« Am Trapeneck »: an insider tip for Italian cuisine in Alzingen

The self-proclaimed café brasserie Pizzeria « Am Trapeneck » in Alzingen was originally little more than a pub. There is nothing wrong with that either.

When I came to Luxembourg 35 years ago, there was a pub that was populated by regular guests in every district and every village, who were sitting for hours with « Flûtes » or « Minis » and overflowing ashtrays, exchanging gossip and complaining about politics and their health.

If there was something to eat, then the factory -made hot dogs or croque monsieur, which could be heated quickly under a small grill. But every inappropriate nostalgia for the local spel tuning evaporates when you enter the « on the trapeck ».

First of all, there are still tables with locals who enjoy an after -work drink or a card game. But now they mix with families who enjoy an early dinner, with groups of friends who celebrate a birthday and with Dutch visitors from the campsite around the corner.

The owner and his waiter are always warmly welcome, and we would be happy to take our reserved table on the shady terrace – the morning before the restaurant was opened and politely informed us that the restaurant was fully booked for this evening.

We order a few Negronis (each nine euros) as an aperitif. The drinks come quickly and are very good-not too strong from gin and with a nice mix of bitterness from Campari and a touch of wormwood sweetness.

Although we know that the portions of the main dishes are more than generous, we decide to share a cheese plate (9.50 euros) with our drinks. The selection is served with strawberry slices, walnuts and a little arugula and basil leaves, which give a refreshing kick on a warm spring evening and is eagerly devoured, even though our eight -year -old daughter avoids the blue cheese cheese.

She then opted for a pizza Margherita (11.50 euros) as a main course, although our preferred pizzeria, the « Al Sole », is around the corner – and even closer to our place of residence. But it is more than satisfied with the thin, crispy crust and the perfectly melted cheese. Nevertheless, we took three slices home with us.

Although the pasta never disappointed here, we choose two dishes from the day ticket, on which we both have thrown an eye – grilled octopus with potatoes and peppers (26.90 euros) and a risotto with shrimp and green asparagus (19.90 euros).

« Am Trapeneck » there is a small but decent selection of Italian bottle wines, but the Negronis have prevailed, and we choose a couple of glasses in the house wine – a Chardonnay that is a bit too oak for my taste, and a primitivo that fits well with the octopus – that is inexpensive with 5.90 euros each.

Unfortunately, although it is wonderfully crispy and tender on the outside, the octopus still contains a little granular sand that clouds the dish a bit. The risotto, on the other hand, is a pleasure. It shines and is perfectly creamy, while both rice and the green asparagus have the necessary Al dente bite. The shrimps – unfortunately only two – are sweet and tasteful and form a nice contrast to the earthy tones of the vegetables.

Our daughter cannot resist the dessert – the restaurant has one of these old -fashioned dessert showcases with all possible temptations – and decides without hesitation for a delicious mousse au chocolat. Which is so big that she gives both of us a decent spoon.

We leave the restaurant saturated, albeit a little disappointed with the squid, and are happy that we have such a good restaurant near the run – although we are probably not yet one of the regular guests.