The sharpest criticism comes from the young woman, who attaches such great importance to vegetarian food.
And the greatest compliments come from those at the table who consider themselves traditional meat eaters and were particularly skeptical beforehand.
In the end, the verdict in the family group of five is mostly positive.
And as far as the extremely friendly service and the uncomplicated atmosphere in this unusual restaurant are concerned, everyone agrees anyway.
The opinion that formed in the family circle that evening is anything but representative, but it goes well with the "Zwei und Zwanzig" in tranquil Geisenheim, which has developed from a small vegan café into a highly acclaimed, creative restaurant within a few years .
You might expect a restaurant like this in Frankfurt or Berlin - in the rural, much more traditional Rheingau it was a novelty from the start and still is.
It is all the more astonishing how quickly Dirk Stepp has made headlines and gained notoriety beyond the region since opening in 2014 with its purely plant-based cuisine.
The cookbook “22”, which was published by Tre-Torri-Verlag in Wiesbaden at the end of 2020 and makes the most important of his creations accessible for home use, may have contributed to this.
Own creations beyond standards
A classic of the house that was praised by everyone at the table that evening is the falafel with tahini cream (six euros).
The green-brown chickpea balls are bursting with herbal spices and have a wonderful counterpart with the nutty-mild, almost frothy sesame cream.
On the menu, the falafel meets the guests a few more times, on a hummus plate (14 euros) together with zucchini and rocket, in a spelled wrap with cucumber and yoghurt-mint dip (8 euros) and as a patty with a burger Hummus, lettuce, red wine onions and tahina cream (8.50 euros).
The long-running favorites at “Zwei und Zwanzig” also include the homemade kimchi (4.50 euros), which looks more rustic than the Korean original, but tastes milder and less chili-spicy, as well as the full-bodied, aromatic potato curry with spinach and chickpeas and coconut milk (13 euros).
Soups are always on the menu;
they are a particularly rewarding category for vegetarian and vegan kitchens, because they often do without meat components anyway and are best prepared from fresh vegetables.
What distinguishes Dirk step and his program from that in many other vegan restaurants are the own creations, which go beyond the vegan standards such as hummus, falafel, curries and plant-based burgers.
His mushroom gyros, for example, quickly dispels all skepticism at the table, because the marinated and fried mushroom strips, which are served here with coleslaw, tzatziki and potato wedges, are so hearty and spicy, crispy and mouth-filling in the best sense of the word Nothing is missing for convinced meat eaters.
The mushroom preparation is not just a substitute, it convinces on its own.
Other dishes of this type are the savoy roulade recently served on mashed swedes with a crispy rösti potato and red wine jus, and the roasted Brussels sprouts, which were recently served with mashed potatoes,
The only criticism – that of the young vegetarian – concerns the individual spiciness and consistency of some dishes, sometimes a touch too much spiciness, sometimes a little too little aroma, sometimes a little too little bite and crispiness.
But at the end of the day, everyone at the table agrees that nobody missed meat, fish or dairy products that evening.
And that says everything about Dirk step and his "two and twenty."
Zwei und Zwanzig, Lindenplatz 1 Geisenheim, Telephone 0 67 22 / 7 10 83 12, Internet www.zwei-und-zwanzig.de. Open Tuesday to Sunday from 12pm to 3pm and from 5pm to 10pm.