On our drive home from Düsseldorf to Basel, we stopped for dinner at a cute little beer garden in Worms, Germany called Kolb’s.
Kolb’s Biergarten In Worms – Delicious German Food
Worms is a historic city in Germany, one of the oldest in Northern Europe. While presently the home of industry and a major university, it is perhaps most (in)famous for the Diet of Worms of 1521, an imperial diet of the Holy Roman Empire called by then-emperor Charles V. Martin Luther was summoned to the Diet in order to renounce or reaffirm his views in response to an order of Pope Leo X. It was there Luther refused to recant his “heretical” views and was thus branded as heretic and excommunicated from the Roman Catholic Church. His convictions spawned the Protestant Reformation.
While much of the architecture dating back to Luther’s era no longer stands, the historic Kolb’s Beer Garden (Biergarten) has sat along the banks of the Rhine River since 1720.
My wife and I were in the mood for German food and Heidi found this place on her phone while we were driving. It was about 15 minutes off the Autobahn, but it turned out to certainly be worth the diversion.
It was dark and cold by the time we arrived, but we were able to score a seat inside a tent under a heat lamp. The special of the day was Entenbraten (roast duck), which helped me feel a bit better about missing it in the Lufthansa First Class Terminal a couple weeks earlier.
Just a shout-out to the staff here, who were very kind and attentive (and very intrigued that we were visiting from California and by my German with an American accent).
Most importantly, the food was very delicious, especially the duck (served with a bread dumpling and red cabbage):
(Heidi had a salad and beef steak, the kids split a half chicken, and I don’t have many pictures because we were all so hungry they just dove right in).
I enjoyed a strong cappuccino after dinner, which helped keep me awake for the three-hour drive home.
You can review the full menu here. Nope, I didn’t drink any beer…I strongly dislike beer.
CONCLUSION
I love German food and Kolb’s Biergarten in Worms was a great place for dinner. We hope to return, hopefully during the day so we can sit outside by the Rhine. German food is more than sauerkraut and sausage: I’m getting hungry just thinking about it.
Then you’ll love the Portuguese version of arroz con pato.
I will confess, I don’t think I could have resisted ordering schnitzel in a spot like that, but that duck looks mighty tasty.
These spontaneous finds are often the most memorable.
OMG, You went to eat in a place known for the Diet of Worms??!
You took your small children to a beer garden with rowdy drunks?? ::face palm::
We had the tent to ourselves.
I‘m pretty sure it‘s a potato dumpling, not a bread dumpling.
It was bread.
From the picture, I have to agree with Atz, it looks like potato.
But it wasn’t. I do know the difference. It was a Semmelknödel.
The Christmas Duck on a LH flight in December a few years back is one of my most memorable business class meals. Also, in my experience, a lot of traditional German beergardens are family places (assuming the local football team is not having a match on TV). Come to think of it, a lot of them in the US, like Krause’s in New Braunfels, are too.
@ Matthew: Next time you are hungry between Frankfurt and Basel, may I recommend the Mühlstein restaurant in Bensheim – very tasty and old school German, although a bit pricy! Also, the Diebsloch in Weinheim has tasty German food (cheaper than Mühlstein) and Weinheim’s old city centre itself is beautiful!
Sounds delicious! Thanks for the tip.