Our trip to Berlin was short and sweet. Despite our hectic days, I wanted to enjoy some new culinary experiences. Below, I am going to review the restaurants that we tried while on our short trip to Berlin. We were there on Saturday and Sunday evening. Keep in mind that many restaurants are closed on Sunday. We made a reservation for Saturday evening, and we did not make a reservation for Sunday. In retrospect, I would make a reservation for Sunday evening unless you are planning on something very casual. Our hotel called the restaurants that we were interested in for Sunday evening dinner and neither had any availability. The restaurants we considered for Sunday were Katz Orange and Mrs Robinson. I found these ahead of time online, and our hotel concierge gave the stamp of approval to both, so I feel comfortable passing the names along.
Prior to Saturday evening dinner, we were shopping at KaDeWe. They have a food hall that I highly recommend visiting. We snacked on a sandwich along with enjoying two glasses of Rose. It would make a great lunch spot or quick dinner before an evening of cocktails. Another quick lunch consideration is one of the many restaurants with Currywurst. We stopped at the one just above the DDR museum. We had a fast food lunch of currywurst with the fries. They have a limited menu with drinks including coke zero, beer, and bubbles. I left happy.
I did a lot of research on cocktail bars in Berlin. Unfortunately, due to many places being closed on Sunday, we did not make it to the spot that was on the top of my list. Even more upsetting, I have continued to see it on “best lists” even after leaving Germany. The name is Buck and Breuk. They do not take reservations. You simply ring the bell outside and see if there is availability. The outside facade makes it difficult to find and there is no signage. Reviews online are mixed, but if you love craft cocktails …. it may be worth the trip.
1. CODA restaurant. What an unparalleled concept this dining experience provides. A dessert tasting menu with late night dining. It seemed this place was right up my alley. CODA dessert dining has an early seating for a 7 course menu and also a late night menu with the option of 3 or 4 courses. They just received their first Michelin star in 2019. We arrived for the late seating at a 10:15 reservation and chose the 4 course menu. Each course comes with a cocktail. They are a small taster to go with your course and nothing heavy. We had a bottle of champagne with our meal in addition to the cocktails served. I will include photos of our coursed meal. I enjoyed the first and third courses, but I did not care for the second and fourth. The cocktails for two of the courses were also not to my liking. I thought that the concept was so unique and wanted to love the experience; however, the food was not exactly right for my taste. Obviously, it has one Michelin star so they are doing something right. The bottle of champagne we had was very unique and fantastic. Overall, it was a one of a kind experience, but I would not return here on another visit to Berlin.
2. borchardt. This turned out to be an accidental last minute find. It has a very classic feel with a traditional menu. It is primarily steaks and seafood. We started out with the burrata from Puglia, and it was incredible! I would say the best burrata I have tried outside of Italy. Next, I had pasta for my main, which was good. My travel partner had beef and ordered a side of the truffle mash potatoes. The truffle mash was amazing. Drinks include a list of very traditional cocktails and also an extensive wine list. There was a beautiful patio in the back; however, the evening was a little cold for patio weather. This turned out to be a great spur of the moment decision, and they do stay open late on Sunday evening. That being said, plan ahead if you have special interests especially for Sunday dinner.
Now, I can’t stop myself from mentioning a couple of interesting facts about the players involved with borchardt. When I read a news article about Brad Pitt possibly being linked to Nicole Poturalski, it briefly caught my attention. But, what turned out to really catch my attention, is that Nicole is married to the borchardt restaurant owner. After reading this, it seemed that stumbling upon this restaurant was quite the lucky mistake. It is evidently quite popular for attracting an elite crowd in Berlin.
