The Winzerkeller is a café-restaurant at the T-junction at the top end of the famous Drosselgasse. It is in a large building and spread over several levels. Apart from several large rooms that serve as the café-restaurant it also has a large covered veranda and some completely open-air seats.

Our first visit here was on a cold November Sunday afternoon. It was cold and miserable outside and we were happy to find an empty table without waiting. The place was packed and some live music was playing, as is the custom in many Rüdesheim cafés and bars. Our orders were taken swiftly although the waitress apologized in advance that it might take some time to prepare the waffles and pancakes due to the large crowd. We were just happy to be inside a warm place so we didn’t mind and I’m generally willing to wait for waffles with hot sour cherries and cream. Coffee and hot chocolate were served promptly with a huge dollop of not exactly low-fat cream - I usually order without cream but I’m always delighted when I forget to. In the end it didn’t take long to get the sweets either which melted in the mouth while another blob of cream did its best to block the arteries. We left happy hoping to return . . .

So it was with mixed feelings that we reached Winzerkeller on a beautifully spring Sunday afternoon after having strolled down the hill from the Niederwalddenkmal. We had happy memories from our previous visit but also wanted to try something new and the veranda of the neighboring establishment looked good. The vast specials of the day selection here settled it and we found a nice table in the shade where we could enjoy our repast. Only after a while did we realized the veranda is part of the Winzerkeller. The personnel, service and food were as good as we remembered.

I had a veal schnitzel with a decadent Riesling cream sauce, which was as good as it sounds. It was the beginning of the asparagus season in Germany so my wife had a creamy soup with a salad. The cappuccino was good but I regretted not having ordered the Rüdesheimer coffee like the group at the table behind us - it is prepared at the table with some alcohol burning ritual and lots of oohing and aahing.

The Winzerkeller has been family owned and managed for four generations and is particularly family friendly. Children get small take away plastic toys but more useful are a large playing area inside and some toys outside to keep the little ones busy. That on its own will ensure our future custom and the food is pretty good too.