Zur Uel

A typical German pub. Alt is tasty, food is OK and is an accompaniment to the beer. We had Kassler (salt pork) with mash and sauerkraut.

If your looking for a traditional Dusseldorf pub with traditional German food, Zur Uel will fill that need. Nothing fancy - just good Alt and a decent meal. Add some friends and you'll have a good night.

One star for atmosphere but that is being generous. Seriously, so many other places on this street have atmosphere too that you are better off going elsewhere if you are planning on eating.

The food was atrocious. Judging by what came out on the plate, I am pretty sure there is a cafeteria style kitchen in the back where all the premade food gets slopped onto plates and then brought out. We ordered schnitzel and bratwurst which were so lacking in flavour and so badly prepared, we struggled to finish it. The schnitzel was barely breaded, and just pan fried and overcooked. The bratwurst was a sorry excuse for a sausage and came in a pool of brown sauce that started congealing on the plate. There were sides of underseasoned potatoes and sauerkraut plus a disgusting salad that was sitting in a pool of very vinegary salad dressing.

This was a very bad meal. The food resembles something out of a school cafeteria and I think that is being generous. Hopefully, kids eat better in this country.

My home away from home while in Dusseldorf.

Feels like walking into a neighborhood pub/tavern/dive back in the States but with an authentic German feeling. Neither 'Sam Malone' nor 'Cliffy' were there, but I believe Gunther and Klaus might occasionally make an appearance.

So what can you expect when you walk in to Zur Uel? I was there on a Saturday night, Sunday night and Monday night. In order, I'd share the words 'hopping', 'dead quiet' and 'friendly neighborhood pub' to describe each of those nights respectively. Yes, I should have tried different restaurants. Easy to say when you aren't jet lagged, or aren't working 16 hour days and getting 3-4 hours of sleep per night. Zur Uel was convenient to my hotel and in the Altstadt so shoot me!

Food? Not too bad. I personally have no issue with German food besides the fact that they seriously overcook vegetables. Can you boil/cook my carrots for less than 37 hours next time? I have finished teething so I think I can handle a little crunch! That said, one always gets a simple house salad to go along with heavy meat entrees, potatoes of some kind and bread.

Beer? Really enjoyed the Fuchsen Altbier. The locals should be proud of it. It's delicious and goes down easily. They bring it in .25 liter glasses and it is bottomless...beware though as it packs a punch. As others said, the beer fairies just never let you run out. The waitresses constantly swing by at the instant one's glass is on the last sip. It's like a drive-by beer shooting...you just sometimes don't know which direction your new beer came from, but it's foamy and delicious. The waitresses keep tabs on your totals by marking your beer coaster with a pencil and total you up at the end of the night.

Service? Germans get a bad rap on service. It is a case of a few bad apples spoiling it for everyone else and creating a stereotype. Trust me...service was solid and friendly on night #1 while it was crowded; and great on nights #2 and #3 when it was quieter. Super friendly, appreciated my effort (and we laughed about my destruction) of their language, and they coached me to improve my basic vocabulary and grammar, were my friends by night #2 and looking forward to my next visit to Dusseldorf. Faux friendliness? Seemed genuine to me.

Why only four (4) stars? CASH ONLY. I know it is not the custom to take credit cards in Europe and Germany in particular, but I genuinely would have spent more if they had taken cards. However, I was saving my cash for taxis which I needed desperately at times (like when headed to the airport.) So Zur Uel saved 3-4% on merchant credit card fees and it cost them 10-20% in a larger tab. Sounds like a NET loss to me. A loss for both sides.

Still suggest coming here. Say Guten Abend for me.

A nice alternative to the always way too crowded Füchschen on the Ratinger Str. I had a Wiener Schnitzel which was good (not outstanding though) and my company was also content with their food. The atmosphere is nice and the decoration is traditional and pretty. The service was also good, we had very nice waiters.

Decent bratwurst and friendly service. Quieter and more out of the way than most allstadt places (although conveniently close to the Fuchsen brewery). If ur craving Fuchsen altbier this may be a little easier to find a table for dinner.

Very old-fashioned, very German pub. If you come on a crowded night (the night of a football game, for instance) it will be very crowded, and half the staff will be on yelling at people for walking into the wrong room duty. Like I said, this place is very German. On crowded nights, you're expected to share a table with strangers, but the locals are pretty friendly once they've had a few beers. The food is traditional to this region, and is pretty good.