The Rote Laterne is a nice Chinese restaurant, with good food and a nice ambience. The staff was…read morenot really friendly but besides that, everything was nice. I ordered the vegetarian tofu dish and my friends ordered a soup and the beef hot plate. My dish was really good. It had lots of flavor, fresh ingredients and I loved the noodles. It had just the right amount of spiciness as well. My friends were very happy with their dishes as well. Nice place to grab a bite with friends. I would go back.

The food is good and flavorful, the place is super cool and trendy as well as the people. The…read moreservice is ok. They have a good menu on drinks, cool place to hang out with friends. The prices are a little too high in my opinion, but the rest is fine.

Outside: Hidden down an alley. Inside: Clean and…read morecomfortable. Food: Authentic Chinese Cuisine Service: Fast and Friendly Price: ~$15 per person Dong Bei Lou (North East Tower) Is a hidden gem in the city of Essen. If you like authentic Chinese cuisine, stop reading this and just go! This charming Chinese restaurant is tucked away down a kind of alleyway that you would be likely to miss if you weren't looking for it - but you SHOULD be looking for it. I visit Essen every year for the Spiel board game convention and there are a lot of mediocre and crowded restaurants near the convention center. Dong Bei Lou is both fantastic and seemingly off the radar so it checks a couple wonderful boxes there! The servers (and owner) were welcoming to us on each of our visits and the food, servers family style as is the Chinese custom, was mouthwatering on every occasion. One thing to note is that many of the dishes are spicy, and not the standard "white people spicy" you get at more westernized chinese restaurants. Expect Sichuan red chili and numbing black peppercorns in some of the dishes and do avoid the things that they warn you are spicy if you do not like spicy food. Otherwise, you cannot go wrong on this menu. Vegetable dishes were cooked to perfection and flavored well. Meat dishes were tender and savory. The beers were cold and the food was hot. What more could you ask for. What's that? You want to fill out your authentic Chinese dinner experience by concluding with K-TV? No problem! There is a Karaoke booth in the bar area - so step in after your meal and sing your heart out. Truly, Dong Bei Lou is one of the best Chinese restaurants I have experienced outside of Asia. Check. This. Place. Out.

Price I say 'between average and pricy' for the portion of food…read more It is not traditional, rather 'modern', with the good atmosphere. The wine selection is not bad and suits the food. The food tasted OK and the portion was perfect to my small hunger in the evening. If you don't feel like oily big portion of Chinese food, you should go for this.