Block House - Piatti

"In the tourist-strong axis between the Holstentor and the access to the historic Old Town Island, there are the offshoots of this famous steak and meat specialist chain for as long as I can call Lübeck my home. The reason that I came here for the first time was not the back media attention around the family life of the owners (while I didn't even know that the name of the restaurant actually comes from the last name block), but simply the fact that so many individual gastronomy in the city center attracted much more my interest. Now it was so far and on a Friday afternoon I also made myself a picture of what this chain really can offer qualitatively. External view from the Trave side. Entrance from the Holstenstraße. The entrance, which is slightly rearwardly offset from the Holstenstraße, initially leads through a glass sliding door. The restaurant itself is located in the first floor of the building, which is why a staircase has to be overcome here. There is an elevator for disabled guests, so there are no insurmountable obstacles. Also funny is the fact that on the ground floor the next Gastro chain awaits with the well-known XXL pizza shy “L’Osteria”. The “Block House” therefore does not offer an outside area. Interior. The interior is mainly characterized by darker wood and white plastered hues. In a compact way, the space with columns and small partitions is divided into individual seating areas. For me a little too compact, which sometimes made a somewhat narrow, bold impression. Images decorate the walls, the illumination I felt balanced. Chairs and benches follow this wooden look and also have red fabric cushions, which provided good comfort. The open kitchen. The bar. Other interesting elements of the restaurant are an open kitchen where you can see meat preparation on large plate grills, as well as the sterile metal bar, which is a salad counter to the same look. Overall, a qualitatively attractive interior design, which offers good privacy at the individual tables, but at the same time perhaps also looks somewhat too narrow. On this Wednesday afternoon, about half a dozen employees wobbled between the tables to serve the guests present and my littleness. At this time the restaurant was estimated to be 10, so it should not be a challenge for the staff in terms of attention. I personally was greeted and served by a middle-aged gentleman. He made a routined and professional impression that he showed in communication with kindness and security. He also did not miss a question of satisfaction during the meal and the payment process was smooth at the end. A solid service, which often wanted to experience the certain amount of cordiality, such as those through-organized chains, but did not want to convey it. The culinary focus of this restaurant chain is certainly most well known. Nevertheless, it should be explained again in brief. In the center are various sections of the beef, which can be assembled according to the modular principle with supplements according to choice. An extra section of the map highlights the appreciation of quality and expertise that you would like to make this offer special. The fleeeed “Cuts” range from the Rumpsteak, via the Tenderloin, Filet, Rib-Eye to the T-Bone. The “standard menu” includes a salad on the way, as well as an oven potato with sourcream and a “BLOCK HOUSE bread”. The salad can be composed by a counter itself, which provided the usual standard raw food. The salad counter. However, these supplements can be upgraded as desired with further potato products, sauces and vegetables. Here in Lübeck you pay between € 24 and € 43 for the standard, while the additional supplements are in the range of € 1 for sauces up to almost € 5 for fixed supplements. This central building block is streamlined by an international offer visibly tailored to the popularity of the masses. There are other salads and soups for the appetizer. Vegetarians are not to be spared, but must be quite uncreatively satisfied with the well-known oven potato, pasta and bowl. Other dishes around other types of meat (chicken, lamb) offer an alternative as well as the mandatory classics of the American “Bistro cuisine” with Burger and Co. Interesting is the fact that you leave the sweet conclusion at the offer, which is probably the only way to avoid mass convenience. The existence of a daily changing lunch dish at a discounted price of € 12.3 is also a matter of the fact that working days of 12-15, but also on weekends, can be ordered as “weekend highlights” for € 13.5. So on this Wednesday, I would have had the option of a “sweet steak with vegetable pan “South American style” and crispy fries. For this first visit, it should be for me again just a sample in the form of a small court. However, in order to get an impression of the actual quality of the meat offered here, I decide for the Tatar from the pasture bark from Northern Germany for 12 €. Tatar vom Weiderind aus Norddeutschland mit Beilagen und „BLOCK HOUSE Brot“. In the BLOCK HOUSE, the frequently seen sharper supplements in the form of onions, radishes and radishes, as well as a few capers, two slices “BLOCK HOUSE Bread”, as well as a salt-butter-taler on a cucumber disc are presented to this classic. The egg yolk must be dispensed with here. Of course, my first impression had to be the pure Tatar. I was very pleased to vote in favour. On the one hand it had a beautiful consistency with creaminess but at the same time chewing texture, no matter whether it was cut or cooked. The absence of the egg yolk did not constitute an obvious defect. Also tastefully the company's recipe is quite true, it had both the fleshy heartliness and a noticeable acidity/sharp of something mustard and a sweetness of probably ketchup in a good relationship on the palate. But now I look at the supplements around the Tatar, I just can't get over a certain point draw. All vegetables, with dryness already in use, proved the fear that everything has been prepared for a long time in the kitchen. The more sharp varieties could fit in the overall picture of the court, but they did not give added value than a little more gastric fill. The grain bread with the label “BLOCK HOUSE” is also found in this quality in packed form in every supermarket. The main thing (Tatar) was therefore, fortunately, not disappointing, a special feature for which it is worth going into a “BLOCK HOUSE” but in the end it was not enough. I therefore conclude this report as usual with a conclusion on the individual categories. The ambience follows a clear concept, which may not reach the atmosphere of an old, individual place, but also does not look as sterile as one might fear at a chain restaurant. Nevertheless, I did not remember it sustainably. During my visit to the service, the employees made a trained and experienced impression, but without exposing the certain perceptible cordiality that makes the visit even more special. My test of the meaty main competency of the chain with the beef tar revealed to me no defect and tadel in the main product, but in total with the qualitative but not the following supplements, it would rather not animate me for a new order just here. I received the price of currently 12 € for the offered so as not covered, but 100 - happy left me then compared to other already visited restaurants. Sure, on the top of my recommendation list for the versatile Lübeck city centre gastronomy, such a mass-ready concept restaurant can not place. Too much I appreciate a special self-sufficiency, which I think cannot be found in such chains. Nevertheless, I did not feel the visit to the “Block House” as a culinary, monetary or temporal waste."