Istra - Werden

We had eaten here in the past without any problems. It was always busy and it still is. Our starter was a ordinary packet camembert which was hugely overpriced at EUR7.50, but the olives were fine. I had trout which was nice and cheap at EUR10.90; the second meal was a steak which again was overpriced at EUR17.50 and tough. The food was so quickly served that it suggested that it was preprepared. There was no sense of relaxation to the meal. However, the problem really came at the end with the bill. When we ordered, the waiter told me he had mistakenly put my fish through as rotbarsch but I'd get trout. When the bill arrived, he said that whilst it still said rotbarsch the price was the same: it wasn't. It was EUR2.10 extra, which we then had to ask for back. It wasn't the sum involved (however, I had already given a EUR2 tip for the meal, more from generosity than to reward service), it was the fact that we were blatantly lied to and treated a bit like foreign fools. This treatment hardly recommends the restaurant, nor is it easy to understand why it happened. The initial order could easily have been changed. The only explanation is that the place tries to put through more expensive food without the customer realising; but with an itemized bill, this seems a bit of a risky enterprise. However, it did not appear to be a genuine error or misunderstanding. I would not return. The prices were high and the service low.

Went on a Sunday night because our hotel (Ypsilon) does not open its restaurant on Sunday. Friendly reception and service - but haphazard. Things were forgotten and then brought later.Food was reasonable and the prices were fair, service was friendly but we had to wait a lot (and there were only four other people there)So, if no where else is open, you will get an acceptable meal. But if there are a lot of restaurants open, go elsewhere!

Needed to find a average resting for a meal as the hotel had no restaurant . The was just a short distance away. Offered steak and a good price and service was very good. Paid 35 Euros for for a fillet and 3 beers.

This restaurant has been in business for a long time. The district of Ruettenscheid in Essen boasts lots of eating places, there is competition and I figured they must be doing something right.I went with a friend for dinner, the restaurant was not full, we got a nice table and we chose our food. My friend enjoyed her liver dish and I loved my steak on a skewer, a generous portion, the meat was cooked to perfection.The service was a disaster - and that alone will be a reason not to return (because there are dozens of other restaurants close by). The waiter went off before we had both said what we wanted (we wanted to change the accompanying vegetable), he had to be called back. We finished our food and nobody came to ask whether we wanted a dessert. We asked and we were told in a brusque manner that all the desserts were on the back of a card on the table - there was nothing apart from ice cream and when I told the waiter that I thought there were desserts on the menu, he said there was only one. We decided to pass and we ordered one regular coffee and a decaffinated capucchino. The waiter came with wo regular coffees, I declined and he told me they didn't serve what I had asked for - why couldn't he tell me ? He seemed angry to take it back. I made a comment that the service had not been good and I was told that he had not been there all the time and that there was no reason to become impertinent (German is my mother tongue, I had never been spoken to by a waiter in those terms). There was a long wait for the bill and no good-bye when we left (I guess that was related to the fact that we did not leave a tip, I don' think people should be paid for being unfriendly). So - yes, the food was good but there are lots of other good restaurants close by whose waiters are friendly. I wouldn' go back.

We had a meeting scheduled that evening so lenghty dining was not an option. Istra was next to where we parked the car.Inside it is clean, well lit, with linen on the table. Walters are experienced, and service is swift although a bit unpersonal. That could have been professional distance since a "regular " was greeted with fulltime regards. The food was well cooked, I had a kind of stew, hanging above a candle, see photograph, and it was not bad at all. Crisis vegetables, well cooked rice and goed flavour. The meat in it was average. I wonder what they would make of their offering of "a full goose cut at your table" (pre-order only), I suspect they are good at that sort of thing.Guests were mainly older than us, to put it mildly. I guess the decoration would prevent our return to this venue, but that's personal taste, isn't it?