While sluggish raindrops are beading off the leaves of the sprawling chestnut trees outside, the dining room of the Landlust restaurant at the Reitsberger Hof in Vaterstetten exudes a contented cosiness in every corner. The calm before the storm that will set in with the arrival of the midday guests still prevails. The curtains have an orange pattern, white and yellow roses are tied into small bouquets on the tables, a long table has already been set for the Friday regulars’ table. In addition to the cozy dining rooms and a large beer garden, there is a historic circus wagon on the premises of the Reitsberger Hof, where you can dine like a king in winter, a barbecue hut, a small shepherd’s wagon and a bowling alley that is more than a hundred years old. “It all happened gradually,” says landlady Anna Link.
Apparently, not only the atmosphere in the Landlust is convincing, but also the food: Anna Link, who runs the restaurant together with her husband Christoph, recently received a certificate with the appreciation “Excellent Bavarian cuisine” from the Bavarian Minister of Agriculture Michaela Kaniber ( CSU) receive. With this seal, the focus is primarily on the authenticity and regionality of the kitchen. Catering establishments can apply every three years for either two or three diamonds. “We applied at three,” says Anna Link – because Landlust not only makes sure to work regionally but also seasonally.
The ambience of the restaurant at the Reitsberger Hof is also convincing.
(Photo: Peter Hinz-Rosin)
On this day in September, for example, quinoa patties with autumnal pumpkin ragout and marinated wild herb salad are on the menu, or apricot-rosemary cream cheese in a jar with fresh farmhouse bread. Around 25 companies from the region supply Landlust with eggs, beer or potatoes. Schnaps, apple juice and honey are made on the farm itself, says Christoph Link. However, this development only really picked up speed with the beginning of the pandemic, when the inn was actually about to close. But from the front.
An aunt started the culinary offer on the Reitsberger Hof premises in Vaterstetten in 1995, says Anna Link. At that time there was a small rider’s parlor with a much smaller kitchen. But because that was very well received by the guests, the aunt continued to expand the menu – until she got a great offer in Dietramszell and gave up the inn in Vaterstetten. Two tenants followed, for whom things were moderate.
Very happy about the award for their kitchen: Sous Chef Stefan Etterer and the landlords Anna and Christoph Link.
(Photo: Peter Hinz-Rosin)
During her apprenticeship as a hotel manager at the Hotel Platzl in Munich, Anna Link met her husband Christoph, who was training to be a chef there, and in 2011 the two decided to take over the Landlust inn. And it’s going well. People in Vaterstetten are happy to accept the offer, and the people of Munich are also gradually discovering the estate for themselves. But then Corona comes and the kitchen stays cold. “It was even up in the air whether we would have to close down,” remembers Anna Link.
At the same time, the innkeepers continue to get the goods from their regional suppliers. And so the links make a virtue out of necessity: They decide to sell the products themselves, in a farm shop with a drive-thru. Customers don’t even have to get out of the car to pick up the pre-packaged goods. More and more farmers and businesses from the region are getting in touch, all wanting to deliver their goods. With an experienced beekeeper, the links will be apprenticed and learn how to make honey themselves; they have twenty tribes today. The Baldham retirement home asked whether Landlust would like to take over their catering. And so the whole thing picks up speed. “So we started cooking again,” says Link.
The Landlust scores with many regional products such as the farm’s own schnapps.
(Photo: Peter Hinz-Rosin)
On occasions such as the maypole erection, the landlords come up with something special: In the Landlust garden there are various stands where guests can pick up chicken or fish on a stick and take them home. There are also various stations set up for St. Martin, which the children can walk down with their lanterns during the day and in the evening; naturally including baked St. Martin’s geese and children’s punch. This lantern trail is so well received that it is now an integral part of the Landlust autumn program. “But that’s only possible if other people go along with it,” says Anna Link. Today around 30 people work in the restaurant.
Even if you sometimes have to move out of old ways of thinking, there seems to be a solution for everything at Reisberger Hof. “Today the farm shop is packed into the stable,” says Anna Link and laughs, “into the Milli-chamber”. And even without Corona, the links remain creative: Next, they want to establish a small bakery with a pastry shop on the farm.