ALGE Heidelberg

Unfortunately this place is

What is the ALGE and which people are behind it?

The ALGE initiative helps prospects to open a vegan restaurant, bistro or café. An expert team is available for this purpose, which works on an honorary basis and supports the future restaurant owners in all matters with words and deeds. All advice and support is free. Incidentally, this applies both to start-ups and existing restaurants. At the same time, the ALGE brand should help operators to become better known and thus successful more quickly.

The initiative’s goal is to increase the availability of healthy vegan food throughout Europe. ALGE stands for the German abbreviation of everbody loves healthy food. Alge is also German for algae which ist known for its healthy ingredients.

You already know an important advertising medium of the ALGE Initiative through my article about the “asparagus dinner with Boris Lauser“. The well-known raw food chef, Boris Lauser, is patron of the Alge and also provides recipes. In addition, there are Jürgen Gratze (organization and marketing), Maik Breilmann (design), Annika Wahl (communication) and several other experts available.

As of the beginning of 2019, 10 Alge locations are open or are about to open, two of them outside Germany.

If you want to know more about the Alge Initiative, follow the link in the info below!

I had the opportunity to visit the Alge Heidelberg. As a result, I’ll show you what you can expect in an Alge based on this location.

A completely new district of the city is being built in the so-called “Bahnstadt” in Heidelberg at the former freight yard. After completion more than 10,000 people will live and work here. According to own data it will contain the largest passive house settlement of the world. Exactly in this environment in the community center at the centrally located Gadamerplatz as far as I know the first purely vegan restaurant in Heidelberg, namely the Alge, is located.

The bistro opened in mid-June 2018 and has quickly become a meeting place in the Bahnstadt. This is certainly not least due to the dedicated and gracious owner Anke Heines, who has transferred her commitment to the entire team. Before we come to the heart of a restaurant, its food, I’d like to mention that the Alge Heidelberg is also a wonderful place to drink coffee. And if you are looking for a place to work with an internet connection, then this is the right place. There is free, fast internet available.

The Food

The menu covers everything from breakfast to dinner. There are always a starter, main course and dessert as changing daily specials, which can also be ordered as a well-priced 3-course menu. The code of honour for the Alge enterprises provides that dishes are exclusively vegan, that they are freshly prepared and their raw materials come from sustainable agriculture and if possible are regionally bought. The dishes are free of sugar, flavor enhancers and other additives. And there is also at least one raw food main dish and a raw food dessert available. All this is also Anke Heine’s big concern. On top, all dishes are gluten-free in the Alge Heidelberg.

On my first visit, I had the mushroom risotto with baked vegetables, which I had seen with another guest. At the end we both agreed that it was very delicious. For dessert I took the raw vegan raspberry cake. Excellent!

Alge Heidelberg raw vegan raspberry cake

I had the opportunity to attend the barbecue evening. In a classic barbecue you first think of meat and sausages. Logically in the Alge that works different. For vegans it is of course fantastic, if you can draw on a full barbecue and not have to worry about what you can eat and what not.

Meanwhile, the Alge brunch has established itself as a permanent fixture. It takes place every third Saturday of the month or on certain public holidays. Every last Wednesday of the month there’s the so called vegan company at table. Here, a special menu is served and all guests sit at a large, shared table.

The Alge Heidelberg is also available for catering at events.

Funiture and Design

As already mentioned, the Alge is located on a corner of the community center right on Gadamerplatz. On the window of the bistro “clean eating” is written and as clean you can also call the interior of the bistro. The room is very bright due to the large, floor-to-ceiling windows and the white-painted walls. The tables and chairs are made of light-colored wood with dark brown upholstery. The lamps are perfectly matched. They are a combination of the same wood tone and dark brown.

In the warm season, a large, wonderful terrace is available in front of the restaurant, which doubles its capacity.

I heard with my own ears that even non-vegans are enthusiastic about the food and definitely want to come back. So, if you’re in the Heidelberg area, make sure to visit the place!