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LO SPUNTINO Last night I had dinner at Lo Spuntino with a friend. A colleague on a budget recommended it to me. 😉 Lo Spuntino is a tiny Italian restaurant on Georgenstrasse with just seven tables. Let me preface this by saying: if you're someone who places a high value on cleanliness and a fancy atmosphere in restaurants, or who can't eat a bit if the menu is a little sticky and the tablecloth has been spilled by previous guests, then you don't need to read any further. 😉 That said, Lo Spuntino isn't bad at all.
Upon entering, you're greeted by the owner with a friendly "Buongiorno!" and shown to an empty table. Since Lo Spuntino is no bigger than an average living room, empty tables aren't hard to miss. During our visit, all the tables were almost constantly occupied by a very diverse clientele. The restaurant has been around for over 25 years – with the same owner.
The restaurant's menu, printed on a wooden board and printed on A3 paper, consists of just one side: various pizzas, pasta dishes, a few different soups and salads, three desserts, and drinks on the back – that's it. The menu, with its small and very standard selection of dishes, certainly fits the ambiance, size, and interior design of Lo Spuntino. The prices are unbeatable. Two pizzas and two drinks cost about €16 without a tip; with a tip, we paid €19. We opted for a Hawaiian pizza, one with and one without ham. It took a while for the food to arrive – a little too long for the size of the restaurant. The drinks came relatively quickly. There were a few initial problems with the order, as the only waitress in the small establishment didn't speak a word of German and – as the owner later told us – had only been in Germany for three days. Ordering a 0.3l water and a soft drink was only possible after the owner himself came by – not a big deal, just a bit unusual, since the awkward waitress didn't even flinch at our order and just stared at us ghostlike without saying a word, because she didn't understand what we were talking about. 🙂
The restaurant itself is difficult to describe in a few words and speaks for itself: Partially yellowed walls, dirty or "very worn" tablecloths, kitschy rose-patterned paper napkins on the tables, at least real roses in small vases, white tiled floor, old-fashioned wall lamps, a huge Chupa Chups lollipop machine right next to the entrance, wooden beams on the white ceiling, a small (slightly dusty) antipasti counter with beer crates stored underneath, dozens of different kinds of pictures on the walls – some of them children's drawings, wrapped hams hanging from the ceiling, houseplants on the completely cluttered windowsill, a wooden wine rack – partially besieged with pasta boxes, wooden barrels, or books – and rather mismatched furniture. A daring combination, yet somehow charming and cozy. 🙂 Primarily, I would go there again because the owner was very nice and the pizza tasted okay.
In my opinion, a small – and not entirely clean – place offering such a limited menu really needs to be good at what it conjures up in its (in this case, very small, open, and somewhat chaotic-looking) kitchen. In my opinion, the pizzas didn't quite live up to this expectation. The Hawaiian pizza wasn't bad, but it wasn't anything special either. The dough was okay, about 2-2.5 cm thick, with a bit too little pineapple and somewhat bland in flavor. Overall, it was an edible pizza, but a far cry from a gourmet experience ;-). My companion, however, found the Hawaiian pizza – in this case with ham – absolutely delicious – so it's certainly a matter of taste.
The antipasti in the display case looked okay, not exactly inviting, but better than the restaurant as a whole, based on first impressions. I would actually come back for very cheap pizza. 🙂 Lo Spuntino is open Monday to Saturday from 11 am to 10 pm. Bring cash. We paid in cash and therefore weren't asked about card payments, but I'm guessing they don't accept them. It's easily accessible by public transport via subway line 2 (Josephsplatz station). Parking is also available nearby. Unfortunately, the restaurant isn't very inviting from the outside – just give it a try if you're absolutely sure you want pizza and aren't expecting a wide selection. The restroom is also more like something you'd find in an apartment – the hand towels, for example, are just simple kitchen roll tubes – everything is very basic. With the right company, you can even have fun in such a small Italian "Boazn" (for non-Bavarians: a somewhat shabby-looking corner pub). 🙂 Have fun! Oh yeah... maybe... Also important: The restaurant doesn't have a ventilation system in the kitchen – meaning you'll smell like the food itself afterwards. 😉
I'll be back: If I'm not being too picky – yes, for delicious, very simple pizza.
Place visited: Lo Spuntino
Address: Georgenstraße 116, 80798 Munich
Website: unavailable
Pictures:
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