Berlin Restaurants

[Margo]

My mother and I will spend 2 weeks in Berlin, May 21-June 3. We'll be all over the city visiting museums and architectural high points, and staying near the Tiergarten off Kurfürstendam.

Is there anything seasonal we should be looking for? Is it herring and asparagus time? Spring beers?

And I know this is horribly general, but I've got nothing as far as restaurant recommendations; I tend to dismiss the guidebook picks out of hand (for no good reason, I'm sure). Something we would only find in Berlin? Something echt Deutsche?

I promise to report back. Danke!

[Corinna Dunne]

Has anyone got an update on restaurants in Berlin?

Suggestions for reasonably priced top end restaurants would be great, and cool casual places....

[olicollett]

Odd, I just got back from here, meant to post in this thread before I went.

I actually did a day trip to Wolfsburg to visit Aqua - it's not exactly in the "reasonably priced" bracket but wow is it worth it (hopefully do my writeup this weekend)

TI did go to a couple of places in Berlin:

Monsieur Vuong - good, reasonably priced, great spring rolls. Not afraid of spice which is good for a german restaurant!

The Bird - V disappointing burger. Insufficient bun meant that it ended up everywhere before it got to my mouth, and the fries were a real let down

Oh and I did go to curry 36 - If you insist on eating currywurst you could do worse than go here, and it's certainly not going to break the bank!

[Mjx]

Odd, I just got back from here, meant to post in this thread before I went.

I actually did a day trip to Wolfsburg to visit Aqua - it's not exactly in the "reasonably priced" bracket but wow is it worth it (hopefully do my writeup this weekend)

TI did go to a couple of places in Berlin:

Monsieur Vuong - good, reasonably priced, great spring rolls. Not afraid of spice which is good for a german restaurant!

The Bird - V disappointing burger. Insufficient bun meant that it ended up everywhere before it got to my mouth, and the fries were a real let down

Oh and I did go to curry 36 - If you insist on eating currywurst you could do worse than go here, and it's certainly not going to break the bank!

Did you come across any other places serving quick, casual food (apart from [curry]wurst; I can easily get that downtown where I am, if I wanted to), or good, reliable bakeries?

[olicollett]

Odd, I just got back from here, meant to post in this thread before I went.

I actually did a day trip to Wolfsburg to visit Aqua - it's not exactly in the "reasonably priced" bracket but wow is it worth it (hopefully do my writeup this weekend)

TI did go to a couple of places in Berlin:

Monsieur Vuong - good, reasonably priced, great spring rolls. Not afraid of spice which is good for a german restaurant!

The Bird - V disappointing burger. Insufficient bun meant that it ended up everywhere before it got to my mouth, and the fries were a real let down

Oh and I did go to curry 36 - If you insist on eating currywurst you could do worse than go here, and it's certainly not going to break the bank!

Did you come across any other places serving quick, casual food (apart from [curry]wurst; I can easily get that downtown where I am, if I wanted to), or good, reliable bakeries?

I'm afraid not - I was only there for a weekend and it wasn't that food orientated so didn't spend too much time looking into it! Monsieur Vong is certainly on the casual side though and pretty quick service

[Charlotte1988]

Odd, I just got back from here, meant to post in this thread before I went.

I actually did a day trip to Wolfsburg to visit Aqua - it's not exactly in the "reasonably priced" bracket but wow is it worth it (hopefully do my writeup this weekend)

TI did go to a couple of places in Berlin:

Monsieur Vuong - good, reasonably priced, great spring rolls. Not afraid of spice which is good for a german restaurant!

The Bird - V disappointing burger. Insufficient bun meant that it ended up everywhere before it got to my mouth, and the fries were a real let down

Oh and I did go to curry 36 - If you insist on eating currywurst you could do worse than go here, and it's certainly not going to break the bank!

I went to the Bird about a year ago after my friends kept going on about it. It took forever to arrive (didn't help that we'd all just done a charity run so were starving ). The meal was ok and I probably would've been satisfied with it if it hadn't been for my mates going on about it so much and making it seem a lot better than it was.

Curry 36 is crazily busy! I used to work near there - the line is always massive! Opposite it is a veggie takeaway place which is also very popular - I've yet to eat there.

[jakob nielsen]

Going to Berlin in early april.

Anyone able to provide updated recommendations for medium-priced places - BiB gourmand style places, but not limited to such.

No special cuisine or anything, as long as its tasty!

[jjahorn]

Cookies Creme (http://cookiescream.com) is popular, medium priced and very trendy. Also hard to find. Vegetarian. I haven't bee to this one yet.

Cafe:

Princess Cheesecake http://www.princess-cheesecake.de/

Good brunches (Sundays - The entire Simon-Dach Str. http://maps.google.de/maps/myplaces?ll=52.51165,13.461492&spn=0.009285,0.01796&ctz=-60&t=m&z=16) as well as Nola http://www.nola.de/).

There is also a wonderful little Tea cafe on the north end of Simon-Dach Str. Don't know what it is called, but it is on the west side and looks like a doll house.

or afternoon tea Hotel de Rome http://www.hotelderome.com/

High End:

First Floor - http://www.firstfloor.palace.de/de/first-floor.html

Bieberbau - http://www.bieberbau-berlin.de/

Raue (go for lunch) - http://tim-raue.com/index.php?task=restaurant&section=karten〈=en

Brunch - Jüdisches Mädchenschule (Kosher) - http://www.maedchenschule.org/de/essen-trinken.html

[Mjx]

We ate at several places when we were in Berlin last July, but the one I remember best is Peking Ente. I don't know whether we just happened to be there when they were having a good night, but the food was really good. The route there will make you feel like you're in the middle of a Monty Python sketch, and it gets crowded pretty quickly, so if you do eat there, I recommend going early.

[jjahorn]

There is also a wonderful little Tea cafe on the north end of Simon-Dach Str. Don't know what it is called, but it is on the west side and looks like a doll house.

Just an update on this recommendation, it is

Anna Kriegbaum

Niederbarnimstr. 7 Berlin

The slogan is 'Cake like from a different time'

It is nice, very friendly and has very good quality cakes and teas at good prices. I don't see how it makes a profit, but I'm glad it is still around.

[koen]

Hi,

 

I'm going in July. Also looking for nice bites. Got anymore recommendations? 

Jakob, have you got anything to add to the list after you've been there?

 

Would like to hear from you!

[aliénor]

we are  going to spend next week in berlin, germany. we will be living in "mitte" and have access to much public transportation. we are interested in mid-priced restaurants serving good typical german food and/or using local ingredients.would appreciate suggestions fitting that descriptions and any other favorite eating places that people have tried and are willing to comment

[jmacnaughtan]

The Augustiner Keller is great.  Also, get currywurst from a shack.

[Kerala]

We're off to Berlin for a weekend break in September. I will read through this thread, but does anyone have any more recent recommendations? My wife likes sweet, I like savoury.

Currywurst from a shack, got it!

[Bu Pun Su]

The first time I visited Berlin was more than 10 years ago when one of my best friends still studying there. Then I made a return here (1-night transit) last May … I thought Berlin has undergone the biggest improvement among major cities in Germany in terms of top restaurants, hotels etc. (both quality and quantity). I didn’t really expect such dramatic ‘upgrade’, so it was not that easy to pick where to go for my only dinner opportunity here – note that there are currently 7 2-star Michelin restaurants in Berlin. Tim Raue would be the most popular and common choice but I skipped it since I found the food was “too (Southeast) Asian” – given I’m from that region. I prefer something more German/international and the choice fell into Lorenz Adlon Esszimmer as it’s also strategically located near Brandenburg gate area.

 

The dining room of Lorenz Adlon was small (could accommodate at most 30 people) and divided into 2 rooms; I was seated in the ‘inside’ room, designed like a private library, near the corner and far from the window.  The ceiling was not too high but the interior exuded luxury and intimacy; the space among the tables was comfortably distanced. The restaurant was nearly full; perhaps it’s of no surprise given the food quality and the fact that it only serves 4 dinners a week … even more “relaxed” than L’Astrance!

 

The meal began with a pour of sparkling wine (sans alcohol), complimentary from the house. The bread had gorgeous presentation (served among the colorful stones inside a big bowl) and they’re delicious, pretty much all of them – pretzel, honey muffin, thyme roll and sourdough. The bread was served together with truffle mayo and chives salted butter. For the meal, I ordered a longer tasting menu but without the cheese (7 courses in total). The cuisine was a combination of traditional German with French technique and contemporary flavors using top produce. I found many of the appetizers often used too many ingredients on the plate hence lacked focus, but I admired the chef’s boldness. I liked it better when he put fewer things on the plate and let the main ingredient shine such as what happened in the main courses. The baked pork’s chin was flavorful, crispy outside and tender inside; it was nicely complemented by the glazed onions and potato cream. Likewise, the beef filet was perfectly executed and enhanced by the ‘yellow’ sauce and dark gravy containing its jus. Maybe since Hendrik Otto, chef de cuisine, is still “young” and has been here in less than a decade, he would still need to tweak the recipe and try to find his perfect style.

 

The service was warm, friendly, and professional even though I was never served by the manager. Although at first, the basic was similar to what I often experienced in Asia (Singapore, Hong Kong); I generally liked the hospitality I received in Europe better. Probably, it’s the tone, the body language and the face expression of the staffs here that I found to be more genuine, passionate and smooth instead of being robotic despite the young age of the staffs taking care of me. By the way, I also received an equally impeccable service by young gentlemen at Aqua.  Overall, it’s a satisfying 2-star meal; great service and tasty food. I think Chef Otto’s creations were still work in progress … one day maybe he will receive the 3^rd star?

 

Pictures of the meal: https://www.flickr.com/photos/7124357@N03/sets/72157688387502275

 

 

[BatchCooker]

If someone needs some hints on Berlin restaurants, I can help! Just quote me and let me know. Not in the next months I guess, but once tourism starts again...

[CheeseGravy]

On 11/8/2020 at 12:16 AM, BatchCooker said:

If someone needs some hints on Berlin restaurants, I can help! Just quote me and let me know. Not in the next months I guess, but once tourism starts again...

Would love some recommendations for Berlin!

I'll be going in December with a baby, so mainly looking for lunch spots and less formal restaurants, where bringing a baby would be OK (even though I love fine dining).