Nocti Vagus

"Nicht sehen heisst anders sehen." Berlin's "dark" restaurant and club, where the entire meal is served in total darkness. Menu (readable) and more at Nocti Vagus

We received a comment from a reader in 2006:

I went to the dark restaurant the other night, and it was an excellent experience, but unfortunately not for the actual food. In terms of food it was one of the worst restaurants I've ever been to, of any cost, and this was in fact maybe the most expensive I've ever paid for (a friend and I paid a total of 80 euros for the 3 course meal and one drink each). I had the vegetarian meal, and my friend had the seafood, and we both had the same experience. The salad and soup was fine, but the main course and dessert was terrible. It seemed a lot of the food wasn't fresh (e.g. crumbed fish-finger nuggets in salad, canned fruit), and my main course consisted of a lot of tough, spongey material (I think oyster mushrooms and wheat-based meat substitute, which tasted like it had been cooked in animal fat), soaked in a cheesy sauce, and some fairly plain cheesy potato fritters. My dessert seemed to be quite tasteless canned fruit (served in the syrup). It seems the reviews from a few years ago rate the whole thing highly, but I saw one recent one that reported the same experience we had - "you guide the fork to your mouth in the dark to bite down on chunks of fat, and most of the rest of the meat consists of cords". However, it was great fun, and I would still recommend it, one just has to be prepared to hate the food.

Saarbrücker Str. 36-38 (not sure if this is actually Mitte or Prenzlauer Berg)

Maothai

Maothai is a much talked about restaurant in the Berlin gastro scene. And not without good reason. There is no doubt that it's the best Thai spot in the city. Everything about it is just perfect: the food, the service, the atmosphere, the prices. The tables are beautifully laid out with crisp white tablecloths, the cutlery and glasses are highly polished. The decor is not overdone, it's clean and calm. Service is ultra friendly and the prices are very reasonable - you're looking at between 12 and 17 Euros for a main dish. There's no guide to Berlin which doesn't mention this restaurant, so I think it should be included here too. If you like Thai food, Maothai is a must visit. You won't be disappointed.

Maothai - Wörtherstr. 30, Prenzlauer Berg, Tel. 4419261

Le Cochon Bourgeois

From my very rusty knowledge of French I'd guess that "Le Cochon Bourgeois" means something like "The posh pig" or "The swanky swine". Whatever, the name is certainly apt because in the German adjectives which spring to mind for describing this restauarant are "Edel" and "Gehoben". It's an upmarket joint.

As you might expect from this class of restaurant, especially a French one, the food is excellent. As is the service. And I'm reliably informed that the wine is good too, but I'm no conneseur (I can't even spell it) so I can't comment. As for the atmosphere, well, it's great if you happen to be sat facing into the restaurant with a view of the bar and the other tables. Unfortunately the time I was there I had nothing to look at but a blank cream coloured wall. Oh, and my dining companion. If I owned the place I'd put up a big mirror on that wall. It'd give the folks in the cheap seats something to look at during a conversational hiatus.

There's two areas to the restaurant: a front with a view out over the street, and a back. I didn't really look in the back. As for the prices, well, a starter will rob you of 8.50 to 11 Euros. A middle course costs 11 or 12. And the main courses are between 15 and 19.50. The clientelle here are mostly retired business men, and society ladies with too much facial surgery. One old dame next to me had her skin pulled so tight that every time she crossed her legs her mouth opened. It wasn't pretty.

Anyway, to sum up: if you've already made your dot com millions then you should definately visit this "lokal" and make your own judgement. If you're still an impoverished student or under-employed graduate you should wait another decade or two before eating here.

Fichtestr. 24, Kreuzberg, Berlin.
Tel. 030 6930101

Berlin Dining Club

Do you enjoy meeting up with other native English speakers and exploring some of the best (but not necessarily most expensive) restaurants in Berlin? If so then you should check out the Berlin Dining Club.

This club is a relaxed and friendly group for English speakers living in Berlin. The club is open to Americans, Brits, Irish, Aussies, New Zealanders, South Africans, and the rest. It doesn't matter if you've only recently landed in Berlin and you know absolutely no-one, or you've been here for 10 years and already have a huge circle of friends. Through the dining club you're sure to have a fun evening or three and meet some new folk. It's also open to all ages although most of the members belong to the younger generation (about 20 to 35 years). The dinner evenings are organised roughly once or twice a month and the general aim of each is to simply zip the night away with some good food and good company. To find out more visit the website BerlinDiningClub.com

(Note: The Berlin Dining Club website is no longer working. This site--the Berlin Guide--isn't affiliated with the Dining Club and has no current contact information for it or for James, so please don't ask. Sorry! -andrew)

Babel

Kastanienallee 33 Mitte / Prenzlauerberg

This is a schwarma and falafel place. A doner place? No. There is a difference! (I think it might be that doner is turkish and schwarma is Lebanese). Anyway schwarma tastes a lot better. And while it would be ridiculous to try to list all the good places like this in Berlin, a few of them stand out and this is one of them. Typical schwarma falafel fare, but well prepared and very friendly.

Visited Babel with friends again in 2005, and it's still going strong, the best schwarma around, and massive portions for cheap. Makes me hungry just thinking about it.

Gorki Park

Weinbergsweg 25, Mitte (at the Rosenthalerplatz U-bahn)

I'll call this a restaurant, because the beer is just plain old Radeberger but the food is really special. The Borscht is vegetarian and fantastic. The Pelmini, little dumplings, are good too. And if they have wildgulaschsuppe that day, don't miss that either. Good people watching, cute Russian waitresses. Slide projector shows images of Russia on the wall. Non-smokers beware.

Updated November 2005. I was just back in Berlin for the first time since 2002, and Gorki Park's even nicer now. It's expanded into the neighboring space, and now feels a lot less cramped. It's been attractively redecorated, and isn't quite as Slavic as it once felt; it's now just a very pleasant cafe with stylish 60's furniture.

Schwartzwaldstube

Corner of Tucholskystr and Linienstr, Mitte

Great place to get a schnitzel, spaetzel or a flammkuchen, which is a little pizza type thing. Also good beer selection, nice atmosphere. Apparently they also have a good breakfast there. Try the Schwartzwald Pils, it's tasty.

Al Rai

Grosse Hamburgerstrasse, near the intersection with Oranienburgerstrasse. Al Rai is both a sit-down restaurant and a tiny imbiss next door. It serves hands-down the best chicken shawarma and falafel available in Berlin, at least in Mitte. That's due mostly to the homemade bread (no pittas out of a bag here) and blistering hot mango sauce. The chicken isn't too greasy, and you'll usually find some fried potatos or other vegetables tossed into your wrap. I'd bet the other dishes are as good, but to be honest, I'll never order anything but the shwarma. Shawarma and falafel are both about 2.80 Euros (in September 2002).

Babel

Kastanienalle 33. A Lebanese take on the standard falafel/ shawarma/ hummus. The shawarma isn't up to the high standards and shwarmatic genius of Al Rai, but it's pretty good, if a tiny bit greasy. Execellent falafel, though, and everything else is great and cheap: about 5 Euros for a huge shawarma platter with vegetables. The hummus, in particular, is very fine and contains about as much garlic as I think is possible. The staff is nice as well, and were kind enough to throw some extra desserts into our take out bag of baklava.

Solomon Bagels

Potsdamer Platz Arkaden, top floor. Sort of expensive, but the only place in Berlin where you can get real, honest-to-God bagels. In 2002, they were .80/per, which is kind of expensive.

Eisenwaren

Schlesischestrasse 18. The best eating option on an otherwise average street. Slightly expensive, but huge portions of eintopf, quiche, spatzle, and the odd wurst dish. If you can’t quite stomach the regular spaetzle, ask for the Spaezle Spezial, a smaller portion with a green salad.

Il Casoulare

Kreuzberg on the Maybachufer on the Landwehrkanal, about a ten minute walk from Kotbusser Tor U-bahn (U1, U15, and U8).

Ah yes, the problem of finding good pizza in Berlin. If you're from the US, you'll be stunned at how hard it is to find really good pizza here. (It's easy to find average pizza of course). Il Casoulare is one of the few exceptions, where actual Italians actually make pizza well (though the calzone I had once here was terrible). Believe me, this is rare. Prices are normal: between 6 and 12 Euros (in 2002). The restaurant can get crowded, loud, and hot, so sit outside on the terrace next to the canal if you can, where it might just be crowded. The place cultivates a sort of radical left-wing feel, with slogans painted on the walls and written on the menu. That might be the reason that it's a favorite of touring punk bands playing nearby at the SO36 club. If no musicians are there, be sure to read the graffitti they leave behind on the walls inside.

Freischwimmer

Way down the end of Schlesische strasse on the way to Treptow is this little floating café on a boat. It’s weird how popular this place is, given the bad expensive food and bad service. Still, it’s a nice place to sit on the dock in the evening if you’re in the area.

Viva Mexico

Chauseestrasse 36. This Mexican restaurant is a bit north of the usual places (you’ll have to walk up Chauseestrasse north of the Zinowitzerstrasse U-Bahn a couple of blocks), but it’s one of the only Mexican places in town worth bothering with. It’s actually Tex-Mex (said the ex-Austin resident snobbily), which means all your cheesy, greasy favorites. Although they’ve had to compromise on some of the ingredients, this is pretty good stuff. Keep in mind that no Mexican food in Berlin will be as cheap as you’d think; we paid 7 or 8 Euros for enchiladas in 2002. The staff is a Mexican-American family, so all the waiters speak English.