Restaurant Review: Metaxa, Ramstein-Miesenbach

Metaxa
Am Lanzenbusch 1
66877 Ramstein-Miesenbach

A small group of us stopped by a Greek restaurant for a pleasant dinner in Ramstein. I had read other favorable reviews and suggested the restaurant.

The restaurant itself is an interesting cinder block construction painted a light peach (aka pink, my least favorite color). Even so, the owners made it as cozy as possible with decorations and loads of houseplants. I felt as if I were visiting my cottage, which is also a cinder block construction, just without the musty cottage smell. That brings happy memories, strangely enough. Well, the musty smell at the cottage doesn't but at least the restaurant wasn't like that!

Anyway, we enjoyed a pleasant dinner. I ordered the appetizer plate (without meat) for 12 euros. First I was brought a bowl of soup, which seemed to be a chicken and noodle broth. It was salty but tasted good.

Then I was brought a salad. It did have what is typical in Germany: a ton of salad dressing (I prefer a very light coating). This dressing was the kind with a yogurt base that has a slightly bitter herb. The salad seemed kind of coleslaw-y as it had cabbage in it. 

My appetizer plate had these delicious fried eggplant things. They had a coating with herbs and various other deliciousness. The goat's cheese and the sheep's cheese spread were good as were the rice-filled grape leaves. One of the things on the menu was called "gigantes," which turned out to be large white beans. They were okay but in a weird twist of fate, I was a bit weirded out because they were served cold. I'm not sure where that came from but I think I would have enjoyed them better if they were room temperature.

My dining partners both ordered these, for lack of a better term, "meat packets." In other words, I forgot to write down the names of them. It was basically ground meat with a filling of goat cheese inside. My friends said they tasted quite good.

After dinner, our friendly server gave each of us a shot of ouzo and told us how to say cheers ("geia mas") and we finished the meal with some Greek liquid fire.

Though the ambiance of this restaurant is a bit skewed with cinder block walls, the owners have tried to create a cozy restaurant. With friendly servers and a bit of touristy fun, diners can enjoy a tasty meal.