Tentations

Tentations is somewhere where you can eat cheaply, quickly and with great food. It is a small place located in the historical centre of Strasbourg, really close to the cathedral rear.

You can only order risotto or spätzle to eat and you can eat it in or most commonly, have it to take away and eat in the street, by the river or wherever else you like.

Risotto is an Italian rice dish which has a texture more like pasta. You can add many ingredients and there are several types.

Spätzle is a type of pasta typical in both the south of Germany and in Alsace due to the influence Germany holds over both Alsatian culture and gastronomy and they have much in common. You can have it in various ways although it usually resembles macaroni but with the edges tucked inside. They are normally eaten as they are, with cheese or with meat.

The process is very easy. You choose if you want risotto or spätzle and then you choose the number of ingredients and which ones you want. The size stays the same. The only thing the customer can elect to change is the number of additional ingredients.

The ingredients that you can add are ham, cheese, olives, tomato, smoked salmon, carbonara sauce, pesto, chorizo, mushrooms, chicken and Provençal or goats cheese.

The price of both the spätzle and the risotto is 4 euros 70. If you add one ingredient the price goes up to 5 euros 20, if you add two it goes up again by 30 cents (5 euros 50) and if you add three the price is 5 euros 70. As you can see it is very cheap and convenient. The size is big although at first it doesn't seem it by looking at the container they give you but I usually have leftovers despite being left feeling really full.

You can also order a drink and desert. The drinks they have are water, some soft drinks and juice and they come in two sizes: 33 ml and 50 ml. The 50 ml water costs 1 euros 70, a 33 ml soft drink costs 2 euros 10 and the 50 ml, 2 euros 50.

There are also set menu options which can save you money:

Simple menu: a box of spätzle or risotto with three ingredients and a 33 ml drink costs 7 euros 20. If ordered separately the price would be 7 euros 80 so the savings are 60 cents.

All inclusive menu ('tout compris'): A box of spätzle or risotto with three ingredients, a 33 ml drink and a dessert for 8 euros 20 which means the dessert costs 1 euro.

The service is what you would expect in this kind of place. They serve you first in the bar, you tell them what you want, they prepare it for you in less than 5 minutes and you pay in cash while you wait. When it is ready they give it to you and you have to get your own plastic fork, spoon or knife and serviettes.

It is a small place but I like it even if the style of the façade is nothing like the interior. The inside is bordering on elegant with wooden walls and mirrors whereas the outside is not at all and nor is the logo. However, that is just my opinion.

I discovered this place thanks to some class mates who were from Strasbourg. At first I was unconvinced because the place is shabby and trying new foods isn't my thing but I had no time and decided to try the spätzle as they represent more the area's gastronomy. However my friend misunderstood and ordered me the risotto and I found glory (when you are Erasmus and are given good, hot, cheap and 'healthy' food, it is glory. In fact I remember these moments as if they happened to me today). In fact, in a restaurant called 'La Corde a Linge' in 'La petite France', I tried the spätzle and didn't like it much so really, it was lucky there was a mix up.

My favourite dish is the risotto with ham and cheese. It is exquisite and I miss it a lot. In regards to where I would eat it, I can tell you that in winter it warms your hands and you can eat it where you like but it is best to be inside somewhere; and if it is nice weather, I recommend going down the street towards the canal and eating it by the river in the sun. You can also do this alone or with friends as it is easy and cheap so they don't usually have a problem.

To get there, it is best to remember that you have to go to the corner of Flam's with the beer shop and that the back door overlooks 'la Place du Marché Gayot'.

I don't know the opening hours but it is not open on Sundays and you have to go before half past two in the afternoon because otherwise it will be shut.