Pierburg Erika Bergheim - Essen

First of all, the food is great. The selection of accompanying wines is excellent, and the sommelier can explain his choices clearly. So, why no 5-star rating?... read more First of all, the food is great. The selection of accompanying wines is excellent, and the sommelier can explain his choices clearly. So, why no 5-star rating? Because dining here feels like it has to be very efficient. Quick changes of plates, everything works like a well-oiled machine. But for me, dining is about listening to a story. And to take time to enjoy. And that is what I have missed a little bit. Everything else was really good!

We had a wonderful Christmas dinner at Pierburg. The service and the food were both exceptional, and we will definitely be back. Thank you for a fantastic eveni... read more We had a wonderful Christmas dinner at Pierburg. The service and the food were both exceptional, and we will definitely be back. Thank you for a fantastic evening.

We ate there on our wedding anniversary between Christmas and New Year's and were quite disappointed this time! This was partly due to the vegetarian dishes, es... read more We ate there on our wedding anniversary between Christmas and New Year's and were quite disappointed this time! This was partly due to the vegetarian dishes, especially the vegetarian main course, which ultimately consisted of only one variation of red cabbage – far too much of it – served with small, thin, and dry blinis and a bit of mango on the side, all garnished with completely tasteless vegan feta. The red cabbage would have been fine as a side dish, but for me, it wasn't a varied main course. I left a lot of it... The meat main courses, however, were very good. The appetizers were also good, except for the vegetarian kale soup, which wasn't bad, but nothing special either. Secondly, the service was completely unsatisfactory for us that evening! Perhaps it was because we didn't order wine pairings this time and only ordered four courses each, and didn't order a cheese platter... In any case, at some point, it felt like they weren't paying any attention to us at all. A full 45 minutes passed between the main courses and dessert—which is already far too long—during which no one even once asked if we wanted anything else to drink. We tried several times with hand signals until a blonde woman in a pantsuit finally came and reacted rather snidely when I said that if we had to wait much longer for dessert, we'd like an espresso in the meantime. She said that if we absolutely insisted (clearly indicating that she found that quite impossible), then that would be fine, but she could also speed things up with the dessert. In the end, we'd already finished our espressos by the time the desserts finally arrived, which were, however, very good. At some point, I made my presence known again to pay, and when we got up and left, there wasn't a single friendly glance, not a kind word of farewell. We gathered our coats ourselves, and that was that. Very, very disappointing! : ... Thankfully, there are now plenty of very good and even Michelin-starred restaurants in Essen with better service that one can easily switch to!

Very pleasant, lovely atmosphere and excellent food. Would gladly return. read more Very pleasant, lovely atmosphere and excellent food. Would gladly return.

We were there for a late lunch for the second time today. The ambiance is very nice, the service attentive and friendly. The food is good, with surprisingly tas... read more We were there for a late lunch for the second time today. The ambiance is very nice, the service attentive and friendly. The food is good, with surprisingly tasty vegan options, such as the two-course cauliflower dish, which even non-vegans will enjoy. However, the main courses were disappointing: the zander lacked refinement (acidity, spice), and the monkfish lacked bottarga altogether. When clearing the table, no one even asked if we enjoyed it... The wine was impressive, offering excellent value for money!