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Piacere Nuovo – We've just come from the Piacere Nuovo café/bistro on Donnersbergerstrasse. Even a glance through the floor-to-ceiling windows reveals that it's neither particularly pretentious nor hectic. The long, brightly lit space is dominated by the bar, set off by red walls, in a small café/bistro with about 18 tables – it doesn't really feel like a restaurant. We found this place through Groupon (similar to the Portugal restaurant deal). The voucher was supposedly worth €53, which would definitely be far too much for the food we ate that evening. The place was run by a friendly Italian gentleman and a younger waiter, both of whom were very attentive and served us politely and courteously. The voucher specified a menu for two people, where the starter and dessert were predetermined, and the main course could be chosen from the relatively limited menu: 1st course: Antipasto Misto – from the display case, 2nd course: Pizza, pasta or daily special of choice, 3rd course: Tiramisu.
The starter was a small cake plate – one for each of us – with different antipasti on it, such as mushrooms, olives, onions, etc. My companion opted for a pizza with truffles. Initially, we were going to order spaghetti with scampi and arugula, but then she changed her mind. For my main course, I originally wanted a pasta dish, but then I saw a salad with avocado slices and Parmesan on the handwritten daily specials menu leaning in the corner – so I went with that. The menu included a choice of Prosecco or Aperol Spritz as an aperitif. We chose a glass of Prosecco (0.1l) and an Aperol Spritz. The menu, which was displayed behind the bar, stated that a glass of Prosecco normally costs €4.90. I finished my antipasti plate relatively quickly – it would normally cost €7.80 per person. The accompanying baguette was, in my opinion, a bit too hard. The empty plates were cleared quickly, and we were asked if we enjoyed our meal. However, it took about 25 minutes for our main courses to arrive – borderline acceptable, especially considering that six or seven of the 18 small tables were unoccupied. That seems to be the Italian way of doing things. Then – after a bit of a wait, which we passed by leafing through some newspapers lying around (Stern, Essen&Trinken, etc.) – our main courses arrived simultaneously. While they looked fantastic, the taste was only partially satisfying. The salad was huge and, at €7.70, acceptable, but tasted a bit like a side salad to a hearty meal. The avocado didn't really stand out, and the balsamic vinegar I added myself didn't do much to improve it. As mentioned, my companion's pizza looked quite good and was generously topped with truffles. The dough base was a bit too soggy in terms of taste, neither a hit nor a complete flop. At €9.50, it was just about acceptable. We were glad that both main courses were part of the pre-paid meal deal.
In the end, we only had to pay for the water we ordered separately (750 ml San Pellegrino for €4.50). So, we paid a total of about €30 for a Prosecco, an Aperol Spritz, a bottle of water, two appetizer plates, two main courses, and two tiramisu, which, as mentioned, were a fixed dessert included in the set menu. While listing all this, I realize that €30 isn't actually a small amount. However, if this were to cost around €55 without a voucher, it would be completely disproportionate to the ambiance, the taste, and the quality of the food. The pasta dishes that were brought to neighboring tables looked delicious, but they were relatively easy to categorize as typical Italian cuisine, much like the entire selection on the menu: five different spaghetti dishes, three different penne dishes, seven different pizzas, four simple salads, and four different desserts on the standard menu. In addition, there was a daily specials menu. The pasta dishes and pizzas range in price from €6 to €9.80.
Let me put it this way: if you're looking for a relaxed evening with your casual companions, then you can drive here to Neuhausen. We went by car and only found a rather illegal parking spot. Piacere Nuovo is also accessible by public transport, but the question is whether the trip is worth it for you. It's definitely not the place for a family dinner at an Italian restaurant. It's more for a cheap and filling meal. Visually, the café is okay, but it's similar to a train station café. Very high ceilings, relatively little to no decoration, a red-painted bar area, dark wood parquet flooring, silver circular lamps, the bar area being just 1-2 meters away from our table (including a running dishwasher), and a handwritten red A4 sheet of paper with the word "WC" on the small staircase that also leads to the tiny kitchen. When we asked, the friendly Italian waiter told us that the place had been around for about five years, but it had been taken over and renovated a few months ago, which is noticeable – not meant in a negative way, but there's still a bit of an "unfinished" feel to it.
There's no website, but it seemed busy and relatively well-known. The tiramisu mentioned above (which would have normally cost €4 per person) wasn't anything special – way too much cream, but a decent finish. We probably wouldn't have ordered it separately. If you're intrigued, then have fun and enjoy a lovely (Italian) evening. My tip: Print out the Groupon voucher beforehand. We suspect quite a few people did that on the evening of our visit. 🙂 Adding up the cost of our drinks and main courses, we actually almost reached the voucher value listed on Groupon: definitely too expensive. Sorry: Even though you were really friendly and tried your best, it just wasn't that great. Perhaps you'll see it differently. Piacere Nuovo is open Monday 9am-4pm, Tuesday to Sunday 9am-10pm.
Place visited: Piacere Nuovo
Address: Donnersbergerstraße 54, 80634 Munich
Website: unavailable
Pictures:
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