BellaVista (Ulm, GERMANY) ★★☆☆☆

The fact that Ulm is the birthplace of Albert Einstein had nothing to do with us stopping for lunch here this afternoon. With the historic city right in the middle of Kempten and Stuttgart, it simply made perfect sense to stop by for food, gas, and a little bit of sightseeing.

Our friend AI told me that Ulm is a tourist city, but the tourism part didn’t really register during our visit as we were the only notable tourists in the city centre. After parking our car in the heart of Ulm, we emerged from underground looking for our lunch spot.

BellaVista is a popular café, bar, and restaurant in Ulm, famous for its rooftop terrace that looks directly at the Ulm Minster, one of the tallest churches in the world and the undisputed top attraction of the city. The restaurant sits on the top floor of a six-story building on the edge of a plaza right next to the church. It was the main reason I booked this place in the first place.

With the hope of getting a closer look at the Ulm Minster, we decided to sit on the terrace.

Needless to say, we began taking selfies the moment we sat down at the corner.

The food menu is very short, highlighted by a couple of salad bowls, ramen noodles, and the daily specials.

This was when my day took a wild spin for the worse. While I was going through the menu, there were a few (under 10) wasps and bees 🐝 circling around me and little nugget (Jelloman was away to the toilet). It’s safe to say my boy has never been a fan of little flying objects and when he was constantly interrupted by them, he got really irritated and a little upset. He started swinging wildly with the menu, and this probably got one of the wasps upset. It settled on my arm (but why me? I had no clue) and bit me.

When I first saw the wasp on my arm, I didn’t react immediately. Two seconds later, I was already bitten. There was obviously excruciating pain at the spot where I’ve been bitten, and it quickly started to swell pretty badly.

I quickly told little one to go inside the restaurant and asked for help. One of the servers came and sprayed some chemicals on my wound, and without consulting Jelloman, we moved indoors. I was then handed an ice pack to keep the swelling down.

So, yes I didn’t really get to enjoy this meal as much as I would have liked.

Yatai ramen (€13.5) — Both ramen options are vegetarian. This one came with enoki mushrooms, pak choy, leeks, sugar snap peas, and fresh coriander in a soy sauce–based broth. The broth was very strong, with a rich soy sauce flavor. We were joking that with the broth already pretty salty, the chance of the bottle of soy sauce being used was probably next to none. 

Fried calamari (€17.9) — The fried calamari (which was really squid rings) was breaded and served on a bed of salad made with garden greens, rocket leaves, tomatoes, and capers. There was a Parmesan aioli on top to add to the flavors. Overall the dish was fine, although I thought the calamari would have tasted better without the added batter.

There were a few firsts for me today. First time visiting Ulm, first time having Japanese ramen in Germany, and yeah — first time being bitten by a wasp. I have to admit, a lot went through my mind in the few seconds after being bitten, including whether the wasp was poisonous. I was reassured by the staff that as long as I didn’t feel anything wrong (such as dizziness), I should be fine.

A gentleman from the table next to us came over to check if I was alright. What a class act! He went on to tell me that during the summer it’s common to see wasps and bees everywhere in Germany and that being bitten by one definitely isn’t rare. He concluded with, “This is Germany. Welcome to Germany!”

Even with my badly swollen forearm, I decided to check out Ulm Minster. 

Despite its massive scale and cathedral-like appearance, it has never been the official seat of a bishop. Go, figure....

Food Rating: 4.7/10

Price: €€€

Address: Münsterplatz 35, 89073 Ulm, Germany

Tel: +49 731 6026966

Website: https://bellavista-ulm.de/

Opening Hours: 8:30am - 5:00pm (Mon - Thu), 8:30am - 4:00pm (Fri - Sat)