What is the oldest restaurant you have eaten at? Have you eaten at a restaurant that is more than 50 years old? 100 years old? 200 years old? In the United States there are just a few restaurants that are older than 250 years.

Last night I ate at a restaurant that has been open since 1509. It is one of the oldest restaurants in the world.

The Roter Hirsch in Jena has been in business for 506 years. The restaurant was just outside of the gates of Jena when it was founded, but now it is in the center of the much expanded city.

I first ate at the Roter Hirsch when it was much younger, and was looking forward to the 500th anniversary. I have enjoyed many meals there over the years and stepping into the restaurant last night brought back many memories.

This was one of the places I was looking forward to eating at on my current trip. See: German Food

Roter Hirsch can be translated as the Red Stag or the Red Deer.

For dinner I started with a nice cup of Soljanka. This soup is from Russia and is sour and spicy. This is a very popular soup in eastern Germany especially in areas where Russian troops were stationed.

For my main dish I had Thuringer Rostbratchen, which is a pork steak served with potatoes, roasted onions and spicy mustard. This is one of my favorite meals in Germany.

Of course the food was very good and my colleagues also enjoyed their choices.

As you can see I really enjoyed the meal and pretty much cleared my plate. If I would have had a few slices of bread to soak up the sauces it would have been much cleaner 🙂

Now to decide where to eat next.

Steven