Abthof - Menu

"Address: Peter Streit, Pfarrgasse 10, 63165 Muehlheim am Main, GermanyReservation for two at 20:00 made earlier in the day. Arrived at an empty restaurant with a friend.No menu visible at the entrance of the restaurant. Nor within the entrance and reception area. Nor at the tables.Arrived at the main restaurant area to the sound of smooth Jazz music; a welcoming aspect of the establishment. Eventually escorted to table four; although the tables had no visible numbers assigned to them, by the owner.The owner is German speaking and pleasant enough with a good level of the English language, but it did not account for the lack of preparation for two guests that had made the trouble to reserve a table.As there were no dining menus to view, the owner; who also took the role of the cook, explained that he could rustle up a starter to our tastes with the produce that he had in the kitchen. As such, an order was made for: 1x Spring Turnip soup and 1x Matjes Herring. Prior to this an order for aperitifs was made for 1x House Fruit Cocktail and 1x Sherry. The house fruit cocktail consisted of a large wine glass with a plethora of colourful cocktail umbrellas, stirrers and cocktail sticks with badly segmented citrus fruits hanging on the rim of the glass. Within the large wine glass the actual fruit cocktail drink resembled and tasted of pasteurised orange juice which was sitting in ¼ of the volume of the glass. To add insult to injury a small handful of blueberries were thrown into the juice. No spoon was supplied in order to fish out the fruit thrown into the glass. A spoon had to be requested. Perhaps this might be reviewed by potential customers as poor judgement and terrible value for money. Merely a suggestion but perhaps a glass that was ¾ full of real, freshly squeezed, fruit juice would be more in keeping of customer expectations. Presentation, even for a non-alcoholic drink, counts. So, aperitifs billed at 6 Euros for a non-alcoholic juice drink and 4 Euros for an alcoholic drink.After receiving a bottle of sparkling water for 6 Euros and poor quality olives, Grüne Sosse and ordinary white bread, my guest and I waited for the starter meal. The Grüne Sosse, according to my guest, was one of the most pleasant that he had tasted.Starter Dishes: 1x Cremesueppchen von Fruehlingskohlrabi = 6,50 Euros. Basic, good, creamy young turnip soup sprinkled with poppy seeds. A dish that most people could make. Many better recipes on the Internet.1x Matjes Herring = 12,50 Euros. A large dish of cured raw herring with some salad, salad dressing and white bread that would have been better placed as a main meal. My guest enjoyed the dish heartily.Main Meal: A choice between pasta or fried prawns. My guest and I opted for tempura prawns with sautéed potatoes.2x Reisengarnelen = 53 Euros. The dish of a few mediocre prawns in batter was accompanied with a small helping of sautéed potatoes. A small helping of boiled spring turnip that was drowned in a pink sauce of little use to the dish, was added for measure. A thin, warm, Marie Sauce type, one might add. The small mass of limp, shredded, spring turnip that was drenched in a lukewarm Marie Sauce did nothing to add to the dish. Especially at 26,50 Euros per plate. Perhaps placing the thin, sauce into a miniature pouring jug would have been better. Leaving the decision to the diner as to whether or not they would drown the tempura prawns, potatoes and shredded, limp, turnip with the watery sauce.The owner had informed my guest and I that he had previously worked within a well-known Gentlemen's Club in Frankfurt; under what role is anyone's guess. The owner also stated that he had acquired the restaurant from since 1992. One wonders how the restaurant has survived with negligible covers, empty periods of service and the extortionate prices for meals in a quiet, sleepy area where most people are frail and elderly, unemployed or seem to prefer to stay indoors than visit this over priced establishment. Perhaps, the restaurant has a second operation that renders it profitable to have stayed afloat from since 1992. Dessert:2x Sorbets = 21,80 Euros. Standard assortment of three sorbets with fresh blueberries on a small dish.After Dinner Drinks:1x Vecchia Romagna = 4 Euros.1x Ziegler Waldhimbeere = 6 Euros.Total price: 130,80 Euros (109,92 Euros for the meal, 20,88 Euros as an inclusive tip)For a restaurant pertaining to be exclusive or top end, it should have followed the formats of bona fide exclusive restaurants from top end restaurants in London, France, Monaco, New York or Tokyo. For the locals living in Muehlheim am Main or Hessen; or indeed tourists visiting the sleepy locale, Abt Hof should have added to the dining experience an Amuse-Bouche and a Trou Normand as inclusive to their over priced dishes. The shock of the bill would have been a tad more gentle at the end of the evening for customers.Abt Hof was recommended by my guest to a married couple for their views on the restaurant. The couple were not impressed by the food, ambience, service and the highly inflated cost.As a final note. The website is lacking in basic information about the menus and the costs for dining, or as a meeting place for a drink with friends. The lack of information about the establishment renders it poorly managed. The PR, marketing and promotions of the eaterie needs an overhaul. Or perhaps, it finds comfort in having no diners on a daily basis and has other methods of covering its overheads under the guise of a restaurant.Should one be recommending Abt Hof to associates, colleagues, friends and acquaintances? One thinks not."