasmolen, both near Nijmegen.

http://dentol.nl/