Grüner Schatten

Review

Under the red tree

Photo: Heribert Corn Anyone who thanks Mahmud Howlader for the fact that Bangla cuisine is finally available to eat will be told: "There are lots of restaurants anyway. In London." He's right, Bangladeshi cuisine is only found on the fringes of large Indian menus here, so the small restaurant called Grüner Schatten can be said to have a unique selling point. And not just because of the Bangla cuisine.
Lustkandlgasse has a kind of social welfare aura in this area, with the adult education center, Canisius Church, Akademikerhilfe, the former Karolinen Children's Hospital just around the corner, and at first glance Grüner Schatten also looks a bit like the canteen of a children's playgroup: sturdy furniture, easy-to-clean floor, marginal decoration, just a colorful children's tent, a shelf with a few rubber animals and a map of Bangladesh provisionally pinned to the wall. No colorful animals, no tigers, no sitar music. Café Das Möbel in Burggasse, where Mahmud Howlader cooked for a while and whose artistic director was Margareta Schießwohl, already had a certain penchant for simplicity. And because Mahmud was also responsible for the kitchen in their shared flat and it always tasted so incredibly good, says Schießwohl, the idea of their own restaurant was inevitable at some point. Fortunately, because what the two of them cook there is not only incredibly good, it also has - as pathetic as this may sound - soul. The pair decided against the original "pay as you wish" model and opted for an insanely affordable cost estimate, cooking fresh and with enthusiasm, avoiding additives and keeping their dishes on the very mild side - for the sake of the children. A bowl of okra vegetables with sunflower seeds, vegetabley, great taste (€ 2,-), wonderful melanzani with onions, delicious (€ 2,-), the potato and vegetable loaf Patakopy on its own perhaps a little bland, but great with the vegetables (€ 2,-), especially with the great nettle spinach with radishes (€ 2,-). Bengali-style beef ragout, tender and juicy, dense flavor, great (€ 3,-), meatballs in lime-coconut sauce, fluffy, fantastic (€ 3,-). And because the bitter cucumber vegetables had just run out, Mahmud quickly made new ones, crunchy, really bitter, really good (€ 2,-). Incidentally, the name "Green Shadow" refers to the relaxed atmosphere that the Bangladeshis experience at lunchtime in the shade under the leafy trees; and stands for tolerance and community; and for the fact that the colors of the Bangladeshi flag are red and green, two complementary colors; and that right in front of the restaurant is the only tree in the alley with red leaves, which casts a green shadow ... Summary: Wonderful, small dishes from a wonderful kitchen, cooked by wonderfully friendly people, sold extremely cheaply.
Grüner Schatten, 9th, Lustkandlg. 48, tel. 0677/61 83 26 28, Mon-Fri 11.30-15, 16.30-21, Sun 12-21,

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