Berlin fine dining
 

I'm looking for a special dinner restaurant to celebrate my husband's birthday; have read about VAU, and several others. Any particular recommendations?

thanks!

We stayed 5 nights in Berlin last week. If you're looking for a memorable birthday meal, here's some of the top & special restaurants in Berlin with Michelin starred chefs:

LORENZ ADLON at the historical 5 star Hotel Adlon.
Elegant French dining with a terrific view of the Brandenburg Gate, Berlin Mitte. Expensive but worth it: the 7 course Menu Degustation or the 5 course Menu de la Saison.
www.hotel-adlon.de/en/bars/index.htm?id=447


FISCHERS FRITZ at the 5 star Regent hotel. A classic elegant seafood gourmet restaurant in the Gendarmenmarkt area, Berlin Mitte. Lunch menu starts at 16 euro while a 4 course dinner menu 85 euro.
http://tinyurl.com/22nxa7


FACIL at the Hotel Mandala in Potsdamerplatz.
If you prefer a very modern interior gourmet restaurant with one Michelin star. It's been a few years and all I can remember are the glass roof & walls which left a strong impression.
www.facil-berlin.de/englisch/index.htm


FIRST FLOOR at the Palace Hotel.
A highly rated gourmet restaurant near the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial church in West Berlin. I've never been there but it seems to have the highest ratings, so I thought I should include it. www.firstfloor.palace.de/web_englisch/


HUGOS at the Inter Continental Hotel is another gourmet top restaurant that I haven't been. Also in West Berlin
www.hugos-restaurant.de/restaurant.php

Have a great time in Berlin. Your husband may want to bring a sportscoat so he doesn't feel out of place in these restaurants, no ties necessary.

Here is a website of an international guide with a restaurant classification. You can use the search function for restaurants in Berlin.

http://www.gaultmillau.de

The result is pretty much the same list as the list that DAX delivered.

I personally have eaten at the First Floor and at Hugo's and both are absolutely excellent. If you compare those two restaurants and the others on the list it is like a decision between a Beethoven Symphony and a Bach Mass: Different, but same level of quality and certainly a memorable experience.

If you have to choose, perhaps make the location the base of your decision (although the taxi costs will be in any case a fraction of the total costs - count with 100 Euros or more per person for a dinner with drinks).

Traveller: That's a really good website to have, I wished I had it before my last trip.

I am surprised to learn that "44" at the Swissotel is rated so high (18) with 3 Toques (I presume the toques relate to price). We stayed at the Swissotel part of last week but wasn't impressed by the restaurant facility so we didn't even think of dining there.

Thanks, DAX and Traveler; i must confess to having not paid attention to these responses before our May journey....we had the worst and ridiculously expensive birthday dinner at VAU, one Michelin star. The wait staff was arrogant and decidedly "chilly". My husband asked 3 times for a wine list before it was brought to us; my entree was so terrible they took it off the bill. We each privately thought about leaving at the get-go but didn't 'want to disappoint the other, you know how that goes!! It was the only restaurant that had a lot of Americans in it; all other places were filled with locals or regional travelers, judging from the tongues we overheard.

Our best meals were right in our neighborhood, the Ku Damm, at places friends had recommended; and our best lunch treat was the restaurant at the top of the Reichstag; elegant, wonderful food, fabulous setting.

Belated thanks anyway. We LOVED Berlin; what a fabulous city.

Glad to hear that you had a great time in Berlin, it's one of my favorites. I've been there so many times and never get sick of it.

Sorry to hear about your poor service & food experience at VAU. I cannot understand why VAU is described as being "hip" even by Fodor guide book.

I was planning on having lunch in the restaurant of the Resthag Building in December.

What should I wear?

What would you recommend I order?

Thank you,
Thingorjus

Kaefer restaurant on top of the Reichstag is a tourist restaurant, so anything goes. They search you thoroughly before entering the building just like at the airport. They dropped my camera and broke it! :(

FYI Kaefer has been dubbed as an "expensive tourist restaurant", the food is not as good as other restaurants that charge the same high prices. It's been a while since I ate in the Kaefer restaurants but I still remember they used to charge quite a bit for every slice of bread that we picked up from the bread basket on the table. It's not bad but it's overpriced for the food taste/quality. The ambiance is reminiscent of Georges on top of the Pompidou building in Paris. It is still a good way to skip the long line to enter the Reichstag.

Kaefer, yes. I describe it as an oasis of quiet and upscale dining in the midst of a busy touring day; a welcome respite. And to save close to 2 hours waiting in the outside line for the walk up the dome, it's well worth the lunch experience for that alone. I"d read it's also a good place for breakfast, but then, don't most hotels offer breakfasts?

Enjoy the meal and the view.

Try Käfer in the Reichstag for dinner. Sunset over the Reichstag is very special.

Food is quite good there (clearly above average), and prices are still adequate.

mfk59, I am sorry about your experience at the VAU. It has the reputation of a cool, trendy place and your experience confirms that this is right. The Margaux should be similar.

First Floor and Hugo's are more mainstream, and the food is probably better.

Thanks. Since it is casaul, I think Emporio Armani would fit the occasion.

Cheers,
Thingorjus