This last month on tour saw me eating out at lots of restaurants both high priced and low priced all through Europe and Japan. Which has luckily given me ample material for lots more @tasteem reviews!

This restaurant, Mandu, can be found in Stuttgart (Germany) near the Concert Hall (Kultur en Kongresszentrum). There was (as usual) very little time between the rehearsal and the concert for us to find food for dinner, so the options were to wait until after the concert or to find something close by that was quick and easy! I opted for the latter...

The Space

As you can see, the space is pretty spartan, with tables packed closely together in a somewhat warm space (although, it was a pretty hot day...). If anything, it reminded me of an Ikea showroom in looks whilst the patrons were mostly students which gave it a very cafeteria-like feel!

Seating space was quite limited (probably around 20-25 people could be comfortably seated, and I could imagine that it would be quite loud if the place was packed (however, they do do take way, so that could always be an option!). Luckily for me, I was on the early side of things, and so I missed the dinner rush, however as I was finishing up it was starting to get quite busy.

The Menu

I stupidly forgot to photograph the menu for this review! Rookie mistake!

Anyway, the food that is on offer is all Korean, ranging from dumplings to Bi Bim Bab and all sorts of rice and noodle dishes. Everything looked quite interesting, and you could easily see the kitchen from the ordering counter.

The Food

I had ordered a Bulgogi (Korean style marinated meat) with Rice and a drink (an odd sort of cola, possibly Korean?). However, at the last minute I changed my mind and added some fried dumplings, as I find it hard to turn down dumplings of any sort, and I was starving!

However, when it arrived, I rapidly understood that my eyes were going to be a touch bigger than my stomach. Either that, or it was going to be a slow concert night whilst I digested the food!

Both the dumplings and the Bulgogi went down very nicely. Often, on tour, I eat out at too many places where the food is either a bit more oily, salty or richer than I'm used to cooking at home, and so after a while, my stomach is a bit out of balance. At these times, I find that a good old rice dish is what settles me down again!

I was a bit bewildered by the "cola" drink though (no photo, sorry!), it was a strange taste. Not unpleasant, just unexpected and new!

The Experience

The had fairly minimal front staff, just one guy. So they used those discs which beep and page you when your food is ready. I can understand using these things when you have a huge restaurant space, but it is a bit weird when your space is the size of a dorm room!

However, service was friendly and the cooking time was quick. The food was great and a welcome change of pace from the German food that I had been eating beforehand. Sometimes rice is just what is needed to soothe the stomach!

Serving size was a lot bigger than I expected, but hey, we are in Germany! However, it also meant that the 20 euro that I spent for two dishes and drink was money well spent!

Opening Times

Saturday 12–9PM

Sunday Closed

Monday 12–9PM

Tuesday 12–9PM

Tuesday 12–9PM

Wednesday 12–9PM

Thursday 12–9PM

Friday 12–9PM

Contact Details

Address: Fritz-Elsas-Straße 60, 70174 Stuttgart, Germany

Phone: +49 711 30001821

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Mandu/1421717804775941