Gaststätte Im Mariengarten

When in Rome, do as the Romans do. So, when I was in Cologne, I was determined to have some authentic German cuisine
However, that proved a little harder than expected. Similar to trying to find traditional Irish cuisine when I was in Ireland, proper German food in the touristy areas proved rather elusive
I almost spotted Mariengarten by accident — the pub-​like exterior led me to iniitally think it was a pub but menu boards outside revealed what I was looking for — local German food
It was a little sad that the place was empty when I walked in on that Sunday lunchtime. Perhaps that’s why it’s so hard to find local food
The waiter was helpful in answering my question about German cuisine and in the end, I went with his recommendation of the daily special — the roasted pork leg served with potatoes cooked with bacon
The food arrived and was exactly as I expected. Large portion with bold strong flavours. It’s designed to fill you up and while I enjoyed it, I definitely couldn’t finish it all. The only thing I would criticise is that the dish was a little dry — some sauce or gravy would have helped to bring it together
One shame is that the large portion meant I couldn’t fit in the very tempting traditional apple strudel
Don’t come expecting subtlety and with a big appetite and Mariengarten will fill that spot

Food was good, prices were good, service was great. The menu was full of traditional german dishes. The owner/​waiter speaks german, english, arabic, etc. I went there alone and chatted with him while I ate — it was lovely
Das Essen hat gut geschmeckt, die Preise waren günstig, und der Kellner/​Besitzer war ganz nett und freundlich. Überall ein sehr gutes deutsches Resteraunt.