Baroque beauty

Art & Culture / Fashion / Food / Interior Design / Retail / Travel

Magnificent baroque architecture and unrivalled art treasures Dresden is not known as the Florence on the Elbe for nothing. A lot has happened in the city in recent years, especially in Neustadt, Germany’s largest art deco neighbourhood, where artsy bars are popping up next to fashion-forward boutiques. Further afield, in the surrounding area, there are also the vast Elbe meadows, the Oberlössnitz vineyards and dozens of palaces and castles scattered throughout Saxony that bear witness to the past of old Prussia.

COMFORT FOOD – Villandry

Restaurateurs Frank Grahl and Dirk Vogel (pictured, Grahl on left) have been running Villandry since 2021 and have given the restaurant, which already has a decades-old history, a new look. The midnight-blue walls beautifully showcase a series of artworks. The leather upholstered benches are cosy and the menu is equally comforting. Chefs Ole Becker and Elias Zieglmeier’s French-Italian inspired dishes, which also have Spanish and Asian influences, are all delightfully umami and feature unusual flavour combinations. The pigeon breast on mashed potatoes comes with honey, miso, redcurrants and chilli. The Hokkaido pumpkin is served with teriyaki sauce, oyster mushrooms, cranberries, spring onions and sesame seeds. Most of the produce comes from slow-food firms and organic farms in the region.
villandry-dresden.de

MILKY WAY – Pfunds Molkerei

This company found success at the turn of the century with its pasteurised and condensed milk – a technological advance at the time and it’s a charming spot to get a taste of old Dresden. Founders Paul Gustav Leander and Friedrich Pfund worked with artists from the city academy to decorate their shop with elaborate tiles from Villeroy & Boch. Today the counter is stacked with local and international cheese and customers can help themselves to buttermilk from the fridge – at €1 a glass.
bfunds.de

GOOD VIBRATIONS – Uta Stabler

Uta Stabler does everyone’s make-up: politicians in the Saxon state parliament and actors such as Christian Friedel, as well as regular folk. The Dresden native has been working as a hair and make-up artist since 2008 but more recently started a beauty parlour where she also offers face and neck massages. „I used to be a competitive athlete, so I know all about muscles.“ she says. Her massage armchair has an integrated sound system that transmits the vibration of the music to the body. „This has an amazing effect.“
ulastabler.de

SHEER ELEGANCE – Villa Sorgenfrei

In Radebeul, a 15-minute drive west of Dresden’s city centre, stately villas with perfectly manicured gardens line the streets. Villa Sorgenfrei is one of the most beautiful. Inside the 18th-century building, which once served as a winery and summer residence, there are 14 rooms, two suites and an excellent restaurant. In chef Marcus Langer‘ Michelin-starred Atelier Sanssouci, the menu features five or 10 courses of French-inspired dishes, with matching wines by Saxon winemaker Martin Schwarz or neighbouring vigneron Frédéric Fourré.
hotel-villa-sorgenfrei.de

CLASSIC WITH A TWIST – JURI

Julia Reiche studied civil engineering but she was always drawn to the nightlife and drinks business. „I just love meeting people and treating them to a nice evening,“ she says. After she came across a vacant shop in the Neustadt district, she decided to open her own bar. She painted the walls sapphire blue and eggshell yellow, and snapped up the counter of the legendary Sidedoor Bar. Juri opened in 2022 and has been buzzing ever since, thanks to its relaxed atmosphere and Reiche’s drinks list. „I have a lot of classics but I like to offer them with a twist.“ she says.
juri-bar.de

FLOWER POWER – Die Blumenbinderei

„I grew up in this neighbourhood,“ says Tuliane Müller, owner of this florists on long-overlooked Rudolf-Renner-Strasse. „When I started in 2005, I was advised against it,“ she says. „It was hard to imagine that the area would blossom like this.“ Over the years, she has added a cosy café, where she serves tea produced on a small Thuringian farm. Customers can also join workshops on craft techniques such as lino-cutting or paper-making.
dieblumenbindereidresden.de

TOP NOTES – OPERA

Benjamin Biedlingmaier and Stephan Herz (who also run American-inspired cocktail bar Herzbar) could have hardly found a better location for their restaurant, Opéra, than the classicist Altstädtische Hauptwache, a former guard building, designed by architect Karl Friedrich Schinkel. The restaurant sits right in front of Semperoper, the city’s opera house, and attracts tourists, theatre-goers and art lovers from the surrounding museums. It opened in 2023 after a comprehensive interior refurbishment: the walls are now clad in travertine and the chairs and benches are upholstered in the finest Italian leather. Biedlingmaier describes the dishes, prepared in the semi-open kitchen, as casual soul food. Sunday is schnitzel day, served with a potato salad that’s already being celebrated as the best in Saxony.
opera-dining.bar; herz.bar

Konfekt,
Winter 2024