A great dining experience with an interesting surprise menu with an Indian twist: Restaurant Der 4. König (5. August 2021)
Finding a place which offers a nice food experience in a good setup for a decent price isn’t all that easy. But “Der 4. König” kind of offers exactly that.
The evening started with three different types of bread and spread (bockshape baguette with red wine, raisins baguette and wheat baguette, chili/garlic dipp, wild garlic curd and a spice oil “Der Vierte König”).
… and was followed by an the amuse bouche “dandelion cream with oxtail salad and curry foam” which was refreshing, intense, and a good start to get your palate going.
The concept of the “Tahli Menu” (EUR 38.00) is basically to get nine dishes on three plates. And that was already great with the starter plate consisting of a meat, fish, and vegetarian component, i.e., “marinated salmon with paprika cream, veal roulade, wild mushroom salad, vegetable quiche”. I was a bit skeptical at first but the plate looked lovely and actually tasted the same way.
The main course was another combination of fish, meat, and a vegetarian component which was great again, namely “redfish with carrot and ginger puree, lamb corma, eggplant rolls with tofu”. Especially the lamb cormareally made my taste buds dance. However, the time between the starter plate and the main course was a solid 50′ which is just way too much! To be fair, the waitress was super friendly and customer-oriented but waiting 50′ is just not acceptable. And yes, the food was good but it wasn’t that complex so that you would have to prepare something for so long that it needed 50′.
Last but not least, it was time for dessert which was yet another trio served: “coconut curry crème brûlée, apricot cake, Old Monk ice cream”. And it was quite good as well.
The ‘friandises’ (chickpeas barfi with dried pomegranate cores, sesame/chocolate chocolates with fir tips and fir tips liqueurs) were the final round to be enjoyed.
The place is nice in terms of atmosphere but I would highly recommend you to try to book a table outside since the tables inside which host four people are relatively limited and the one we got was rather tight in terms of space. It works but is not entirely comfortable.
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Contact Details:
Restaurant Der 4. König
Gottesweg 165
50939 Cologne (DE)
Tel.: +49 221 48 48 12 88
E-Mail: info@derviertekoenig.com
Homepage: http://www.derviertekoenig.com
About the Author: Sven
I started the blog in October 2009, while living in Milan which I definitely consider to be one of the food capitals of the world. I was in touch with food since my early childhood (as my father is a former chef). Whenever I can, I travel the world to discover new places, to meet people but mostly to try local dishes and to find hidden gems! If you know a place worth going, please drop a line to: info@thediningexperience.org.
Currently, I am a member of the following food-related associations: Chevalier @Chaîne des Rôtisseurs Zurich-Ville; Membre Gourmet Dégustateur @Ordre Mondial des Gourmets Dégustateurs [OMGD]; Gesellschafter @Goldener Fisch and Member @Slowfood Convivium Zurich City. 
