AQUI Restaurant - Tapas - Bar, Sternschanze, Hamburg

A pretty good Spanish place with a good selection of mains and tapas. right in the middle of the Schanz. They usually have some good deals.

Its summer and the schanze is the place to be.
schulterblatt was overflowing with people
and since we were dying to have sea food, we went to Aqui.
It was full but the waiter managed to fit us in on a table for 6 (occupied by 2)

Friendly staff, very good food
we had the grilled calamaris and the octopus in aioli (number 101 and 111) for around 15€ each.

Both were incredibly good
the portion is very fair, besides the fish/octopus we had a salad and vegetables (including but not limited to potato)

A (fish) main dish would cost around 15-20€ and they also have a wide variety of tapas (vegetarian, fish, meat, chicken ...) which cost around 4-5€/plate

You also get bread, aioli and olives once you get there.

The only problem there is that our waiter insisted on talking to us in spanish
we'd ask something and his answer would be completely in spanish, and we just look back at him with blank eyes...
It is kinda annoying, he definitely noticed we dont understand a word..

An Ode to Steak / By Liron

Oh....
The lord has made me a carnivore, I say!
The lord has made me a carnivore, I say!
So why not have a good steak, I say,
The bigger, the better, the best.

We went to these Spaniards for dinner,
I ordered a steak in garlic sauce - a winner!
The service was friendly, the waiter was nice,
I ordered a glass of tap water, didn't have to ask twice!

Oh...
The lord has made me a carnivore, I say!
The lord has made me a carnivore, I say!
So why not have a good steak, I say,
The bigger, the better, the best.

We had a nice chat over breadsticks and beer
In a flash, our main courses were here!
It came quickly with veggies and bread, oh
How I managed to finish it 'till today I don't know.

Oh...
The lord has made me a carnivore, I say!
The lord has made me a carnivore, I say!
So why not have a good steak, I say,
The bigger, the better, the best.

I know in my heart that I shall return
I still remember that steak, I long, I yearn!
Not sure about Andrew, in this whole beefy whirl,
Couldn't finish his meal, was beaten by a girl.

Oh...
The lord has made me a carnivore, I say!
The lord has made me a carnivore, I say!
So why not have a good steak, I say,
The bigger, the better, the best!

A restaurant in Germany with good service?! No, you're not dreaming. I really liked everything about this place, apart from the fact that the design of the tables means you can't easily stretch your legs underneath. And that's really important to me. But still, the steak here is lovely, but it's all about the associated trimmings. Rice, salad, chunky chips, great sauce, olives, bread - it's all there. The waiters are attentive, and the service is quick. It's really really good.

So we came back again for the second evening in three days. The first time I had a grilled fish platter for 13.50 and today I had an amazing steak for 11.50. Both days good service, very prompt and attentive. My only slight gripe would be that they give slighty too many black olives compared to green olives. :P

I really wasn't expecting much from Aqui. It doesn't look like much from the outside and i haven't really been drawn to it over the last 6 months. I thought i'd been to all the decent restaurants in the Schanze. I was wrong. My 11.50 Euro steak was really, really good and the service here was friendly and very efficient (rare in Germany). I couldn't fit dessert in, but the couple next to us ordered what looked to be chocolate mousse and creme brulee. Both looked fantastic.

I will definitely be coming back here.