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Update: The restaurant has since closed. HERE GO TO OTHER GREAT ITALIAN RESTAURANTS.
Recently, my companion and I went to the Italian restaurant Costa Smeralda in Grünwald near Munich. Looking back, I'm a little annoyed that we went in, even though we weren't really impressed from the outside. We paid €60, and while we left full, we certainly could have found the same quality and quantity of food for less in a nicer setting in Munich.
The restaurant is located in a rather nice building right on Grünwald's market square. After climbing a few steps, you arrive at the covered terrace with its numerous rattan chairs, surrounded by plants and large parasols, which also leads into the restaurant. The restaurant is divided into two separate dining rooms with numerous tables, murals, subtle lighting, and decorations. We opted for the smaller dining area with a bar, a pizza-making corner, and access to the kitchen. If you're planning to dine here, I recommend choosing the room on the left as you enter, where you'll see a large painting of the sea on the wall.
When the waiter saw us, he immediately approached us in a friendly manner and let us choose our own seats. Not many tables were occupied, and in retrospect, we chose one much too close to the bar, which was also rather noisy and uncomfortable. Behind us sat a family with two children who constantly wandered around the relatively small room, calling for ice cream. The waiter came to our table and read aloud the menu hanging on the wall – written in chalk. We decided to order drinks first – two Hugo cocktails (€6.50 each, which wasn't exactly cheap). The Hugos were brought to us by a friendly woman who was clearly trying hard to be nice. The Hugo was far too sweet and tasted too strongly of elderflower syrup. We asked for straws because there weren't any in the glasses. After I'd taken two sips, my gaze happened to fall on the rim of the glass, and I spotted the fat, green caterpillar. I was completely shocked and immediately felt disgusted. I stood up, returned the Hugo, and received nothing but a "This is our organic version" in response. The new Hugo was brought to my table—again without a straw—and when I asked again, the waiter grabbed the straw by the mouthpiece with his fingers and blew through it (!) while saying, "Get all the caterpillars out of the straw!" I generally appreciate a good joke, but in my opinion, this was unhygienic and the service was very poor. Along with the somewhat botched Hugos, we also ordered a small bottle of water. The water cost €3.50 and was a completely unbranded bottle—far too expensive.
For our meal, we chose a dish listed on the chalkboard: porcini mushrooms with truffle on a bed of spinach in a Parmesan nest for a hefty €14.90. For our main courses, we opted for a Caesar salad (€8.50) and salmon in dill sauce (€17.90). The porcini mushroom appetizer was very attractively presented, yet far too expensive. The mushrooms were fresh, and the truffle flavor was delicious and pronounced, but the portion was too small, and it could easily have been one to two-thirds larger for the price. The ambiance of the Italian restaurant is anything but "fancy" or "fancy," so the prices are unjustified. After finishing our meal, we were immediately asked if we wanted to proceed with our second course, the two main dishes. When we confirmed, our food arrived after about three minutes. The salmon was attractively presented, but the vegetables served in a separate bowl were a meager portion and far too oily for my taste. The fish itself was very tender and tasted excellent with the sauce. The Caesar salad, served at the same time, was also delicious, though it had a bit too much dressing, and the Parmesan was from a bag instead of fresh. However, both main courses were perfectly fine in terms of taste.
We finished everything relatively quickly, paid – as I said, far too much in my opinion – and left the restaurant. Our waiter was very attentive and friendly, but I personally wouldn't come back. During our visit, many guests ordered pizzas to go and had to wait a long time. The pizzas that were carried past us all looked very good. Perhaps the Italian restaurant's focus is on pizzas. The food is okay, but nothing special. The terrace is certainly quite nice for sitting and eating in the summer. There's an extensive menu and a small display case with desserts like crème caramel or tiramisu in small glasses. While we were sitting, two glasses of red wine were placed on our table that we hadn't ordered and were then immediately brought to the correct table. All in all, it was a bit disorganized, and I found the caterpillar incident quite off-putting.
Otherwise, as I mentioned, there are many different pizzas, fish dishes, pasta variations, and meat dishes. Unfortunately, there's no menu online – not even a website. During our visit, there were plenty of empty tables, but perhaps that's just a general characteristic of Grünwald, which is usually quite quiet. 😉 So, I can't really discourage you from going, but I wouldn't necessarily recommend it either. The fish was great, and so was the salad – but you can find similar things countless times in Munich for considerably less money. If you ever happen to be in Grünwald, you could give it a try.
I'll be back: No. I would rather go to a different Italian restaurant. Even though the food wasn't bad, all things considered.
Place visited: Costa Smeralda
Address: Marktplatz 2, 82031 Grünwald
Website: unavailable
Pictures:
Ines Zedde
Hello Bianca, I'm sorry that our restaurant didn't meet your expectations. However, I'd like to address a few points. I'm very sorry about the Hugo; we only buy fresh mint occasionally, as we have our own mint in the garden, which is why, unfortunately, there was a caterpillar. I must admit that the waiter's gesture wasn't appropriate for her; perhaps he was just trying to defuse the situation. The water isn't a generic brand, but Fiordilino, which can be found throughout Munich. The critical issue is the Parmesan. We don't use packaged Parmesan, but rather mature Parmigiano Reggiano in its entirety. A picture can be sent upon request. Kind regards, Ines Zedde